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 Viscount Lak e
 
 GENERAL GERARD, VISCOUNT LAKE OF DELHI, &c.
 
 Memoir of the 
 Life and Military Services 
 
 of 
 
 Viscount Lake 
 
 Baron Lake of Delhi and Laswaree 
 1744-1808 
 
 BY 
 
 COLONEL HUGH PEARSE 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 'the memoirs of colonel ALEXANDER GARDNER,' 'THE HEARSEYS 
 
 FIVE GENERATIONS OF AN ANGLO-INDIAN FAMILY,' ETC. ETC. 
 
 EDITOR OF 
 
 'THE CRIMEAN DIARY OF LIEUT. -GENERAL SIR CHARLES WINDHAM' 
 
 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS 
 
 EDINBURGH AND LONDON 
 
 MCMVI II
 
 TO 
 
 <^Y WIFE.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Lord Lake's half century of military service, 
 terminated by his death in 1808, took place 
 at a time when the slow transmission of news 
 made it difficult for home-keeping Englishmen 
 to appreciate the achievements of their country- 
 men abroad. They were indeed, for the most 
 part, ignorant of the creation of the Indian 
 Empire, that triumph of the constructive genius 
 of our race, and services of which the nation 
 was but dimly aware could hardly arouse much 
 gratitude. 
 
 To this ignorance must, in part, be attributed 
 the oblivion into which Lake's career has fallen ; 
 and a further explanation may be found in the 
 period of his death, at the moment when the 
 rising fame of Wellington swallowed, like 
 Aaron's rod, the reputations of all contempor- 
 aneous soldiers.
 
 VIU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Yet of Lake the great Wellesley wrote these 
 words : " His masterly operations, his unex- 
 ampled alacrity and honourable zeal, the judg- 
 ment, skill, and promptitude of decision which 
 he has manifested in every crisis of difficulty 
 or danger, combined with his irresistible spirit 
 of enterprise and courage, entitle him to the 
 gratitude and admiration of every loyal British 
 subject, and of every heart and mind which 
 can feel for the honour, or can understand the 
 interests, of the British Empire." 
 
 This record of Lord Lake's life and services 
 has been written in the hope of rescuing from 
 an undeserved oblivion the memory of the 
 soldier who earned from Wellesley so glowing an 
 eulogium ; of describing, though inadequately, 
 the methods and achievements of a commander 
 who has rarely been excelled on the battle-field ; 
 and of recalling to his countrymen the char- 
 acter of a man who had many great and no 
 ignoble qualities, who was an honourable and 
 disinterested English gentleman, and who played 
 no small part in the creation of our Indian 
 Empire. 
 
 The portrait of Lord Lake (frontispiece) is 
 reproduced from a miniature in the possession 
 of Lady Fludyer. 
 
 The map illustrating the French operations
 
 INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 in Ireland in 1798 is reproduced from 'The 
 Times,' by kind permission of the manager of 
 that paper. 
 
 The remaining maps are the work of Mr 
 D. S. Home of the War Office.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. FAMILY HISTORY 
 
 II. "the seven years' war" 
 
 III. NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND . 
 
 IV. THE IRISH REBELLION 
 V. THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803 
 
 VI. LASWARI ..... 
 
 VII. THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR 
 
 VIII. THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR Continued 
 
 IX. THE END OF THE WAR . . . . 
 
 APPENDIX THE DESCENDANTS OF LORD LAKE 
 
 INDEX ....... 
 
 1 
 15 
 
 44 
 84 
 133 
 224 
 261 
 319 
 .391 
 
 421 
 
 428
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. 
 
 GENERAL GERARD, VISCOUNT LAKE OP DELHI, ETC. Frontispiece 
 
 THE REBEL HEADQUARTERS, VINEGAR HILL . To face JJ. 96 
 
 GENERAL LAKE AND HIS SON AT THE BATTLE OF 
 
 LA8WARI ...... II 238 
 
 MAPS. 
 
 MAP TO ILLUSTRATE "THE SEVEN YBARS' WAR " ii 42 
 
 MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE AMERICAN WAR . . ii 64 
 
 MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE CAMPAIGN OF 1793-4 . ii 82 
 
 MAP OF THE FRENCH RAID IN IRELAND, 1798 . ii 112 
 MAP OF HINDUSTAN AND ADJOINING STATES IN 
 
 1803 M 410
 
 SOME WORKS CONSULTED. 
 
 'History of the British Army.' (Honble. J. W. 
 
 Fortescue. ) 
 ' Memoirs of the War in India.' (Major W. 
 
 Thorn.) 
 
 'The Campaigns of Lord Lake.' (Major H. Helsham- Jones.) 
 
 ' History of the First or Grenadier Guards.' (Hamilton.) 
 
 ' Life of John, Marquis of Granby.' (Manners.) 
 
 ' Operations of the Allied Armies under the command of H.S.H. 
 
 Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, &c.' (By an Officer.) 
 ' History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century.' (Lecky.) 
 ' The Cornwallis Papers.' 
 
 ' The Influence of Sea- Power upon History.' (Mahan.) 
 'Diary of Sir John Moore.' (Ed. Major-General Sir F. Maurice.) 
 ' Life of Sir Ralph Abercromby.' (Dimfermline.) 
 ' La France et I'Irlande pendant la revolution.' (Guillon.) 
 ' The Story of a Raid.' (Military correspondent of ' The Times.') 
 ' History of the Irish Rebellion.' (Maxwell.) 
 ' The Great War with France.' (Sir H. Bunbury.) 
 ' Despatches of the Marquis Wellesley.' 
 'The Wellington Despatches.' 
 
 ' History of the Bengal Artillery.' (Major-General Stubbs.) 
 ' Regimental Records of the 8th Hussars, 22nd Regiment, 76th 
 
 Regiment, Bengal European Regiment, &c.' 
 "Indian Historical Subjects" : 'Lord Lake.' (Malleson.) 
 'Decisive Battles of India.' (Malleson.) 
 " From Cromwell to Wellington " : ' Lake.' (Colonel May.)
 
 M E M I K. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 Gerard Lake was born in the year 1744, the 
 second son of Lancelot Charles Lake and Letitia 
 his wife. The family of Lake is of undoubted 
 antiquity, and although its descent from 
 Lancelot of the Lake, the favourite knight 
 of King Arthur, is of course merely traditional, 
 there is clear proof that at the period of the 
 birth of the future victor of Laswari the 
 Lakes had for two centuries at least maintained 
 themselves in a position of dignity, and had 
 contributed a fair proportion of men of light 
 and leading to their native land. 
 
 The written pedigree of the family makes 
 no attempt to trace its descent from the 
 fabled Lancelot, although the description of 
 
 A
 
 2 FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 " Almeric Lake or Du Lake " seems to hint 
 at such a claim. The said Almeric is, how- 
 ever, the first person named in the pedigree, 
 and of him no particulars are given save that 
 he lived at Southampton in the second half of 
 the sixteenth century, and was the father of 
 two sons, both of whom rose to eminence. 
 
 The younger of these, whose career may be 
 most conveniently taken first, was named 
 Arthur, and received his early education in 
 the free school in St Michael's parish, South- 
 ampton, and thence was " transplanted," as 
 the record has it, "to Wykeham's school." 
 Thence, in 1589, he was elected a Fellow ox 
 New College, Oxford. Five years later Arthur 
 Lake took holy orders, and in 1605 was 
 installed Archdeacon of Surrey. In April 1608 
 he became Dean of Bristol, and in 1616 he 
 was consecrated Bishop of Bath and Wells, 
 dying ten years later. 
 
 The character of Bishop Lake, as recorded 
 in the genealogy, is worthy of all respect. 
 After recording his various preferments, the 
 author proceeds : "In these places of honour 
 and employment he carried himself the same 
 in mind and person, showing by his constancy 
 that his virtues were virtues indeed ; in all 
 kinds of which, whether natural, moral, theo-
 
 SIR THOMAS LAKE. 3 
 
 logical, personal, or pastoral, he was eminent, 
 and one of the examples of his time. He 
 always lived a single man, exemplary in his 
 life and conversation, and very hospitable. 
 He was also well read in the Fathers and 
 Schoolmen, and had such a command of the 
 Scripture (which made him one of the best 
 preachers) that few went beyond him in his 
 time. . . . Over his grave was soon after 
 laid a flat stone, neither marble nor free, with 
 this engraven on a brass plate affixed to it — 
 ' Here lieth Arthur Lake, Doctor in Divinity, 
 late Bishop of Bath and Wells, who died on 
 the 4th of May 1626.'" 
 
 Sir Thomas Lake, the elder brother of this 
 worthy prelate, born at Southampton about 
 the year 1567, was, it is stated in the gene- 
 alogy, " bred a scholar, and afterwards taken 
 into the service of Sir Francis Walsingham, 
 Secretary of State, as his amanuensis. By 
 him he was recommended to Queen Elizabeth, 
 to whom he read French and Latin. A little 
 before her death she made him clerk of her 
 signet, and after her death he was sent 
 by the State to attend King James I. from 
 Berwick." King James took Lake into his 
 favour, knighting him on May 20, 1603, and 
 entrusting him with the charge of our relations.
 
 4 FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 with France. Sir Thomas Lake's rise in the 
 favour of Queen Elizabeth is attributed 
 entirely to his own merits, but in gaining 
 the favour of James I., Lake showed much 
 suppleness and tact. He steadily championed 
 the interests of the king's Scottish friends, 
 and ignored the dislike of the English courtiers 
 which he thus incurred. He also gave pal- 
 atable advice to James in regard to financial 
 matters. After Sir Robert Cecil was preferred 
 to the administration of affairs, the ofl&ce of 
 Secretary of State was divided, and Sir Thomas 
 Lake was appointed to be the second Secretary, 
 and " so continued," says the chronicler, " with 
 honourable esteem of all men, till malice and 
 revenge (two violent passions over -ruling the 
 weaker sex), concerning his wife and daughter, 
 involved him in their quarrel, the chief and 
 only cause of his ruin." 
 
 In February 1616, Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Sir Thomas Lake, was married to William 
 Cecil, Lord Roos, grandson of Thomas, first 
 Earl of Exeter, and in July of the same year 
 his title of Lord Roos, which had been dis- 
 puted by the Earl of Rutland, was adjudged 
 in his favour. 
 
 In August 1616 Lord Roos left England in 
 a hurried and secret manner, leaving his estate
 
 " THE BRITISH SOLOMON. 5 
 
 in great disorder, after having sent a challenge 
 to his brother-in-law, Arthur Lake, who had 
 violently assaulted him ; and, though he was 
 required by the Lords of the Council to return, 
 refused to comply with their order. 
 
 The story of the quarrel between Lord E-oos 
 and the ladies of the Lake family is given in 
 Saunderson's ' History of the Keign of James 
 I.,' and is based on personal knowledge, the 
 writer having been Secretary to Lord Koos's 
 embassy. The story is not without interest, 
 throwing, as it does, light on the shrewd 
 methods of " the British Solomon," and it 
 certainly illustrates the " malice and revenge " 
 of the so-called weaker sex. 
 
 " Sir Thomas Lake's daughter," writes Saun- 
 derson, " marrying Lord Roos, this Baron, upon 
 Lake's credit, was sent ambassador extraordinary 
 into Spain, 1616, in a very gallant equipage, with 
 hopes of his own to continue longer, to save 
 charges of transmitting any other. In his ab- 
 sence there fell out a deadly feud ('tis no matter 
 for what) between the Lady Lake and her 
 daughter's step-mother, the Countess of Exeter,^ 
 which was particularly described in a letter and 
 
 ^ A mistake of Saunderson's. The lady in question was really 
 widow of Lord Roos's grandfather. She was born in 1580, and 
 consequently was thirty-six years old at this time.
 
 6 FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 sent from England for me at Madrid, and 
 because of my near relations in that embassy 
 I showed the same to my Lord Ambassador. 
 A youthful widow this Countess had been and 
 virtuous, the relict of Sir Thomas Smith, clerk 
 of the council and register of the parliament, 
 and so she became bed - fellow to this aged, 
 gouty, diseased, but noble Earl ; and that pre- 
 ferment had made her subject to envy and 
 malice. 
 
 " Home comes the Lord Koos from his embassy, 
 when he fell into some neglect of his wife and 
 her kindred, upon refusing to increase the allow- 
 ance to her settlement of jointure, which was 
 promised to be completed at his return. Not 
 long he stays in England ; but away he gets 
 into Italy, turned a professed Roman Catholic, 
 being cozened into that religion there by his 
 public confident Gondomar. 
 
 "In this last absence, never to return, the 
 mother and daughter accuse the Countess of 
 former incontinency with the Lord Roos whilst 
 he was here ; and that therefore, upon his 
 wife's discovery, he was fled from hence and 
 from her marriage - bed, with other devised 
 calumnies, by several designs and contrivements 
 to have impoisoned the mother and daughter. 
 
 "This quarrel blazoned at Court to the
 
 THE ''CONFIDING SERVANT. 7 
 
 King's ear, who, as privately as could be, 
 singly examines each party. The Countess 
 with tears and imprecations professes her 
 innocency ; which to oppose, the mother and 
 daughter counterfeit her hand to a whole 
 sheet of paper, wherein they make her with 
 much contrition to acknowledge herself guilty, 
 crave pardon for attempting to impoison them, 
 and desire friendship for ever with them all. 
 
 " The King gets sight of this as in favour 
 to them, and demands the time, place, and 
 occasion when this should be writ. They tell 
 him that all the parties met in a visit at 
 Wimbleton (the Earl of Exeter's house), where 
 in dispute of their differences, she confessed 
 her guilt, desirous of absolution and friend- 
 ship, consents to set down all under her own 
 hand, which presently she writ at the window 
 in the upper end of the great chamber at 
 Wimbleton, in presence of the mother and 
 daughter, the Lord Koos, and one Diego, a 
 Spaniard, his confiding servant. But now 
 they being gone and at Bome, the King forth- 
 with sends Master Dendy, one of his sergeants- 
 at - arms, some time a domestic of the Earl 
 of Essex, an honest and worthy gentleman, 
 post to Bome, who speedily returns with 
 Boos's and Diego's hands and other testi-
 
 8 FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 monlals, that all the said accusation, confession, 
 suspicions, and papers concerning the Countess 
 were notoriously false and scandalous, and con- 
 firm it by receiving their eucharist, in assurance 
 of her honour and his innocency. Besides 
 several letters of her hand, compared with 
 this writing, concluded it counterfeit. 
 
 " Then the King tells the mother and daughter 
 that this writing being denied by her, their 
 testimonies as parties would not prevail without 
 additional witness. They then adjoin one Sarah 
 Wharton, their chambress, who, they affirm, 
 stood behind the hangings at the entrance of 
 the room, and heard the Countess read over 
 what she had writ. And to this she swears 
 before the King. 
 
 " But after a hunting at New Park, the King 
 entertained at Wimbleton and, in that room, 
 observes the great distance from the window 
 to the lower end, and placing himself behind 
 the hangings (and so other Lords in their turn), 
 they could not hear a loud voice from the 
 window. Besides, the hangings wanted two 
 feet of the ground, and might discover the 
 woman, if hidden behind, the King saying, 
 ' oaths cannot deceive my sight.' And the 
 hangings had not been removed that room 
 in thirty years before.
 
 THE KINGS SENTENCE. 9 
 
 " Nay, more than all these, the mother and 
 daughter counterfeit a confession in writing of 
 one Luke Hutton, that for forty pounds the 
 Countess should hire him to poison them, which 
 man with wonderful providence was found out, 
 and privately denies it to the King. 
 
 " And thus prepared the King sends for 
 Lake, whom in truth he valued, tells him the 
 danger to embark himself in this quarrel, ad- 
 vising him to leave them to the law, being 
 ready for a star-chamber business. He humbly 
 thanked his Majesty, but could not refuse to 
 be a father and a husband ; and so put his 
 name and theirs in a cross -bill, which at the 
 hearing took up five several days, the King 
 sitting in judgement. But the former testi- 
 monies and some private confessions of the 
 Lady Roos and Sarah Wharton, which the 
 King kept in secret, made the cause for some 
 days of trial appear doubtful to the court, 
 until the King's discovery, which concluded the 
 sentence, pronounced upon several censures, — 
 Lake and his Lady fined £10,000 to the King, 
 £5000 to the Countess, £50 to Hutton ; Sarah 
 Wharton to be whipped at a cart's tail about 
 the streets, and to do penance at St Martin's 
 Church. The Lady Roos for confessing the 
 truth and plot in the midst of the trial, was
 
 10 FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 pardoned by most voices from penal sentence. 
 The King, I remember, compared their crimes 
 to the plot of the first Sin in Paradise, the 
 Lady to the Serpent, her daughter to Eve, and 
 Sir Thomas to poor Adam, whose love to his 
 Wife, the old Sin of our father, had beguiled 
 him. I am sure he paid for all, which, as he 
 told me, cost him £30,000, the loss of his 
 master's favour, and ofl&ces of honour and gain, 
 but truly with much pity and compassion at 
 court, he being held an honest man." 
 
 Fuller, in his 'Worthies of England,' says 
 that Sir Thomas Lake's dexterity of despatch 
 and secrecy in business were incredible ; and 
 it is also recorded that from his skill with 
 the pen Lake was nicknamed "Swiftsure," 
 after a well - known ship of the Royal Navy. 
 Sir Thomas married Mary, daughter and heiress 
 of Sir William Eyther, Lord Mayor of London, 
 and died on September 17, 1630, at his seat at 
 Canons, Whitchurch, County Middlesex, which 
 he had bought in 1604. He left three children; 
 Elizabeth, wife of Lord Boos, whose misad- 
 ventures have been related ; and three sons, 
 (1) Sir Thomas Lake of Canons, who died 
 13th May 1653, and (2) Sir Arthur, who died 
 in December 1633. Both were knighted in 
 1617. The third son, Lancelot, who died in
 
 CANONS. 1 1 
 
 1646, was father of Sir Lancelot Lake of Canons, 
 who was knighted in 1660, and was M.P. for 
 Middlesex in the Convention of that year and 
 in the Parliament of 1661. Sir Lancelot died 
 in 1680, leaving, by his wife Frances, with 
 many other children, a son Warwick, of whom 
 hereafter. 
 
 Sir Lancelot's eldest son. Sir Thomas Lake 
 of Canons, knighted in 1670, married Rebecca, 
 daughter of Sir James Langham, Baronet, and 
 by her had seven children, who all died young 
 with the exception of Mary, born in 1668, 
 who married James Brydges, afterwards Duke 
 of Chandos, to whom she carried the seat of 
 Canons. The magnificence of Canons, on which 
 the Duke is said to have spent nearly £200,000 
 about the year 1712, was proverbial in its day; 
 but its glory soon departed, for it was pulled 
 down and the materials sold by auction in 
 1747. Thus vanished a great portion of the 
 fortune amassed by Sir Thomas Lake, the 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 Warwick Lake, born in 1661, sixth son of 
 Sir Lancelot and uncle of the Duchess of 
 Chandos, married Elizabeth, only daughter and 
 heiress of Sir Charles Gerard, Baronet, of Flam- 
 bard's, Harrow -on -the -Hill. Elizabeth Gerard 
 possessed not only a good fortune but an
 
 12 FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 illustrious pedigree. Her mother, Honora, Lady 
 Gerard, was daughter of Charles, 2nd Lord 
 Seymour of Trowbridge, great-grandson of 
 Catherine, Countess of Hertford, who was 
 granddaughter of Princess Mary Tudor, daughter 
 of King Henry VIL^ 
 
 By his marriage with Elizabeth Gerard, 
 Warwick Lake became the father of Lancelot 
 Charles Lake, born in 1711, who further re- 
 
 1 DESCENT OF LORD LAKE from HENRY VII. 
 
 KING HENRY VII. 
 
 I 
 (1st) Louis XII., = Princess Mary m. — (2nd) Charles Brandon, 
 King of France. | Duke of Suffolk, K.G. 
 
 I 
 Lady Frances Brandon m. Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, 
 _| K.G. 
 
 Lady Catherine Grey m. Edward Seymour, Earl of 
 
 Hertford (son of Edward, 
 Duke of Somerset). 
 
 Edward, Lord Beauchamp m. Honora, dau. of Sir Richard 
 
 I Rogers of Bryanstone, Dorset. 
 
 Francis, created, 1641, Lord Seymour m. Frances, dau. of Sir Gilbert 
 of Trowbridge i Prinne of AUington, Wilts. 
 
 Charles, 2nd Lord Seymour of Trow- m. (as his second wife) Elizabeth, 
 bridge I dau. of Wm., Lord AUington. 
 
 Charles, 6th Duke of Somerset. Honora m. Sir Charles 
 I Gerard. 
 
 Elizabeth Gerard m. Warwick Lake. 
 
 I 
 Lancelot Charles Lake m. Letitia Gumley. 
 
 GERARD, VISCOUNT LAKE.
 
 BIRTH OF LORD LAKE. 13 
 
 stored the family fortunes by his marriage with 
 Letitia Gumley, one of the three daughters 
 and co-heiresses of John Gumley of Isleworth, 
 Middlesex, — a gentleman who had made a large 
 fortune as Commissary -General of the Army. 
 Another daughter of Mr Gumley married the 
 celebrated William Pulteney, Earl of Bath. 
 Lady Bath inherited Gumley House, which at 
 her death came to Lord Lake, who sold it. 
 The third Miss Gumley married a gentleman 
 named Colman, and was the mother of George 
 Colman, the dramatic writer. 
 
 Lancelot and Letitia Lake had two sons, the 
 elder, Warwick, a Commissioner of the Stamp 
 Office and a member of the household of George 
 IV. when Prince of Wales. 
 
 The second son, Gerard, born July 27, 1744, 
 created Baron, and afterwards Viscount, Lake of 
 Delhi and Laswari, is the subject of this memoir. 
 
 Gerard, Viscount Lake, married, June 26, 1770, 
 Elizabeth Barker, only daughter of Edward 
 Barker, Esq., of St Julian's, Hertfordshire, and 
 by her (who died Feb. 20, 1788) had issue — 
 
 (1) Francis Gerard, 2nd Viscount Lake. 
 
 (2) George Augustus Frederick, killed, when 
 
 Lieutenant -Colonel of the 29th Kegi- 
 ment, at the battle of Bolica, Auofust 
 17, 1808.
 
 14 FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 (3) Warwick, 3rd and last Viscount Lake. 
 
 (1) Anna Maria, married (August 21, 1799) 
 
 Sir Richard Borough, Baronet. 
 
 (2) Amabel, married (May 25, 1803) Major 
 
 (afterwards Major - General) Joseph 
 Brooks, of the East India Company's 
 service. 
 
 (3) Elizabeth, married (June 6, 1806) Colonel 
 
 (afterwards Lieut. - General) Sir John 
 Harvey. 
 
 (4) Frances, unmarried. 
 
 (5) Anne, married (1812) Lieut. -Colonel (after- 
 
 wards Lieut. -General) John Wardlaw. 
 The honours conferred on Lake expired on the 
 death of his youngest son, Warwick, 3rd and last 
 Viscount Lake, but his descendants are many in 
 number, and are enumerated in the Appendix.
 
 15 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 THE SEVEN YEARS WAR. 
 
 At the time of Gerard Lake's birth, the 
 fortunes of his family, grievously maimed by 
 the marriage of his cousin Mary to the Duke 
 of Chandos, and the consequent alienation of 
 the estate of Canons, had been restored by 
 the prudent marriages of his father and grand- 
 father. Gerard Lake, though the second son, 
 was heir to a sufficient fortune, and on May 7, 
 1758, at the age of thirteen years and nearly 
 ten months, he was appointed an Ensign in 
 the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. Lake's 
 entry into a military career was therefore 
 made under favourable circumstances and in 
 a happy moment, for Europe in 1758 was 
 ringing with the fame of Rosbach and Leuthen, 
 and the genius of Frederick the Great was 
 astonishing the world and forming a great 
 school for soldiers. England had already been 
 engaged over two years in what was after-
 
 16 "the seven yeaes' war." 
 
 wards named " The Seven Years' War," that 
 long struggle against the power of France in 
 which Pitt found the means of realising the 
 colonial expansion which his genius saw to 
 be essential to the development of England. 
 The attitude of our people towards the war 
 was at first dubious. On the one hand, they 
 hated France with a hearty antipathy, the 
 growth of centuries ; moreover, they dreaded 
 a Trench invasion. On the other hand, they 
 disliked spending English blood and treasure 
 for the protection of the German possessions of 
 their German king, who openly showed them 
 that he preferred Hanover to England. The 
 earlier enterprises of the war in Europe, too, 
 were on a small scale, and met with no satis- 
 factory results ; and it was not until the 
 glorious achievements of Wolfe in Canada and 
 of Hawke at Quiberon showed England what 
 she might achieve, that Pitt was enabled to 
 launch out with serious operations on the 
 Continent of Europe. 
 
 Until, indeed, he was placed at the head 
 of affairs, England played but a half-hearted 
 game. The attack on Frederick of Prussia, 
 primarily initiated by France (incredible as it 
 may seem) with the intention of punishing him 
 for his scornful treatment of Madame de
 
 ENGLAND GOES TO WAR. l7 
 
 Pompadour, involved a menace to Hanover. 
 Frederick was attacked on his left and front 
 by the Saxons, Austrians, and Russians, all 
 at that time the obedient allies of France ; 
 and if he were left unaided while the great 
 French army, the most powerful in Europe, 
 fell upon his right, the English king saw 
 that Prussia would be overwhelmed. The de- 
 struction of Prussia might have been endured, 
 but that of Hanover, which must have followed, 
 was a contingency not to be contemplated by 
 George II., a Hanoverian to the backbone. 
 Born and bred in that country, the king, like 
 his father, took but a faint interest in England. 
 His whole heart was devoted to Hanover, and 
 so, being a man of dauntless courage, he resolved 
 to defy France. Thus did England embark 
 on the war which, when entrusted to the guiding 
 genius of Pitt, transferred to her the possess- 
 ions of France in India and America, and 
 transformed her from a small kingdom to a 
 great empire. The early incidents of the war 
 were far from encouraging. The imagination 
 of King George did not of itself soar beyond 
 the defence of Hanover and the guarding of 
 Frederick's right flank from the armies of 
 France. This was indeed a sufficiently serious 
 undertaking, and, as events quickly showed,, 
 
 B
 
 18 "the seven ybivrs' war." 
 
 beyond the capacity of the Duke of Cumber- 
 land. This Prince, who was entrusted by his 
 father with the command of the Hanoverian 
 army, though possessed of a full share of the 
 courage of his house, was an inexperienced 
 commander. His enterprising spirit led him 
 to take up a dangerously advanced position, 
 and the result of his operations was his defeat 
 by Marshal D'Estrees at Hastenbach on July 
 26, 1757, followed by the Convention of 
 Klosterseven in September of that year. By 
 the terms of this Convention the Hanoverian 
 army was to be disarmed and to take no 
 further part in the war, and the position of 
 King Frederick became perilous, until he saved 
 himself by his victories of Rosbach, won from 
 the French, and that of Leuthen, by which he 
 reconquered Silesia from the Austrians. 
 
 The failure of the Duke of Cumberland had 
 been strongly resented in England, and Frederick, 
 after Rosbach, became "the Protestant Hero," 
 for whom the nation was ready to make any 
 sacrifice. 
 
 Pitt, who saw that Prussia must be effectively 
 helped, repudiated the Convention of Kloster- 
 seven, extracted from Parliament an annual sub- 
 sidy of £670,000 for Frederick, and resolved to 
 put the army of Hanover again in the field.
 
 PRINCE FERDINAND OF BRUNSWICK. 19 
 
 What was evidently wanted was a capable gen- 
 eral, and as Amherst and Wolfe were doing 
 good work in America and could not be spared, 
 the services of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, 
 the most capable of Frederick's subordinates, were 
 secured for the Hanoverian army. Ferdinand 
 was a man of thirty-six, with seventeen years 
 of war experience, — " a soldier of approved ex- 
 cellence, and, likewise, a noble-minded, prudent, 
 patient, and invincibly valiant and steadfast 
 man." ^ Service under him was of inestimable 
 value to our army, and to his precepts and 
 guidance may be traced the military skill of 
 a large number of our best ofl&cers of later wars. 
 The measure of Prince Ferdinand's excellence 
 as a commander may best be taken from his 
 achievements in fighting five campaigns suc- 
 cessfully, always with one army against two, 
 always against superior numbers, commanding 
 troops of different nationalities, and afflicted by 
 a considerable number of subordinate generals 
 who by stupidity or other bad qualities often 
 caused his best plans to fail. 
 
 On the Hanoverian army again taking the 
 field, Prince Ferdinand began operations by 
 driving the French garrisons westward out of 
 Hanover. The French, having been taken by 
 
 ^ Carlyle's * History of Frederick II. of Prussia.'
 
 20 "the seven years' wah." 
 
 surprise by the secrecy with which the Hano- 
 verians had been rearmed and set in motion, 
 were unable to make an effective resistance, and 
 by the end of March 1758 they had all been 
 pressed across the Rhine. Prince Ferdinand 
 followed them up, and on June 23 gained a 
 signal victory at Crefeld. This triumph had 
 a great effect in England, and Pitt decided to 
 reinforce the Prince's army by the despatch of 
 2000 cavalry and 7000 infantry from England, 
 soon followed by 3000 more troops, and further 
 endeavoured to check the despatch of French 
 reinforcements to the Rhine by the employment 
 of combined naval and military expeditions on 
 a small scale against the west coast of France. 
 This experiment had no good results, the first 
 expedition, under the command of the 3rd Duke 
 of Marlborough, with Lord George Sackville as 
 second-in-command, doing nothing ; while the 
 second, under General Bligh, not only did 
 nothing, but sustained serious losses during its 
 re-embarkation. The Duke and Lord George 
 did not accompany the second expedition, 
 having used all their interest to be sent to 
 the field of action in Germany. Unhappily 
 for both of them, they obtained their wish, 
 the Duke of Marlborough dying at Miinster on 
 October 28, 1758, very soon after the arrival
 
 JOHN, MARQUIS OF GRANBY 21 
 
 of the English contingent at that place, while 
 the fate of Lord George - Sackville was, as we 
 shall see, a worse one. The third senior 
 English general in Germany was the famous 
 John, Marquis of Granby, who, in consequence 
 of the Duke of Marlborough's death, became 
 second - in - command to Lord George. Lord 
 Granby was thirty -seven years old, and had 
 held the rank of Major - General for thirteen 
 years, but his experience of war was as yet 
 limited. 
 
 The winter months of 1758 were passed 
 quietly in quarters, but in March 1759 Prince 
 Ferdinand made a bold advance on Frankfort, 
 which city the French had made their base. 
 This enterprise proved a failure, and the Prince 
 was compelled to fall back on the line of the 
 Weser. It was now the turn of the French 
 to take the offensive, and in June 1759 they 
 advanced in great strength in four divisions. 
 Prince Ferdinand found himself in a most diffi- 
 cult position, for to hold his ground safely he 
 was compelled to defend Miinster and Lipp- 
 stadt, two distant points, and could not tell 
 which of them the French would make their 
 main objective. Miinster was of vital import- 
 ance, as if the French were to capture it they 
 would thereby be able to cut Ferdinand's line
 
 22 "the seven years' war." 
 
 of supply both from Germany and England. 
 Lippstadt, though less important, covered his 
 communications on the other flank. In July, 
 Marshal Contades, thanks to his great pre- 
 ponderance of strength, was besieging both 
 towns with detached corps, his light troops had 
 entered Hanover and were levying contributions, 
 while he with his main body was in an im- 
 pregnable position south of Minden. Ferdinand 
 now set about a design of drawing Marshal 
 Contades, the French commander-in-chief, from 
 this position. By threatening Contades' line of 
 supply, and by placing a small force in an 
 apparently dangerous but really strong position 
 in Contades' front, he thoroughly succeeded. 
 On August 1, 1759, Contades left his secure 
 position and threw his army across the Bastau, 
 a tributary of the Weser, in order to destroy 
 the small force that seemed to be at his mercy. 
 The result of this imprudence was the glorious 
 victory of Minden, in which six regiments of 
 British infantry earned undying distinction. 
 The most notable description of their achieve- 
 ment was that written by their generous 
 antagonist. Marshal Contades himself. " I never 
 thought to see a single line of infantry," he 
 wrote, " break through three lines of cavalry, 
 ranked in order of battle, and tumble them to
 
 MINDEN. 23 
 
 ruin." Minden was a great day for the British 
 infantry, and hardly less so for their artillery, 
 whose efficiency and handling alike attracted 
 general admiration ; but unhappily, through no 
 fault of its own, the fine body of cavalry, con- 
 sisting of twenty - four squadrons, were held 
 back by their commander. Lord George Sack- 
 ville. The cause of Lord George's failure has 
 never been clearly proved. He had shown 
 personal courage in previous campaigns, notably 
 at Fontenoy, where he was wounded and thrown 
 for dead into a waggon. Eleven years after 
 Minden he showed conspicuous coolness in a 
 duel. Sackville came, indeed, of a fighting stock 
 on both sides, for his paternal grandfather was 
 Charles, Lord Buckhurst, the model of gay 
 courage in his day ; and his maternal grand- 
 father was Field-Marshal Colyear, a veteran of 
 the sieges and battles of the reign of William 
 III. The proceedings of Sackville's court-martial 
 show, however, only too clearly that at Minden 
 he in no way played the part of a cavalry com- 
 mander. He made no attempt to ascertain when 
 he could use his fine force to assist the com- 
 mander-in-chief; he disputed the meaning of 
 the three orders to advance that were sent to 
 him ; and his inactivity was carried so far that 
 Prince Ferdinand was robbed of the full results
 
 24 " THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR." 
 
 of his victory. The French army lost 6000 men, 
 30 guns, and 17 colours and standards, but it 
 should have been annihilated. 
 
 Minden ended the career as a soldier of Lord 
 George Sackville, and he was succeeded in the 
 command of the British contingent by the 
 Marquis of Granby, who was as loyal and 
 forward as Sackville was the reverse. 
 
 Lord Granby was in every way fitted to 
 become, as he did, the national hero. To the 
 civil population he was the embodiment of the 
 qualities they most admired — honesty, generosity, 
 and loyalty. To the army he became endeared 
 by long years of unostentatious thought fulness 
 and kindness ; they knew how, in his contempt 
 of self-advertisement, he habitually sank his own 
 name in loyal devotion to his chief, and gave 
 away his own exploits to his subordinates, while 
 he was ever ready to buy provisions and neces- 
 saries for the rank and file out of his own pocket. 
 The army in Germany had been cruelly humiliated 
 by the disgrace of Lord George Sackville, and 
 in his successor they hailed a leader who eagerly 
 watched for every chance of action, and who led 
 every attack in person. 
 
 After Minden, Marshal Contades retired on 
 Cassel, and also raised the siege of Lippstadt. 
 He was presently compelled to retire still farther
 
 A GLORIOUS YEAE. 25 
 
 to Marburg, evacuating Cassel, which was cap- 
 tured by the allies. Ferdinand ended the cam- 
 paign by advancing to and blockading Giessen ; 
 but he was unable to do more, as King Frederick 
 demanded 12,000 of his troops, with the object of 
 driving the Austrians from Saxony in a winter 
 campaign. So ended 1759, that year of glory 
 for England, which saw the capture of Quebec, 
 the battle of Minden, and the great naval victory 
 of Quiberon Bay, which gave England the com- 
 mand of the sea and enabled Pitt to embark 
 on his great scheme of war with France all over 
 the world. 
 
 The campaign of 1760 did not begin until late 
 in the month of May, before which time the 
 English contingent had been raised to a strength 
 of over 20,000 men. Prince Ferdinand now had 
 a force of about 70,000 men in all ; but opposed 
 to him were two French armies, under Marshal de 
 Broglie and General St Germain, of much greater 
 strength. The campaign opened badly for the 
 allies, by the failure of a movement undertaken 
 by the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, the 
 nephew of Prince Ferdinand, with the object 
 of preventing a junction of the two French 
 armies. The Hereditary Prince's force, partly 
 composed of English troops, was defeated with 
 heavy loss at Corbach on July 10, and al-
 
 26 "THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR." 
 
 though, thanks to his own fine quaUties and 
 those of his troops, the Prince extricated himself 
 from a dangerous position, it appeared to King 
 George II. that immediate reinforcements were 
 necessary. On July 23 orders were issued 
 in London for the 2nd battalions of the three 
 regiments of Foot Guards to prepare for active 
 service. The preparations were rapidly carried 
 out, soldiers who had enlisted for the limited 
 period of three years' service being given the 
 option of going abroad or remaining at home, — 
 an arrangement which has a curiously modern 
 ring. The service battalions were brought up 
 to a strength of 1000 men apiece by drafts 
 from the battalions remaining at home, and in 
 two days the Brigade was ready to embark. 
 A fourth battalion was formed of the Grenadier 
 companies, and the command of the Brigade 
 was conferred on Major -General Julius Caesar, 
 an ofiicer of Italian descent, whose family had 
 thus anglicised the name, Caesarini, of one of 
 their ancestors. With the 2nd Battalion of the 
 First Guards there embarked the youthful Ensign 
 Gerard Lake, who, through the course of events 
 which have been briefly sketched, was now to 
 observe the methods of war practised by leaders 
 of the school of Frederick the Great, and to take 
 as his immediate model the gallant Lord Granby,
 
 THE GUARDS EMBARK. 27 
 
 whose qualities were precisely those calculated 
 to impress a youthful mind. 
 
 The 2nd Battalion First Guards embarked 
 at Gravesend on July 25 and proceeded to 
 Bremen, where it met the other battalions of 
 the Guards Brigade on July 30, 1760, exactly 
 a week after the receipt of the order to prepare 
 for embarkation. This was no trifling feat of 
 mobilisation. The Guards Brigade formed part 
 of reinforcements of 11,000 men, which brought 
 the British contingent under Lord Granby to a 
 strength of 32,000 men. The Guards made a 
 rapid march to join the army, and on arrival 
 were numbered as the 1st Brigade, and were 
 placed in the corps commanded by Lieut. -General 
 the Hon. Henry Seymour Conway, the beloved 
 friend of Horace Walpole. For all the rapidity 
 of their movements they had, however, missed 
 the severe action of Warburg, fought on July 31, 
 in which the British cavalry under Lord Granby 
 covered itself with glory. In this action a daring 
 turning movement executed by Prince Ferdinand 
 was on the point of failing, owing to the main 
 attack having been delayed by the difficulties 
 of the ground and the extreme heat. To save 
 the small turning force from destruction Prince 
 Ferdinand called on the British cavalry to make 
 a supreme effort. Lord Granby, at the head of
 
 28 "the seven years' wapw ' 
 
 twenty-two squadrons and the British artillery, 
 advanced for two hours at a fast trot, and with- 
 out rest or pause executed a charge which de- 
 stroyed the powerful French cavalry and secured 
 a brilliant victory. Lord Granby, well in front 
 and bareheaded, led the charge, and when the 
 Brigade of Guards, a month later, joined the 
 army, his conduct and bearing were still the 
 general theme of conversation. The whole career 
 of Lord Lake shows the impression made on 
 his youthful mind by the conduct of Granby, 
 whom Lake ever after took as his model. The 
 British contingent, after Warburg, were con- 
 vinced that in Granby they had a leader cap- 
 able of great deeds, but in other aspects their 
 position in the allied army was far from pleasing 
 them. They complained that no English general 
 was trusted with the command of independent 
 operations ; that they were always placed in the 
 warmest part of every action ; that they were 
 badly provisioned and made to pay double for 
 everything ; and it was commonly but untruly 
 reported among them that Prince Ferdinand 
 made money by prolonging the war. The Seven 
 Years' War, in fact, afforded another proof of the 
 undesirability of the policy of composing armies 
 of the troops of more than one nationality. 
 
 The arrival of the Brigade of Guards and the
 
 DEATH OF GEORGE II. 29 
 
 other reinforcements from England enabled Prince 
 Ferdinand to make a bold stroke and to endeavour 
 to carry the war to the Rhine ; but the invest- 
 ment of Wesel, undertaken as a preliminary step, 
 was met by the march of a French army by way 
 of Cologne. The result was the hotly contested 
 action of Kloster Kampen, fought on October 
 16, 1760, by a mixed British and Hanoverian 
 force under the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick 
 against a largely superior French force. The 
 Hereditary Prince, who was himself severely 
 wounded, nearly achieved the surprise that he 
 attempted, but in the end was beaten back by 
 force of numbers, and his force retired with 
 much difficulty. 
 
 This failure, with its heavy losses, prevented 
 Prince Ferdinand from any further enterprises 
 in the year 1760, beyond an unsuccessful advance 
 on Gottingen. Very wet weather had much to 
 do with his failure, and in October the army 
 went into winter quarters, the Prince establishing 
 himself at Warburg, and the Brigade of Guards 
 being stationed at Paderborn, forty miles N.W. 
 of Cassel. Just about this time, on October 25, 
 that stout old soldier King George II. died 
 suddenly. As was then the custom, the com- 
 missions of the officers of the army were renewed 
 in the name of the new sovereign, and the name
 
 30 "the seven years' war." 
 
 of Gerard Lake appears sixth in the Hst of the 
 twenty ensigns of the First Guards on that date. 
 Although driven into winter quarters by the 
 sheer impossibility of moving in the autumn 
 rains, Prince Ferdinand resolved to attempt the 
 recapture of Hesse by the unusual expedient of 
 an advance in mid-winter, and in hope of effect- 
 ing a surprise the scattered corps were assembled 
 as secretly as possible. The Brigade of Guards 
 quitted Paderborn in the middle of February 
 1761, and joined Lord Granby's headquarters 
 on the 21st of that month. The army then 
 advanced in three columns, drove back the 
 French at all points, and opened a siege on the 
 fortress of Cassel. The French now rallied, and 
 being greatly superior in strength, defeated the 
 column commanded by the Hereditary Prince, 
 and so caused the failure of the entire enterprise. 
 By the end of March the hostile armies had 
 resumed their former positions, but the allies 
 had suffered such heavy losses, caused by hard- 
 ship and disease even more than by battle, that 
 they were unable again to take the field for two 
 months. So severe were the losses in the First 
 Guards that on March 1, 1761, the two bat- 
 talions of the regiment in England were called 
 upon to supply a draft of 178 men for the bat- 
 talion in Germany, or close on twenty per cent of
 
 SOUBISE AND BROGLIE. 31 
 
 the strength which had arrived in that country 
 but seven months previously, and had taken part 
 in no pitched battle. So Ensign Lake learned 
 something of the hardships of war in the winter 
 of 1760. The following summer was to give him 
 his first taste of fighting and his first chance of 
 distinction. 
 
 The French armies were now raised to a 
 strength of 160,000 men, of whom 100,000 
 under the Prince de Soubise formed the army 
 of the Rhine, and 60,000 under Marshal de 
 Broglie formed that of the Main. 
 
 Nothing but the incompetence of Soubise and 
 the jealousies between the two marshals saved 
 Prince Ferdinand from destruction, for his total 
 strength was but little over 90,000 men, weakened 
 by the hardships of their winter campaign and 
 crippled by an exhausted transport. The French 
 commanders, however, showed much indecision 
 as to their action, and Soubise at least was de- 
 termined not to fight until he had joined hands 
 with De Broglie. 
 
 Either because Prince Ferdinand wished for 
 this junction, or because he could not prevent it, 
 the two French armies joined hands at Soest on 
 July 10, where they had a strength of 100,000 
 men. Ferdinand's army was weakened by 
 various detached forces, and had no more than
 
 32 "the seven years' wau." 
 
 60,000 ; but he was determined on fighting, and 
 faced the issue with much more confidence than 
 did his adversaries. He had taken up a position 
 facing Soest which was by no means easy to 
 attack, and which rendered any movement, par- 
 ticularly a retirement, on the part of the French 
 a dangerous undertaking. As the engagement 
 which followed gave Lake his first experience 
 of a pitched battle, it must be described more 
 fully than those that have been so briefly 
 sketched. Prince Ferdinand's left rested on the 
 Lippe, and his position ran along a line of 
 heights. It was broken by the Ase, a small 
 tributary of the Lippe, impassable except by 
 bridges. The section of the position between 
 the Lippe and the Ase contained the village 
 of Vellinghausen, Prince Ferdinand's head- 
 quarters, which gave its name to the action. 
 This section,^ reading from left to right, was 
 held by Wutgenau's corps, all Germans ; and 
 by Lord Granby's, half British and half German. 
 On Granby's right, and across the Ase, came 
 in succession the Prince of Anhalt's corps ; 
 General Conway's (which included the Brigade 
 of Guards, and was entirely British) ; Howard's 
 corps, mainly British ; and on the extreme right 
 the German corps of twenty-five battalions and 
 
 ^ Fortescue's ' History of the British Army.'
 
 VELLINGHAUSEN. 33 
 
 twenty - four squadrons, commanded by the 
 Hereditary Prince of Brunswick.^ The position 
 was a strong one, but the right flank was open 
 to direct attack or to a turning movement. 
 
 The French generals did not attack until the 
 afternoon of July 15, when De Broglie attacked 
 Prince Ferdinand's left, while Soubise made a 
 feint attack on the right and sent a strong 
 force of light troops round that flank to create 
 confusion in rear. De Broglie's was a dangerous 
 attack, and it was aided by Wutgenau's troops 
 (on the extreme left) being drawn too far back. 
 Lord Granby's corps was consequently very 
 hard pressed, but made a gallant stand until 
 Wutgenau came up into line, when the two 
 corps were able to hold their own until dark. 
 Soubise failed to make his attack on the right, 
 and it appears that De Broglie's attack was 
 really a premature one. His intention had 
 been only to drive in the outposts of the left, 
 but he was tempted to attack, in consequence 
 of finding the gap left by Wutgenau's faulty 
 dispositions and Lord Granby's consequent 
 isolation.^ 
 
 ^ The Hereditary Prince, afterwards Duke, of Brunswick 
 married Princess Augusta, sister of George III. His daughter, 
 Princess Caroline, was the wife of George IV. The Duke, after 
 many campaigns, was killed at the battle of Jena. 
 
 2 Fortescue's 'History of the British Army.' 
 
 C
 
 34 "the seven years' war." 
 
 During the night of the 15th, Prince Fer- 
 dinand, who knew that the serious attack was 
 yet to come, moved the entire corps of Anhalt 
 and the British portion of Howard's corps 
 across the Ase to reinforce Lord Granby ; while 
 the remaining corps of the right took ground 
 to their left so as to cover the gap thus made. 
 
 At dawn De Broglie made a vigorous attack 
 with fresh troops, but after twelve hours of 
 fighting at close quarters was able to gain no 
 advantage. Soubise showed the same inactivity 
 as on the previous day, though the weakening 
 of Prince Ferdinand's right gave him at least a 
 chance of doing something to help his brother- 
 marshal. The action ended by a counter-attack, 
 ordered by Ferdinand himself and carried out 
 by three British and four German battalions, 
 against a height commanding Granby's position, 
 where the French had placed two batteries. 
 This attack was completely successful, and the 
 French in this quarter of the field fled, leav- 
 ing their dead and wounded, nine guns, six 
 standards, and many prisoners. 
 
 Vellinghausen was no bloodless victory. The 
 allies sustained over 1500 casualties, while those 
 of the French were estimated at 5000. Gerard 
 Lake's first general action, therefore, conveyed 
 to him a valuable double lesson, for his own
 
 HARD SERVICE. 35 
 
 commander had shown him how to conduct a 
 defence, and the inaction of Soubise carried an 
 equally valuable warning as to what to avoid : 
 young as he was, he doubtless remembered 
 both lessons to his profit. 
 
 After Vellinghausen the two French armies 
 separated, and an arduous period of incessant 
 marching and counter - marching followed, in 
 which Prince Ferdinand showed his most brilliant 
 qualities as a commander. Whether our young 
 Ensign took in all that was going on is highly 
 doubtful, but the hard work that he was doing 
 must have left an impression on his mind if 
 not on his vigorous body. What the strain 
 was that this boy of seventeen withstood may 
 be gauged by the fact that when the Brigade 
 of Guards went into winter quarters at the 
 end of November 1761, the 2nd Battalion of 
 the First Guards had 265 rank and file sick 
 against 589 fit for duty. The strength of the 
 whole allied army had, during the year's cam- 
 paign, been reduced from ninety-five to seventy 
 thousand men. Of this loss of 25,000 men, fully 
 one-half had died of hardship and disease.^ 
 
 The greater part of the British contingent 
 moved into winter quarters on November 11, 
 but the 2nd Battalion First Guards formed 
 * Fortescue's ' History of the British Army.'
 
 36 "THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR." 
 
 part of a special corps, encamped under General 
 Conway at Eimbeck, in order to guard against 
 a belated attack. The army received orders to 
 assemble immediately and move to the support 
 of Conway's corps in the event of an alarm, 
 the signal being the firing of nine guns. On 
 November 28, further operations being thought 
 impossible, the battalions of Conway's corps 
 rejoined their brigades. The winter quarters of 
 the Brigade of Guards were at Osnaburg. 
 
 Before operations had ceased, however, a 
 great change had unfortunately come upon 
 English policy. Pitt was no longer Prime 
 Minister, and his successor, Lord Bute, a man 
 of narrow views, was strongly opposed to any 
 action on the part of England on the Continent. 
 In spite of Bute's pacific intentions and the 
 anxiety of France to put an end to the ruinous 
 war that had so long drained her resources, the 
 action of Spain made an immediate peace impos- 
 sible, and Bute was compelled in January 1762 
 to declare war against Spain also. We cannot 
 deal with the enterprises undertaken against 
 that country, interesting though they are, but 
 must return to the war in Germany, now 
 arrived at its last campaign. 
 
 During 1762 Prince Ferdinand, though still 
 fighting two armies with one, had less disparity
 
 WILHELMSTAL. 37 
 
 of numbers to contend with, the army of the 
 Main, under Soubise and D'Estrees, having a 
 strength of 80,000 men, and that of the Khine, 
 under the Prince de Conde, being reduced to 
 30,000. Ferdinand's strength approached 95,000 
 men. Early operations were impossible, owing 
 to the exhaustion of supplies in the area of 
 operations, but in June Prince Ferdinand was 
 able to make the first move. Masking the 
 army of the Rhine by a force under the 
 Hereditary Prince, he concentrated his army 
 near Paderborn, advanced to the line of the 
 Diemel, and presently took advantage of an 
 incautious move on the part of the army of 
 the Main to attack it at Wilhelmstal. 
 
 Lake was now to learn by observation how 
 troops should be handled in the attack, as 
 Vellinghausen had supplied him with a lesson 
 of defensive action. Prince Ferdinand, on June 
 23, 1762, though only able to attack 70,000 
 men with 50,000, made dispositions of singular 
 boldness in hope of securing a complete victory. 
 Columns under Generals Sporke and Liickner 
 were ordered to make a turning movement 
 round the right of the French army and to 
 attack its right and rear ; Lord Granby was 
 to make a similar attack on the French left ; 
 while the Prince himself was to execute a
 
 38 "the seven years' war." 
 
 frontal attack with the main body of his army, 
 in five columns. This design narrowly missed 
 success owing to the movements of the two 
 German corps under Sporke and Lllckner getting 
 slightly out of direction. By mischance, so 
 common in complicated operations, the French 
 army was warned of its impending doom and 
 made a hurried retirement towards its base at 
 Cassel. Meanwhile Prince Ferdinand was slowly 
 advancing against them, and Lord Granby alone 
 had punctually carried out the movement allotted 
 to him, and had thrown himself full on the 
 left flank of the French line of retreat from 
 Wilhelmstal at Durrenberg. The flower of the 
 French infantry, under Comte de Stainville, 
 was now thrown out as a rear -guard, to hold 
 back Granby's corps at all costs and thus 
 secure the retreat of the main body. 
 
 Granby's infantry consisted of the three 
 battalions of the Guards Brigade and the 
 battalion of Grenadiers of the Guards, under 
 Major- General Julius Csesar ; two battalions of 
 Grenadiers and two of Highlanders, under 
 Lieut. -Colonel Beckwith ; and three Hanoverian 
 battalions, under Major -General Wangenheim. 
 He also had five British and nine German 
 squadrons of cavalry and twelve guns. 
 
 The fight between Granby's corps and that
 
 THE NORTHUMBERLAND FUSILIERS. 39 
 
 of De Stainville was long and severe, and the 
 main body under Prince Ferdinand was so 
 long in coming up that Lord Granby was in 
 considerable peril. He was between Stainville's 
 fine force and the French main body, and had 
 the latter checked their retreat and fallen upon 
 Granby, things might have gone badly with 
 him. That risk he took with his eyes open, 
 determined that the French should not get 
 away scot-free. 
 
 Disregarding the French main body, Granby 
 led his troops to a fierce hand-to-hand fight 
 with De Stainville's corps, eventually driving 
 them on to the head of Prince Ferdinand's 
 troops, when they surrendered. Among the 
 regiments which distinguished themselves at 
 Wilhelmstal was Hodgson's Foot, now the 
 Northumberland Fusiliers, to whom a large 
 portion of De Stainville's corps surrendered. 
 This regiment, alone of those engaged, bears 
 the name Wilhelmstal as a distinction on its 
 colours. The French rear-guard was nearly an- 
 nihilated. They had 1500 killed and wounded, 
 and lost 162 ofiicers and 2720 men who 
 were taken prisoners. On our side the casual- 
 ties were under 800, those in Lake's battalion 
 being 37, including one officer killed and one 
 wounded. It is said that the youthful Lake
 
 40 "the seven years war. 
 
 (who had not yet completed his eighteenth 
 year) distinguished himself at Wilhelmstal by 
 an act of timely courage and determination. 
 The story is thus told by Malleson. "The 
 French army was already almost beaten and 
 was retiring, when a portion of their cavalry, 
 making a detour, came upon the right of the 
 allied army and caused a sudden panic amongst 
 the troops stationed there. Of these young 
 Lake's regiment formed a part, and the men 
 composing it, with the exception of a very few, 
 joined in the flight. No sooner did Lake see 
 this than he waved the colour, which he was 
 carrying that day, and forming up a few men 
 who remained with him, showed a bold front 
 to the enemy. This conduct had such an effect 
 upon the fugitives that they at once rallied to 
 his support, and the French were beaten off."^ 
 Lake, who now held the rank of lieutenant and 
 captain, was thanked by Prince Ferdinand and 
 Lord Granby for his services on this occasion. 
 
 After this action Prince Ferdinand attacked 
 the French right at Lutternberg on July 24, 
 and defeated it. The Brigade of Guards were 
 not engaged in this action. The French army 
 then fell back to Melsungen, and Prince Fer- 
 dinand moved forward so as to threaten their 
 
 * "Lord Lake," in Malleson's Essays on Indian historical subjects.
 
 AMONEBERG. 41 
 
 communications with their base at Frankfort. 
 The two French armies joined hands at the 
 end of August, and presently marched towards 
 Cassel in order to prevent Prince Ferdinand 
 from carrying out his intention of recapturing 
 that place. By the middle of September the 
 hostile armies were drawn up facing one another, 
 on opposite banks of the river Ohm. Five 
 days later a most curious action took place at 
 and about the Castle of Amoneberg, a strong 
 position on the French side of the river, which 
 the allies held in insufficient strength. During 
 the night of September 20 the French closely 
 invested the castle, and at six o'clock on the 
 following morning began a fierce attack on the 
 bridge and an unfinished redoubt near it, which 
 were intended to secure communications between 
 the allied army and the castle. 
 
 The two hundred Hanoverians in the redoubt 
 held it gallantly, and were relieved after two 
 hours by others of their corps. The French 
 attack continued to be pressed, and the result 
 of this singular contest was that after fourteen 
 hours of incessant fighting the defence triumphed. 
 At four in the afternoon the Guards appeared 
 on the scene and took their turn in sending 
 garrison after garrison to inevitable death in 
 the redoubt. The share of the British troops
 
 42 "the seven years' war." 
 
 in this Homeric combat was of much shorter 
 duration than that of the Germans, but they 
 had to face a heavier fire, for the French were 
 able to bring more and more guns into action 
 as time went on, while the allies were limited 
 to twelve pieces. Seven battalions in turn took 
 part in the defence of the bridge and redoubt 
 of Amoneberg, and the loss of the allies was 
 over 750 in killed and wounded. More than a 
 third of this loss was borne by Lord Granby's 
 British troojDS, who were only three hours in 
 action out of the fourteen hours' fighting. The 
 French are said to have lost 1100 or 1200 men 
 in their fruitless attacks. 
 
 The French, in consequence of this failure, 
 were unable to help Cassel, which was presently 
 besieged by a portion of Prince Ferdinand's 
 army. 
 
 On November 1, 1762, Cassel fell, and with 
 this success the Seven Years' War came to an 
 end. Lord Bute was bent on peace, and with 
 the victors in this mind an agreement was in- 
 evitable. Many of the conquests of England 
 made during the war were restored, but the 
 possession of Canada and the substitution of 
 England for France as the dominant European 
 power in India remained as compensation for
 
 QSTEATE THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 
 
 Scale of Miles 
 10 o TO 20 30 *0 50
 
 MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR.
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL JULIUS CJESAR. 43 
 
 the hundred millions which the Seven Years' 
 War added to our National Debt. 
 
 The British army began its homeward march 
 through Holland in January 25, 1763, the 
 average strength of the three battalions of 
 Guards on arrival in England being 15 officers, 
 730 men, and above 100 horses. General Julius 
 Caesar did not accompany them. He had been 
 mortally injured by a fall from his horse in 
 the previous July, and, with many other good 
 men and true, lay buried in a German grave.
 
 44 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 Lake's experience of war sustained a long in- 
 terruption after his return to England in 1763. 
 He had been promoted a lieutenant in the 
 First Guards, with the rank of captain in the 
 army, on January 3 of the previous year, and 
 he remained for fourteen years without further 
 promotion. During a portion of this period 
 of peace Lake served as aide-de-camp to Major- 
 General Sir Bichard Pierson, his old command- 
 ing officer in the Seven Years' War, who held 
 a command in Ireland ; but for the most part 
 Lake lived the ordinary life of a Guards officer 
 and man of fashion of his period. He was 
 noted as a sportsman and dandy, and spent 
 what money he had with a spirited disregard 
 of the consequences that always characterised 
 him. Lake and his associates were famed as 
 the hardest of the hard riders of their day, 
 and for that virtue they may be excused an
 
 MARRIAGE OF LAKE. 45 
 
 over - elaboration of dress, which was one of 
 their foibles. Their own explanation of their 
 careful attii'e was that they desired, should the 
 occasion arise, " to leave a genteel corpse." 
 Lake carried this custom of an elaborate toil- 
 ette with him on his many campaigns, and to 
 the end of his career was always to be found 
 faultlessly attired, shaved, and powdered, how- 
 ever early might be the hour of march. 
 
 On June 26, 1770, Lake married Miss 
 Elizabeth Barker, daughter of Mr Edward 
 Barker of St Julian's in Hertfordshire, who 
 had been British consul at Tripoli. Elizabeth 
 Barker possessed great beauty, but a large 
 fortune which was believed to be another of 
 her charms was either non-existent or speedily 
 took wings to itself, as had most of the pos- 
 sessions of her husband. 
 
 On the outbreak of the War of American 
 Independence in 1775 Lake was approaching the 
 end of his long period of subaltern's service. 
 On January 11, 1776, he became captain-lieu- 
 tenant and lieutenant -colonel, the rank held 
 by the officer who commanded the lieutenant- 
 colonel's company in the Guards ; and a month 
 later he was promoted captain and lieutenant- 
 colonel. During the first years of the rebellion, 
 in spite of the weakness of our army, which
 
 46 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 was much under its establishment of 33,000 
 men, an effort was made to provide a sufficient 
 force without the employment of any portion 
 of the Guards. This, however, was soon found 
 to be impracticable, and a mixed battalion of 
 Guards was formed for service in America in 
 February 1776, with a strength of 30 officers 
 and 1062 rank and file. This battalion em- 
 barked at the end of April, and, on arrival 
 in America, was formed into a brigade of 
 two very weak battalions, — a bad arrange- 
 ment, doubtless made to avoid the necessity of 
 brigading the Guards battalion with regiments 
 of the line. Whatever the faults of its organ- 
 isation, the Guards Brigade in America showed 
 the distinguished discipline and gallantry for 
 which the household troops are deservedly held 
 in honour by the army and the nation. 
 
 The War of Independence resembled in certain 
 of its features the South African War of 1899 
 1902, the enemy's force on both occasions 
 being principally composed of irregulars, skilled 
 marksmen, and possessed of superior mobility. 
 In 1776, as in 1899, it was found that heavy 
 casualties were caused among the officers by 
 their distinctive arms and dress, and the 
 officers of the Guards were therefore ordered
 
 "terrible news." 47 
 
 to wear white instead of gold lace, and spontoons 
 and halberts were discontinued. 
 
 Shortly before the despatch of the Guards 
 battalion from England, General William Howe, 
 the English commander-in-chief, whose head- 
 quarters were at Boston, was so severely 
 pressed by General Washington, at the head 
 of a force of 18,000 men, as to be compelled to 
 evacuate Boston and take refuge at Halifax. 
 On the arrival of the reinforcements from 
 England, scanty as they necessarily were from 
 the inadequacy of the army, Howe made a 
 general concentration near New York, where 
 by August 1, 1776, he had a force of about 
 25,000 men, including a large number of loyal 
 Americans. This total included every British 
 soldier in North America except the small body 
 of troops defending Canada. New York, after 
 some fighting, was captured on September 15, 
 and remained the British headquarters during 
 the remainder of the war, — a period of more 
 than seven years. The tidings of the capture 
 of New York by Howe was described as " ter- 
 rible news" by Charles James Fox, who, with 
 the more extreme portion of the Whig party, 
 was so opposed to the war as actually to desire 
 the defeat of the king's troops.
 
 48 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 The campaign of 1776 was very successful, 
 but not more so than should have been antici- 
 pated from the superiority of the royal troops 
 over the raw levies of the colonies. Sir 
 William Howe failed to follow up his successes 
 with vigour, and committed a great error in 
 scattering his troops along a front of eighty 
 miles when the army went into winter quarters. 
 This mistake was promptly punished by the 
 disaster at Trenton, where Washington, who 
 showed a splendid pertinacity, suddenly ad- 
 vanced from Philadelphia and surprised and 
 cut up a detachment of Hessian troops on 
 December 26. 
 
 In July 1777 operations were undertaken by 
 Sir W. Howe against Washington's position 
 at Philadelphia, and after the action of Brandy- 
 wine, about twenty miles from that town, 
 Philadelphia was occupied towards the end of 
 September, and an attempt to recapture it 
 was repulsed with loss. 
 
 Meanwhile, General Carleton, afterwards Lord 
 Dorchester, who had successfully defended 
 Canada with very inadequate means, had 
 been superseded by General Burgoyne, princi- 
 pally through the personal enmity of Lord 
 George Germaine, formerly Sackville. Burgoyne 
 was ordered to march southward and join
 
 burgoyne's disaster. 49 
 
 hands with Howe ; but corresponding orders 
 were not issued to the latter, who by his 
 operations at Philadelphia increased the dis- 
 tance separating the British armies. 
 
 Burgoyne began well by the recapture of Fort 
 Ticonderoga, and then, crossing the Hudson, 
 set out on his march of some two hundred 
 miles through the forests towards Albany in 
 the State of New York, where he expected to 
 meet the army under Howe. Burgoyne had 
 marched with no more than 6400 soldiers and 
 700 Indians, less than half the force that he 
 had proposed for the undertaking, so that 
 disaster was more than probable even if Howe 
 had marched towards instead of away from 
 him. After crossing the Hudson, Burgoyne 
 continued his slow advance, but difficulties soon 
 began. Arnold, an able soldier, cut off his 
 retreat, and Schuyler, with 16,000 men, blocked 
 his advance. Burgoyne doggedly moved on, 
 and Schuyler fell back before him until he was 
 superseded by Gates. 
 
 On September 24, 1777, Burgoyne found the 
 American army of nearly 20,000 men strongly 
 posted and entrenched, and immediately attacked 
 them, though his own force was reduced to 5000 
 men. Burgoyne's attack failed ; he retreated, 
 and was presently surrounded at Saratoga, 
 
 D
 
 50 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 where he was compelled to surrender on October 
 17. He and his troops had made a gallant 
 fight, and the latter had but 3500 men remain- 
 ing fit for duty. It should be mentioned that 
 General Clinton, with a small force from New 
 York, had made a brave but hopeless attempt 
 to reinforce Burgoyne. 
 
 The surrender of Saratoga was the turning- 
 point in the War of Independence ; for the 
 triumph of the colonists, and the unpatriotic 
 conduct of Fox and the opposition party in the 
 British Parliament, decided France to declare 
 war against England. The only wise course 
 now was to concentrate as strong a land force 
 as could be spared for North America, and to 
 undertake with it such operations only as 
 could be supported by the fleet. Scattered 
 land operations, even if locally successful, had 
 been proved to lead eventually to defeat ; 
 but, blind to all teaching, George III. and his 
 Ministers persisted in these dangerous enter- 
 prises until the inevitable end. 
 
 In May 1778 Sir William Howe resigned 
 the command in North America and was suc- 
 ceeded by General Clinton, who, in accordance 
 with orders from England, evacuated Philadel- 
 phia and efiected a difficult retirement to New 
 York, arriving there on July 5. Three days
 
 CAPTURE OF CHARLESTON. 51 
 
 later a strong French fleet, carrying 4000 
 troops, arrived in the theatre of war, and the 
 task of the English generals thenceforward 
 became increasingly difficult, though no great 
 successes were scored on either side in 1778. 
 
 Negotiations for conciliating the rebel states 
 having failed, the principal operations of 1779 
 were directed against the southern provinces, 
 where loyalist sympathies were strong. The 
 year closed with the triumphant defence of 
 Savannah against a powerful combined force of 
 French and American troops, supported by a 
 French fleet of twenty ships of the line with 
 eleven frigates. An assault having been re- 
 pulsed with heavy loss to the French troops, 
 they were re-embarked and the fleet returned 
 with them to the West Indies. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton now resolved to make 
 the reduction of the southern colonies his main 
 task for the year 1780, and, leaving a strong 
 garrison at New York, sailed southward in 
 the spring of that year with 7000 men, which 
 number included 2000 American loyalists. 
 Clinton's first enterprise was an attack on 
 Charleston, which made a stout defence, but 
 was captured on May 12. Between five 
 and six thousand Americans surrendered at 
 Charleston, and Clinton's loss did not exceed
 
 52 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 250 men. Other successes followed, American 
 forces being defeated by Lord Cornwallis and 
 General Tarleton in August 1780. The former 
 victory — that of Lord Cornwallis at Camden — 
 was of a decisive nature, but the Americans 
 gamely continued their resistance and main- 
 tained a guerilla warfare in North Carolina. 
 
 In September the English entered that prov- 
 ince in three bodies, and on October 9 sustained 
 a reverse, a body of loyalist militia, commanded 
 by Major Ferguson of the 70th Regiment, a 
 gallant and enterprising soldier, being surprised 
 and destroyed. The force which attacked 
 Ferguson's detachment were all mounted and 
 moved very rapidly, carrying nothing with 
 them but their ammunition. A month later 
 a second detachment, under Brigadier -General 
 Tarleton, was also defeated. In the Northern 
 States the Americans had been strengthened 
 and encouraged in July of this year by the 
 arrival of 6000 French troops with a large 
 fleet, and a second reinforcement was promised 
 later in the year, with which the Americans 
 hoped to recapture New York. 
 
 The second French division was, however, 
 blockaded in Brest by the English fleet, and 
 was unable to cross the Atlantic ; so the 
 general results of the year's campaign were
 
 DEFEAT OF TARLETON. 53 
 
 favourable to the cause of Great Britain. 
 England was, however, at the end of 1780 
 confronted by a formidable array of foes. 
 Without an ally, she was at war with France, 
 Spain, and Holland, in addition to her own 
 revolted colonies. She had also on her hands 
 a dangerous war in Southern India, internal 
 troubles in Ireland, and riots in London. This 
 was a formidable conjunction of internal and 
 external foes, and as the event showed, it 
 was the assistance of France which turned 
 the scale in America and gave the colonies 
 their freedom. 
 
 The British operations in the South in 1779 
 and 1780, in spite of some reverses, had met 
 with sufficient success to encourage the home 
 authorities to order renewed attempts in that 
 quarter ; and simultaneous invasions of North 
 Carolina and of Virginia were undertaken in 
 1781. The American troops in North Carolina 
 were commanded by General Greene, and those 
 in the Ninety -six district of South Carolina 
 by Colonel Morgan. Lord Cornwallis decided 
 to disperse these bodies, and despatched a 
 mounted corps under Tarleton against Morgan. 
 Tarleton mismanaged the affair, and was com- 
 pletely defeated by Morgan at Cowpens on 
 January 17, 1781. Lord Cornwallis, unde-
 
 54 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 terred by the loss of his cavalry, drove Greene 
 and Morgan out of North Carolina into 
 Virginia, and numbers of loyalists flocked to 
 the British standard. On March 15 Cornwallis 
 defeated Greene in a brilliantly executed 
 action at Guildford Court House, in which the 
 English commander and his troops both showed 
 the finest military qualities ; but Cornwallis 
 lost heavily in achieving his victory, and was 
 presently compelled to retire to Wilmington, 
 and subsequently to Petersburg in Virginia. 
 Here he joined hands with a detachment sent 
 under General Phillips from New York, and 
 he also received from England drafts which 
 had been sent out to make good the losses of 
 the Guards Brigade at Guildford. One of the 
 six officers of the Guards who joined Lord 
 Cornwallis with these drafts was Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Gerard Lake, whose experience of the 
 War of Independence was thus limited to the 
 unavailing struggle against overwhelming odds 
 of the last four months of the war. 
 
 When Lord Cornwallis arrived at Petersburg, 
 his own column had been reduced to a strength 
 of 1435. The Brigade of Guards numbered no 
 more than 387; the 71st Regiment, of two bat- 
 talions, numbered 175 ; the 23rd Regiment, 194; 
 and the 33rd Regiment, 209. His veterans and
 
 THE AID OF FRANCE. 55 
 
 their leader were regarded as heroes by the 
 whole arm}'- in North America.^ 
 
 After the arrival of the English drafts and his 
 junction with Phillips' detachment (whose com- 
 mander, an excellent ofl&cer, had died on May 12), 
 Lord Cornwallis found himself at the head of 
 7000 men, with which force he for a short time 
 overran Virginia. The Americans and their 
 French allies, however, now decided to make 
 a final effort for victory, and the large number 
 of fresh troops put by France into the field 
 quickly turned the scale. England and the re- 
 volting colonies were alike exhausted ; both had 
 begun the long struggle with inadequate forces, 
 and the internecine conflict had been heartily 
 disliked by the large majority of both races. 
 
 France, seeing the opportunity of dealing a 
 heavy blow to her ancient foe, now threw 
 8000 efficient troops into the field, and placed 
 them loyally and unreservedly at the disposal 
 of Washington, — a rare instance of political 
 wisdom in military aflairs. Washington made 
 an able use of this invaluable aid, and, after 
 retaining General Clinton at New York by a 
 threatened attack on that place, made a rapid 
 march to the south to take advantage of the 
 dangerous position of Lord Cornwallis. 
 
 ^ Memoir of General Graham.
 
 56 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 The latter was now on the coast, for Sir 
 Henry Clinton, seeing the increasing danger 
 caused by the dispersion of his forces, had 
 ordered Cornwallis to take up a defensive 
 position at Yorktown, on the peninsula formed 
 by the junction of the York river and the 
 Chesapeake. Here the two British forces were 
 within a few days' sail of one another, and had 
 our navy been able to retain the local command 
 of the sea, the War of Independence might have 
 had a different conclusion. Cornwallis, with his 
 advanced troops, arrived at Yorktown on August 
 1, 1781, and by the 22nd of that month had con- 
 centrated there all the 7000 troops in Virginia. 
 Washington's correspondence proves conclusively 
 that he was a master of strategy, and had thor- 
 oughly grasped the fact that local maritime superi- 
 ority would be the deciding factor in his struggle 
 against England. By a mixture of good fortune 
 and good management this superiority now 
 became his, for the French fleet, under Comte 
 de Grasse, presently approached the scene of 
 action, while, at the critical moment, Admiral 
 E/odney, the hope of England, was obliged to 
 sail for home on account of bad health ; and 
 Graves, the next senior Admiral in North 
 America, did not make for the Chesapeake 
 until it was too late.
 
 THE LOSS OF SEA-POWER. 57 
 
 On arrivinof there he found the French fleet 
 in possession and in superior force. Graves 
 attacked (on September 5) without hesitation, 
 but, in the opinion of Mahan, " the clumsiness 
 of his method betrayed his gallantry ; many 
 of his ships were roughly handled without any 
 advantage being gained." De Grasse was able 
 to keep Graves' weaker fleet in play outside 
 the mouth of the Chesapeake for five days, at 
 the end of which period Graves was compelled 
 to return to New York, and De Grasse joined 
 hands with another French squadron of consid- 
 erable strength under De Barras. The arrival 
 of this squadron was of great importance, as it 
 convoyed the French siege artillery, which was 
 presently landed and added to the troops under 
 Washington and Lafayette. 
 
 The position of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown 
 was a hopeless one. He had occupied it under 
 protest, and the intention of Sir Henry Clinton 
 to reinforce or withdraw him was frustrated by 
 the unforeseen failure of the British fleet. Shut 
 in within a narrow promontory, Cornwallis and 
 his 7000 war-worn troops were now besieged 
 by an army of 16,000, well commanded and 
 equipped, and provided with a powerful siege- 
 train, while the French fleet commanded every 
 approach by sea.
 
 58 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 On September 25 Washington wrote to De 
 Grasse that the success of the combined French 
 and American attack was " as certain as any 
 military operations can be rendered by a de- 
 cisive superiority of strength and means." It 
 was by a deficiency of means, in fact, that 
 the surrender of Cornwallis was brought about, 
 for his supply of entrenching tools was utterly 
 inadequate, and the consequent weakness of his 
 entrenchments, added to that of his artillery 
 and small -arm ammunition, made it impossible 
 for him to hold out until Clinton could come 
 to his rescue from New York. 
 
 On August 23, the day on which work was 
 begun on the defences of Yorktown, the Engineers 
 of the British force had in possession 400 spades 
 and shovels, 190 pick-axes, with a few felling 
 axes, hatchets, and wheelbarrows. With these 
 scanty means Cornwallis and his troops worked 
 wonders. Gloucester, a small village on the 
 north bank of the York river, was first put into 
 a state of defence and garrisoned with three 
 battalions under Colonel Francis Dundas. The 
 rest of the army was meanwhile employed in 
 fortifying Yorktown, — a formidable task, from 
 the extent of the position and its liability to fire 
 both from the water and from the surrounding 
 heights. " The York river at this place makes
 
 YORKTOWN. 59 
 
 a bend, in the centre of which the town was 
 situated. . . . On the right of the town there 
 is a considerable ravine, and on the angle of the 
 opposite bank was constructed a redoubt, with 
 an abatis, as a defence to the right flank. The 
 town was then surrounded by a ditch and thick 
 parapet, having a horn-work in the centre, in 
 both of which were batteries, the embrasures 
 lined with fascines. The parapet ran to the 
 river on the left flank, having two advanced 
 redoubts, with abatis, constructed on that flank, 
 one on the brink of the bank over the river, 
 the other advanced and in a line with the 
 town's parapet and base of the horn-work. The 
 parapet was formed of trees cut in the woods 
 and placed inside; outside it was formed of 
 fascines, and the earth from the ditch, which 
 was sandy and gravelly, was thrown into the 
 space between ; it had also a fraise made of 
 fence rails, kept in line and projecting by the 
 earth thrown into the opening of the parapet, 
 giving it an appearance of strength which it 
 little merited. During the time that the army 
 was employed in these laborious works there 
 was an encampment outside the town, on the 
 edge of the bank projecting over the ravine 
 by which the town was partially surrounded, 
 particularly on its right, and through which
 
 60 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 several roads entered the town. This encamp- 
 ment was strengthened by redoubts and field- 
 works, thrown up for artillery, in various places 
 commanding the country in its front. This 
 was called the outward position. The troops 
 worked hard, day and night, in constructing 
 the above works. The British troops, as is 
 their wont, felt perfect confidence in the de- 
 fences which they had constructed, but an 
 experienced old Hessian field officer, who was 
 an oracle to the young officers of General 
 Phillips' force, pointed to the French ships and 
 said, " I no fear de land, but Got tamn she ! " ^ 
 The British position at Yorktown was fully 
 invested on September 29, 1781, and on Octo- 
 ber 6 an attack by regular approaches was com- 
 menced. From this date until the surrender on 
 October 17, the French and American attack 
 was pushed with the utmost vigour, and the 
 troops of Cornwallis held their shattered works 
 with desperate tenacity. On the evening of 
 October 14 the two redoubts described above, 
 on the left flank of the British defences, were 
 carried, one by the Americans and one by the 
 French, after a most gallant resistance. So 
 shattered were the works that it is recorded 
 that the French general who commanded in 
 
 ^ Memoir of General (Samuel) Graham.
 
 LAKE LEADS A SORTIE. 61 
 
 the attack found fault with his aide-de-camp 
 for dismounting from his horse when heading 
 the final charge. It was evident that noth- 
 ing but the arrival of assistance from New 
 York could avert a surrender, and partly to 
 gain time, and partly perhaps to satisfy military 
 honour, Lord Cornwallis decided on a sortie 
 on the morning of October 16 against the two 
 most threatening batteries of the French attack. 
 For the command of this enterprise his choice 
 fell upon Colonel Robert Abercromby, brother 
 of the better-known Sir Ralph, who was him- 
 self subsequently commander-in-chief in India. 
 Abercromby divided his party of 700 men into 
 two detachments of equal strength, commanded 
 by Lieutenant- Colonel Gerard Lake and Major 
 Armstrong. Lake's party was principally fur- 
 nished by the Brigade of Guards, but included 
 also Captain John Murray's company of the 80th 
 Regiment of that date, a Scottish battalion sub- 
 sequently disbanded. Both attacks were success- 
 ful : the French batteries were carried, and after 
 killing and wounding a number of the enemy and 
 spiking eleven of their guns, the British troops 
 returned with very little loss. The sorties, 
 however, gallant and successful as they were, 
 had but little influence on the progress of the 
 siege. The bombardment was incessant, the
 
 62 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 defences of Yorktown crumbled rapidly under 
 the fire of the French heavy artillery, not a 
 single British gun could be fired, small -arm 
 ammunition ran short, no help came from the 
 north, and Cornwallis saw that he must break 
 through the investing lines or surrender. On the 
 night following the sortie, the Guards Brigade, 
 the 23rd Begiment, and the Light Infantry were 
 thrown across the York river to Gloucester, 
 with the intention that the remainder of the 
 force should join them and force their way 
 through Virginia to New York. Lord Corn- 
 wallis intended to attack a French mounted 
 corps, called Lauzun's Legion, which formed 
 part of the hostile force surrounding Gloucester, 
 and to capture their horses. Whether this 
 attempt could have succeeded is more than 
 doubtful, but it was certainly worth trying. 
 Unfortunately a storm arose and made it im- 
 possible for the boats to return to Yorktown 
 for the remainder of the force. 
 
 At daybreak next morning the French bat- 
 teries opened again, and Lord Cornwallis was 
 compelled to make proposals for a capitulation, 
 according: to which Yorktown and Gloucester 
 surrendered on October 19, the very day on 
 which General Clinton sailed from New York 
 with 7000 men. Three ships of the line had
 
 THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. 63 
 
 arrived from England, and the balance of naval 
 power had again been restored, but it was too 
 late. 
 
 The surrender of Lord Cornwallis was, as 
 Mahan shows, largely a personal triumph for 
 Washington, whose glorious tenacity achieved 
 the freedom of his country ; much credit must 
 also be given to the skill and energy of De 
 Grasse. Mahan shows also, in a manner which 
 defies contradiction, that the temporary loss of 
 superiority on the American coast that cost 
 England her colonies was due to an improper 
 distribution of her sea -power, caused by an 
 attempt to defend her possessions all over the 
 world. If England never repeats that mistake, 
 she may thank the teachings of Mahan for 
 her wisdom. 
 
 The surrender at Yorktown was discreditable 
 neither to the General nor his troops. Lord 
 Cornwallis had foreseen the dangers of the 
 position, and had taken it up in deference to 
 the orders of General Clinton. The losses 
 sustained by the garrison during the siege 
 were 500 killed and wounded. The number 
 that surrendered were 6630 men, of whom 
 2500 were German and the remainder British 
 troops ; 2000 men, nearly one - third of the 
 force, were sick in hospital. The Guards
 
 64 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 Brigade had been reduced to a strength of 
 23 officers and 502 sergeants, rank and file, in 
 spite of its recent reinforcement. 
 
 All serious attempts to coerce the American 
 colonies to return under the flag of Great 
 Britain ceased after the surrender of Corn- 
 wallis, and the independence of thirteen colonies 
 was acknowledged on the 30th November 1782, 
 when peace was also concluded between Great 
 Britain, France, and Spain. 
 
 Lake was one of the three field officers selected 
 by lot to take charge of the troops in captivity, 
 but, as he was anxious for private reasons to 
 proceed to England, Major Gordon of the 76th 
 Regiment generously volunteered to take his 
 place. Major, then Lieut. -Colonel, Gordon died 
 in captivity. The period of captivity was un- 
 pleasantly diversified by the expressed intention 
 of the American Government to hang one of 
 the captive English officers, in retaliation for a 
 military execution which had taken place during 
 the war, — the action, not of the regular author- 
 ities, but of loyalist colonists. The victim was 
 chosen by lot, and the unlucky number was 
 drawn by Captain Asgill of the First Guards. 
 A scaffold was erected in sight of the building 
 in which the officers of the Guards were con- 
 fined, but after nearly six months of suspense
 
 rSTPvATE THE AMERICAN WAE.
 
 MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE AMERICAN WAR. 
 
 r
 
 THE pkince's gentlemen. 65 
 
 the sentence of death was remitted through 
 the exertions of General Washington. Captain 
 Asgill lived to become a general officer, and 
 served under Lake in the suppression of the 
 Irish rebellion. 
 
 As has been shown, Lake's experience in the 
 War of Independence was a brief one, but he 
 had at least been fortunate in obtaining and 
 seizing one opportunity of personal distinction. 
 The sortie from Yorktown was the last enter- 
 prise of the war, and it was an honourable 
 exploit. 
 
 Shortly after Colonel Lake's arrival in Eng- 
 land he was appointed first Equerry and 
 Commissioner of the Stables to the Prince of 
 Wales, afterwards King George IV. Most 
 writers on the private life of the Prince have 
 indiscriminately condemned all his associates, 
 describing them as profligate perverters of youth, 
 drunken, dissipated, and dishonest. Lake has 
 not fared as badly in this respect as certain 
 others of the royal entourage, but it cannot 
 be denied that his reputation has to some 
 extent suffered with that of the others. Happily 
 there is no cause to accept the general descrip- 
 tions of the Prince's gentlemen as applicable 
 to Lake himself Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, not 
 the most charitable of diarists, mentions Lake 
 
 £
 
 66 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 occasionally in his memoirs, and writes that 
 he found him "a pleasing exception" to the 
 other courtiers, whom he describes in terms 
 of reprobation. Strong testimony to Lake's 
 private character has also recently come to 
 light in the late Mr Wilkins' book, 'Mrs Fitz- 
 herbert and George IV.,' in which is published 
 a letter from the Rev. S. Johnes Knight, a 
 clerical associate of the Prince, to his daughter. 
 Mr Knight, in this letter, relates that im- 
 mediately before the secret marriage of the 
 Prince to Mrs Fitzherbert he met Colonel 
 Lake in a London coffee-house. In the course 
 of conversation Lake said he was almost cer- 
 tain the Prince intended to marry Mrs Fitz- 
 herbert, but that he trusted no clergyman 
 would be found to perform the ceremony. 
 To this remark, which was evidently made 
 with intention, Mr Knight says that he cor- 
 dially assented. On the following morning 
 Mr Knight was summoned to see the Prince, 
 who urged him with all his persuasive power 
 to perform the marriage ceremony. Mr Knight, 
 who was warmly attached to the Prince, after 
 much persuasion, consented to marry him, but 
 on walking home from Carlton House suddenly 
 remembered his conversation with Colonel Lake. 
 In Mr Knight's own words : "In my devotion
 
 lake's good opinion. 67 
 
 to the Prince I had set at naught the legal 
 penalties I must incur, but I could not divest 
 myself of the dread of reproach from Colonel 
 Lake for having broken my word. I had, and 
 ever shall have, the highest opinion of the 
 honour and integrity of Lord Lake. I knew 
 he was sincerely attached to the Prince, and 
 I would not have forfeited Lord Lake's good 
 opinion for all the world." 
 
 Mr Knight consequently implored the Prince 
 to release him from his promise, to which 
 his Koyal Highness kindly consented. The 
 letter, in which, as will be seen, Lake is called 
 '* Colonel " and " Lord " Lake indiscriminately, 
 was not written until after the death of George 
 IV., and, of course, long after that of Lake ; 
 but it shows the honourable regard in which 
 Lake was held by the writer. 
 
 On October 20, 1784, Colonel Lake was pro- 
 moted to the rank of third major in the First 
 Guards, a step which gave him the command 
 of a battalion. At this period the regiments 
 of Guards were commanded by officers who 
 held the regimental rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
 though of much higher rank in the army ; 
 and, in like manner, the regimental majors who 
 commanded the battalions were usually colonels 
 or major-generals in the army.
 
 68 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 Lake attained the command of a battalion 
 when forty years of age, and after a service of 
 over twenty-six years. His promotion had been 
 by no means rapid, and the fortune of war had 
 given him, as yet, no opportunity of distin- 
 guishing himself save by the conspicuous per- 
 sonal courage which he had shown in both his 
 campaigns. 
 
 In 1788 Lake became a widower, his wife 
 dying on February 20 of this year, leaving him 
 with a family of three sons and five daughters, 
 to whom he was a most devoted and generous 
 parent. In the following year he stood for 
 Parliament at Aylesbury, and though unsuc- 
 cessful on that occasion, he became one of the 
 members for that borough in the general elec- 
 tion of 1790, and retained his seat for twelve 
 years. The following burlesque address was cir- 
 culated in the west end of London during the 
 election, purporting to emanate from Weltjee, 
 the German comptroller of the Prince of Wales* 
 kitchen and cellar, an office of no small dignity 
 in the opinion of Mr Weltjee : — 
 
 To de Gendelmen, de Abb^s, and de Freholders of 
 de Comt^ of Ailsbri. 
 My friend Gerri Lake havin offurd his sarvis's to 
 repreprepresent you in parlialialiament, I presum to 
 tak de friddum to recummind um to you, bein my 
 friud, and grate frind of my Master de Prince. He
 
 TOMMY ONSLOW's LITTLE JOKE. 69 
 
 is ver clever gendelman, and kno de horse ver veil, 
 how to bi for de Prince, and how to sel for himselv. 
 But if you tink him too poor, and send him to de 
 divl, I beg to offer myselv on his intrist, havin got 
 plenti of munny in de honrable stasion I holds undur 
 de Prince. I am naturalise Inglisman and Wig, 
 and was introduce to de Wig club by Lord Stormant 
 and Jak Payne. Mi public sentimints are dat I vil 
 give you good dinnurs and plenti of munni, if you 
 vil lect me your representatatative. My friends and 
 connuxions are de Duk of Quinsbri, Lord Lodian, Lord 
 Luffbro, Lord Malmsbri, Lord Clurmunt, Lord Cartrit, 
 Sheridan, Gerri Lake, Jak Payne, Geo. Hangre, Burke, 
 Singel Spict Hambledon, Eglintown, Master Lee, Trevis 
 de Jew, yong Gray, all de Convays, Harri Standup, 
 Tarletun and Tom Stepni. My principles are God 
 dam de King and de Quin, de Pitt, and de Ptustriksuns ; 
 and God bles de Prince and all his broders, and de 
 Duk de Cumberland. I say agen and agen dat de 
 Prince be our lawful suvring, and not his fader. 
 I am, gendelmen, your frind and sarvant, 
 
 W. Velshie. 
 
 This eccentric flight of humour was attributed 
 to that "Tommy Onslow" who "could drive a 
 coach and four," and it had a remarkable pol- 
 itical effect at its moment of publication through 
 the ridicule which it drew upon the Prince of 
 Wales and his associates. The contemptuous 
 familiarity with which the latter are enumer- 
 ated had an undoubted effect on public opinion 
 during the discussion on the proposed regency. 
 This discussion, however, was terminated by the 
 recovery of George III. from his first illness.
 
 70 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 On May 20, 1790, Lake became a major- 
 general, but, in accordance with the rules 
 explained above, retained command of his bat- 
 talion until, on August 1, 1792, he succeeded 
 to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the First Guards. 
 
 In December 1792, when war with the French 
 Republican Government was seen to be almost 
 inevitable, the British Government, though still 
 hoping to evade hostilities, reluctantly made 
 some inadequate preparations for war. The 
 militia was embodied and half-hearted efforts 
 were made to recruit the regular army. 
 
 War was declared against England by the 
 French Republic on February 1, 1793, and the 
 British Government decided to throw an apology 
 for an army into Holland to oppose the invasion 
 of that country by the republican army under 
 Dumouriez. Among the first troops ordered on 
 this service was a brigade of Guards, composed 
 of the first battalion of each regiment, and the 
 command of the Brigade was conferred, almost 
 as a matter of course, on Lake. 
 
 The Brigade embarked at Greenwich on Feb- 
 ruary 25, 1793, only twenty-two days after the 
 receipt of the declaration of war ; but this 
 praiseworthy promptitude was marred by the 
 numerical weakness of the Brigade, which num- 
 bered no more than 1539 men. The Guards
 
 THE GUAKDS EMBARK ONCE MORE, 71 
 
 on leaving London were reviewed in St James's 
 Park by King George III. and the Prince of 
 Wales, and they subsequently marched to 
 Greenwich and embarked there in boats in the 
 presence of the king and of Queen Charlotte. 
 They were then rowed to the transports by 
 the Greenwich pensioners, the king taking off 
 his hat as each boat full of soldiers left the 
 shore, while the queen and the princesses waved 
 their handkerchiefs in response to the cheering 
 of the men. The Duke of York, who was to 
 command all the king's forces in Holland and 
 Flanders, arrived at The Hague on February 27, 
 and on the same day the transports conveying 
 the Guards Brigade put to sea.^ The Brigade 
 arrived off Helvoetsluys on March 1, but the 
 disembarkation was not completed until the 5th. 
 Two days later the Brigade was concentrated at 
 Dordrecht. 
 
 When the campaign of 1793 opened, the 
 allied armies of Austria and England, with their 
 
 1 The word " transports," it may be mentioned, conveys a false 
 impression, for the unreadiness of England for war was not con- 
 fined to the army. Lake's weak brigade of Guards, and a few 
 guns, were the only troops ready for immediate service, but there 
 were no proper vessels in which these few men could be conveyed 
 across the narrow seas. " The troops were huddled," says Sir 
 Henry Bunbury, "on board of such empty colliers as could be 
 found in the Thames, and by great good fortune they reached 
 the coast of Holland without loss."
 
 72 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 Prussian, Dutch, and other allies, amounted to 
 about 140,000 men, under the command of the 
 Emperor of Austria, while the republican armies 
 on the northern frontier of France numbered 
 125,000 men. 
 
 The march of the Brigade of Guards to Dor- 
 drecht, under Major-General Lake, initiated the 
 entrance of the British army into the long 
 struggle against the French revolutionary forces 
 which merged into the war against Napoleon, 
 and endured almost continuously until the battle 
 of Waterloo, — a period of over twenty-two years. 
 
 When the Guards Brigade landed in Holland, 
 the left wing of the French army, under the 
 personal direction of Dumouriez, the commander- 
 in-chief, was laying siege to Wilhelmstadt, a 
 town on the southern bank of the Meuse, and 
 near its mouth. The determined defence of the 
 Dutch garrison and the arrival of the English 
 troops in Holland checked the French advance 
 at this point, and Dumouriez retired southward. 
 The right wing of the French army was also 
 driven in the same direction by the Austrians, 
 near Liege, and both wings shortly afterwards 
 retired within their own frontier. Dumouriez 
 was summoned to Paris to account for his 
 failure, but having no wish to lose his head, 
 he abandoned the republican service, and was
 
 lake's brigade is completed. 73 
 
 replaced by General Dampierre, who presently- 
 concentrated his army near Valenciennes, form- 
 ing an entrenched camp at Famars, south of 
 that town. 
 
 The British contingent, still very weak owing 
 to the deficiency of sea - transport, established 
 itself at Tournay, a town on the river Scheldt 
 north of Valenciennes, the river affording a 
 good means of conveying supplies and reinforce- 
 ments from England. 
 
 While halted at Dordrecht, the Brigade of 
 Guards had formed a light - infantry company, 
 composed of twenty - seven picked men from 
 each of the three battalions. The ofiicers of 
 this company were specially selected, and the 
 command conferred on one who had had 
 experience of light - infantry work in North 
 America. At the same time eight companies 
 of light infantry were raised and trained by 
 the Guards battalions in England, and in July 
 1793 were sent to Holland, thus completing 
 the Brigade to its complement of four battalions. 
 
 Lake's Brigade arrived at Tournay on April 
 23, and on the following day marched twelve 
 miles to Orchies, and there took up a position 
 on the right of the allied armies which were 
 blockading the town of Conde, fifteen miles 
 south of Orchies. Dampierre's first attempt
 
 74 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 to relieve Conde was repulsed by the Prussians 
 near St Amand, but a renewed attack seemed 
 dangerous. The Duke of York was therefore 
 ordered to march at midnight on May 8 to 
 support the Prussians. The Duke, taking with 
 him Lake's Brigade of Guards and a battalion 
 of Hanoverians, arrived at the scene of action 
 at 6 A.M. on May 9. A successful action 
 followed, in which Lake's Brigade highly 
 distinguished itself, the Coldstream battalion 
 displaying special spirit. General Dampierre 
 was killed, and the French army fell back on 
 their entrenched camp at Famars. Major- 
 General Lake received the thanks of the 
 Emperor of Austria and of the Duke of York 
 for his own conduct and for that of his 
 Brigade at St Amand. 
 
 In the middle of May the allied armies were 
 reinforced, and it was decided to attack the 
 entrenched position at Famars. The armies 
 made a night march on May 22, and after 
 two days' operations, the allies had taken up 
 positions which rendered certain the destruction 
 of the French should an assault prove suc- 
 cessful. The republicans, disliking the prospect, 
 evacuated their position during the night of 
 May 23, and on the following day retired 
 across the Scheldt to Denain. Valenciennes,
 
 CONFLICTING INTERESTS. 75 
 
 garrisoned by 13,000 men, was now besieged, 
 and, after a defence lasting forty - five days, 
 capitulated on August 1. Lake's Brigade had 
 28 killed and 64 wounded during this siege. 
 After the fall of Valenciennes the allied 
 armies met with little resistance. The re- 
 publican forces had been driven from Holland 
 and West Flanders, and the allies were firmly 
 established on French territory with no less 
 than 280,000 troops in the field. The French 
 were disorganised, divided, and comparatively 
 weak in numbers, and had the allies remained 
 constant to their original purpose of marching 
 on Paris and restoring the monarchy, there 
 seems but little doubt that they would, for 
 the time, have carried all before them, and 
 so possibly have altered the history of the 
 world. Conflicting interests and selfish con- 
 siderations, the inherent defects of alliances, 
 now, however, intervened, and the opportunity 
 was lost. The Austrians hoisted the eagle 
 standard over Valenciennes and Conde in place 
 of the royal lilies of France, while the British 
 Cabinet showed hankerings after the possession 
 of Dunkirk, an ancient appanage of England. 
 
 On August 10 the Duke of York's army, now 
 about 35,000 strong, marched towards Dunkirk, 
 and a week later Lake had an opportunity
 
 76 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 afforded him of showing his quality as a 
 commander. 
 
 The northward movement of the British army 
 towards Dunkirk had brought the Duke of 
 York's headquarters on August 17 to Ghelins, 
 a town due north of Lille. In this march 
 Lake's Guards formed the rear -guard, and on 
 the British left marched the Dutch contingent, 
 commanded by the Prince of Orange. On the 
 morning of August 18 the Prince attacked and 
 captured a French entrenched position at Lin- 
 celles ^ and Blaton ; but at about one in the 
 afternoon, the French, who had been reinforced, 
 attacked the Dutch with 5000 men, driving 
 them out of the position and capturing their 
 guns and ammunition. The Prince of Orange 
 immediately sent an appeal for help to the 
 Duke of York, and his messenger found the 
 Brigade of Guards just pitching their camp at 
 Menin, close to Ghelins, after completing a 
 march of fifteen miles. The Guards were a 
 little nearer to the scene of action than the 
 other British troops, and the Duke of York, 
 " knowing " (as the ' History of the Grenadier 
 Guards' proudly says) ''that the Guards were 
 the first-turn-out boys," directed Major-General 
 
 ^ The correct spelling is " Linselles," but the old form, being 
 familiar, haa been retained.
 
 LINCELLES. 77 
 
 Lake to march without delay with his three 
 battalions, and some guns under Major Wright, 
 to support the Prince of Orange. 
 
 Lake marched immediately, and as no time 
 was available to collect stragglers, the three 
 battalions of Guards mustered no more than 
 1102 bayonets. Setting out at 2 p.m., Lake 
 arrived before Lincelles after a march of four 
 hours, and formed up his Brigade in a field, 
 where they were concealed from view by a 
 crop of beans. 
 
 Lake found the Dutch troops so dispirited by 
 their defeat that they could not be brought again 
 to the attack, and he therefore sent information 
 to the Duke of York of his own dangerous 
 position. The French, who subsequently ac- 
 knowledged to having twelve battalions in the 
 field, occupied two large and strongly constructed 
 redoubts in front of the village of Lincelles, one 
 guarding each of the roads which approached the 
 village from the ground occupied by the British 
 Brigade. Both flanks of the French position 
 were protected by woods and ditches, and the 
 approaches to the redoubts were guarded by 
 strongly palisaded breast-works. In spite of his 
 numerical weakness, and of the numbers and 
 strong position of the enemy, Lake, who was a 
 firm believer in the attack, immediately decided
 
 78 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 on an assault. The First Guards, who had led 
 the march from Menin, at once opened fire, while 
 the Coldstream and Third Guards formed up on 
 their left. As soon as the deployment was com- 
 pleted (the affair of a few minutes only, owing 
 to the weakness of the battalions), the line fired 
 three or four rounds and then advanced with 
 fixed bayonets, in the teeth of a heavy fire of 
 grape, and stormed the redoubts. 
 
 The French were daunted by the impetuosity 
 of the attack and gave way, but gallantly rallied 
 in rear of the village. The Guards, avoiding 
 this obstacle, again attacked, and drove the 
 French off the field with a loss of twelve guns, 
 one stand of colours, and seventy prisoners. The 
 absence of cavalry alone prevented their defeat 
 being converted into a rout. 
 
 In explanation of the apparent rashness of 
 General Lake's decision to attack so superior a 
 force in a strong position, and also of the easy 
 defeat of troops which so often showed fine 
 qualities, it must be remembered that the revol- 
 utionary armies in northern France were, at this 
 time, very badly composed. The better class of 
 the population had not as yet been drawn into 
 the ranks, and it was mainly on account of his 
 knowledge of their inferiority that General 
 Dumouriez had considered it impossible to make
 
 "LET HIM ALONE." 79 
 
 a stand with them before the advance of the 
 alHes. The ' History of the Grenadier Guards ' 
 gives a curious illustration of this fact, stating 
 that the Guardsmen when they got into the 
 redoubts at Lincelles, instead of killing the puny 
 French conscripts, treated them rather as a Lon- 
 don mob, striking them with their fists and 
 calling out, " Let him alone, — the little animal 
 can't do much harm ! " History tells us what 
 these "little animals" became in the hands of 
 Napoleon. 
 
 Inferior in quality as was the enemy, the 
 prompt decision of Lake to attack a force so 
 strong numerically, and so formidable from its 
 advantage of position and superiority of artillery, 
 caused the action of Lincelles to be res:arded as 
 the most brilliant exploit of what had, to this 
 period, been a successful campaign. The strength 
 of the three battalions of Guards on Sfoing- into 
 action was as follows : — 
 
 First Guards (Col. Hulse commanding) . . 378 
 
 Coldstream Guards (Col. Pennington commanding) 346 
 Third Guards (Col. Greenfield commanding) . 378 
 
 Total . .1102 
 
 Of this number, 2 officers and 37 sergeants, 
 rank and file, were killed, and 8 officers and 
 134 wounded, — a total of 181 casualties, or
 
 80 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 sixteen per cent of those engaged. The high 
 proportion of killed to wounded shows that the 
 fighting was sufficiently severe, and in his de- 
 spatch on the action the Duke of York said 
 with justice : "It can only be imputed to the 
 ability of the commander and the extraordinary 
 valour of the officers and men that the loss 
 was not greater." 
 
 The pursuit of the French was as thorough as 
 weary infantry could make it, and did not cease 
 till 10 P.M., when, fresh troops having arrived, 
 the Guards Brigade marched back to their camp 
 at Menin, which they reached at three in the 
 morning of August 19, after the performance of 
 what any soldier will realise to have been a 
 fine day's work. 
 
 During this day the Duke of York issued the 
 following Order : " His Koyal Highness the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief returns his warmest thanks to 
 Major-General Lake, Colonels Greenfield, Hulse, 
 and Pennington, and officers and men belonging 
 to the Brigade of Guards, to Major Wright and 
 the artillery under his command, for the gallantry 
 and intrepidity they so frequently showed in the 
 attack of the French redoubts, &c., at the village 
 of Lincelles yesterday evening." 
 
 King George III. also caused the publication of 
 a complimentary Order, in the following terms :
 
 lake's illness. 81 
 
 " His Majesty has been graciously pleased to 
 express the strongest approbation of the spirited 
 and judicious conduct of Major - General Lake, 
 and of the gallant behaviour of Colonels Green- 
 field, Hulse, Pennington, and Major Wright, and 
 of the rest of the officers and men who were 
 engaged at the fort of Lincelles on the 18 th 
 instant. His Majesty very much laments the 
 loss of Lieutenant- Colonel Bosville, Lieutenant de 
 Piesti, P. A., and the non-commissioned officers 
 and men who fell on that occasion, and it will 
 afford sincere satisfaction to his Majesty to be 
 informed that those brave officers and men who 
 had the misfortune to be wounded in the conflict 
 are now in a fair way to recovery." 
 
 In commemoration of the distinguished con- 
 duct of Lake's Brigade, the king also authorised 
 the regiments of Guards to emblazon the name 
 " Lincelles " on their colours. Until, in quite 
 recent years, the names of the victories of the 
 great Duke of Marlborough were added to regi- 
 mental distinctions, the name of "Lincelles" 
 headed the honours of the Guards. 
 
 A month after he had thus distinguished him- 
 self, Lake fell dangerously ill, in consequence of 
 the severity of the campaign. He was for some 
 time too weak to travel, and only recovered 
 sufficiently to proceed to England during October
 
 82 NORTH AMERICA AND HOLLAND. 
 
 1793. A letter expressing a wish that none of 
 his family should trouble to meet him at the 
 coast is still preserved, and illustrates his unself- 
 ish character. Lake's departure was regretted 
 by the whole army, as stated in a letter from 
 Major Harry Calvert, an officer of the Duke of 
 York's staff, afterwards General Sir Harry Cal- 
 vert. "We have been under much anxiety for 
 General Lake, who has been very dangerously 
 ill. He is sufficiently recovered to proceed to 
 England, where, if the sincere wishes of those 
 who have served in the campaign under his 
 command could have any avail, he would speedily 
 recover, for he is most universally beloved and 
 respected." 
 
 By his enforced journey to England Lake was 
 spared the unhappiness of witnessing the suffer- 
 ings of the Duke of York's army during the 
 terrible winter of 1793. 
 
 On March 13, 1794, Major-General Lake re- 
 sumed command of the Brigade of Guards, which 
 he rejoined at Courtrai, and he served in com- 
 mand of the Brigade, now completed to four 
 battalions, at the severe action of St Amand or 
 Turcoing, fought on May 17 and 18. During 
 this action, in which the British army suffered 
 heavy losses through the default of its allies. 
 General Lake, while making a night march in
 
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 THE SCHOOLING OF A SOLDIER. 83 
 
 heavy rain, fell with his horse into a deep ravine 
 and was badly bruised. 
 
 Later in the month Lake received the news 
 of his appointment to the colonelcy of the 53rd 
 Regiment, which severed his long connection 
 with the First Guards and caused him again to 
 return to England. Lake left Holland with a 
 greatly enhanced reputation. He had shown 
 his aptitude for command in action, and had 
 confirmed his reputation for personal courage 
 and coolness, qualities without which no com- 
 mander can excel in the field. 
 
 It must not be forgotten that the school 
 which bred Lake, the typical hardy fighting 
 leader of the English army, was the First Regi- 
 ment of Guards. That Lake made himself what 
 he was is no doubt in a great measure true, but 
 credit is also due to the regiment in which he 
 passed the most receptive years of his life.
 
 84 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 Lake had not long to wait for employment 
 after his return from Holland, for his reputation 
 as a soldier was now high. In December 1796 
 he was placed on the staff of the army in Ire- 
 land as a major - general, and received the 
 command in Ulster, at the time the most dis- 
 turbed district in that country, which was 
 already ripening for revolt, although the actual 
 outburst did not occur until eighteen months 
 later. Very shortly after Lake's arrival in 
 Ulster a force of 16,000 French troops was 
 despatched for the invasion of Ireland, and, 
 unmolested by the British fleet, arrived in 
 Bantry Bay. The vessel in which General 
 Hoche, the commander of the expedition, em- 
 barked, failed to reach the rendezvous. The 
 French squadron remained for some length of 
 time in Bantry Bay, waiting for orders, and 
 was finally dispersed by rough weather and
 
 THE UNITED IRISH SOCIETY. 8o 
 
 compelled to leave the Irish coast. Meanwhile 
 Lord Carhampton, the commander-in-chief in 
 Ireland, had hastily concentrated troops under 
 Major - General Lake to oppose the expected 
 landing, but it is very doubtful if the means at 
 Lake's command would have enabled him to 
 make an effective defence. 
 
 The rebellion of 1798 was the culmination of 
 the long-existing longing of Ireland to throw 
 off English rule. The outbreak, encouraged by 
 promises of help from the French republican 
 Government, was organised by the association 
 known as the United Irish Society, originally 
 founded on a legal basis at Belfast in 1791. 
 The declared aim of the society, as at first 
 organised, was to obtain " an impartial and 
 adequate representation of the Irish nation in 
 Parliament," and, as a means to this end, to 
 endeavour to secure the co-operation of Irishmen 
 of all religious persuasions. The society was 
 suppressed in 1794, and was then reconstructed 
 on a new basis, and became treasonable in its 
 objects. At the close of 1796, about the time 
 of General Lake's appointment to the command 
 in Ulster, a military organisation was grafted 
 on the society, with the avowed intention of 
 preparing for an armed rebellion. So rapidly 
 did the conspiracy spread, and so generally was
 
 86 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 it embraced by the Roman Catholic population, 
 that by the end of the year 1797 the bulk of 
 the peasantry in three of the four provinces of 
 Ireland were enrolled as United Irishmen, and 
 were looking forward to an immediate rebellion 
 in conjunction with a French invasion. 
 
 In February 1798 the executive body com- 
 puted that half a million men had been sworn 
 into the society, of whom 280,000 could be 
 counted on to appear in the field. Their vast 
 numbers alone made the United Irishmen 
 formidable, for they had no military skill ; and 
 the history of the rebellion shows the incom- 
 petence of their leaders and the characteristic 
 vagueness and incompleteness of theil' plan of 
 action. Had the French Government been able 
 to throw an effective force of even 10,000 men 
 into the country at the right moment, the 
 history of the rebellion of '98 would have been 
 different, though its end would have been the 
 same. As things fell out, the rising did no 
 more than to cause terrible sufferings to Pro- 
 testants and Roman Catholics alike, and to 
 leave bitter memories which the lapse of a 
 century has failed to efface. 
 
 As is frequently the case in such risings, 
 one of the chief difficulties of the leaders was 
 to select the moment for action. It is stated. 
 
 I
 
 SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY. 87 
 
 though on doubtful authority, that the inten- 
 tion of the executive body of the United 
 Irishmen was to paralyse the Government by 
 the simultaneous assassination of eighty of the 
 leading officials and loyalists in Ireland. This 
 sweeping action went too far in its intentions 
 for a certain Mr Thomas Reynolds, a Roman 
 Catholic gentleman, who defeated the design 
 of his less scrupulous colleagues. In conse- 
 quence of the information given by him, fifteen 
 of the leaders of the United Irishmen were 
 arrested on March 12, 1798, and on March 30 
 martial law and "free quarters" were pro- 
 claimed. The commander - in - chief in Ireland 
 at this time was Sir Ralph Abercromby, a 
 brave and humane soldier, so opposed to an 
 oppressive policy that he had withdrawn from 
 active service rather than be employed against 
 the American colonies in the War of Independ- 
 ence. Sir Ralph objected so strongly to the 
 methods proposed by the Irish Government 
 for the suppression of the rebellion that he 
 tendered his resignation of the post of com- 
 mander-in-chief, and left Ireland in April 1798, 
 only five months after he had taken up that 
 command. Pending the appointment of his 
 successor, the command devolved on Lake, the 
 senior general officer serving in Ireland, and,
 
 88 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 the rebellion breaking out in May, Lake was 
 left to deal with an emergency against which 
 he had no opportunity of preparing. . 
 
 The outbreak of the rebellion being attributed 
 by certain writers to the licence accorded by 
 Lake to the troops, and particularly to the 
 measure of " free quarters," for which they hold 
 him responsible, it seems well to remind the 
 reader that Lake was never the permanent 
 commander-in-chief in Ireland ; that he only 
 officiated in that appointment for two months, 
 pending the arrival of Abercromby's successor ; 
 and that the measure of " free quarters " was 
 ordered by Lord Camden, the Governor- General 
 in Ireland, and not by the military authorities, 
 who merely carried out the orders of the civil 
 power. 
 
 " Free quarters," it may be well to explain, 
 was the term used for the procedure adopted 
 for disarming the population in disturbed dis- 
 tricts. The method was as follows. Special 
 notices to the inhabitants of certain counties 
 were promulgated, summoning them to sur- 
 render arms and ammunition within ten days, 
 and announcing that if there was reason to 
 believe that this had not been fully done, the 
 troops would be sent in large bodies to live at 
 free quarters among them, and other very
 
 DISARMING THE REBELS. 89 
 
 severe measures would be used to enforce 
 obedience. That the manner in which this 
 procedure was carried out, particularly by the 
 Irish militia, was one of the causes of the out- 
 break, is doubtless true ; yet it is also true 
 that the rebellion was certain to occur, and 
 was already fully determined on by the bulk 
 of the Roman Catholic population, and that 
 every day lost before decisive action gave more 
 time for organisation and the distribution of 
 arms, and more opportunity for the co-opera- 
 tion of the French Republic. The most bitter 
 enemies of England, always unhappily to be 
 found in the sister island, would find it difficult 
 to say how the rebellion could have been 
 checked and the population disarmed except 
 by severe action. 
 
 The formidable numbers of the rebels have 
 been stated. To cope with them, and at the 
 same time to guard the coasts against an ex- 
 pected French landing, the Irish Government 
 had about 41,000 infantry and 35,000 yeomanry, 
 of whom from 18,000 to 20,000 only were 
 mounted. Almost all this force of 76,000 men 
 were under - officered militia and newly raised 
 yeomanry, who were mainly responsible for 
 the abuses which occurred. The great majority 
 of the few regular troops maintained the high
 
 90 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 character of the British army, and it is fair 
 to add that many of the mihtia regiments, 
 particularly the Scotch and English corps, also 
 behaved well. In defence of the militia, 
 fencibles, and yeomanry, whose conduct was so 
 strongly reprobated by Sir Ralph Abercromby 
 in his well - known general Order, the reader 
 may be reminded that the numbers against 
 them were formidable, and that the utmost 
 barbarity was exhibited against them by the 
 rebels. Although, too, historians have found it 
 necessary to believe some at least of the stories 
 of brutality on the part of the troops, English- 
 men of to-day should have learned to accept 
 such tales with great caution. During the 
 South African War of 1899-1902, the news- 
 papers of Europe were filled with circumstantial 
 yet absolutely false charges of similar conduct 
 brought against the English army ; and to the 
 eternal shame of an unworthy section in Eng- 
 land these calumnies were accepted and sup- 
 ported by a considerable portion of the English 
 press, and even by some English politicians. 
 Irishmen, and, alas ! Englishmen, slandered the 
 British army without a shadow of justifica- 
 tion in 1900. We may then surely hope that 
 the stories of 1798 were grossly exaggerated, 
 if even they cannot be altogether rejected.
 
 lake's difficult task. 91 
 
 Had Sir Ralph Abercromby remained in 
 command, his humane nature would doubtless 
 have impelled him to endeavour to deal with 
 the rebellion by gentle means ; but a study of 
 history does not encourage the belief that such 
 treatment confers a benefit on the insurgents. 
 The deduction to be drawn is rather that 
 prompt suppression, regrettable as its necessity 
 may be, causes less suffering in the long-run 
 than a mistaken benevolence, which is always 
 taken for timidity, and so protracts resistance. 
 
 Mr Lecky, who reviews with his accustomed 
 fairness Sir Ralph Abercromby's conduct in 
 quitting his post, points out that he greatly 
 underrated the extent of the conspiracy and 
 the real imminence of the danger. This was 
 undoubtedly the case ; but the result of Sir 
 Ralph's departure on April 25 was that Lake 
 found himself in a most awkward and critical 
 position, and with no choice but to crush with 
 the means at his hand the rebellion that he, 
 at least, daily expected. 
 
 One of Lake's principal difficulties, beyond the 
 inadequacy and inferior quality of the garrison 
 of Ireland, lay in the fact that Lord Carhampton, 
 the predecessor of Sir Ralph Abercromby, yield- 
 ing to political pressure, had permitted the troops 
 to be so widely scattered that the rapid concen-
 
 92 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 tration of a serviceable force was impossible. 
 During his short tenure of the command-in-chief 
 Abercromby had done what was possible to im- 
 prove matters in this respect, but the rebellion 
 broke out before the army was ready to cope 
 with it. 
 
 The failure of the French Directorate to 
 throw a force of 10,000 troops into Ireland 
 decided the United Irishmen to act for them- 
 selves. The measures of disarmament taken by 
 Lake in the north had been effectual, and the 
 leaders saw that longer delay would be danger- 
 ous. The outbreak was therefore fixed to 
 take place on May 23, and the seizure of 
 Dublin was to be the first enterprise of the 
 rebellion. Thanks to the ample supply of 
 informers always produced by conspiracies, the 
 Irish Government was well aware of what was 
 intended, and most of the principal leaders of 
 the United Irishmen were arrested on the eve 
 of the insurrection. 
 
 Notwithstanding this discouragement, numer- 
 ous bodies of rebels appeared in arms on May 
 23 and 24, and attacks were made on various 
 garrisons in the counties of Dublin, Kildare, 
 and Meath. These attacks failed, with the 
 exception of one at the little town of Pros- 
 perous, where from forty to fifty of the City of
 
 MARTIAL LAW. 93 
 
 Cork militia and twenty Welsh yeomen were 
 massacred in a treacherous and atrocious manner, 
 most of them being burned alive. The leader 
 in the massacre was a member of the Esmonde 
 family, an officer in the Irish yeomanry, who, 
 to allay the suspicions of the commanding 
 officer at Prosperous, had dined with him the 
 night before the massacre. Esmonde's guilt 
 was fully proved at his trial, and he was in 
 due course hanged at Dublin. 
 
 Although the loss of their leaders had dis- 
 concerted the plans of the rebels and substi- 
 tuted for the intended seizure of the capital a 
 number of isolated attacks, a large number of 
 men were clearly in the field. Dublin, from in- 
 ternal treachery, was still in considerable danger, 
 and on May 24 Lake (who had been promoted 
 Lieut. -General in January 1797) issued the fol- 
 lowing proclamation of martial law : — 
 
 " Lieutenant - General Lake, commanding his 
 Majesty's forces in this Kingdom, having re- 
 ceived from his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant 
 full powers to put down the rebellion, and to 
 punish rebels in the most summary manner, 
 according to martial law, does hereby give 
 notice to all his Majesty's subjects that he 
 is determined to exert the powers entrusted
 
 94 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 to him in the most vigorous manner for the 
 immediate suppression of the same ; and that 
 all persons acting in the present rebellion, or 
 in anywise aiding or abetting therein, will be 
 treated by him as rebels, and punished accord- 
 ingly. And Lieutenant -General Lake hereby 
 requires all the inhabitants of the city of 
 Dublin (the great officers of state, members of 
 the Houses of Parliament, privy councillors, 
 magistrates, and military persons in uniform 
 excepted) to remain within their respective 
 dwellings from nine o'clock at night till five 
 in the morning, under pain of punishment." 
 
 No great difiiculty was experienced in sup- 
 pressing the rebellion in the central counties. 
 A number of small towns and villages fell for 
 a time into the hands of the insurgents, and 
 there were many massacres of Protestants on 
 a small scale, and a great number of isolated 
 murders. On account, however, of the loss 
 of the leaders, there was little or no concerted 
 action, and the small bodies of troops, attack- 
 ing the rebels wherever they could find them, 
 were generally successful in dispersing and dis- 
 arming the rebels in the field. Signs of yielding 
 were soon visible, and more than one tentative 
 advance towards surrender was made by the
 
 THE RISING IN WEXFORD. 95 
 
 insurgents. So far Leinster alone had risen. 
 Connaught and Ulster remained perfectly peace- 
 ful during the first days of the rebellion, and 
 in Munster there was no more than a local 
 disturbance near Cork and Limerick. 
 
 But the flame of rebellion burst out presently 
 with great fierceness in Wicklow and Wexford, 
 and the course of events there showed how 
 great would have been the danger had the 
 rebellion been universal, as had been intended. 
 
 It appears, unhappily, clear that in Wexford, 
 at least, the misconduct of the militia and 
 yeomanry, and particularly that of a corps of 
 German cavalry and of the Welsh corps known 
 as the Ancient Britons, was largely to blame for 
 the outbreak. No Englishman can read the ac- 
 counts of what was done in that county before 
 the outbreak without profound regret, nor can 
 any consolation be derived from a catalogue of 
 the subsequent horrors perpetrated by the rebels. 
 It can only be said that cruelty and oppression 
 produced a yet more savage revenge. 
 
 By singularly bad management — for which 
 General Lake was, as we know, not to blame — 
 Wexford had a weaker garrison than any other 
 county of Ireland, the greater part of the troops 
 there being yeomanry. 
 
 Led by a priest, Father John Murphy, the
 
 96 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 Wexford rebels assembled on May 26, and two 
 days later, after severe fighting, captured the 
 town of Enniscorthy. The garrison, about 
 300 infantry and yeomanry, sallied out to 
 meet the attack, but the rebels, adopting an 
 ancient device of Irish warfare, broke their 
 ranks by driving among them a number of 
 horses and cattle. The garrison were thus 
 driven back into the town, where the loyal 
 portion of the inhabitants stoutly supported 
 them, and after a gallant resistance were finally 
 driven through the burning streets and fled to 
 Wexford, some fourteen miles distant. 
 
 An officer of the army, who was present at En- 
 niscorthy as a boy and subsequently at the storm- 
 ing of San Sebastian, said that the two scenes 
 were similar. The loss of life at Enniscorthy was 
 very great, three officers and eighty men of the 
 garrison, besides many of the inhabitants, having 
 fallen. "The town," writes Musgrave,^ "the 
 morning after the rebels got possession of it, 
 presented a dreadful scene of carnage and con- 
 flagration ; many bodies were lying dead in the 
 streets, and others groaning in the agonies of 
 death ; some parts of the place were entirely 
 consumed, and in others the flames continued 
 to rage with inextinguishable fury. No less 
 
 ^ Musgrave's Memoirs.
 
 VINEGAR HILL. 97 
 
 than 478 dwelling - houses and cabins were 
 burned in the town and its suburbs, besides 
 a great number of stores, malt-houses, and out- 
 oflBces." 
 
 The rebels now formed a roughly fortified 
 encampment on the high ground overlooking 
 Enniscorthy, making their headquarters on the 
 highest point, called Vinegar Hill, and garrison- 
 ing the town by regular reliefs. 
 
 As Vinegar Hill was the nearest approach 
 to a military position taken up during the 
 rebellion, a description of the hill and its de- 
 fences may be interesting. "In a military 
 point of view Vinegar Hill is strong. High 
 grounds, gradually rising, are crowned by a 
 cone of bold ascent ; while the country beneath, 
 being cultivated fields, is divided into numerous 
 enclosures, and intersected by stone walls, hedges, 
 and trenches. On the apex of the hill stood 
 the ruins of a windmill, and round the upper 
 height some rude field-works were thrown up, 
 as well as on a lower ridge which the rebels 
 occupied as part of their position. For defence 
 by irregular troops who trusted rather to 
 numbers than to discipline. Vinegar Hill was 
 particularly favourable, for the numerous en- 
 closures afforded safe cover to skirmishers, who 
 could with perfect impunity severely annoy any 
 
 G
 
 98 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 columns advancing to assail the hill, and oblige 
 an enemy to feel his way with caution." ^ The 
 rebels made for themselves rude shelters in 
 various parts of the hill, and the weather being 
 unusually hot and dry, they lived very comfort- 
 ably in this and other camps formed during the 
 rebellion. At Vinegar Hill, moreover, the com- 
 missariat was well managed and regular rations 
 issued, all obtained by pillage from the neigh- 
 bouring villages and the houses of the gentry. 
 
 Wexford was thrown into great alarm by 
 the fate of Enniscorthy, and an attempt on 
 the part of General Fawcett to reinforce the 
 garrison of Wexford having failed, and the 
 commander of the garrison having been killed 
 in an abortive sortie, that town was abandoned 
 by the garrison and occupied without resistance 
 by the rebels on May 30. In a short time the 
 whole of the southern part of Wicklow was in 
 rebel hands, and a reign of terror prevailed ; 
 but the want of competent leaders was still 
 much felt. 
 
 The Wexford rebellion was by far the most 
 important of the various disconnected risings 
 that were now on foot, and the Vinegar Hill 
 encampment became the recognised headquarters 
 of the rebels from May 28 until its capture on 
 
 1 Maxwell's ' History of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.' 
 
 i
 
 BUTCHERY OF THE PRISONERS. 99 
 
 June 21. Without dwelling too much on the 
 horrors that undoubtedly took place there, it 
 must be recorded, in the measured and moderate 
 language of Lecky, one of the most impartial 
 of historians, that " great numbers of Protestants 
 were brought to the rebel camp, confined in the 
 old windmill, or in a barn that lay at the foot 
 of the hill, and then deliberately butchered. . . . 
 Many against whom no charge was brought, 
 or who were popular among the people, or who 
 could find some rebel to attest their innocence 
 and their goodness, were dismissed in safety, 
 with written protections from a priest. But 
 all who had borne any part in the floggings, 
 burnings, and other measures of repression that 
 had been so frequent during the last few weeks ; 
 all who had shown themselves active or conspicu- 
 ous on the loyalist side ; all who were pronounced 
 by the rebel tribunals to be Orangemen, were 
 deliberately put to death." The most moderate 
 of the Protestant historians of the rebellion says 
 that little less than 400 persons were thus 
 done to death by the insurgents at Vinegar 
 Hill. As the rebellion in Wexford took so 
 much the form of a religious war, it is only 
 fair to add that many lives of Protestants were 
 saved by the priests. 
 
 On June 4 a great force of the rebels
 
 100 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 marched on the town of Gorey, in north Wex- 
 ford, and were met by about 1500 militia and 
 yeomanry, with five guns, divided into two 
 small columns under Major-General Loftus and 
 Colonel Walpole. The latter officer, who 
 showed great incompetence, marched through 
 narrow lanes without advanced or flank guards. 
 His column was rushed by an overwhelming 
 force led by a priest, Father John Murphy, 
 and was taken completely by surprise. Wal- 
 pole was killed, three of his guns were taken, 
 and his column driven back in confusion with 
 heavy loss. General Loftus then advanced, but 
 was met by fire from the guns captured from 
 Walpole, and found himself compelled to retreat. 
 
 Had the rebels now advanced straight on 
 Dublin, the capital would have been in great 
 danger, but as usual they wasted time in 
 plundering and drinking, and lost their 
 opportunity. 
 
 While matters were being thus mismanaged 
 at Gorey, a similar attack was made by the 
 rebels on the town of New Ross, where the 
 most severe fighting of the rebellion took place. 
 The defending troops numbered about 1500, 
 under Major-General Johnson. Here, as at Ennis- 
 corthy, the rebels showed great gallantry and 
 determination, and covered their advance against
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL JOHNSON. 101 
 
 Johnson's troops by driving horses and cattle 
 before them. The fighting was hand-to-hand, 
 and great execution was done by the regular 
 cavalry and yeomanry until the rebel pikemen 
 were called to the front, whose weapons kept 
 the cavalry at a distance whence their swords 
 were useless. 
 
 Two of General Johnson's guns were captured 
 in the main street of the town, which had been 
 fired by the rebels. Lord Mountjoy, at the 
 head of the Dublin County militia, charged to 
 recapture the guns, but was killed, and his men 
 were driven back by sheer weight of numbers. 
 For a time it seemed that the day was lost, 
 but in spite of their desperate courage and 
 numbers the rebels were incapable of combined 
 action, numbers turning to plunder and drink. 
 General Johnson rallied his troops, cleared his 
 front by the fire of his remaining artillery, and 
 after most severe fighting recaptured the town 
 and his lost guns. Johnson, who had three 
 horses shot under him, won the day by his 
 personal qualities. The rebel losses at New 
 Ross were not less than 2000 men, while the 
 royal troops and the loyal citizens who joined 
 them sustained 230 casualties. General John- 
 son was given a baronetcy for his eminent 
 services.
 
 102 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 A shocking incident connected with the fight 
 at New Ross was the burning aUve by the 
 rebels of a number of their prisoners at Sculla- 
 bogue farm. The number who perished is 
 variously stated : according to most Protestant 
 writers on the rebellion there were 224 persons 
 who were thus murdered, while Catholic his- 
 torians have reduced the number to 80 or 100. 
 
 The massacre of Scullabogue and that at Pros- 
 perous are among the most horrible memories 
 of the rebellion. 
 
 The success of the rising in Wexford thoroughly 
 alarmed the Irish Government. The fighting 
 qualities and determination of the rebels were 
 indubitable, and a few more successes might 
 induce the formidable north of Ireland to rise 
 also. Urgent appeals for reinforcements were 
 therefore sent to England, and Lord Camden, 
 who had confidence neither in Lake nor in 
 himself, suggested that Lord Cornwallis, a 
 soldier of great experience and proved skill, 
 should be sent to Dublin as governor -general 
 and commander-in-chief This step was event- 
 ually taken, but before the arrival of Cornwallis 
 Lake had broken the back of the rebellion. 
 To concentrate a sufficient force to deal with 
 the rebel army in Wexford was the first and 
 obvious necessity, yet concentration was difficult
 
 DEATH OF LORD o'nEILL. 103 
 
 and dangerous. The wide dispersion of the 
 garrison of Ireland has already been described, 
 and there was a great risk that the removal of 
 troops from any county or district would furnish 
 the signal for a fresh rising. 
 
 The religious aspect of the rebellion, disastrous 
 as in some respects were its results, yet had 
 its advantages. Partly from antagonism caused 
 by the outrages against Protestants in Wexford, 
 and partly from seeing the failure of the French 
 Government to render prompt assistance at this 
 favourable juncture, the north of Ireland for 
 the most part held back. The Protestants, too, 
 began to unite for their own safety. At Omagh 
 alone 6000 offered their services without ex- 
 pense to the Government, and their example 
 was followed in other places. A rising took 
 place at Antrim, followed by a fight in which 
 Lord O'Neill was killed, but little or no support 
 was obtainable from the country districts, and 
 Antrim was soon quieted. This transient rising 
 in the Protestant north was happily free from 
 the atrocities committed in the south-east, but 
 was punished with much severity. 
 
 To return to Wexford. It will be remembered 
 that a great body of rebels from Vinegar Hill 
 defeated Colonel Walpole near the town of 
 Gorey, The only garrison between that place
 
 104 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 and Dublin was that in the town of Arklow, 
 which was weakly held at the time of Wal- 
 pole's disaster. The garrison was quickly re- 
 inforced to a strength of 1500, chiefly militia 
 and yeomanry, but with some regular artillery. 
 This force, commanded by Major- General Need- 
 ham, an officer who had distinguished himself 
 in the American war, and had served with Lake 
 at Yorktown, was attacked on the afternoon of 
 June 9 by a great body of rebels, estimated by 
 some writers at 34,000 men, but by Needham at 
 not more than 19,000. The rebels had three or 
 four guns with them, but could turn them to 
 little account. A severe action of two and a 
 half hours' duration followed, the rebels advanc- 
 ing with the utmost courage in the face of a 
 steady fire, and making determined efforts to 
 capture Needham's guns. At 8.30 p.m. the 
 attack died away. The rebels had lost very 
 heavily, and their favourite commander. Father 
 Michael Murphy, had fallen. Father Murphy 
 led his men into action, waving in his hand a 
 green flag emblazed with a white cross and 
 the words " Death or Liberty," and he was 
 killed by canister-shot within a few yards of 
 the muzzle of a gun. The rebels had believed 
 him to be invulnerable, and his fall greatly 
 discouraged them. Their loss in the action of
 
 lake's enveloping movement. 105 
 
 Arklow exceeded 1000, and it proved to be 
 the last serious fight of the rebellion. 
 
 Up to this moment the greatest alarm had 
 prevailed at Dublin, and the Lord Lieutenant 
 had taken the very unusual step of sending 
 his wife to England. The flight of Lady 
 Camden was to have been kept secret, but, 
 according to Sir Jonah Barrington, on the night 
 of her departure a full account of the affair was 
 given in loud tones in Merrion Square by Lady 
 Castlereagh to a friend standing in her balcony, 
 and as two bishops happened to pass by at the 
 moment, the secret could hardly be kept. 
 
 After the defeat of the rebels at Arklow, 
 matters at once began to mend. The bulk of 
 the rebel forces took up defensive positions at 
 Vinegar Hill and at a place called the Three 
 Kocks, near Wexford ; and General Lake, see- 
 ing his chance of dealing a death-blow to the 
 rebellion, rapidly organised an enveloping attack 
 on Vinegar Hill. 
 
 By vigorous marching, some 13,000 to 14,000 
 troops were concentrated within reach of the 
 objective point, and were formed into six 
 columns under Generals Johnson, Dundas, Need- 
 ham, Duff, Loftus, and Moore. With this 
 force Lake determined to recapture Enniscorthy 
 and Wexford from the rebels, and also to
 
 106 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 surround and storm Vinegar Hill, the latter 
 operation being timed to take place on June 21. 
 
 A detailed narrative of the march of the 
 severals columns is unnecessary, as, from causes 
 beyond Lake's control, certain of the column 
 commanders were prevented from a complete 
 performance of the movements assigned to 
 them. Major - General Moore (afterwards Sir 
 John Moore) in particular, who was marching 
 up from Water ford, became engaged on June 
 20 with a large body of rebels from the Thre& 
 Kocks, and although victorious after four hours' 
 fighting, was prevented from taking his des- 
 tined share in surrounding the Vinegar Hill 
 position. The body of rebels who opposed 
 Moore numbered from 5000 to 6000 men, of 
 whom about 600 were armed with muskets. 
 They were well handled and fought bravely, 
 and General Moore, who had only 1000 men, 
 had no easy task to defeat them. 
 
 The column commanded by Major - General 
 Needham, who had shown both skill and 
 determination at Arklow, was also too late for 
 the encircling movement. Needham had in 
 his charge 400 impressed waggons, carrying the 
 supplies of the whole army. With an enemy 
 in great numerical strength close at hand, and 
 experiencing much difficulty in controlling hi&
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL NEEDHAM. 107 
 
 drivers, many of whom were disaffected, it 
 will be readily understood that Needham found 
 that his march took longer than the calculated 
 time.^ Knowing that the presence of his column 
 was essential, he sent information of the delay 
 to General Lake, requesting that the attack on 
 Vinegar Hill might be delayed for one hour, 
 in order to give his troops time to come up. 
 Lake, however, was compelled to attack at 
 once, as an immediate assault on the camp 
 was necessary to prevent the enemy from de- 
 taching reinforcements to the rebel garrison at 
 Enniscorthy, who were then warmly engaged 
 with General Johnson's Brigade. Needham 
 then did his best by throwing his cavalry 
 forward ; but although the latter did some 
 execution, the gap caused by the non-arrival 
 of Needham's infantry prevented the total de- 
 struction of the rebels that had been intended 
 and would have taken place. 
 
 The assault on Vinegar Hill was carried out 
 by the columns of Generals Sir James Duff, 
 Dundas, and Johnson, the last-named advancing 
 
 ^ General Needham was accused of being habitually dilatory, 
 and by a jest that was probably antiquated even in 1798, was 
 spoken of as "the late General Needham." He was, however, a 
 good soldier. In 1818 General Needham succeeded his brother as 
 Viscount Newry, and in 1822 he was created Earl of Kilmorey. 
 He died in 1833.
 
 108 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 from Enniscorthy. Duff's light infantry and 
 guns were commanded by Major-General Loftus, 
 who was directed by Duff to seize a hill which 
 commanded the lower defences held by the 
 rebels. Loftus, breaking down the stone walls 
 in his track, got his artillery into the required 
 position and opened an effective fire. The 
 rebel guns, thirteen in number, were badly 
 served, but their musketeers clung bravely to 
 the walls and rude entrenchments, and fired 
 rapidly but wildly on the advancing troops. 
 The assaults of Lake's column were well timed, 
 and the troops pushed steadily on without a 
 check, suffering but slight losses. Discipline 
 and superior armament soon prevailed, and the 
 rebels, availing themselves of the means of 
 retreat which General Needham's absence pro- 
 vided, went off in a body, leaving their guns, 
 ammunition, a great collection of plunder, and 
 many grim evidences of the horrors that had 
 been perpetrated in the encampment. Lake's 
 losses were very slight, amounting to 8 ofl&cers 
 and 87 of other ranks killed and wounded. 
 The rebel loss may have amounted to 300, 
 mostly cut down in the retreat. 
 
 During the fight between General Moore's 
 column and the rebels from Wexford, in which
 
 lake's terms. 109 
 
 the latter showed so much courage and military 
 quality, a massacre of Protestant prisoners 
 took place on Wexford Bridge. No less than 
 ninety -seven prisoners are said to have been 
 murdered in cold blood, with shocking cruelty, 
 by those of the rebels who had no wish to 
 share in the fight in which their braver com- 
 rades were engaged. 
 
 Nineteen of the prisoners were saved from 
 death, and through one of them — Lord Kings- 
 borough — the rebel leaders endeavoured to 
 arrange terms for themselves with Major- 
 General Moore. 
 
 Moore submitted the letters proposing sur- 
 render to General Lake, whose reply was 
 as follows : " Lieutenant - General Lake cannot 
 attend to any terms offered by rebels in arms 
 against their sovereign. While they continue 
 so, he must use the force entrusted to him 
 with the utmost energy for their destruction. 
 To the deluded multitude he promises pardon 
 on their delivering into his hands their leaders, 
 surrendering their arms, and returning with 
 sincerity to their allegiance." 
 
 In his letter to Lord Castlereagh, forwarding 
 his despatch on the action of Vinegar Hill, Lake 
 wrote as follows : " The troops behaved excess-
 
 110 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 ively well in action, but their determination 
 to destroy every one they think a rebel is be- 
 yond description, and wants much correction." 
 
 Lord Castlereagh, in his reply, dated June 
 22, writes : " His Excellency will express to 
 you his approbation and satisfaction at every- 
 thing you have done, and I sincerely congrat- 
 ulate you on your successes at Vinegar Hill. 
 I consider the rebels as now in your power, 
 and I feel assured that your treatment of 
 them will be such as shall make them sensible 
 of their crimes, as well as of the authority of 
 Government. It would be unwise, and con- 
 trary, I know, to your own feelings, to drive 
 the wretched people, who are the mere in- 
 struments in the hands of the more wicked, 
 to despair. The leaders are just objects of 
 punishment." ^ 
 
 Wexford was occupied by some of Major- 
 General Moore's troops in the course of June 
 21, and the active part of the rebellion in 
 that county came to an end. The rebels were 
 thoroughly disheartened by the easy capture 
 of Yinegar Hill, and many writers assert that 
 fear alone prevented them from a general 
 surrender. Be this as it may, some 15,000 
 men still remained in arms under Father John 
 
 ^ Memoirs, «&;c., of Viscount Castlereagh.
 
 END OF THE WEXFORD RISING. Ill 
 
 Murphy after the surrender of Wexford, 
 though two days later the number is said to 
 have dwindled to 5000 or 6000. Father 
 Murphy left the Three Rocks on June 22, and 
 entered the County Carlow, intending to 
 make for Castlecomer, a town in Kilkenny, 
 where there was, in 1798, a considerable min- 
 ing population, which Father Murphy expected 
 to join him. On June 26 the rebels were 
 attacked, defeated, and dispersed on Kilcomney 
 Hill near Castlecomer by a force of 1600 men 
 under Major - General Sir Charles Asgill, an 
 officer whom we last met in unpleasant cir- 
 cumstances in North America. 
 
 One other considerable body of rebels re- 
 mained in the field after the surrender of 
 Wexford, which, after various wanderings, 
 some temporary successes, and much suffering, 
 found its way into Kildare, where for some 
 time it kept up a guerilla warfare. 
 
 Thus ended the serious operations of the 
 Wexford rebels. There remained the punish- 
 ment, which was terribly severe, and, owing 
 to the indiscipline of many of the troops, of 
 an indiscriminating nature. 
 
 General Lake, though held responsible by 
 historians for the execution of Father Koche, 
 Captain Keogh, and other leaders in Wexford,
 
 112 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 certainly never approved or countenanced any 
 irregularities committed by the troops. His 
 whole history shows him to have been humane 
 and kind-hearted, and such a man cannot have 
 relapsed into savagery. Writing to Lord 
 Castlereagh on June 23, Lake says : " Roach 
 has been tried to - day and will be executed, 
 as will Keogh, who was both general, adviser, 
 governor of the town, &c. I really feel most 
 severely the being obliged to order so many 
 men out of the world, but I am convinced if 
 severe and many examples are not made the 
 Kebellion cannot be put a stop to." Moreover, 
 when the executions of rebels took place in 
 Wexford, Lake was no longer acting com- 
 mander-in-chief. Lord Cornwallis arrived at 
 Dublin on June 20, to find that Lake had 
 made all his arrangements for the attack on 
 Vinegar Hill at daylight the following morn- 
 ing. Cornwallis left Lake to command in the 
 field, but took immediate control of affairs, 
 and on July 3 issued a proclamation author- 
 ising the king's generals to give protection to 
 such insurgents who had been guilty simply of 
 rebellion and would now desert their leaders 
 and take the oath of allegiance. The pun- 
 ishment of the leaders was inevitable. 
 
 The Government were indeed anxious to
 
 THE FRENCH RAID IN IRELAND, 1798.
 
 <
 
 Humbert's expedition. 113 
 
 prevent further bitterness and to see Ireland 
 quiet, for all through the rebellion there had 
 been fear of the French Directory throwing 
 an expedition into the country, and news had 
 arrived that attempts were about to be made 
 at several points of the Irish coast. The 
 Directory were, of course, aware that the time 
 had gone by when an expedition would have 
 found rebellion in active progress. They had 
 been anxious enough to take advantage of so 
 fair an opportunity, but were disappointed by 
 reason of the bad state of the French navy. 
 Early in August, however, a small expedition 
 consisting of three frigates was prepared, and 
 set sail from the Isle of Aix on the 6th of 
 that month, four days after the battle of the 
 Nile. The intended landing-place was Donegal 
 Bay, but after a long but unmolested passage 
 against contrary winds, the expedition, flying 
 the English flag, anchored in Killala Bay in 
 County Mayo on August 22, and easily 
 effected a landing the same evening. The 
 French troops consisted of 82 officers and 
 1017 of other ranks, under the command of 
 General of Brigade Humbert, an experienced 
 and practical soldier. The rank and file of 
 the expedition consisted of veterans of the 
 armies of Italy and the Rhine, who behaved 
 
 H
 
 114 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 throughout their service in Ireland with ex- 
 emplary steadiness and moderation. Humbert 
 had with him muskets and ammunition for 
 4000 Irish, whose services had been promised 
 by the revolutionary leaders, and about a 
 quarter that number came forward on August 
 23, and were hurriedly equipped and armed. 
 Horses were also provided for the officers, 
 artillery, transport, and for a party of fifty- 
 seven cavalry who formed part of the expedi- 
 tion, and sufficient carts and cars were collected 
 for the carriage of supplies for the small 
 column. Humbert saw from the first that 
 he had arrived at the wrong moment and in 
 an unfavourable locality. Connaught showed 
 no general desire to help the invaders, and 
 the very recent losses of the rebels in Wex- 
 ford and the other counties in that part of 
 Ireland had taken the heart out of the United 
 Irishmen. Reinforcements, too, had arrived 
 from England, in the shape of four regiments 
 of regular infantry and 12,000 militia, and 
 Lord Cornwallis had close on 100,000 men 
 at his disposal. In spite, however, of the 
 effi3rts of Sir Ralph Abercromby and of Lake 
 to concentrate the garrison, by far the greater 
 part of it was still scattered over the country, 
 and Humbert found that no dangerously strong
 
 THE SIMPLE IRISH. 115 
 
 force could reach him for several days. Being 
 a bold and enterprising soldier, he therefore 
 decided to advance, trusting that some unex- 
 pected successes might encourage the Irish 
 to come to his aid in larger numbers. Small 
 as was his force, Humbert formed a depot of 
 a hundred men at Killala, commanded by an 
 officer named Charost, who almost immediately 
 obtained enough Irish recruits to exhaust his 
 supply of spare arms. These recruits, however, 
 were of very poor quality, and for the most 
 part showed no anxiety to take the field, the 
 most zealous being probably those who joined 
 on Humbert's arrival. The French were aston- 
 ished and amused at the simplicity of the 
 Irish, who declared to them " that they were 
 come to take arms for France and the Blessed 
 Virgin." " God help these simpletons," said 
 one of the French officers to the Protestant 
 bishop of Killala ; "if they knew how little 
 we care about the Pope and his religion, they 
 would not be so hot in expecting help from 
 us ; " and the old soldiers of the army of Italy 
 exclaimed that, having just expelled the Pope 
 from that country, they had never expected 
 to meet him again in Ireland. 
 
 On August 24 a French detachment under 
 Colonel Sarrazin, Humbert's second-in-command.
 
 116 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 reconnoitred the town of Ballina, about six 
 miles to the south-east of Killala, and finding 
 that no serious opposition was to be expected, 
 General Humbert advanced with his main 
 body and occupied Ballina in the evening. 
 The French troops numbered between 900 
 and 1000, and were accompanied by armed 
 Irish, whose strength is variously stated at 
 from 1000 to 2500 men. Having made some 
 prisoners, the French returned to Killala. 
 
 The news of Humbert's landing reached 
 Dublin on August 24, and British troops 
 were now rapidly approaching the scene of 
 action. Major -General Hutchinson, who com- 
 manded in Connaught, had promptly collected 
 all the troops that could be spared from Gal- 
 way, Tuam, Loughrea, Gort, and Athenry, 
 and, on the day that Humbert occupied Bal- 
 lina, was at Castlebar, some twenty -six miles 
 to the south, with about 1600 militia and 
 yeomanry, 100 men of the 6th Regiment, and 
 a detachment of the Boyal Irish Artillery 
 with 11 guns. There was on the same date 
 a smaller British force, some 1200 men under 
 Major - General Taylor, even nearer to the 
 French. Taylor had been ordered to join 
 hands with Hutchinson at Castlebar, but had 
 taken up a strong position at Foxford, sixteen
 
 LAKE SENT TO CONNAUGHT. 117 
 
 miles from Castlebar and only ten from 
 Ballina. Lord Cornwallis himself marched 
 rapidly from Dublin towards the French in- 
 vaders, collecting troops as he went, and sent 
 Lake forward to assume the command in 
 Connaught. The Commander - in - Chief, who 
 was unable to ascertain Humbert's actual 
 strength, and was aware that other French 
 expeditionary forces might be on the seas, was 
 uneasy at the very advanced positions taken 
 up by Generals Taylor and Hutchinson, and 
 desired to have a man on the spot possessed 
 of greater experience than Hutchinson. Lord 
 Cornwallis has been accused of timidity in 
 dealing with Humbert's expedition, but it 
 must be remembered that the British Govern- 
 ment had been warned, in March 1798, by 
 their secret agents, that 275,000 troops under 
 all the leading French generals, including Bona- 
 parte, were ordered to be within twenty-four 
 hours of the French coast. The best informed 
 military opinion at the time was that 40,000 
 troops, with the requisite proportion of guns, 
 could be landed in Ireland.^ 
 
 Lake arrived at Castlebar at eleven at night 
 on August 26 and assumed the command. He 
 ascertained from Hutchinson that his troops 
 
 ^ Castlereagh Correspondence.
 
 118 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 were disposed to meet an attack from the 
 direction of Foxford, which the latter beheved 
 to be the only line of advance available for 
 the French. Hutchinson has been severely 
 criticised by various writers for assuming that 
 Humbert could use no other road, but it does 
 not appear that he or any of his troops had 
 had an opportunity of reconnoitring the sur- 
 rounding hills. Lake obviously had none, as 
 the story has shown. 
 
 We must now return to Humbert, whom we 
 left at Killala on the night of August 24. On 
 the 25th Humbert resumed his advance at eight 
 o'clock in the evening, and marched for four 
 hours towards Castlebar. He then heard that 
 General Taylor was at Ballina in his rear, and 
 fearing an attack on his base at Killala, 
 hurriedly turned in his tracks. On reaching 
 Ballina, Humbert found that Taylor had retired 
 to Foxford, and he therefore made a halt of 
 ten hours in order to rest his wearied troops. 
 At 3 P.M. on August 26, Humbert again 
 advanced towards Castlebar ; but instead of 
 moving along the high-road by Foxford, where 
 Taylor's force was reported to be, the French 
 commander, guided by an Irish priest, marched 
 across the hills by a little -known track, and 
 came in view of Hutchinson's position before 
 
 I 
 I
 
 CASTLEBAR. 119 
 
 Castlebar at about six in the morning of 
 August 27. Accident alone prevented a com- 
 plete surprise. A yeoman whose farm was 
 close to the mountain road was visiting his 
 cattle at three in the morning, and saw a 
 column of troops in blue uniform advancing 
 rapidly. He at once mounted his horse and 
 galloped into Castlebar, where he gave the 
 alarm. 
 
 The troops were quickly got under arms, and 
 were disposed by Lake and Hutchinson in the 
 position already selected by the latter on some 
 heights before the town, and in the following 
 order : In the first line were the small party 
 of the 6th Begiment, the Kilkenny militia, 
 and a detachment of the Prince of Wales' 
 Fencibles. The guns were disposed slightly 
 in advance. The Fraser Fencibles and Galway 
 yeomanry formed the second line, and the 
 mounted troops, part of the 6th Dragoon 
 Guards and the 1st Fencible Cavalry, were 
 drawn up in line with them. The reserve, four 
 companies of the Longford militia, was posted 
 in a valley in rear of the Kilkenny regiment. 
 
 By 8 A.M. the French arrived within range 
 of the British guns, and Humbert, halting 
 his column under cover, rode forward and 
 made a hasty examination of the British posi-
 
 120 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 tion. He then without hesitation advanced to 
 the assault, placing his Irish volunteers in the 
 centre, with a weak French battalion on either 
 flank. He retained his third battalion and his 
 mounted men, now about eighty in number, 
 as a reserve. 
 
 The British guns, well and steadily served, 
 opened an effective fire, directed chiefly at the 
 French battalions in the first line, both of 
 which were checked. The Irish in the centre 
 pressed bravely forward, but being received by 
 a heavy fire at close range, broke and dis- 
 persed, taking no more part in the fight. The 
 check of the French was of very brief duration, 
 for Humbert, seeing that the Irish militia 
 opposed to him had opened a wild and harm- 
 less fire, at once brought up his reserve, 
 whereupon his first line battalions, veteran 
 troops, quickly rallied. Sarrazin, the French 
 second-in-command, placed himself in front of 
 the grenadier battalion, which was on the left 
 of the first line, and bringing the bayonets 
 to the charge, rushed forward with the grena- 
 diers in open order, followed by the remainder 
 of the French troops. When they arrived 
 within 150 yards of the British force, the 
 militia broke and fled in uncontrollable panic, 
 leaving the guns to their fate, in spite of the
 
 THE PANIC. 121 
 
 efforts of their officers and of the non-com- 
 missioned officers of the Longford militia, who 
 stood their ground after the regiment had 
 broken. The detachment of eighty men of 
 the 6th Regiment behaved well, and the 
 artillery, under Captain Shortall, were also 
 steady to the last. Of the mounted troops, 
 a small body of yeomanry, under Lord 
 Roden, alone behaved well, the remainder 
 quitting the field in a disgraceful and cause- 
 less flight, for the French were, of course, 
 unable to make any effective pursuit. Deserted 
 by the cavalry and by a great part of the 
 Irish militia, who openly joined the French, 
 a few brave infantrymen rallied in response 
 to the appeals of their officers, and firing as 
 they went from the successive walls and en- 
 closures, formed up for a stand on the bridge 
 of Castlebar : they had with them one light 
 gun, manned by the survivors of the Royal 
 Irish Artillery, which was placed on the 
 bridge. The French coming up, attacked this 
 small party, who were eventually compelled to 
 retreat after losing half their numbers. The 
 British loss at Castlebar was returned as 53 
 killed, 34 wounded, and 279 missing, — the last- 
 named having fallen in the retreat or deserted 
 to the enemy.
 
 122 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 The French casualties were 186, chiefly caused 
 by artillery fire, and were heavy in proportion 
 to their strength. 
 
 It is impossible to say precisely what caused 
 the misconduct of the troops at Castlebar and 
 their subsequent panic flight to Tuam, , thirty 
 miles from the battlefield. Much must doubtless 
 be attributed to disafiection, for 500 of the 
 Kilkenny and Longford militia deserted, it 
 is said, to the French during the action ; ^ but 
 the real cause of the defeat is probably to be 
 found in the superioi/ quality of the French 
 troops, and in the ' advantage that always 
 attaches to the attack. There was really no 
 great disparity of numbers between the two 
 forces, and to Lake's militia the sight of Hum- 
 bert's veterans rapidly advancing with their 
 bayonets at the charge was no doubt terrifying 
 in the extreme. For the panic that followed no 
 explanation need be attempted, for panics are 
 unexplainable. They occur at times in all armies, 
 and we, probably, have less to apologise for 
 
 ^ *La France et I'lrlande pendant la Revolution.' E. Guillon. 
 1888, This statement may, however, be exaggerated, for the 
 Bishop of Killala stated that "soon after the defeat at Castlebar, 
 fifty-three deserters of the Longford militia marched into Killala 
 with their coats turned, and then put on blue French uniforms. 
 Eighty more deserters of the Longford and Kilkenny (militia) 
 joined the rebel camp during the next few daj'^s."
 
 CORNWALLIS APPROACHES. 123 
 
 than most nations with a long military history. 
 Suffice it to say that at Tuam, Lake succeeded 
 in rallying the portion of his force that had 
 remained loyal, and that in the evening he 
 wrote a hurried letter to Lord Cornwallis de- 
 scribing the rout of his troops. Lake wrote a 
 second and fuller letter to the Commander-in- 
 Chief at five o'clock on the following morning 
 (August 28), explaining what had happened. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis received Lake's first letter 
 at Kilbeggan early on the 28th, and wrote at 
 once to the Duke of Portland asking for rein- 
 forcements, for it was impossible to tell what 
 might be the effect of Humbert's victory in 
 reviving the rebellion. Cornwallis, who was at 
 the head of nearly 8000 men, then advanced 
 promptly to Athlone, and two days later was 
 at Ballinamore. On September 4 he arrived at 
 Hollymount, within thirteen miles of Castlebar. 
 
 Up to this date Humbert had not moved after 
 his victory, for he had been disappointed in his 
 hope of a general rising of the country in his 
 favour. Hundreds of recruits had joined him, 
 but they were ignorant and undisciplined, and 
 could not be quickly made into soldiers by 
 officers who did not know their language. The 
 approach of Cornwallis and his army made a 
 further delay impossible, and on the morning of
 
 124 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 September 4 the French expedition set out, 
 marching rapidly in the direction of Sligo. 
 Here there was a chance of meeting reinforce- 
 ments from France, and also of raising a rebellion 
 in a part of the country where there was no 
 strong body of British troops. 
 
 Meanwhile Lake had succeeded in getting his 
 force into something approaching fighting trim. 
 The disaflfected or untrustworthy corps of militia 
 had been despatched to Athlone, and the force 
 under Major-General Taylor, which had retreated 
 eastward from Foxford on hearing of the defeat 
 at Castlebar, was placed under his orders. 
 
 It was clear that Lord Cornwallis had not 
 considered Lake to blame for the misconduct of 
 his troops, nor for any error in the position taken 
 up by Major - General Hutchinson, which Lake 
 had had no opportunity of correcting. Hutch- 
 inson (afterwards Earl of Donoughmore) was, 
 though of strange appearance and ungracious 
 manners, a man of superior ability. He was, 
 said Sir Henry Bunbury, " a man of no ordin- 
 ary mark. He was a good scholar ; he had 
 read much and profitably ; his understanding 
 was strong, his information extensive. On 
 military subjects his views were large ; and 
 his personal bravery was unquestioned." 
 
 When Cornwallis drew near Castlebar, he
 
 COLONEL VEREKER. 125 
 
 ordered Lake, who was at Ballaghy, to co- 
 operate with him and to follow in Humbert's 
 tracks without hazarding a general engagement, 
 for misleading and contradictory reports reached 
 him from various quarters as to the strength of 
 the French force. Cornwallis also sent forward 
 Colonel Crauford with the Hompesch Dragoons 
 and Lord E-oden's horse to harass the French 
 column and keep touch with it. Lord Corn- 
 wallis himself marched towards Carrick-on- 
 Shannon, in order to guard against any 
 possibility of a dash on the part of Humbert 
 towards Dublin. 
 
 Humbert's column approached Sligo early in 
 the morning of September 5, and was unex- 
 pectedly opposed at Collooney by a small part 
 of the Sligo garrison, which, under Colonel 
 Vereker, had taken up a position there to check 
 the French advance. Both sides were mistaken 
 as to the strength of their enemy, Vereker 
 believing that he had to deal with a small 
 detachment from Humbert's force, while Hum- 
 bert assumed that Vereker's force was the 
 advanced-guard of a large force. Vereker had 
 with him no more than 270 of the City of 
 Limerick militia, 30 dragoons, and 2 guns, but 
 with this small force he held his position for 
 an hour and then retired in good order.
 
 126 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 Leaving Sllgo on his left, Humbert marched 
 on at 10 P.M., spiking and abandoning his 
 captured guns, and by noon on September 6 
 he had reached Manor Hamilton, twenty-two 
 miles from CoUooney. At this point Humbert 
 changed his direction in consequence of exag- 
 gerated reports which had reached him of risings 
 in Longford and Westmeath. He therefore 
 made towards Granard, and the British troops 
 were thus enabled to surround him. 
 
 Marching south from Manor Hamilton, Hum- 
 bert arrived at Drumkiern at seven in the 
 evening of September 6. Here Colonel Crauford, 
 who had clung to the French persistently, 
 demanded a capitulation, which was refused, and 
 the next morning at nine Humbert crossed the 
 Shannon at Ballintra, Crauford seizing the 
 bridge after the French had crossed before they 
 were able to destroy it. 
 
 On the same day Major-General Moore was 
 despatched by Lord Cornwallis with his column 
 of 2000 men and placed at Lake's orders, to give 
 the latter sufficient strength in case he found 
 opportunity to attack. Cornwallis himself, with 
 the main body, was at French Park on the 6th, 
 intending to cross the Shannon at Carrick and 
 to move up the left bank of that river. Corn- 
 wallis did, in fact, begin to cross the Shannon
 
 HUMBERT SURRENDERS TO LAKE. 127 
 
 on September 7, on which day, at 6 p.m., 
 Humbert arrived at Cloone, with Crauford still 
 hanging on his flank, and closely followed by 
 Lake, with Moore in support. 
 
 The French infantry was now exhausted by 
 constant night marches in wet weather, and 
 although a rapid move eastward was the only 
 chance of escape, Humbert was compelled to 
 give his men a night's rest. At 5 a.m. on 
 September 8 he again set out, heading for 
 Granard ; but at dawn that day Lord Cornwallis 
 had arrived at Mohill, almost in view of 
 the French force, and Humbert was at last 
 brought to bay. Lake now received orders to 
 attack the French rear-guard, and bringing up 
 his infantry at the best pace they could set 
 after constant marching for four days and 
 nights, he despatched some of his mounted 
 troops to strengthen Crauford, who at once at- 
 tacked the French rear-guard near Ballinamuck. 
 The rear -guard, 200 strong, was compelled to 
 surrender, but when Major - General Cradock, 
 chief of the staff, approached the French main 
 body to demand their surrender, he was fired 
 on and wounded. 
 
 Lake then attacked with his leading infantry, 
 and after half an hour's fighting Humbert's 
 whole force surrendered. The French narrative,.
 
 128 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 already quoted, gives Humbert's numbers at the 
 time of the surrender at 96 officers and 844 
 men, and agrees with General Lake in stating 
 that the Irish portion of his force amounted 
 to 1500. Humbert, on finally leaving Ballina, 
 had taken with him the 200 men that he had 
 originally left between that place and Killala, 
 and had thus made good his losses at Castle- 
 bar. From these figures it is evident that his 
 casualties were very few except in that action, 
 and that his force had left behind it hardly 
 any stragglers during its forced march from 
 September 4 to 8. 
 
 The 1500 Irish insurgents who accompanied 
 Humbert were not included in his capitulation. 
 They were dispersed by the cavalry and fled 
 in all directions, leaving, it is said, 500 dead 
 on the field, probably a considerable exaggera- 
 tion. Killala was held for a time by some 2000 
 rebels, but was recaptured on September 23, 
 after a brave resistance. 
 
 Humbert's achievement was in many respects 
 a remarkable one, though it quickly ended in 
 failure, for he had kept the field for seventeen 
 days with a thousand regular troops, very weak 
 in mounted men and artillery, in a country 
 garrisoned by a large army. The circumstances 
 were, however, such that but a small portion
 
 Humbert's conduct. 129 
 
 of this army could be brought against him, 
 while the country in which he operated was 
 sufficiently in sympathy with him to assist 
 him with supplies and information, and with 
 more recruits than he could efficiently train 
 for fighting. 
 
 Humbert himself was a brave and capable 
 officer though of inferior education, and like 
 his second-in-command, Sarrazin, a good speci- 
 men of the generals of the French Revolution. 
 Humbert failed in his bold attempt on Ireland 
 through no fault of his own, for he was de- 
 spatched with an insufficient force and at the 
 wrong moment, but he deserves much honour 
 for the courage and enterprise which he showed, 
 and for the moderation of his conduct, — a credit 
 fully shared by the rank and file of his little 
 army. 
 
 Humbert, it may be added, was well treated 
 by the British Government, and was soon 
 released from captivity. In March 1799 he 
 volunteered to repeat his exploit, but on this 
 occasion he demanded a force of 12,000 men. 
 
 By November the embers of the rebellion 
 of 1798 had been stamped out, and the Irish 
 Parliament voted the sum of £100,000 for 
 loyalists who had suffered losses. Its thanks 
 were also voted unanimously to the yeomanry,
 
 130 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 militia, and regular army. Lord Castlereagh, 
 who introduced the motion, gave the first place 
 to the yeomanry, whose services, he said, had 
 effected the salvation of their country. Although 
 only raised for local service in their own districts, 
 they had willingly gone wherever they were 
 required. After the Irish yeomanry Lord Castle- 
 reagh placed the English militia, who, though 
 not obliged by law to serve out of their own 
 country, had volunteered to do so. Then came 
 the Irish militia and fencible troops, the large 
 majority of whom, in spite of some defections, 
 had displayed great loyalty. It is needless to 
 add that the rebellion caused Ireland heavy 
 loss of life and property, and, from its unhappy 
 declension into a religious war, left behind it 
 an abiding bitterness far greater than would 
 have been aroused by an unsuccessful national 
 rising. 
 
 A century of well-meant effort on the part 
 of England to restore contentment to unhappy 
 Ireland has apparently met with little, if any, 
 success in wiping out the memory of '98. 
 
 After the suppression of the rebellion, Lake 
 remained for some time in Ireland, and entered 
 the Irish Parliament as member for Armagh, 
 voting, as a matter of course, for the Union. 
 In October 1800 his services were rewarded
 
 lake's rule in war. 131 
 
 with the great appointment of Commander-in- 
 Chief in India, for which country he presently 
 sailed, arriving at Calcutta on January 31, 
 1801. 
 
 Lake was accompanied by his second son, 
 Captain George Lake, 34th E,egiment, as aide- 
 de - camp, and also by his four unmarried 
 daughters. 
 
 Lake's appointment to this great independent 
 command gave him the opportunity of show- 
 ing that he had mastered the secret of success 
 in war, the one rule to which there is no 
 exception, the superiority of activity over in- 
 action, of the attack over the defence. Such 
 a line of conduct was no doubt natural to 
 Lake from his inborn character, and all the 
 events of his long military career had con- 
 firmed him in the belief that the course which 
 was natural to him was also the best. In 
 early youth he had borne a part in the opera- 
 tions of the great Frederick, though not under 
 his immediate command ; in America he had 
 shared in the humiliation of Yorktown, when 
 Cornwallis, even if by no fault of his own, 
 took up the role of passive defence ; at Lin- 
 celles his weak brigade had triumphed over a 
 largely superior force strongly posted ; and in 
 Ireland he had witnessed a similar triumph
 
 132 THE IRISH REBELLION. 
 
 won by a French column of much the same 
 strength and composition. Everywhere he had 
 seen the attack triumph, the defensive fail. 
 From such a lifelong experience we may im- 
 agine how a belief grew in the mind of Lake 
 that to the bold all things were possible ; and 
 now, at the age of fifty-six, he was enabled to 
 put his theory into practice ; and, as will be 
 seen, he did so in the most consistent manner, 
 and with a success that has been rarely equalled 
 in war.
 
 133 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 The Maratha power was founded in the middle 
 of the seventeenth century by Sivaji, who formed 
 a state in the south-western portion of the mori- 
 bund Moghul empire. It tended to decay under 
 his son Sambaji, was restored by two great 
 officers, Mulharji Holkar and Ranoji Sindhia, but 
 was for a time crushed by the defeat of its 
 armies at Panipat in 1761 by the Afghan 
 invader Ahmad Shah Abdali. 
 
 From Panipat there escaped one of the house 
 of Sindhia, Madhaji by name, who by his extra- 
 ordinary talents restored his race to its former 
 power and influence. Ten years after the 
 battle of Panipat, Madhaji Sindhia entered 
 Delhi as a conqueror, the titular emperor, 
 Shah Alam, in his train. In 1778 he came 
 to blows with the English, and owing to the 
 feebleness and incompetence of the Bombay 
 Government, forced on it the humiliating treaty
 
 134 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 of Wargaum in 1779. This treaty was repudi- 
 ated by Warren Hastings, the Governor-General, 
 who sent a small force across India, from east 
 to west, and retrieved the reputation lost in 
 Bombay. In 1780 Madhaji was defeated by 
 Camac in Central India, and his most valued 
 possession, the great fortress of Gwalior, was 
 captured by a small detachment under Major 
 Popham — an astonishing exploit. Warren Hast- 
 ings, while thus checking the Marathas, was 
 conducting a desperate war in the south of 
 India against Haidar Ali of Mysore, who was 
 supported by France. He was therefore willing 
 to come to terms with the Marathas, and peace 
 with them was concluded in February 1782. 
 
 Thus set free, Madhaji Sindhia soon became 
 paramount in Western, Central, and North- 
 Western India, obtaining for the Peshwa, who, 
 though a Brahman, was nominally the head 
 of the Marathas, the title of Vicegerent of 
 the Empire, but himself ruling as the deputy 
 of the Peshwa and of the Emperor. Beal- 
 ising that he who desired to be supreme in 
 India must sooner or later measure his strensfth 
 with the British, Sindhia next set about the 
 reorganisation of an army on the European 
 model, under the command of some 300 officers 
 of various nationalities, but chiefly French.
 
 HINDUSTAN. 135 
 
 Death now intervened, and just as Madhaji 
 Sindhia was preparing a general combination 
 against the English, he died of fever in 
 February 1794. Madhaji was succeeded by his 
 great-nephew, Daolat Rao Sindhia, whose youth 
 stood against his claim to preponderance, and 
 once more the Maratha states were at variance 
 one with the other. It may be convenient, 
 at this point, to explain the geographical terms 
 used in India in 1803. Hindustan was the 
 name then, and indeed still, applied by the 
 natives to the tract of country south of the 
 Punjab, and lying between the rivers Sutlej 
 and Chambal. In its easterly portion were 
 included the provinces of Oudh and Rohil- 
 khand. South of the Chambal lay Hajputana, 
 and east of that country were the states of 
 Malwa and Gwalior, the original possessions 
 of Sindhia and Holkar. Yet farther east lay 
 Bhopal and Bundelkhand. South of the Nar- 
 bada was the region known as the "Deccan" 
 (or southland), itself divided into many king- 
 doms and lesser states. 
 
 Lord Wellesley, then Lord Mornington, 
 arrived in India in April 1798 with instruc- 
 tions to preserve the balance of power between 
 the native princes as provided by the treaty of 
 Seringapatam (1792). The dissensions among
 
 136 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 the Maratha states had already altered the 
 balance, and their consequent weakness had 
 conferred a dangerous strength on Tipu of 
 Mysore, the successor of Haidar, who was 
 arranging an alliance with the French and 
 encouraging an Afghan invasion of Northern 
 India. Lord Mornington was consequently 
 compelled to declare war against Tipu, who 
 was defeated and killed at Seringapatam in 
 April 1799. Lord Mornington was created an 
 Irish marquis, and thenceforth appears in his- 
 tory under his new title of Wellesley. 
 
 During and after the Mysore War the 
 struggle for the mastery between the leading 
 Maratha chiefs continued to grow in intensity, 
 and year by year the difficulty of preserving 
 the peace in India grew greater. A further 
 complication had been caused by the death 
 in 1795 of Tukaji Rao Holkar, the ruler of 
 Indore, and the consequent struggle among his 
 sons for the reversion of his power. Finally, 
 Jaswant Rao, the ablest among them, seized 
 the throne of Indore, and immediately entered 
 on a war with Sindhia. The unfortunate 
 Peshwa, the nominal head of the Maratha 
 princes, fell under the sway of Holkar and 
 Sindhia alternately, as one or the other 
 triumphed. In October 1802 Holkar defeated
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL ARTHUR WELLESLEY. 137 
 
 the forces of the Peshwa and of Sindhia before 
 Poona, the Maratha capital ; but this victory 
 had a disastrous effect on Holkar's fortunes, 
 and brought matters to a climax, for the 
 Peshwa now fled from both Sindhia and Holkar 
 and placed himself under British protection, 
 signing on the last day of 1802 the treaty of 
 Bassein. 
 
 It was obvious that this treaty, which made 
 the head of the Maratha confederacy a per- 
 manent tributary of the British Government, 
 would be a severe blow to Holkar and Sindhia, 
 who both aspired in the future to control the 
 Peshwa, and Lord Wellesley, while far from 
 desirous of war, and while showing the utmost 
 patience towards the angry chieftains, was com- 
 pelled to prepare to meet an attack. 
 
 The first essential was to protect the Peshwa 
 from being dragged into war against his will, 
 and with this object the Governor - General 
 directed his brother, Major - General Arthur 
 Wellesley, to march on Poona from Mysore 
 with 15,000 troops. Holkar was still in oc- 
 cupation of the Maratha capital ; but he had 
 not yet come to terms with Sindhia or the 
 Raja of Berar, the other leading Maratha chief 
 of the south, and he was not minded to fight 
 the British single - handed. He therefore fell
 
 138 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 back into his own dominions as General 
 Wellesley approached, and the latter occupied 
 Poona without firing a shot on April 20, 1803. 
 
 At the same time that Lord Wellesley 
 ordered his brother to advance on Poona, he 
 sent orders to General^ Lake, who was at Cawn- 
 pore, to be in readiness to commence hostilities 
 against Sindhia in the north at any moment. 
 
 The question of peace or war now rested 
 with Sindhia, to whom the unpalatable fact 
 was evident that if he acquiesced in the treaty 
 of Bassein he would never realise the Maratha 
 Empire designed by his great -uncle, nor the 
 expulsion of the English from India. The 
 patience shown by Lord Wellesley in giving 
 Sindhia ample time to make up his mind was 
 even excelled by Colonel Collins, the Resident 
 at Sindhia's Court, who was most anxious to 
 avert war. Negotiations dragged on until the 
 month of June, when Sindhia and the Berar 
 Raja had prolonged interviews. Colonel Collins 
 repeatedly pressing Sindhia to declare his in- 
 tentions. No answer was obtainable, and it 
 soon became evident that the two chiefs were 
 endeavouring to persuade Holkar to join them. 
 
 At last, about the middle of July, the 
 tension became unendurable, and Lord Wellesley 
 
 ^ He had been promoted to this rank in April 1802.
 
 LORD WELLESLEY's RESOURCES. 139 
 
 directed his brother to call on Sindhia and the 
 Berar Raja to separate their armies, adding 
 that if Sindhia would return to his own 
 dominions the British troops would also retire 
 into their cantonments. To this appeal no 
 definite answer was given, and the Maratha 
 armies remained united. 
 
 Lord Wellesley having waited from June 4, 
 the date on which the two Maratha chieftains 
 had their first meeting, to August 1, saw that 
 Sindhia and the Bhonsla intended war though 
 they would not declare it, directed Colonel 
 Collins to leave Sindhia's camp, and ordered 
 the armies of Lake and Arthur Wellesley to 
 commence operations. 
 
 The total strength of regular troops in the 
 three presidencies on the outbreak of the 
 Maratha War was approximately as follows : ^ — 
 
 British cavalry . . . . 2,880 
 
 II infantry .... 14,500 
 
 Native cavalry .... 5,850 
 
 .1 infantry .... 81,480 
 
 Or a total of 104,710 cavalry and infantry, with 
 2400 artillerymen. 
 
 The only Horse Artillery battery in India 
 was in process of formation, and was not fit 
 
 ^ *The Campaigns of Lord Lake against the Marathas.' Major 
 Helsham Jones, RE. 1881.
 
 140 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 for service until the war had been some time 
 in progress. The bulk of the artillery was 
 distributed among units, two light, or galloper, 
 guns being attached to each cavalry regiment, 
 while each brigade of infantry also had with 
 it a proportion of guns. 
 
 It need hardly be stated that the Anglo- 
 Indian army was widely scattered, and it was 
 only by running very considerable risks that 
 Lord Wellesley was able to put about 60,000 
 men into the field. 
 
 It is very difficult to ascertain the real 
 strength of the armies of Sindhia and the 
 Berar Kaja. According to Thorn, who was 
 supplied with information by English officers 
 who had recently left the Maratha service, 
 Sindhia had about 40,000 regular troops, with 
 450 guns, in addition to an immense number 
 of irregulars. His artillery was much superior 
 In training and in materiel to that of any army 
 previously encountered by the British in India; 
 and his regular infantry, though written of in 
 these pages, as in other works, as Marathas, 
 were in fact almost to a man natives of Oudh, 
 Bohilkhand, and the Doab. 
 
 The Berar Baja's army, though inferior in 
 training to that of Sindhia, was formidable 
 from its numbers, had a powerful artillery,
 
 THE MARATHA ARMIES. 141 
 
 and contained an Arab contingent of excellent 
 fighting quality. According to Grant - Duff, 
 and there is no higher authority, the united 
 armies of Sindhia and the Berar Raja totalled 
 about 100,000 men, of whom 50,000 were horse, 
 and upwards of 30,000 were regular infantry 
 and artillery. In addition were from 10,000 
 to 12,000 men under a chief named Shamshir 
 Bahadur, who held Bundelkhand as a tribu- 
 tary of the Peshwa, and joined the confederacy 
 against the British. 
 
 As we are concerned with the operations of 
 General Lake's army only, a mere sketch will 
 now be given of the general plan of campaign 
 which had been decided on by General Lake 
 in consultation with the Governor-General and 
 Major-General Arthur Wellesley. 
 
 The circumstances leading up to the declara- 
 tion of war had caused a concentration of 
 troops in the neighbourhood of Poena. These 
 troops were divided into two corps, — one com- 
 manded by Major-General Arthur Wellesley, 
 the other by Colonel Stevenson, who, however, 
 acted under Wellesley's orders. Attached to 
 the combined force were some Mysore cavalry 
 and a mounted corps contributed by the 
 Peshwa. Altogether, General Wellesley had 
 about 17,000 men under his orders, of whom
 
 142 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 5000 were auxiliaries of poor quality. He had 
 also a reserve of 7000 men close at hand. 
 General Wellesley's task was to destroy the 
 armies of Sindhia and the Raja of Berar, who 
 together had in the southern theatre of war 
 about 50,000 men, with upwards of 100 guns. 
 
 The Maratha states in 1803 ran right across 
 India, the province of Cuttack, which belonged 
 to Berar, lying on the north-east coast of 
 the peninsula and dividing the Bengal and 
 Madras presidencies. On the west the Gaikwar's 
 dominions in Gujarat had a long sea -board to 
 the north-west of Bombay. The Gaikwar, the 
 chief of the western Marathas, whose capital 
 at this time was Ahmadabad, had not joined 
 in the war, but his attitude was uncertain. 
 
 Two forces were therefore allotted to the two 
 maritime states, 5000 men under Colonel Har- 
 court having instructions to seize Cuttack, 
 while 4200 men under Colonel Woodinofton 
 were to occupy Gujarat. To dispose of the 
 minor operations, it may suffice to say that both 
 Colonels Harcourt and Woodington achieved 
 their objects with ease, and the Marathas were 
 consequently cut off from any hope of assistance 
 by sea from the French. 
 
 In the northern theatre of war General Lake 
 himself commanded. Under his personal orders
 
 lake's task. 143 
 
 was a force which when concentrated amounted 
 to about 10,000 men. This force, immediately 
 before the outbreak of war, lay in its canton- 
 ments at Cawnpore, Fatehgarh, and some smaller 
 stations in the ceded districts of Oudh. 
 
 General Lake also had at his orders a force of 
 3500 men stationed at Allahabad, under Lieut. - 
 Colonel Powell. This force was intended to 
 deal with Shamshir Bahadur and occupy the 
 province of Bundelkhand as soon as Lake con- 
 sidered it safe for it to advance. 
 
 The share to be taken by the Commander-in- 
 Chief in the widely extended operations which 
 he had planned with Lord Wellesley was to be 
 no light one. He had undertaken, with his very 
 small force, to deal first with that portion of 
 the disciplined army created for Sindhia by 
 Count de Boigne and General Perron that might 
 be found in the region styled by Lord Wellesley 
 " the French state." This term referred to the 
 Doah, the great territory lying between the 
 rivers Ganges and Jumna which had been handed 
 over successively to the two French generals for 
 the payment and equipment of the regular army, 
 and to provide their own salaries. De Boigne 
 had left India in 1795, and the command had 
 since been exercised by General Perron, who 
 was now not only commander - in - chief of
 
 144 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 Sindhia's army, but had recently been prac- 
 tically dictator of the dominions of the King 
 of Delhi and wielder of the power that still 
 attached to the government of the Moghul 
 empire. In support of this army — formidable 
 enough by itself from its numerical strength, 
 training, and discipline — were the vast hordes 
 of irregulars of various nationalities that 
 served Sindhia himself and the numerous 
 princes of Hindustan, all more likely to sup- 
 port the actual master of Delhi than the 
 numerically weak British army. Behind them 
 again were the Sikhs and Afghans, unlikely, 
 it is true, to act in unison with one another, 
 but either power a source of danger in the 
 event of a reverse to Lake's small force. 
 
 As regards the strength of Sindhia's army 
 in Hindustan, the greater part of the regular 
 battalions were, shortly before the war, far 
 away in the Deccan, but Perron himself had 
 remained in the north and had nineteen bat- 
 talions with him. Fifteen more had been ordered 
 up from Sindhia's own territory to Delhi, and 
 were rapidly approaching. Perron's force, well 
 armed and equipped, was based on the strongly 
 fortified cities of Delhi and Agra, which were 
 provided with independent garrisons, and on 
 his arsenal in the great fortress of Aligarh.
 
 LAKE AND LORD WELLESLEY. 145 
 
 The Maratha regular army had in the past 
 often shown high fighting quality, and was 
 composed of veteran soldiers drawn from the 
 fighting races of Hindustan, inured to the 
 hardships of war and accustomed to victory. 
 
 To meet this fine force in the field, and to 
 capture its strong places, Lake had no more at 
 his disposal than 10,000 men of all arms; and 
 inasmuch as it seemed to him more important 
 to strike his first blow before his enemy expected 
 him to move, than to await the concentration 
 of the whole of his small army, he actually took 
 the field with little more than half this in- 
 considerable force. 
 
 In addition to the destruction of Sindhia's 
 regular army in Hindustan and the capture 
 of his strongholds, Lake undertook with his 
 meaofre 10,000 to defend the northern and 
 western frontiers of Bengal against the opera- 
 tions of Sindhia, devoting to that duty two 
 of his three brigades of cavalry and one 
 brigade of infantry, which watched the frontier 
 near Cawnpore during the opening stages of 
 the campaign. 
 
 It appears in the correspondence between 
 Lake and Lord Wellesley prior to outbreak 
 of war that there was a difference of opinion 
 between them as to the safer course of action 
 
 K
 
 146 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 for the former to pursue. Lord Wellesley 
 suggested the capture of Delhi and Agra as 
 the first steps, Perron's army and Aligarh to 
 be dealt with subsequently. General Lake, 
 with all the deference to the Governor- General 
 suggested by his strong sense of discipline, 
 held firmly to his own view, that no move- 
 ment on Delhi would be safe with Aligarh 
 and Perron's regular army left between him- 
 self and his base at Allahabad. Lake admitted 
 the risk, pointed out by Lord Wellesley, 
 that while he was attacking Aligarh, Sindhia 
 might slip past him and raid the Company's 
 territory, but he maintained that his plan of 
 campaign was the less dangerous of the two. 
 
 The Governor -General, who was superior to 
 all false pride, frankly gave way, and it is 
 hard to say which of the disputants deserves 
 the higher honour. Lord Wellesley was unac- 
 customed to encounter such independence of 
 character, and that he valued it appears from 
 the tone of his correspondence with Lake. 
 Courteous from the first, it soon abounded in 
 expressions of cordial friendship as the course 
 of the campaign and its vicissitudes made him 
 fully acquainted with the courageous and 
 generous character of Lake. Generosity and 
 courage indeed were congenial qualities to 
 Lord Wellesley, who, like Lake, was ever
 
 lake's ten thousand. 147 
 
 ready to assume responsibility or to shield a 
 subordinate. 
 
 In addition to the military programme which 
 he himself had laid down, entailing the cap- 
 ture of Aligarh, the destruction of Perron's 
 regular troops, and the occupation or capture 
 of Delhi and Agra, Lake had committed to 
 him the task of imposing British protection 
 on Shah Alam, the Moghul emperor or King 
 of Delhi, and of establishing a resident polit- 
 ical officer at his Court. For this purpose, 
 and to enable him to make treaties of alliance 
 with such princes of the R-ajput and other 
 races in the theatre of war as he might be 
 able to detach from the Maratha cause. Lake 
 was entrusted by Lord Wellesley with full 
 political powers. 
 
 We must now glance at the composition and 
 organisation of the 10,000 troops with which 
 Lake had undertaken his formidable and com- 
 plex task, nearly half the strength of which was 
 at first employed to hold Sindhia in check and 
 to guard the British frontier from invasion. 
 
 The composition of Lake's 10,000, who should 
 be as familiar to the British schoolboy as the 
 ten thousand of Xenophon, was as follows : — 
 
 8 regiments of cavalry, forming 3 brigades. 
 13 battalions of infantry, forming 4 brigades. 
 
 The only European infantry regiment was the 76th,
 
 148 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 which was placed in the 1st Brigade, and took the right 
 of the line in action. 
 
 The artillery, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel John Horsford, 
 consisting of 32 guns and howitzers. Of these, 16 guns 
 were allotted as galloper guns to the cavalry — i.e., 2 to 
 each regiment. The remainder were divided among the 
 infantry brigades as shown in the distribution statement. 
 
 The cavalry brigades had each two staff officers — a major 
 of brigade and a brigade quartermaster. Colonel St 
 Leger, the senior Brigadier, commanded all the cavalry, 
 but had no additional staff for this duty. 
 
 In practice, General Lake himself took command of 
 the cavalry as soon as it came into action, joining the 
 infantry when the turn of that arm for active work 
 came about. 
 
 The infantry, with a staff on no larger scale than that of the 
 cavalry, was divided into wings. The right wing, com- 
 posed of the 1st and 3rd Brigades, was commanded by 
 Major -General Robert Ware, a veteran officer of the 
 Company's service ; and the left, composed of the 2nd 
 and 4th Brigades, by Major-General the Hon. Frederick 
 St John, an officer, young for his position, zealous, active, 
 and capable of original thought. 
 
 The distribution of the regiments of cavalry 
 and infantry into brigades was as under : — 
 
 CAVALRY. 
 
 Units. Commanders. 
 
 1st Brigade. Colonel T. P. Vandeleur. 
 
 H.M.'s 8th Light Dragoons. Lieut.-Colonel J. Vandeleur. 
 
 1st Bengal Cavalry. Lieut.-Colonel Gordon. 
 
 3rd II II Major Middleton. 
 
 2nd Brigade. Colonel St Leger. -^ 
 
 H.M.'s 27th Light Dragoons. Lieut.-Colonel Need. 
 
 2nd Bengal Cavalry. Lieut.-Colonel Bi-own. 
 
 6th II II Major Mounsey. 
 
 3rd Brigade. Colonel R. Macan. 
 
 H.M.'s 29th Light Dragoons. Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. C. 
 
 Carleton. 
 4th Bengal Cavalry. Lieut.-Colonel M'Gregor. 
 
 1 Colonel William St Leger was promoted Major-General September 25, 
 1803, and left General Lake's army in consequence. He became a Lieu- 
 tenant-General in 1809, and died in 1818.
 
 PERSONAL TRAINING. 
 
 149 
 
 INFANTRY. 
 
 1st Brigade. 
 
 H.M.'s 76th Regiment. 
 
 1st Battalion 4th Native Infantry. 
 
 2nd II 11 II 
 
 Four companies 17th n 
 
 One 5^-inch howitzer. 
 
 Three 6 -pounders. 
 
 2nd Brigade. 
 
 2nd Battalion 8th Native Infantry. 
 
 2nd II 9th n 
 
 Ist II 12th II 
 
 Six companies 16th ti 
 
 One 5J-inch howitzer. 
 
 Two 18-pounders. 
 
 Zrd Brigade. 
 2nd Battalion 12th Native Infantry. 
 1st II 15th II 
 
 2nd II II M 
 
 Two 12-pounders. 
 Six 6-pounders. 
 One Si-inch howitzer. 
 
 4<A Brigade. 
 
 1st Battalion 2ud Native Infantry. 
 2nd II II II 
 
 1st .1 14th II 
 
 Colonel The Hon. W. Monso^i. 
 Major M'Leod. 
 Lieut. -Colonel Brown. 
 Major Edwards. 
 Captain Bagshawe. 
 
 Colond Clarice. 
 Major Bassett. 
 Lieut. -Colonel Ashe. 
 Lieut. -Colonel Palmer. 
 Lieut. -Colonel White. 
 
 Colonel M'DonaZd. 
 Lieut.-Colonel Ochterlony. 
 Major Forbes. 
 Major Haldane. 
 
 Lieut.-Colonel PoivcU. 
 Major Keryan. 
 Lieut.-Colonel Blair. 
 Lieut.-Colonel M'CuUoch. 
 
 Lake's force was a very small one for the task 
 in hand, and notably weak in artillery, though in 
 Lieut.-Colonel Horsford that arm had a highly 
 able and experienced commander. The force, how- 
 ever, had been highly trained for war by Lake 
 himself, and some description of the circum- 
 stances in which it had received this training 
 may be interesting, and will also serve to 
 explain the complete mutual confidence which 
 existed between the General and his small 
 army. 
 
 From the moment of General Lake's arrival in 
 India, it had been evident to Lord Wellesley that
 
 150 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 war with the Marathas might suddenly be forced 
 upon him ; and the Governor-General had there- 
 fore directed Lake to make his headquarters at 
 Cawnpore, instead of Calcutta. This arrange- 
 ment, in those days of slow postal communica- 
 tion, had its drawbacks, but the result had 
 been an exceptional war training of the Bengal 
 army during the cold weather of 1802. Cawn- 
 pore was then garrisoned by British troops 
 in accordance with a treaty with the Nawab- 
 Wazir of Oudh, and at no great distance lay 
 a great tract of open country, round the vast 
 ruins of the ancient city of Kanauj. In this 
 terrain, General Lake supervised the training 
 for war of all the available regiments of British 
 and native cavalry in Bengal. The training 
 had been carried out by Colonel St Leger, 
 but the system was Lake's own invention, 
 special attention being paid to a novel use of 
 "galloper" or horse - artillery guns. Two of 
 these guns were attached to each regiment, 
 and " nothing," writes Captain Thorn, who was 
 present as a staff officer of cavalry, " could 
 exceed the celerity and exactness of the man- 
 oeuvres made with them at full speed by this 
 large body of cavalry, whose combined move- 
 ments, conducted with the most perfect order.
 
 LAKE AND THE TIGER. 151 
 
 and in a spirit of emulation, gave certain promise 
 of the glory which, in the space of a few 
 months, afterwards crowned their labours." 
 
 Such continuous training gave Lake an op- 
 portunity, rare in those days, of testing the 
 capabilities of his officers and men, who in 
 turn learned to know what their General ex- 
 pected of them, and imbibed much of his 
 fearless and confident spirit. 
 
 Nor did the association of Lake with his 
 officers end on parade. Kanauj was then a 
 happy hunting-ground, for, writes Thorn, " here 
 amidst lofty grass, covering the ruins of splendid 
 edifices and the tombs of princes, lay concealed 
 a variety of game ; while beasts of prey, such 
 as wolves, jackals, and tigers, secluded them- 
 selves in retreats which formerly had resounded 
 with the voice of gladness. On one of these 
 hunting excursions a tiger of large size was 
 shot with a pistol by General Lake, just as 
 the ferocious animal was in the act of spring- 
 ing upon Major Nairne, by whom it had been 
 previously speared." 
 
 This was indeed hunting in the fearless old 
 fashion, and carried on, doubtless, in full uniform. 
 Major Nairne, a well - known shikari of the 
 period, was, it may be added, killed in action
 
 152 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 very shortly afterwards, during the operations 
 carried on by General Lake against certain 
 insurgent Zemindars in the ceded districts. 
 
 The training at the camp of exercise at 
 Kanauj in the cold weather of 1802-3 was 
 perhaps the first on a large scale experienced 
 by any portion of the Anglo-Indian ai'my, and 
 the Spartan soldiers of to-day may be amused 
 by the enthusiastic Captain Thorn's account 
 of the manner in which General Lake allowed 
 his officers to temper hard and useful work 
 with convivial and even domestic pleasures. 
 Lake's four beautiful daughters accompanied 
 him into camp, and aided him in dispensing 
 the lavish hospitality in which he delighted. 
 " Military occupations," says Thorn, " were 
 diversified with the scenes of social harmony 
 and festivity. . . . The heat of the day was 
 moderate, but the nights were cold ; and many 
 officers had not only glass doors to their tents, 
 but chimneys of bricks, by which means they 
 were enabled to enjoy the pleasures of an 
 English fireside with their wives and families, 
 who had been allowed to accompany them on 
 this occasion. These domestic comforts were 
 heightened by the luxuries of the table, where 
 were the finest wines of every kind, from the 
 exhilarating sheeraz of Persia to the ruby car-
 
 THE "lord of war." 153 
 
 bonelle and humble port." Those were hardy 
 days, and when we find the port of our grand- 
 sires described as " humble," and taking the 
 lowest place in the descending scale of the 
 worthy chronicler's list of Kanauj beverages, we 
 tremble to think how exhilarating must have 
 been the " sheeraz of Persia." ^ 
 
 While thus gaining the affection of his officers, 
 whom he entertained with lavish hospitality 
 and with the dignified Sfenialitv for which he 
 was famed in his day. General Lake succeeded 
 in endearing himself no less to the rank and 
 file of his cavalry. The hardy and daring 
 Light Dragoons of the royal service saw at 
 their head a leader after their own heart, for, 
 although in his fifty-ninth year, Lake headed 
 every charge in manoeuvre as he afterwards 
 did in war ; and the cavalry soldier who does 
 not respect and like a hard rider has yet to 
 be found. 
 
 In the dignified and courteous Guardsman, too, 
 the self-respecting sowars of the Bengal cavalry, 
 unerring judges of a man, found an ideal " Lord 
 of War " ; and the respect now inspired in 
 
 ^ Strong drinks are now generally avoided in India, but 
 "sheeraz," or in modern form, shiraz, wine was evidently long 
 in favour there. Tavernier mentions in his 'Travels in India' 
 (1665) that he drank two bottles of it at Patna with his com- 
 patriot Bernier and some Dutchmen.
 
 154 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 them by the activity and skill of Lake, or 
 " Lick sahib bahadur " as they called him, was 
 soon turned into a warm affection and de- 
 votion to the brave veteran, whom they were 
 soon to see riding through their camps in lean 
 days, munching as they did, in the saddle, a 
 handful of parched grain, and declaring it a 
 sufficient diet for the true soldier. 
 
 While the cavalry at Kanauj was thus pre- 
 paring for war while enjoying the pleasures of 
 peace, the infantry regiments cantoned at Cawn- 
 pore, Fatehgarh, and other stations in Oudh, 
 were being provided by Major-General St John 
 with an organisation of light infantry com- 
 panies similar to those introduced about the 
 same time into the army in England. For 
 this purpose ten men in each company were 
 selected for special training as light infantry 
 and marksmen. These men remained on the 
 strength of their companies, of which there 
 were ten in each battalion, but when required 
 to perform their special functions they were 
 called to the front, and formed an eleventh 
 company. On the line of march they were 
 thrown out by signal to guard the flanks of 
 the column. 
 
 General Lake approved of this arrangement 
 as a temporary measure, but preferred the
 
 LAKE MARCHES FROM CAWNPORE. 155 
 
 formation of a special native rifle-corps, which 
 was subsequently raised. The objection to 
 General St John's plan was, of course, the 
 serious weakening of the companies (which were 
 about 90 strong) by the removal of so large 
 a proportion of their best men from their ranks 
 at the moment of going into action. 
 
 During the hot weather of 1803 the army 
 lay in its cantonments at Cawnpore, Fatehgarh, 
 and elsewhere, and it was not until August 7 
 that, war being now inevitable. General Lake 
 acted on his full political authority and marched 
 from Cawnpore with the troops stationed there 
 under Major-General St John. The cavalry from 
 the same station marched on the following day, 
 under Colonel St Leger. 
 
 Thirteen days later the army, which had 
 been joined on the road by the troops from 
 Fatehgarh under Major -General Ware, arrived 
 on the British frontier at a place about 112 
 miles distant from its starting-point. The 
 troops were now distributed into their brigades 
 and continued their advance, encamping on 
 August 28 within sight of the mosque — the most 
 prominent building in the then flourishing town 
 of Koil. The movements of the army had been 
 hindered by the annual rains, which had been 
 unusually light, and had now ceased ; and the
 
 156 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 weather, as is ever the case in what is termed 
 "a break of the rains," was now extremely hot 
 and oppressive, and the troops suffered much 
 from thirst. In other respects they were in 
 good case, for their camp equipment was on a 
 liberal scale ; and to prevent fever Lake had 
 taken the precaution of providing every European 
 soldier with a bedstead, one of the strong and 
 light cots used by the natives of India, and 
 known as charpoys. 
 
 The line of march of an army in India is 
 still an interesting spectacle, but a hundred 
 years ago it was indeed astonishing, resembling 
 rather the migration of a population than that 
 of a mere fighting force. The transport of the 
 East has ever been cumbrous, and was at this 
 period entirely irregular, while the number of 
 camp-followers in Lake's army was estimated 
 at ten persons to every fighting man. A force 
 of 10,000 soldiers, approximately the number 
 now operating in the Doab, would therefore have 
 had 100,000 followers ; and their motley nature, 
 and the various descriptions of vehicles and 
 animals required for the carriage of their habita- 
 tions and supplies, merit the transcription of 
 Captain Thorn's vivid picture of the march of 
 an Indian army of the olden time. 
 
 First stating that several hundred elephants
 
 CAMP-FOLLOWERS. 157 
 
 and some thousands of camels were required to 
 carry the camp equipage and their own pro- 
 vender, Thorn writes : " Every horse, whether 
 of the cavalry or not, has two attendants, one 
 who cleans and takes care of the animal, and 
 another, denominated the grasscutter, who gathers 
 forage, consisting of the roots of grass, which he 
 digs up with an iron instrument resembling a 
 mason's trowel. These roots, being carefully 
 washed, constitute an excellent food ; and in 
 fact no other could well be obtained in a climate 
 which, when the hot wind prevails, is so com- 
 pletely bare of vegetation that not a single 
 blade can be discerned above ground ; notwith- 
 standing which dreariness, we have by the means 
 here described been able to preserve all our 
 cattle when encamped on plains exhibiting noth- 
 ing but an interminable waste of sterility. 
 
 " Besides an immense number of draught 
 bullocks for the use of the artillery park and 
 heavy ordnance carts, to every three of which 
 there is at least one driver, large droves of 
 Brinjarree bullocks, from eighty to one hundred 
 thousand, are employed in carrying grain. These 
 Brinjarries, or more correctly Bandjarrahs, are a 
 peculiar class of Hindoos, who mix very little 
 with the other tribes. They are a hardy race 
 of people, who live by collecting grain in districts
 
 158 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 where it is easily procured, and selling it in 
 places where the harvests have been less abund- 
 ant. Thus they are constantly occupied in 
 travelling to great distances, accompanied by 
 their wives and families ; and as they go in 
 large bodies, armed with matchlocks, spears, 
 scimitars, and shields, they can easily stand 
 their ground even against a considerable force. 
 In time of war the Bandjarrahs are of the 
 utmost utility to the party that secures their 
 services, for knowing well where grain is to be 
 obtained, when their stock begins to be exhausted 
 they set out to procure fresh supplies either by 
 purchase or plunder.^ 
 
 "To these purveyors of the army, as they 
 may be properly called, who, with their con- 
 nexions, surpass calculation, must be added in 
 the public department the palankeen and dhoolie 
 bearers, a class of persons at all times necessary 
 in this country, and indispensably so when the 
 fatigues and casualties of war require their 
 assistance for the conveyance of the sick and 
 
 ' The Brinjaris (to use the modern spelling) still exist, and 
 carry on their business of transporting grain from place to place, 
 though the spread of railways has lessened their sphere of util- 
 ity. At the period of which Captain Thorn writes, they were 
 so numerous and so widely established in India that they were 
 able to carry the supplies of the British armies in all the distant 
 portions of the theatre of wai, though many hundreds of miles 
 apart.
 
 NATIVE SERVANTS. 159 
 
 wounded. An army is further numerically in- 
 creased by the servants which every officer is 
 under the necessity of employing to take charge 
 of his live and dead stock ; for though the 
 private European soldier receives, besides his 
 regular allowance of arrack, rations of meat 
 from the Government contractors, who drive 
 large flocks of sheep for that purpose, the 
 officers must provide their own poultry, sheep, 
 and particularly goats to supply them with 
 milk for their tea, — a beverage in this country 
 of the most refreshing nature, especially after 
 a long march. The attendants, therefore, which 
 these services render expedient, may be estimated 
 at ten to a subaltern, twenty to a captain, 
 thirty to a field officer, and so on in proportion. 
 But even the privates themselves are not with- 
 out their dependants who contribute to enlarge 
 the population of a camp, there being a cook 
 or hhabajee to every mess, a water-carrier or 
 mesalljee to each tent, in which lie generally 
 ten or twelve soldiers ; also a washerman, termed 
 a dhohy, to every troop or company. 
 
 " Such are the immediate adjuncts of a 
 marching force in the East ; but even this is 
 not all, for besides the women who follow the 
 fortunes of the officers and private soldiers, 
 there is a mixed multitude of different de-
 
 160 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 nominations termed ' the bazaar people/ con- 
 sisting of merchants and pedlars, with a variety 
 of adventurers of all pursuits, some exercising 
 particular callings and making themselves useful, 
 while others accompany the army merely with 
 a view to plunder." 
 
 Captain Thorn follows up this spirited sketch 
 of the impedimenta of an Indian army by an 
 equally vivid description of the normal forma- 
 tion of Lake's army when on the march and in 
 camp, and of its manner of life when halted, 
 all so unlike the fashion of modern warfare 
 that the reader will perhaps pardon yet another 
 quotation. 
 
 "The march of our army," he continues, "had 
 the appearance of a moving town or citadel, in 
 the form of an oblong square, whose sides 
 were defended by ramparts of glittering swords 
 and bayonets. On one side moved the line of 
 infantry, on the opposite that of the cavalry, 
 parallel to and preserving its encamping distance 
 as near as possible from the infantry, and keep- 
 ing the heads of the columns abreast of one 
 another. The front face was protected by the 
 advanced -guard, consisting of all the picquets 
 coming on duty, and the rear by all the 
 picquets returning from duty, and then forming 
 the rear - guard. The parks and columns of
 
 THE ORDER OF MARCH. 161 
 
 artillery moved on in the inside of the square, 
 always keeping the high-road, and next to the 
 infantry, which moved at a short distance from 
 it. The remainder of the space within the 
 square was occupied by the baggage, cattle, 
 and followers of the camp. Notwithstanding 
 the immense magnitude of this moving mass, 
 and the multifarious elements of which it con- 
 sisted, nothing could exceed the regularity 
 observed by the troops in maintaining their 
 respective distances and adhering closely to 
 the order of formation on the march. The 
 Commander - in - Chief, aware how active the 
 numerous cavalry of the enemy would be in 
 hovering continually round, ready to dart in 
 and take advantage of any opening or improper 
 lengthening out of the line of march, judged 
 it prudent to give the officers a little advice, 
 the excellence of which may recommend it for 
 general adoption no less than for military opera- 
 tions in India. The officers were enjoined to 
 impress upon their men the necessity of acting 
 in perfect concert, without which the advantages 
 of discipline would be lost : they were therefore 
 cautioned, as they regarded their own personal 
 safety and that of the service, not to be led 
 away by a mistaken and reprehensible ardour 
 to break their ranks and so to put themselves 
 
 L
 
 162 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 on an equality with an irregular and undisci- 
 plined enemy. 
 
 " The army encamped for the most part as 
 it marched, — the infantry and cavalry in two 
 lines, facing outwards, thus affording a strong 
 protection to everything contained in the en- 
 closure. The power of the imagination can 
 scarcely figure to itself the sudden transforma- 
 tion that takes place on these occasions, when 
 an Indian camp exhibits, with the effect of an 
 enchantment, the appearance of a lively and 
 populous city amidst the wilds of solitude and 
 on a dreary plain. In a short space the rough 
 visage of war is changed to the reciprocal offices 
 of confidence, and the fatigues of professional 
 duty are forgotten amidst scenes of festivity. 
 Throughout long and regular streets of shops, 
 like the booths at an English fair, may be seen 
 in every direction all the bustling variety of 
 trade, the relaxation of enjoyment, and the 
 pursuits of pleasure. Here sheroffs, or money- 
 changers, are ready with their coin to accom- 
 modate those who are unprovided with the 
 currency necessary for the purchase of the 
 necessities or luxuries of life. In such a 
 situation, where nothing more could well be 
 expected than what serves to alleviate the 
 present cravings of nature, every kind of
 
 THE LADIES. 163 
 
 luxury abounds ; and while some shops allure 
 the hungry passenger with boiled or parched 
 rice, others exhibit a profusion of rich viands 
 with spices, curry materials and confectionery, 
 for the indulgence of a voluptuous appetite. 
 European merchants, here called sadawJcers, 
 either by themselves or their native agents, 
 are busily employed in vending wines, liquors, 
 and groceries ; while other traders exhibit for 
 sale fine cloths, muslins, and rich cashmerian 
 shawls. Here also are to be found goldsmiths 
 and jewellers exercising their occupations and 
 endeavouring to attract the fancy by a display 
 of elegant ornaments, as though war had been 
 deprived of its austerity, or that victory had 
 already been decided. Besides these and various 
 other traffickers, the camp exhibits the singu- 
 lar spectacle of female quacks, who practise 
 cupping, sell drugs, and profess to cure dis- 
 orders by charms. Nearly allied to these are 
 the jugglers showing their dexterity by numerous 
 arts of deception ; and, to complete the motley 
 assemblage, groups of dancing girls have their 
 allotted station in the bazaar." 
 
 Captain Thorn enlarges at considerable length 
 on the personal appearance, costume, accomplish- 
 ments, and moral characteristics of these ladies, 
 but the reader will perhaps have had enough
 
 164 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 of his description of the camp of the Grand 
 Army. We shall see presently how the warriors 
 who made themselves so comfortable on the 
 march comported themselves in action, doubt- 
 ing not that a few months' campaigning enabled 
 them to shake off some at least of their motley 
 and cumbrous following. 
 
 On August 29 the army marched at four in 
 the morning, and at once crossed into Maratha 
 territory, leaving the baggage and bazaar at 
 a village some four miles distant from Koil, 
 information having been received that a hostile 
 force was encamped between that town and the 
 fort of Aligarh. The troops advanced to the 
 attack at seven o'clock, and, on their presently 
 coming into view, the enemy struck his camp 
 and drew up his mounted troops in a strong 
 position on a plain, the right resting on the 
 fort of Aligarh, the left protected by some 
 villages, and the front by a deep morass. The 
 Maratha horse numbered about 9000, of whom 
 from 4000 to 5000 were regulars ; and some 
 2000 infantry were posted in villages in the 
 vicinity of the fort. General Lake obviously 
 had no choice but to attack the Maratha left, 
 and this he did without hesitation, making the 
 necessary flank movement with a confidence 
 and steadiness which had an immediate effect.
 
 FLIGHT OF perron's CAVALRY. 165 
 
 The guns of the fortress kept up a heavy 
 fire on the British force during the flank 
 march, but with little effect. On reaching the 
 point where deployment was possible, the cavalry, 
 led by the General in person, formed into two 
 lines and advanced rapidly to the attack, 
 supported by three or four lines of infantry. 
 The Maratha horse were so intimidated by 
 this regular and determined advance, and so 
 hampered by the swampy ground in their 
 front (which, although it protected them from 
 a direct attack, also prevented them from 
 making a counter - attack during the progress 
 of Lake's flank movement), that they tamely 
 fell back under the walls of the fortress. The 
 British cavalry closely followed them up, the 
 great crowd of horsemen of the two armies 
 causing a dense cloud of dust to arise, which 
 prevented the fire of the fort guns, even at 
 this close range, from being effective. So de- 
 moralised were the Maratha horse by this 
 rapid attack that Perron was unable to rally 
 them, and they presently broke into a flight 
 that quickly carried them beyond the reach of 
 the British cavalry. Perron's body - guard, a 
 fine body of horsemen, alone maintained its 
 formation, and escorted the General from the 
 field in the direction of Agra.
 
 166 THE MARA.THA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 General Lake now established his army hard 
 by the town of Koil, encamping the troops on 
 the north side of the town, which thus guarded 
 the right flank of the camp : the left flank, 
 being e?i Vair, was thrown back. Lake himself 
 took up his residence in General Perron's fine 
 house, the Sahib Bagh, which was midway 
 between Koil and the fortress of Aligarh, and 
 consequently about a mile from the front of 
 his camp. When abandoning Aligarh and its 
 garrison to their fate, Avhich, indeed, he could 
 not help doing. Perron urged his son-in-law, 
 Colonel Pedron, the commandant of the fortress, 
 to make a determined defence, promising to 
 return presently at the head of the entire 
 Maratha army and to drive away the English. 
 Perron's letter was written in the somewhat 
 theatrical style dear to Frenchmen, and so 
 derided by the matter-of-fact Englishmen of a 
 hundred years ago. " Remember," wrote Perron, 
 "that you are a Frenchman, and let no action 
 of yours tarnish the character of your nation. 
 I hope in a few days to send back the English 
 general as fast, or faster than he came. Make 
 yourself perfectly easy on this subject. Either 
 the Emperor's army or that of General Lake 
 shall find a grave before the fort of Allyghur. 
 Do your duty and defend the fort while one
 
 THE APPEAL OF PERRON. 167 
 
 stone remains upon another. Once more, re- 
 member your nation. The eyes of milhons are 
 fixed upon you." 
 
 Perron, however, on arriving at Agra found 
 himself unable to fulfil his promise. He had 
 for some time been on bad terms with his 
 Maratha master ; and Sindhia had, not long- 
 previously, actually insulted him in durbar. 
 Several of the more prominent Maratha officers 
 were desirous of taking Perron's place at the 
 head of the army ; and, more dangerous still, 
 he had a treacherous rival in one of his own 
 race, Louis Bourquin, the commander of the 
 1st Brigade of Sindhia's regular army. 
 
 Bourquin, whose record as a soldier was 
 much inferior to that of Perron, made such 
 effective use of his General's absence from Agra, 
 and of his defeat outside Aligarh, that he now 
 succeeded in procuring Perron's dismissal and 
 his own promotion to a short-lived command. 
 
 General Lake, having disposed of Perron 
 and his cavalry, had now to decide on his 
 course of action with regard to Aligarh, and, 
 having determined that he would not leave 
 so strong a post in his rear, he decided to 
 attack it promptly, and if possible to carry 
 it by a coup - de - main. From his lack of 
 siege material he could, in fact, take no other
 
 168 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 course. Knowing, however, that in all proba- 
 bility such action would result in a heavy loss 
 of life, and particularly of Europeans, in whom 
 his army was so dangerously weak. Lake 
 endeavoured to persuade Colonel Pedron to 
 surrender. He entered into a correspondence 
 of five days' duration, and found Pedron much 
 inclined to come to terms. The second-in-com- 
 mand of the fortress, a Rajput officer named 
 Baji E,ao, was, however, made of sterner stuff, 
 and finally put an abrupt end to the peace 
 negotiations by placing Colonel Pedron in 
 arrest, assuming the command, and defying 
 Lake to do his worst. 
 
 Baji Rao was right, for he now had in his 
 charge nearly all the reserve stores of the 
 Maratha army, including some 300 guns of 
 various calibres, great quantities of powder and 
 shot, and large supplies of uniform of French 
 pattern, and other necessaries. So essential an 
 arsenal should not, he felt, be tamely surrend- 
 ered. The fortress of Aligarh, too, was im- 
 mensely strong. It had been selected by Perron 
 as his headquarters on account of its natural 
 advantages of position, and for years the most 
 skilled French engineers had laboured to make 
 it impregnable. The plain in the midst of 
 which it stands, being intersected by swamps,
 
 ALIGARH. 169 
 
 becomes so inundated during the rainy season 
 as to render the fort unapproachable by ordin- 
 ary siege operations. As for a coup -de -main, 
 the walls were of great height and strength, 
 not to be quickly breached by the weak artil- 
 lery of Lake's army ; the ditch had a breadth 
 varying from 100 to 200 feet and a depth of 
 32 feet ; even in the dry season it had a 
 minimum depth of 10 feet of water; the only 
 entrance into the fort was so guarded by 
 batteries as to be most difficult to force, and 
 would indeed have been inaccessible had the 
 commandant cut away a narrow bank which 
 traversed the moat and carried a roadway 
 into the fort. This precaution was not taken, 
 doubtless from over - confidence and from a 
 reliance on the promise of relief from Agra. 
 Finally, the garrison was numerous and brave, 
 consisting of 3000 infantry, 200 artillerymen, 
 and a regiment of cavalry. 500 of the in- 
 fantry were recruits, but fought as bravely as 
 the rest. 
 
 The five days occupied in negotiation had 
 not been unwelcome to the British force. On 
 the evenino- of Auofust 29 Lake had found 
 his troops much exhausted : they had been 
 under arms and in movement for many hours 
 in great heat, and, even in the tents, after
 
 170 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 Perron's retreat, the thermometer had marked 
 over 100 degrees. By September 3, however, 
 they were much refreshed, and Lake having 
 determined on an assault on the following 
 morning, proceeded to select the storming- 
 party and its commander. 
 
 His choice fell upon Colonel the Hon. 
 William Monson, 76th Regiment, Brigadier of 
 the 1st Brigade, a soldier of approved gal- 
 lantry, who was naturally permitted to form 
 the assaulting column from his own regiments. 
 His column was thus composed : four companies 
 76th Begiment, under Major M'Leod, the officer 
 commanding the regiment ; the 1st Battalion 
 4th Native Infantry; and four companies 17th 
 Native Infantry. The remainder of the 1st 
 Brigade was held in readiness to reinforce, 
 and in the course of the attack the 2nd 
 Battalion 4th Native Infantry was, in fact, 
 brought up. 
 
 During the night of September 3 two bat- 
 teries, each of four 18 -pounders, were constructed 
 by Captains Bobertson and Greene, under the 
 supervision of Lieut. - Colonel Horsford, — one 
 under cover of a village, and the other con- 
 cealed by the trees of the Sahib Bagh, General 
 Perron's house, now occupied by Lake. The 
 fire of these batteries was intended to keep
 
 A STEALTHY APPROACH. l7l 
 
 down the fire from the walls of Aligarh during 
 the assault. The stormers, headed by Colonel 
 Monson, and guided by Mr Lucan, an English 
 officer who had recently left the Maratha 
 service in accordance with Lord Wellesley's 
 proclamation, left camp at three o'clock in the 
 morning of September 4, and, after a cautious 
 advance, arrived unseen and unheard at a 
 point within 400 yards of the only gateway 
 of the fortress. Here they halted to wait for 
 dawn. During the halt an officer crept forward 
 to make a close reconnaissance, and found a 
 Maratha picquet, sixty to seventy strong, 
 smoking and talking round a fire in front of 
 the gateway. A party of the 76th was now 
 sent forward with the design of driving this 
 picquet through the gateway and entering 
 with them. The men of the 76th attacked, 
 however, with such impetuosity and sudden- 
 ness that the whole picquet was slain, not a 
 man escaping to tell the tale. The noise of 
 the struggle or scufiie was heard by the 
 sentries on the ramparts, who opened a brisk 
 but unaimed fire for a time ; but no notice 
 being taken of their fire, it presently ceased, 
 as they imagined that the sounds they had 
 heard had been caused by the repulse of some 
 rash patrol from the British lines.
 
 172 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 On the firing of the morning gun at Lake's 
 camp the covering batteries, by arrangement, 
 opened a heavy fire on the dimly seen walls 
 of Aligarh, and Monson and his stormers 
 advanced rapidly towards the gateway. When 
 within 100 yards of the entrance they came 
 upon a small and newly constructed work, 
 mounting three 6 -pounders. So rapid was 
 the rush of stormers that the Maratha gunners 
 were unable to fire a round in defence of the 
 breast-work, but fled with the remainder of the 
 garrison into the fort. The companies of the 76th 
 hotly pursued them, again hoping to steal an 
 entrance into the fortress ; but those guarding 
 the gate were by now on the alert, and the 76th 
 found the gate closed, and immediately came 
 under a destructive fire from several directions. 
 
 Two scaling-ladders were instantly brought 
 up and placed in position, and the grenadier 
 company of the 76th, headed by Major M'Leod, 
 the commanding officer of the regiment, en- 
 deavoured to mount the walls. They were, 
 however, repulsed by pikemen, so this attempt 
 also failed. The storming - party, nothing 
 daunted, maintained their ground with grim 
 determination, while as a last resort guns 
 were brought up to blow in the gate. A 
 6 -pounder was first used without efiect, and
 
 A BRAVE DEFENCE. 173 
 
 afterwards, after some delay and great exertion, 
 a 12-pounder was run up, which on the fifth 
 or sixth discharge burst the gate open. 
 
 These operations occupied fully twenty min- 
 utes, during which time the stormers, crowded 
 into a small space and exposed to a close fire 
 to which they could make no effective reply, 
 lost heavily. Nor were their losses confined 
 to those inflicted on them by the heavy guns, 
 wall -pieces, and muskets from several parapets 
 and walls which commanded their position, 
 for numbers of the brave defenders of the 
 fortress swarmed down the scaling-ladders 
 and attacked them, sword or spear in hand, 
 —an incident rarely paralleled in war.^ 
 
 1 During the gallant defence of Vellore in 1781 against the 
 army of Tippu of Mysore and his French allies, a prolonged 
 attack was made on an outlying fort garrisoned by one hundred 
 Madras Sepoys under two English subalterns. This small body 
 of men held their own, during a persistent siege of five weeks' 
 duration, " the enemy's artillery being well served, his infantry 
 and investing force overwhelming ; but the steady determined 
 defence made by Lieutenants Champness and Parr, with a 
 garrison entirely native, foiled and rejaulsed every assault. On 
 one occasion the ladders were planted and ascended by the 
 enemy, who were driven off with much slaughter, and the 
 garrison following the gallant Lieutenant Parr, descended by 
 them and became the assailants on the retreating foe, who, after 
 a close and determined encounter with the bayonet, were dis- 
 lodged from their position near the breach."^ 
 
 1 Historical record of the First Madras European Regiment.
 
 1*74 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 In those fatal twenty minutes all the officers 
 of the companies of the 76th were killed or 
 wounded, and the casualties of the small column 
 were so heavy that the 2nd Battalion 4th Native 
 Infantry was brought up to reinforce it. Among 
 those of the storming - party severely wounded 
 was its commander, Colonel Monson, the bone 
 of whose arm was broken by the thrust of a 
 pike. 
 
 The outer gate having at last been burst 
 open, the stormers advanced at a run under a 
 very heavy and close, but confused, fire to a 
 second gate, which was easily broken down. A 
 third gate, reached in like manner, was rushed, 
 while the crowd of retreating Marathas pre- 
 vented its beinof' shut. The fourth and last 
 gate, distant 500 yards from the outer one, was, 
 however, closed, and though Captain Shipton of 
 the artillery, who had been wounded during 
 the advance, gallantly brought up his twelve- 
 pounder, the gate defied his efforts. 
 
 Major M'Leod, however, a cool and determined 
 soldier, forced the wicket, and the stormers made 
 their way to the ramparts, where ensued a 
 slaughter grim and great. The garrison of Ali- 
 garh maintained their brave defence for nearly 
 an hour, and their loss in killed was stated to 
 be no less than 2000 men, the surface of the
 
 THE BRITISH LOSSES. l75 
 
 ditch being thickly covered with the floating 
 bodies of those who were shot or drowned while 
 endeavouring to swim across it. Those who 
 succeeded in crossing were, for the most part, 
 cut down by the 27th Light Dragoons, for they 
 refused to surrender. Quarter was given to 
 those of the garrison who accepted it, and they 
 were set at liberty by order of General Lake. 
 
 Colonel Pedron, the deposed governor, was 
 brought a prisoner before Lake. He was found 
 to be " an elderly man, clad in a green jacket, 
 with gold lace and epaulets." 
 
 Baji Rao, the brave Maratha chief, was among 
 the slain. 
 
 The British casualties, so heavy during the 
 check at the outer gate, were surprisingly light 
 during the triumphant rush through the re- 
 maining defences. The killed numbered 55, of 
 whom 6 were officers ; and the wounded 205, of 
 whom 11 were officers, — a total of 260 casualties. 
 The proportion of casualties to strength in the 
 76th Regiment was very high as compared with 
 the native portion of the storming -party, yet 
 the latter behaved extremely well. 
 
 Thus fell the fortress of Aligarh, believed by 
 every native of India to be impregnable, as 
 indeed it would have been had the care and 
 vigilance of the defenders equalled their courage.
 
 176 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 It may well be imagined with what anxiety 
 Lake, who watched the assault from the battery 
 in the Sahib Bagh, witnessed the check at the 
 outer gateway. There stood by him, during 
 those anxious twenty minutes, which seemed 
 as long as so many hours, a cool and sympa- 
 thetic observer in the person of James Skinner, 
 perhaps the best soldier of mixed blood who 
 ever served England. Skinner tells us that 
 when the stormers were checked and came 
 under the terrible fire from the bastions and 
 walls ("one of the heaviest fires of musketry 
 and great guns I have seen," writes Skinner, 
 who had seen many), General Lake feared that 
 the assault had failed. When the gateway was 
 forced, the 76th rushed through it with a great 
 shout. As soon as he heard the shout the 
 countenance of Lake changed from anxiety to 
 joy, and he called out with the greatest delight, 
 "The fort is ours!" and turning to Skinner 
 (who had joined the British army from the 
 Maratha service a few days before) asked him 
 what he thought of European fighting. Skinner 
 replied " that no forts in Hindustan could stand 
 against it," — an answer which may have had 
 unhappy results. "Then," adds Skinner, "spur- 
 ring his horse, he galloped to the gate. But 
 when he saw his heroes lying thick there, the
 
 "the fate of good soldiers." 177 
 
 tears came to his eyes. ' It is the fate of good 
 soldiers/ he said." 
 
 Skinner concludes his narrative with the 
 testimony, highly honourable coming from so 
 experienced a soldier, that the courage displayed 
 by the 76th surpassed all he had ever seen, and 
 every idea he had formed of soldiering. 
 
 In the evening the bodies of the European 
 slain were interred with great solemnity, those 
 of the native soldiers being, of course, disposed 
 of by their co-religionists as was meet for them. 
 The five officers of the 76th were buried in front 
 of the colour-guard of their regiment. General 
 Lake and his staif, and all officers off duty, 
 attending the procession, during which the band 
 played the " Dead March," and minute guns 
 were fired from the batteries. These seemly 
 marks of respect for the brave and faithful dead 
 can no longer be paid in war, and this record 
 of old customs may therefore be of interest. 
 
 Lake reported his success to the Governor- 
 General in a formal despatch, and entered into 
 further particulars in the following hasty but 
 interesting letter written on the day of the 
 
 assault : — 
 
 Camp at Coel, 
 September 4, 1803. 
 
 My Lord, — By my official letter which accompanies 
 this, you will, I am sorry to say, perceive that I have 
 
 M
 
 178 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 lost a great many valuable officers, and that unfortun- 
 ately Colonel Monson, who behaved most gloriously, 
 has received a most severe wound in the arm from a 
 pike. The bone, I understand, is broken high up ; but 
 Mr Lenny and the other surgeons who have examined 
 it have hopes that he may recover without amputa- 
 tion. I cannot say too much of the conduct of Colonel 
 Monson upon this occasion ; he is a most serious loss 
 to the army. Your lordship may easily conceive what 
 I feel at his misfortune and the loss of so many brave 
 men. 
 
 As I told your lordship in my letter of the 1st 
 instant, I had tried every method to prevail upon 
 these people to give up the fort, and offered a very 
 large sum of money ; but they were determined to hold 
 out, which they did most obstinately, and I may say 
 most gallantly. In short, my lord, from the extra- 
 ordinary strength of the place, and being obliged to 
 win it inch by inch, it being so determinedly defended, 
 in my opinion British valour never shone more con- 
 spicuous. I think this action will strike terror into 
 the natives, and prevent us some trouble. I trust 
 your lordship will agree with me in thinking that I 
 have done right in gaining this fort at any rate, as, 
 in the first place, it was so strong that I could not 
 look upon my army safe with such a fort in my rear; 
 in the second place, it would have given the natives a 
 very poor opinion of our troops ; and in the third place, 
 I am convinced that after a regular siege we must have 
 had the same difficulties to encounter. The strength of 
 the place cannot be described but by a drawing, which 
 shall be sent down to you as soon as it can be pre- 
 pared ; a seventy-four might sail in the ditch. The 
 engineer and Colonel Horsford both think that after 
 a breach had been made we should have lost as many 
 men as we now have, besides what would have fallen 
 during a siege, which would have lasted nearly a month.
 
 AN ANXIOUS TIME. 179 
 
 All these points being considered, the delay that would 
 have been caused in the execution of your orders, and 
 the certainty of giving spirit to the Maratha chiefs, 
 who would then have been inclined to flock to the 
 Frenchman's standard, I feel happy at having gained the 
 fort, which stood out for more than an houi\ A more 
 anxious time I never experienced ; the fire was tremen- 
 dous, and nothing, from the strong way in which the 
 natives were posted with all their advantages, but 
 British soldiers would have effected the business. I 
 have wrote more than I intended, and I must beg you 
 will pardon me for being so prolix, but really my mind 
 is so much agitated from the loss of so many excellent 
 men that I hardly know what I do. 
 
 It appears, I am sorry to say, that poor Monson's 
 wound may be attended with danger, as in the event 
 of amputation, danger is always to be apprehended in 
 this country ; but I trust and hope I shall be able to 
 send you a better account of him to-morrow. 
 
 P.S. — I have only to add that, without the fort of 
 Alyghur, we could not have had the entire possession 
 of the Doab ; indeed, till it was ours, we were liable 
 to be driven out of it at any time. 
 
 The news of the capture of Allgarh was re- 
 ceived with great pleasure by Lord Wellesley, 
 who eulogised in his General Order of September 
 15, 1803, the "alacrity and valour" with which 
 Lake decided on the assault.^ The Governor- 
 
 ^ The most valuable compliment conferred on Lake's achieve- 
 ment, from the military eminence of its author, was that of 
 General Arthur Wellesley. "I think," he wrote on October 14, 
 1803, "that General Lake's capture of AUyghur is one of the
 
 180 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 General also praised in befitting terms those 
 officers whom Lake had mentioned as having 
 distinguished themselves, beginning, of course, 
 with Colonel Monson. It may be here recorded 
 that Lake by no means followed the routine 
 of the period in his "mentions in despatches," 
 for instead of merely recommending for reward 
 the staff and commanding officers, then the 
 almost invariable custom, he, on this and other 
 occasions, was guided strictly by merit. Three 
 captains of artillery received special mention — 
 two for service with the covering batteries, and 
 Captain Shipton, who blew in the gates ; but 
 the most marked praise of all was awarded to 
 Lucan, the gallant Irishman who, at the im- 
 minent risk of his life, led the assaulting column. 
 Terrible indeed would have been Lucan's fate 
 if captured, as it was unfortunately his destiny 
 to prove later in the campaign. 
 
 The risks taken by Lucan were fully rec- 
 ognised and promptly rewarded by Lord 
 Wellesley, who conferred on him a money 
 reward of Rs. 24,000 and a lieutenant's com- 
 mission in the 74th Regiment. 
 
 most extraordinary feats that I have heard of in this countiy. 
 I never attacked a fort that I did not attempt the same thing 
 — viz., to blow open the gates — but I have never succeeded. I 
 have always taken them by escalade, which appears to have been 
 impossible in this instance."
 
 CAPTAIN FLEURY's RAID. 181 
 
 A little space must now be given to the 
 movements of General Perron's troops after 
 their hurried retreat from outside Aligarh. Of 
 the 9000 or more mounted men present on 
 that occasion, nearly half either dispersed or 
 broke away in small parties and returned to 
 their own districts. On reaching Hatras, 
 Perron intrusted the command of 5000 good 
 men, who still maintained their discipline, to 
 Captain Fleury, one of his best French officers, 
 and ordered him to harry the country towards 
 Cawnpore and to hamper General Lake's move- 
 ments. Perron himself, with his body-guard, 
 continued his retirement to Agra, to which 
 place he had sent his family and private prop- 
 erty : what befell him there will presently be 
 related. 
 
 Captain Fleury at first carried out his orders 
 with some success, for moving against Shiko- 
 habad, a small outpost on the Company's frontier 
 in the Etawah district, he attacked it on 
 September 2. Shikohabad was held by a 
 weak garrison of five companies of the 11th 
 Native Infantry, with one gun, under Lieut. - 
 Colonel Coningham, and the position has no 
 natural strength. 
 
 Fleury made repeated attacks from four in 
 the morning till two in the afternoon, but
 
 182 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 without success. He then withdrew and called 
 up reinforcements, with which he again attacked 
 two days later. Colonel Coningham's force had 
 held out stoutly, but he and nearly all his 
 officers had been wounded, his small force had 
 sustained over sixty casualties, ammunition was 
 running short, and no relief appeared probable. 
 In these circumstances Coningham thought a 
 capitulation justified. The small British force 
 was permitted by Fleury to retire from Shiko- 
 habad with its gun and other arms on engaging 
 to take no further part in the war against 
 Sindhia. Captain Thorn adds to the above facts 
 a statement that the wife of an English 
 officer was carried off. There appears to be 
 no record of her fate. 
 
 On hearing of the attack on Shikohabad, 
 General Lake at once despatched the 3rd 
 Cavalry Brigade, under Colonel Macan, to 
 deal with Fleury 's force. Macan, a bold and 
 enterprising Irishman, marched rapidly in search 
 of the Maratha horse ; but Fleury, who had 
 sustained heavy losses in the two days' fight- 
 ing at Shikohabad, showed no desire for further 
 fighting in spite of his greatly superior strength. 
 
 Falling back on Agra, Fleury's force eventually 
 made a precipitate retreat across the Jumna,
 
 COLONEL MACAN's OPERATIONS. 183 
 
 accompanied in their flight by the garrison of 
 Ferozabad, a fortified village only twenty-four 
 miles distant from Agra. Macan, following in 
 hot pursuit, took possession of Ferozabad, captur- 
 ing there nine guns, a large quantity of grain, 
 and some cattle. 
 
 Macan's brigade, with complete confidence, 
 carried on its independent operations round 
 Agra for twelve days, until on September 17 
 it was joined by the 8th Light Dragoons and 
 three battalions of the 2nd Infantry Brigade 
 under Colonel Clarke. The command of the 
 combined force was then assumed by Colonel 
 Thomas Pakenham Vandeleur, the senior Lieu- 
 tenant - Colonel of the 8th Light Dragoons. 
 The 8th were now making their first appearance 
 in the campaign, having only recently arrived 
 in India. They had been mounted during the 
 month of July on horses provided by the Nawab- 
 Wazir of Oudh. 
 
 Colonel Vandeleur, finding that no further 
 enterprise was to be feared from Fleury, now 
 proceeded along the eastern bank of the Jumna 
 to a point opposite Muttra, in order to cross 
 the river there and rejoin the main army, whose 
 movements must now be described. 
 
 A halt of two days at Aligarh, after its cap-
 
 184 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 ture, sufficed General Lake to restore the broken 
 defences and establish a garrison of one battalion 
 of Native Infantry. 
 
 On September 7 be marcbed away to Sumna, 
 in tbe direction of Delbi. Here Lake received 
 a letter from General Perron, stating tbat be 
 had quitted tbe service of Sindbia, and asking 
 permission to take refuge under British protection 
 at Lucknow. This important step, for which 
 General Perron has been unjustly stigmatised 
 as a traitor by some writers, was thus brought 
 about. Perron, like his great predecessor De 
 Boigne, was well known by the Maratha 
 leaders to be opposed to war with the British ; 
 and this knowledge, as soon as war became 
 inevitable, rendered his position impossible. 
 He was no longer trusted by Sindbia, and 
 the fact was well known to the officers, and 
 indeed to the whole army, which he had 
 formerly held completely under his control. 
 Perron's removal from his command was ob- 
 viously imminent, and on the outbreak of war, 
 the only question was at what moment and 
 in what manner the removal would come 
 about. Among those who most loudly and 
 constantly asked this question was the man 
 who desired to supplant him, Louis Bourquin,
 
 THE DEPOSITION OF PERRON. 185 
 
 a fellow-countryman and dependant of Perron's, 
 but a man of much lower type, who was now 
 brigadier of the 1st Brigade of the Maratha 
 army. No sooner had the news of Perron's 
 defeat before Aligarh reached Delhi than 
 Bourquin declared Perron a traitor, and in- 
 duced, first, his own brigade, and subsequently 
 the whole army at Delhi, to proclaim him 
 as their commander. This disloyal conduct 
 was opposed by Geslin, also a Frenchman, 
 the commander of the 2nd Brigade ; and by 
 Drugeon, also French, the commandant of the 
 citadel of Delhi. 
 
 A full narrative of the intrigues resulting in 
 Perron's deposition may be read in Compton's 
 ' European Military Adventurers of Hindustan,' 
 but it must here be sufficient to say that 
 treachery was triumphant, that the loyal 
 European officers who stood by General 
 Perron were placed in confinement, and that 
 by September 9 Bourquin found himself in 
 command of an imposing force of 18 battalions 
 of infantry, a large body of cavalry, including 
 Fleury's late corps of Hindustani Muham- 
 madans, and 110 guns. Fleury himself was 
 now on his way with General Perron to Luck- 
 now, accompanied by five other officers who
 
 186 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 had declined further service after the depos- 
 ition of Perron, but had not taken an active 
 part in the dispute for command. 
 
 With this strong body of experienced and 
 brave soldiers Bourquin might be expected to 
 prove a formidable foe ; but it must be recog- 
 nised that the confidence of the Maratha troops 
 was inevitably shaken by the patent intrigues 
 and dissensions among their foreign officers, 
 and also that in the day of battle they would 
 assuredly go into action under Bourquin with- 
 out the feeling of confidence with which the 
 proved skill of Perron would have inspired 
 them. 
 
 Lake's army, on the other hand, excited and 
 encouraged by the rapid triumphs of Aligarh, 
 and believing implicitly in the capacity of 
 their commander to surmount all difficulties 
 and to defy all odds, moved forward to meet 
 their enemy with a light heart. 
 
 On September 8 Lake again advanced to 
 the town of Kurja, the distance covered in this 
 and the preceding march being thirty miles. 
 So great was the alarm produced among the 
 Marathas by the fall of Aligarh, that the fort 
 of Kurja, which contained a great store of 
 grain, was abandoned before the arrival of the 
 British army. On September 9 Sikandra was
 
 LAKE MOVES ON DELHI. 187 
 
 reached, and on the following day the army 
 made a short march to the westward. 
 
 On September 11, destined to be the last 
 day of many brave soldiers' lives, the force 
 marched as usual at 3 a.m., and by 11 o'clock 
 had covered eighteen miles and had crossed 
 the river Hindan. Lake heard in the course 
 of the march that Bourquin had left Delhi and 
 crossed the Jumna during the night, and it was 
 certain that he could not be far off, although 
 the cavalry had failed to observe his line of 
 approach. The march had been an easy one, 
 for the morning temperature was now moder- 
 ate ; but the troops were fatigued from the 
 great accuracy of movement rendered necessary 
 by the square formation, already described, 
 in which the army moved. Lake apparently 
 believed that Bourquin was holding back, and, 
 seeing that his own troops were weary and 
 had made a sufficiently long march, he now 
 ordered them to pitch camp and cook their 
 dinners. The ground selected was an open 
 space about a mile beyond the Hindan, and 
 only some six miles distant from Delhi, though 
 the broad Jumna still intervened. 
 
 Bourquin, whatever his defects as a soldier, 
 at least showed no unreadiness to fight. He 
 was aware that Lake's army was weakened
 
 188 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 both by his casualties at Aligarh and the 
 garrison that he had left there, and also by 
 his having detached half his weak force of 
 cavalry in pursuit of Fleury's raiders, and he 
 now came confidently forward to attack the 
 British army wherever he might find them. 
 
 As has been explained, he did find them 
 comfortably settling down into camp, and there- 
 fore at a considerable disadvantage. 
 
 The early stages of the action, called by 
 historians the battle of Delhi, have not been 
 very clearly described, but apparently neither 
 army was at first aware of its enemy's position. 
 Lake certainly did not know that Bourquin 
 was coming straight towards him, nor would 
 Bourquin have lost the opportunity which the 
 disadvantageous circumstances of the British 
 force offered him had he known exactly where 
 they were and what they were doing. 
 
 Just after Lake's camp had been pitched, a 
 few Maratha mounted skirmishers opened fire 
 on the British outposts. No great notice of 
 their attack was at first taken, but, the enemy 
 being rapidly reinforced, the British "grand- 
 guard" or reserve of the outposts turned out. 
 General Lake immediately afterwards rode to 
 the front with three regiments of cavalry — all 
 the mounted troops that he had with his army
 
 bourquin's position. 189 
 
 that day — in order to make a personal recon- 
 naissance. 
 
 Driving: back the Maratha horse who had 
 given him timely warning of Bourquin's proxim- 
 ity, Lake followed them up for two miles, when 
 he found Bourquin's army drawn up on rising 
 ground, the infantry in line and strongly en- 
 trenched, and their front further protected by 
 their numerous artillery. Either flank of the 
 position was guarded by one of the large jhils, 
 or marshes, so common in India during the 
 rainy season, and the cavalry was posted in 
 rear of each jhil in positions favourable for 
 checking any turning movement that Lake 
 might attempt to make. 
 
 Lake quickly grasped the situation, and re- 
 alised that a frontal attack was forced upon 
 him. In view, however, of his own weakness 
 and of the great strength of the Maratha 
 position, he decided to attempt to draw 
 Bourquin from his entrenchments. Sending 
 orders to his camp for the infantry and artillery 
 to get under arms and, leaving the tents 
 standing, to advance with all speed. Lake 
 proceeded with great coolness to occupy the 
 attention of the Maratha army. 
 
 With this design he for a time held his 
 ground with the cavalry brigade, disregarding
 
 190 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 the heavy loss in men and horses inflicted on 
 them by the Maratha artillery. The British 
 infantry and artillery having to get under arms 
 and into battle formation (an operation that, at 
 that period, was in no circumstances hurriedly 
 or negligently performed), and having subse- 
 quently to march two miles to the point where 
 Lake was manoeuvring with the cavalry brigade, 
 was unable to arrive on the scene of action 
 in less than an hour from the receipt of the 
 order. During this interval Lake, while de- 
 liberately exposing his mounted troops, took, 
 as was his wont, a full share of their risks. 
 His horse was shot under him, upon which 
 his son. Major George Lake, dismounted and 
 gave him his own charger, himself mounting 
 the horse of a trooper who had been killed. 
 The General's second charger having been 
 brought up, he mounted it, but it presently 
 was also killed under him. 
 
 By this time the British infantry and artillery 
 were advancing, but unseen as yet by the 
 Marathas, who were greatly excited by the 
 success of their artillery fire in causing loss 
 to Lake's cavalry. Lake, seeing the approach 
 of his main body, now ordered his cavalry to 
 feign a retreat, — a hazardous movement, which 
 this weak mounted force carried out with fine
 
 A SUCCESSFUL RUSE. 191 
 
 steadiness and regularity until, on approaching 
 their infantry, they suddenly swept outwards 
 at a gallop to both flanks, thus clearing the 
 front of the infantry, and then formed up 
 forty yards in rear of the right wing. This 
 rapid movement, taking the place of the former 
 slow retirement, was believed by the Marathas 
 to betoken a flight, and they instantly hurried 
 forward from their entrenchments, taking with 
 them all their artillery, " shouting and exult- 
 ing," writes Thorn, an eye-witness, " as if the 
 victory had been already secured." A body 
 of Sikh cavalry also advanced and threatened 
 the British right. 
 
 Lake's infantry, consisting of only eight 
 battalions, some of which were considerably 
 under strength, were formed in one line, the 
 cavalry furnishing their only support ; and 
 Lake, placing himself in front of the right 
 battalion, the 76th, ordered an advance straight 
 on the enemy. The picquets, commanded by 
 Lieut. -Colonel White of the 16th Native In- 
 fantry, an officer who repeatedly distinguished 
 himself during the campaign, moved as skir- 
 mishers before the line, and showed both 
 skill and courage during the attack. 
 
 Major-Generals Ware and St John led their 
 respective wings, and with General Lake headed
 
 192 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 the advance, which was performed with per- 
 fect coolness and steadiness, no answer being 
 made by the infantry to the very heavy fire 
 of round, grape, and chain shot by which they 
 were assailed. Colonel Horsford^ placed four 
 guns under cover of a village near the left of 
 the British line, and opened as heavy a fire 
 as possible to aid the infantry advance ; while 
 a portion of the cavalry, with two galloper 
 guns, advanced to the right front to hold off 
 the body of Sikh cavalry which was threaten- 
 ing that flank. This body is said to have 
 been 5000 strong, but the Sikh cavalry of this 
 date was of poor quality. 
 
 The British line moved on in perfect formation 
 and in strict silence until it came within 100 
 yards of the Maratha guns, many of which 
 were of large calibre, and all of an effici- 
 ency most unusual in the native armies of 
 India. At this close range every gun opened 
 
 1 Colonel, afterwards Major-General Sir John, Horsford was of 
 gentle birth, but enlisted into the Bengal Artillery in 1772 at the 
 age of twenty-one. Inquiries were made by his family, and he 
 was detected by Colonel Pearse, the commandant of the artillery, 
 on Horsford pointing out an error in a Greek quotation in some 
 papers which he was copying for the Colonel. Horsford, on 
 Colonel Pearse's recommendation, received a commission in his 
 own name in 1778. He became a valuable and scientific officer 
 of artillery, and died of heart disease in 1817, in the forty-fifth 
 year of his military service, during which period he never had a 
 single day's leave.
 
 AN IRRESISTIBLE CHARGE. 193 
 
 a heavy fire of grape, when the British line 
 was ordered to fire a volley and charge with 
 the bayonet. Headed by the three generals 
 and all the staff and regimental oJB&cers, the 
 line, having fired, rushed forward with such 
 impetuosity that the Marathas instantly broke 
 and fled in all directions. It is stated that 
 Bourquin was one of the first to quit the 
 field. 
 
 Lake at once ordered the infantry to halt 
 and break into company columns, the cavalry 
 with their galloper guns promptly charging 
 through the intervals thus formed and taking 
 up the pursuit. The greater part of the hap- 
 less Marathas fled before the cavalry in defence- 
 less flight towards the place where they had 
 crossed the Jumna on the previous night, and 
 were eventually driven into the river, in whose 
 waters great numbers of them were drowned 
 or slain by the fire of the galloper guns. 
 
 Lake, observing that a portion of the flying 
 enemy, with some of the lighter guns, were 
 making for the river to his left front, at once 
 wheeled his infantry in that direction and 
 pursued the Marathas into the ravines and 
 broken ground, in which they attempted to 
 find concealment. Here also the resistance 
 was brief, and the demoralised enemy were 
 
 N
 
 194 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 quickly put to flight, leaving their guns and 
 stores to the victors. 
 
 The battle of Delhi, as the action has been 
 named by historians, was a fine achievement, 
 reflecting the highest honour both on the British 
 troops and their commander. Lake's small 
 force, hardly greater in strength than a single 
 brigade, marched and fought, with a very brief 
 rest, for no less than sixteen hours, from three 
 in the morning until seven in the evening, 
 and during at least six hours in great heat. 
 The conduct of all branches throughout this 
 long trial of endurance and determination was 
 equal to that exhibited in any exploit of British 
 arms. 
 
 If, however, the troops, British and native 
 alike, deserve this high praise, and a con- 
 sideration of the circumstances will surely lead 
 to that conclusion, it is also clear that the 
 commander showed very high qualities. Lake 
 was undoubtedly taken by surprise at the out- 
 set of the action, for which circumstance he 
 cannot be absolved from blame ; but his bold 
 and confident handling of his troops during 
 the rapid progress of the battle bears com- 
 parison with that of his great subordinate, 
 Arthur Wellesley. Lake's tactics, judged by
 
 THE COST OF VICTORY. 195 
 
 the cold eye of the pedaut, were doubtless 
 open to criticism, yet they were justified by 
 the circumstances of the case ; they enabled 
 him to cope with a most difficult situation, 
 and they were rewarded by a striking success. 
 The great discrepancy in numbers (he had but 
 4500 men in action against the 19,000 of 
 Bourquin) would have given pause to many 
 a bold spirit. Lake, however, always acted 
 on the principle that safety and victory rested 
 with the attack ; he was aware of the dis- 
 integrating effect on the Maratha army of 
 the loss of all the European officers in whom 
 they had so long trusted, and he had a just 
 confidence in the moral of his own troops. 
 The result justified his action. 
 
 Fighting against such odds, and under such 
 conditions as have been described, the casual- 
 ties of the British force were inevitably heavy. 
 They were 461 in killed or wounded, or 10 
 per cent of the force engaged. Those of the 
 76th, the only European infantry regiment 
 present, amounted to 137, of whom 33 were 
 killed outright, — a heavy addition to the losses 
 which they had sustained at Aligarh. 
 
 In the whole force, 16 British officers and 
 172 Europeans of other ranks were killed or
 
 196 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 wounded, or 40 per cent of the total casual- 
 ties. This, as at Aligarh, was an unduly 
 heavy proportion, showing both that Lake still 
 carried out his principle of giving his European 
 troops the toughest work, and that the Marathas 
 concentrated their fire against them. The native 
 regiments which suffered most heavily were the 
 2nd Battalion 4th Native Infantry with 91 
 casualties, and the 2nd Battalion 12th Native 
 Infantry with 55. It may here be noted that 
 the latter battalion, in spite of its numerical 
 position, was actually the senior native bat- 
 talion in the Bengal army, and had served at 
 the battle of Plassy. 
 
 The losses of the Maratha army were never 
 accurately ascertained, but the lowest estimate 
 was 3000 men killed and wounded. Sixty- 
 eight pieces of ordnance were captured on the 
 field, all of good quality and fitted with elevat- 
 ing screws of the latest French pattern. 
 
 After the battle General Lake moved his 
 army nearer to the Jumna and pitched camp 
 opposite the city of Delhi, within view of 
 whose lofty battlements the action had taken 
 place. While arranging to cross the river 
 and enter the Moghul capital, Lake addressed 
 the following very brief despatch to Lord 
 Wellesley : —
 
 lake's despatch. 197 
 
 Headquarters' Camp, 
 near Delhi Ghaut, 
 
 September 13, 1803. 
 
 My Loud, — For your lordship's information I have 
 the honour to enclose a list of the killed and wounded — 
 officers and men of the army under my command — in 
 the action of the 11th instant. 
 
 Your lordship will perceive that our loss has been 
 very great ; but when I consider that we moved on 
 against an immense artillery, of nearly 100 pieces of 
 cannon, and many of a very large calibre, under as 
 heavy a fire as I have ever been witness to ; and that 
 this fire was directed against a line, consisting, on the 
 most correct calculation, of not more than 4500 men, 
 including cavalry, artillery, and infantry ; and that we 
 were opposed by upwards of four times that number, 
 it is no longer a matter of surprise. 
 
 It is necessary to remark that we had only one brigade 
 of cavalry, consisting of the 27 th Light Dragoons and 
 the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of Native Cavalry ; the other 
 brigades being detached for the protection of our own 
 provinces. 
 
 The more I reflect on the glorious affair of the 11th, 
 the more forcibly I feel the bravery and intrepidity 
 displayed by every individual composing my army. I 
 cannot find words to express my feelings on this occasion, 
 nor can I sufficiently lament the loss of many brave 
 fellows who have fallen. 
 
 I have the honour to be, my lord, your lordship's 
 most faithful humble servant, G. Lake. 
 
 On December 14 the army crossed the Jumna 
 and encamped outside Delhi, General Bourquin 
 and four of his French officers surrendering the 
 same day. 
 
 The power of the French state, as Lord
 
 198 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 Wellesley had justifiably called the Doab, was 
 now broken, its army broken and dispersed, 
 and its chief officers in British custody. The 
 emperor, Shah Alam, gladly accepted British 
 protection, and agreed to the appointment of a 
 Resident at his Court. These results came of 
 seventeen days of marching and fighting, and 
 seldom has a force, numerically so weak, done 
 better work in so short a period. 
 
 Lord Wellesley, who well understood the 
 appreciation felt by native soldiers of visible 
 marks of distinction, ordered the presentation 
 of honorary standards or colours to the corps 
 who had most distinguished themselves at the 
 capture of Aligarh and the battle of Delhi. 
 Kightly feeling that this high honour would be 
 enhanced in value if shared by the European 
 corps. Lord Wellesley conferred the same dis- 
 tinction on the 27th Light Dragoons and the 
 76th Regiment. The brave 27th have long 
 disappeared from the Army List, but the 76th, 
 now the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Welling- 
 ton's Regiment, still carry the additional colours, 
 emblazoned with the words "Lake and Victory," 
 and still claim the honourable if unofficial title 
 of the " Hindustan Regiment." 
 
 On receiving General Lake's description of 
 his victory, Lord Wellesley hastened to write
 
 LORD WELLESLEY's THANKS. 199 
 
 his thanks in the following glowing terms, 
 which, we may be sure, went home to the 
 warm heart of his Commander-in-Chief: — 
 
 " SOONAMOOKEE," off BaRRACKPOOR, 
 
 September 30, 1803. 
 
 My deak Sir, — I avail myself of the first moment of 
 my recovery from sickness to offer you my most cordial 
 congratulations on the glorious victory of the 11th, and 
 on its decisive and propitious consequences. An event 
 more honourable to the British arms never occurred in 
 any part of the world, and in India the conduct and 
 result of the action stand without parallel. Much as I 
 feel indebted to the merits of your army, justice, uni- 
 versal consent of all parties, and the plain evidence of 
 indisputable fact concur to point my principal attention 
 to your matchless energy, ability, and valour. You have 
 formed the army to this illustrious and extraordinary 
 achievement, and to your personal exertion must be 
 attributed the promptitude, skill, and irresistible intre- 
 pidity which marked our operations on that memorable 
 day. The result must be the utter extinction of the 
 last vestige of French influence in India, the defeat 
 of the ambitious and rapacious views of the Maratha 
 confederates, and a speedy peace with ample indemnity 
 and security to the allies. You are entitled to the 
 highest honours and rewards which your country and 
 your king can bestow ; from me, as the representative 
 of both in India, you will receive every testimony which 
 I can afford in my public capacity of my admiration 
 of your conduct, and of the high value and consideration 
 which I attach to your eminent services. My private 
 gratitude cannot be expressed, nor is it possible to form 
 a hope of discharging such a debt according to my esti- 
 mation of its extent. My life, however protracted, 
 could not furnish the means of satisfying my sentiments
 
 200 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 on this occasion ; but whatever can be expected from 
 the most cordial, firm, and zealous respect, affection and 
 attachment, must ever be commanded by you from me, 
 and from every person connected with me. 
 
 Ever, my dear sir, yours most faithfully and affec- 
 tionately, with the most cordial esteem and attachment, 
 
 Wellesley. 
 
 Before this generous and appreciative letter 
 had reached General Lake, the " matchless 
 energy" of w^hich the Governor -General speaks 
 had secured yet another triumph to our arms. 
 The great fortress of Agra, " the key of 
 Hindustan," had fallen. 
 
 Before describing the operations which led to 
 that result, v^^e must pause in our narrative to 
 describe briefly the strange scenes which Lake 
 and his officers witnessed at Delhi. Two days 
 after the arrival of the British army before the 
 walls of the capital, the victorious General was 
 received with all practicable ceremony at the 
 faded Court of the emperor. Shah Alam, who 
 professed great joy at the removal of his 
 Maratha and French masters, announced his 
 wish to confer the highest available distinction 
 on his deliverer, and with this design in view 
 it was arranged that Lake should be led into 
 the imperial presence by no less a personage 
 than Mirza Akbar Shah, the heir-apparent.
 
 IMPERIAL DELHI. 201 
 
 The Prince's arrival at Lake's camp was 
 timed for noon on September 16, but with the 
 unpunctuality that is considered essential to 
 royal dignity in the East, Mirza Akbar Shah 
 was three hours late. It was consequently near 
 sunset when the joint cavalcade of the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief and the imperial Prince arrived 
 at the noble palace of Shah Jahan, the glory 
 of Moghul architecture. They had found the 
 streets of Delhi densely crowded with the 
 population of that great though decayed city, 
 and even the courts of the palace, themselves 
 of great extent, were filled with spectators 
 anxious to realise for themselves the coming 
 restoration to something of its former splendour 
 of the house of Taimur ; for to the people 
 of Delhi the Moghul dynasty was very dear, 
 as is its memory to the present day. 
 
 The progress of Lake and his cavalcade 
 through the crowded assemblage had therefore 
 been slow, and on that account had appeared 
 to them stately, and not until the moment of 
 their introduction to the royal hall of audience 
 did the Englishmen realise how great had been 
 the change from the past magnificence of Delhi. 
 
 No squalor could deprive the exquisite 
 Diwan-i-Khas of its beauty of outline and 
 colour, and Lake and his following well knew
 
 202 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 that in these very courts which they traversed 
 the eyes of ambassadors from the monarchs of 
 the West had been dazzled by the pomp of 
 Indian majesty, that there great tributary 
 princes had bowed like the lowest slaves, and 
 the simplest expression of the monarch's will 
 had passed as a law to an empire vast as 
 modern Europe. 
 
 " But now," writes Thorn, rising to unwonted 
 eloquence, " such is the vanity of earthly 
 grandeur and the uncertainty of mortal power, 
 the descendant of the great Akbar, and the 
 victorious Aurangzeb, was found, an object of 
 pity, blind and aged, stripped of authority, and 
 reduced to poverty, seated under a small 
 tattered canopy, the fragment of royal state 
 and the mockery of human pride." 
 
 Lake was received by the emperor with the 
 utmost cordiality, and by the courtiers with 
 every demonstration of gratitude. It was true 
 that the arrival of his army and the assumption 
 of a British protectorate over the wreck of the 
 Moghul empire promised in reality no more 
 to the emperor and his subjects than a change 
 of masters. That reflection would come later ; 
 now the defeat and flight of the hated 
 Marathas was the first thought in every mind, 
 and joy and gratitude prevailed.
 
 "sword of the state." 203 
 
 The emperor had nothing to bestow on his 
 deliverer but titles of honour, and these fell 
 upon Lake in a lavish flood. The highest title 
 of the empire had already been conferred on 
 Sindhia, but the second in precedence was 
 available, and thenceforth Lake had every right 
 to style himself " Sword of the State, Hero of 
 the land, Lord of the age, Victorious in war." 
 Even in plain English there is dignity in these 
 titles ; judge then of their effect when recited 
 in sonorous Persian. 
 
 To the practical and unimaginative minds of 
 a later age these high-sounding titles, emanating 
 from the ruined sovereign of a bankrupt 
 empire, may sound farcical and empty, but they 
 bore another meaning- to General Lake. To 
 him, courtier as well as soldier, and emphati- 
 cally a royalist, the emperor was a legitimate 
 sovereign of a lineage second to none in the 
 world. Shah Alam, rich or poor, was "the 
 Great Moghul," the descendant and represent- 
 ative of Aurangzeb, Shah Jahdn, Akbar, and 
 Babar, and therefore a monarch from whom 
 titles might be received by any subject with 
 gratitude and pride. Not only did Lake value 
 his Moghul titles, and frankly acknowledge the 
 fact in a letter to Lord Wellesley, but they 
 were the only reward that he would accept
 
 204 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 from Shah Alam, when the latter presently 
 found the imperial treasury in a condition to 
 which it had been a stranger during his life- 
 time at least, and offered a large sum of 
 money to his deliverer. 
 
 Of Lake's disinterested and generous character 
 we shall speak hereafter, but this is a fitting 
 occasion to quote his statement that he had 
 " ever held money in most sovereign contempt," 
 — a sentiment that by no means all great com- 
 manders have shared with him. 
 
 Lake made no longer halt at Delhi than was 
 required to rest his troops and to collect sup- 
 plies for a fresh advance. Owing to the small- 
 ness of his force, he was unable to leave an 
 adequate garrison behind him, but Colonel David 
 Ochterlony, the officer selected by Lake for 
 the post of Resident, was a host in himself, 
 and Lieut. - Colonel Burn, the officer chosen to 
 command the garrison of one battalion and four 
 companies of Native Infantry, was also brave and 
 capable. To strengthen Burn's inadequate force 
 Colonel Ochterlony received orders to raise two 
 battalions of najibs (men from distant states) 
 from the disbanded sepoys of Bourquin's regi- 
 ments. These were commanded by Lieutenants 
 Birch and Woodville, two of the English officers 
 formerly in the Maratha service. Eight squad-
 
 SIKANDAR SAHIB. 205 
 
 rons of Fleury's Hindustani Horse entered the 
 British service at the same time, and at their 
 own request were placed under the command 
 of James Skinner, an officer of mixed blood 
 who, having been discharged from the Maratha 
 service against his will by General Perron, had, 
 as already mentioned, joined Lake before Aligarh. 
 Skinner, a daring and experienced soldier, who 
 had seen much hard fighting in the wars between 
 the Marathas and the Rajputs, was greatly 
 trusted and respected by native soldiers, who 
 had converted his name into Sikandar, by which 
 designation he was well known throughout 
 Hindustan. When the surrendered cavalry were 
 drawn up for General Lake's inspection they 
 observed Skinner riding among Lake's staff. 
 Lake asked the troopers whom they would like 
 as a commanding officer, expecting them to 
 nominate a countryman of their own, but the 
 sowars with one voice replied, " Give us Sikandar 
 Sahib." 
 
 Skinner stipulated that neither he nor his 
 men should be required to serve against Sindhia, 
 and they were consequently not employed dur- 
 ing the campaign of 1803. Their services in 
 the following year will presently be recorded. 
 Skinner's Horse attained to great distinction, 
 and are to-day the senior cavalry regiment of
 
 206 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 the Indian army, the First Duke of York's Own 
 Lancers (Skinner's Horse). They still wear the 
 yellow uniform selected by Skinner for their 
 adornment, and are perhaps the most pictur- 
 esque corps in the army. 
 
 In leaving Ochterlony at Delhi, Lake was 
 well aware that he was depriving himself of 
 the best subordinate officer in his army, — of the 
 man, as he said, in whom he felt more confi- 
 dence than in any officer he had met in India. 
 David Ochterlony, who has so favourably im- 
 pressed Lake, was now forty-five years of age. 
 Born in North America of Scottish parents, he 
 had entered the Bengal army in 1777, and 
 established his reputation as a brave and cap- 
 able soldier in the campaigns of Sir Eyre Coote 
 against Haider Ali of Mysore and his French 
 allies under Bussy. Ochterlony accompanied 
 the Bengal detachment which, in 1781, marched 
 1100 miles under Colonel Thomas Deane Pearse 
 to join the Madras army and rendered valiant 
 services. Ochterlony, during this campaign, 
 commanded the 24th Bengal Native Infantry 
 at Cuddalore in 1783, and was at their head 
 on the famous occasion when they crossed 
 bayonets with a French infantry regiment and 
 repulsed its attack. Ochterlony was wounded 
 and taken prisoner in the charge. He had
 
 THE KEY OF HINDUSTAN. 207 
 
 been promoted lieutenant- colonel in March 1803. 
 We shall see presently how he justified the 
 confidence reposed in him by Lake. 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief's new objective was 
 the great fortress of Agra, known to the native 
 world of India as " the key of Hindustan," 
 and the army marched from Delhi on Sep- 
 tember 24 in high spirits and good health. 
 The route taken lay along the left bank 
 of the Jumna, and the heaviest of the guns 
 captured at the battle of Delhi were conveyed 
 in boats down the river for the expected siege 
 operations. 
 
 Four days after leaving Delhi, Lake, who 
 had evidently been anxious to receive an as- 
 surance of Lord Wellesley's approval of his 
 operations at Aligarh, was made happy by 
 receipt of a private letter from the Governor- 
 General. This, unfortunately, has not been pre- 
 served, but its purport may be gathered from 
 the following reply, interesting as a revelation 
 of Lake's warmth of heart and appreciation of 
 kindness : — 
 
 Urwali, September 29, 1803. 
 
 My Lord, — Your letter of the 15 th instant reached 
 me last night, couched in such terms of friendship and 
 flattering approbation of my conduct as to leave me 
 quite destitute of words to express my feelings and 
 sensations upon the occasion, and I can only assure your
 
 208 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 lordship that, although I may be deficient in language 
 to thank you for your abundant kindness towards me, 
 my heart overflows with gratitude, and will, as long 
 as I draw breath, ever glow with the warmest senti- 
 ments of attachment and affection for the confidence 
 and powers you have so liberally and fully entrusted 
 and reposed in me, and of which, I trust, you will never 
 have cause to repent. 
 
 I accord with your lordship in thinking that the 
 honour and interest of our country must certainly con- 
 sole us for the loss of so many brave men, when we 
 consider the advantage of their achievements. 
 
 It affords me very peculiar satisfaction to perceive 
 your lordship approves so entirely of my conduct in 
 the capture of Alighar, as I stood alone in my opinion 
 respecting the attack. I am now more than ever con- 
 vinced it was perfectly right, as a long siege would 
 have lost the country, and cost us, I do most firmly 
 believe, a considerable number more lives. 
 
 I used every endeavour to avoid the effusion of 
 human blood, which is a source of great satisfaction to 
 my mind, as I think no man in my situation should 
 wantonly throw away the lives of his own men, or 
 inhumanly butcher those of his enemy. These senti- 
 ments will, I trust, plead my excuse to my God and 
 my country, and entitle me to a continuance of your 
 friendship and affection. — I have the honour to be, my 
 dear lord, your most attached and devoted servant, 
 
 G. Lake. 
 
 On October 2 the army arrived before the 
 ancient and sacred city of Muttra, where it 
 was joined by the detached force under Colonel 
 Vandeleur, whose movements have already been 
 described. On arrival at Muttra all the Hindu
 
 akbar's fortress. 209 
 
 soldiers in the army were granted leave for 
 the remainder of the day to enable them to 
 worship at the holy city of Bindrabund, which 
 is close to Muttra. 
 
 On October 3 the army marched half-way 
 from Muttra to Agra, and at about two in 
 the afternoon of October 4 it arrived before 
 that city, passing near Sikandra, the beautiful 
 tomb of the Emperor Akbar, and encamping on 
 or about the site of the present cantonments. 
 The city of Agra was found to be surrounded 
 by a wall, part of which still exists, and was 
 commanded by the great fort built by Akbar 
 in the reign of our Queen Elizabeth. The fort, 
 which stands on the bank of the Jumna, has 
 lofty walls and flanking towers of red sand- 
 stone, with a deep ditch provided with a 
 " fausse-braie."^ It lies to the south-west of 
 the city, and the walls of the latter abutted 
 on the fort on two sides. To the south and 
 south-west of the fort are a number of ravines 
 running to the Jumna. About 250 yards from 
 the fort, and inside the city, stands the Jamma 
 Masjid, or Great Mosque, on an elevated site. 
 
 General Lake's task in attacking Agra was 
 
 1 " Fausse-braie " — works designed to bring fire on the assail- 
 ants of the curtain of a fortress, at places not protected by fire 
 from the bastions. 
 
 O
 
 210 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803, 
 
 somewhat complicated by the following circum- 
 stance. In addition to the garrison of the 
 fortress, consisting of 4000 men under Colonel 
 George Hessing, a Dutch officer, there was, 
 encamped on the glacis of the fort, a force 
 some 7000 stronof which had first to be dealt 
 with. This body was composed of Perron's 
 5th Brigade, and of three battalions from the 
 2nd and 3rd Brigades. All three Brigades had 
 been ordered up from the Deccan on war 
 becoming imminent, but, owing to Lake's un- 
 expectedly early commencement of operations, 
 had arrived near Delhi just too late for the 
 battle of September 11. The seven battalions 
 had marched to Agra and requested admission 
 to the fortress, but had been excluded by 
 the garrison, which had broken into rebellion. 
 Hessing, the commandant, and Sutherland, the 
 next senior officer, had been confined by the 
 troops, and when Lake, wishing to save loss 
 of life, summoned the garrison to surrender, 
 he could obtain no answer from them. In 
 these circumstances no serious resistance was to 
 be expected from the garrison ; but the seven 
 battalions outside, which had with them twenty- 
 six pieces of ordnance, had maintained their 
 discipline, and promised to offer a stout resist- 
 ance. They had taken up a strong position
 
 lake's dilemma. 211 
 
 under the walls of the fortress, and held the 
 town of Agra and a number of ravines which 
 led from the river Jumna up to the glacis, 
 which they also occupied. They were fighting, 
 literally, with their backs to the wall, and 
 Lake, who had no men to spare, saw that he 
 would have no easy task in attacking them. 
 
 There were 4000 Maratha troops in the 
 fortress, and should Lake attack the force on 
 the glacis and town only, ignoring the gar- 
 rison, there was a strong probability that the 
 latter would seize the opportunity and take 
 the British force at a disadvantage. Yet he 
 could make no delay, for he was aware that at 
 no great distance there was a force of seventeen 
 battalions, also marching towards Agra from the 
 Deccan, who might presently fall upon him. 
 
 Lake therefore took the only proper resolu- 
 tion — to attack simultaneously the town and 
 the force outside the fortress, while holding 
 the latter in check by a threatened assault. 
 For the external attack he selected, as far as 
 possible, regiments which had not been engaged 
 at Aligarh and Delhi, or which had suffered 
 the least severe losses in those actions, while 
 with the remainder of his army he took up a 
 fresh position which prohibited any sortie from 
 the fortress. On the morning of October 10
 
 212 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 Brigadier- General Clarke was ordered to attack 
 the town of Agra with the 2nd Brigade, while 
 three battalions, the 1st Battalion 14th Native 
 Infantry and 1st and 2nd Battalions 15th Native 
 Infantry, under Lieut. - Colonel M'Culloch, were 
 detailed to drive out the Maratha troops hold- 
 ing the ravines previously described. 
 
 M'Culloch's force attacked first with great 
 spirit, and quickly overcoming the resistance 
 of the Marathas, drove them from the ravines 
 without much difficulty. Excited by their suc- 
 cess, and, it is said, led on by the too impetuous 
 courage of their officers, M'Culloch's battalions 
 unfortunately exceeded their orders and pressed 
 on to the glacis in hope of capturing the guns 
 placed in battery there. In this attempt they 
 came under a heavy fire of grape and musketry 
 from the fort, and sustained severe losses. 
 
 The 2nd Brigade also found their task no 
 easy one, two battalions becoming so dis- 
 couraged at one period of the attack as to 
 retreat to their starting - place. Happily the 
 remaining unit of the brigade, a wing of the 
 16th Native Infantry, gallantly held its ground 
 under Lieut. - Colonel White,^ and Brigadier - 
 
 ^ Henry White joined the army in August 1772 at the unusually 
 late age of thirty, and served four years on active service in the 
 "Select Picket" before obtaining the rank of ensign. In 1782,
 
 A DESPERATE DEFENCE. 213 
 
 General Clarke, who highly distinguished him- 
 self, was subsequently able to bring back to 
 the attack the battalions which had retired, 
 and finally to maintain possession of the town. 
 In a letter written to Lord Wellesley while 
 these operations were in progress. Lake said 
 that the troops of the enemy had fought most 
 desperately, and that they were supposed to be 
 the best that Perron had. He added, however, 
 that he intended to open his batteries against 
 the fort, and that, as the ground was very 
 favourable, he had no doubt of being able 
 
 as there was no fighting in Bengal, White obtained a transfer to 
 the 12th Native Infantry, then serving in Madras under Colonel 
 T. D. Pearse. He was at Cuddalore in the charge against the 
 French, then commanding the 12th Native Infantry as a lieutenant, 
 and subsequently marched his regiment 2000 miles to Cawnpore. 
 In 1790 he again marched to the Carnatic in Colonel Cockerell's 
 detachment. He highly distinguished himself at Seringapatam in 
 1792, and saved the life of Lord Cornwallis. In 1798 he went 
 home for health, having attained the rank of major after twenty- 
 six years of nearly continuous active service, at the age of 
 fifty-six. 
 
 On the outbreak of the Maratha War in 1803 "White, now a 
 lieutenant-colonel and sixty-one years old, again volunteered for 
 active service, and resigned a comfortable command at Calcutta 
 for that of one of the regiments ordered to the front. As the 
 narrative shows, he repeatedly distinguished himself by his 
 activity and determination. He was wounded in the chest by a 
 grape-shot at Laswari. Major-General Sir Henry White, K.C.B., 
 died at Bath in November 1822, aged eighty. Active to the last, 
 twelve or fourteen hours before his death he ordered his servants 
 to put him on his horse for a last ride.
 
 214 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 quickly to breach the walls. The ravines cap- 
 tured that day would serve as admirable 
 approaches to the fortress. 
 
 Lake added an expression of opinion which 
 has often been quoted, and which has value 
 to-day although a great part of the native 
 Indian army is now composed of races which 
 rank among the highest of the fighting peoples 
 of the world. " The sepoys," he wrote, " have 
 behaved excessively well, but from my observa- 
 tion this day, as well as on every other, it is 
 impossible to do great things in a gallant and 
 quick style without Europeans ; therefore if 
 they do not in England think it necessary to 
 send British troops in the proportion of one to 
 three sepoy regiments, which is, in fact, as 
 one to six " (the native regiments having each 
 two battalions), " they will stand a good chance 
 of losing their possessions if a French force 
 once get a footing in India. You may perceive 
 by the loss of European officers in sepoy regi- 
 ments how necessary it is for them to expose 
 themselves — in short, everything has been done 
 by the example and exertions of the officers." 
 
 Lake's anticipations as to the success of the 
 day's operations were fulfilled. By night the 
 Maratha troops had all been driven from the 
 town, and the twenty-six guns there and on the
 
 THE DEFENCE WEAKENS. 215 
 
 glacis had all been captured. The loss of the 
 Marathas was 600 men, while that of Brigadier- 
 General Clarke and Lieut. - Colonel M'Culloch's 
 battalions was 228 killed and wounded, including 
 2 officers killed and 7 wounded. 
 
 Three days later 2500 men, about half of the 
 remaining Maratha force outside the fortress, sur- 
 rendered and marched into the British camp, the 
 other half swelling the garrison of the fort ; and 
 very early on the same morning (October 13) 
 Lake attacked the fortress itself. Approaches 
 had been constructed, as designed by Lake, by 
 way of the ravines captured on the 10th, and a 
 breaching battery of eight 18-pounders and four 
 howitzers was erected 350 yards from the great 
 wall of the fort, on its south-east side and near 
 the river. In constructing this battery, volun- 
 teers from the three British cavalry regiments 
 were employed, and Lake thus secured the 
 European leadership, to which he attached so 
 much importance, without subjecting the 76th 
 to further loss. That regiment was already 
 dangerously weak, and it was necessary to hus- 
 band it for the coming fight with the seventeen 
 battalions from the Deccan. The battery was 
 completed in the course of the day, but the 
 garrison had no head and no heart. They were 
 warned by their deposed officers that, should
 
 216 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 the fort be stormed, they would be put to 
 the sword, and they now authorised Colonels 
 Hessing and Sutherland to make terms for 
 them. 
 
 The intended bombardment was consequently 
 stopped, and in the afternoon of October 13 
 Captain Salkeld, an officer of General Lake's 
 staff, entered the fort and conveyed the Com- 
 mander-in-Chiefs terms. These demanded the 
 surrender of all treasure, arms, and other muni- 
 tions of war. The officers and soldiers of the 
 garrison, with their families, were to be free to 
 go wherever they desired. Although the native 
 officers had promised in writing to accept the 
 terms of surrender, whatever they might be, and 
 certainly had no cause for complaint in those 
 offered, Captain Salkeld could obtain no answer. 
 Disputes broke out, and presently the troops 
 on the ramparts opened a furious fire on the 
 British trenches, which continued throughout the 
 night. Salkeld was not injured, but experienced 
 many dangers from friend as well as foe while 
 finding his way back to the British camp. Re- 
 sistance now appearing inevitable, the cavalry 
 working - parties continued all night in the 
 trenches, but made no answer to the in- 
 effective fire from the ramparts, only firing 
 an occasional shot to drive away the Mar-
 
 THE SURRENDER OF AGRA. 2l7 
 
 atha sharpshooters who, from time to time, 
 approached the very edge of our battery. 
 
 Matters continued in this state until October 
 17, when the battery, having been completed, 
 opened a heavy fire on the south-east bastion of 
 the fort. Two enfilading batteries, placed to 
 either flank of the breaching battery, also came 
 into action, and the fire speedily proved so 
 effective that it was evident that the breach 
 would soon be practicable. The Marathas, on 
 becoming aware of this fact, now determined to 
 abandon the defence, and between five and six 
 thousand men presently marched out and laid 
 down their arms. 
 
 Twenty tumbrils laden with treasure, to 
 the amount of twenty - four lakhs of rupees 
 (£250,000), were found in the fort, with 164 
 guns, ammunition, and stores in abundance. 
 
 One of the captured guns, known as " the 
 great gun of Agra," was famous throughout the 
 East. It weighed 30 tons, though the natives 
 believed it to be nearly twice that weight, and 
 was constructed to throw an iron ball weighing 
 1500 lb. General Lake desired to send this gun 
 as a trophy to the Prince Regent, but when 
 being shipped on a raft on the Jumna the great 
 gun slipped from its lashings and sank into the 
 bed of the river, where it lay until the year
 
 218 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 1833, when an economical Governor-General had 
 it burst with gunpowder and the fragments sold 
 by auction, — an unromantic method of disposing 
 of an historical relic believed to date from the 
 reign of Akbar. As for the quarter of a million 
 of treasure found at Agra, General Lake followed 
 the ancient custom of our army and at once 
 distributed it as prize-money to the troops. He, 
 as appears from a letter to the Governor- General 
 written on October 22, was uneasy lest this step 
 might not meet with approval, and left his 
 own share of the money untouched until Lord 
 Wellesley's wishes should be known. 
 
 The reply of the Governor-General is so cordial 
 in its appreciation of the good qualities of Lake, 
 and so unaffected in its demonstration of brotherly 
 pride in the triumph of Arthur Wellesley at 
 Assaye,^ that it is worth reading, showing as it 
 does the pleasantest side of Lord Wellesley's 
 character. 
 
 Fort William, October 29, 1803. 
 
 My dear Sir, — Your happy success at Agra has 
 afforded me the most cordial satisfaction. This is the 
 fruit of your glory in the field. I have remarked that 
 your humane and generous heart has suffered severely, 
 even in the midst of your victories, for the necessary loss 
 of gallant British blood, which must attend such extra- 
 ordinary efforts of valour ; but I trust you now receive 
 
 * Fought September 23, the day before Lake left Delhi.
 
 A STATELY COMPLIMENT. 219 
 
 the best consolation for the fall of those whom you have 
 lamented, in reaping the full benefit of their example 
 and noble deeds, and in securing Agra, the most im- 
 portant single object of the war, without effusion of blood, 
 and by the mere lustre and terror of your name. This 
 is the most grateful result of the triumph of our arms ; 
 nor can a more convincing proof be afforded of the 
 humane and just policy of that promptitude, decision, 
 and energy which marked your conduct in the com- 
 mencement of the war. I am persuaded that many 
 lives have been saved by the early sacrifice of a few 
 brave men, whose gallantry has struck terror into the 
 hearts of the enemy. I have considered the fall of Agra 
 as the most propitious event of this wonderful and im- 
 mortal campaign, and I have received your notification 
 of the surrender of the key of Hindostan as the signal of 
 general rejoicing. 
 
 You will have shared my sentiments on the noble and 
 splendid victory gained by my brother on the 23 rd of 
 September, His official account of the action has not 
 yet reached me, but I have received authentic accounts 
 of all the particulars of that glorious day, which have 
 been forwarded to you by express ; he is worthy to 
 command under your orders ; and I should almost have 
 believed that he must have received them from Delhi, 
 before he fought the battle of Assaye. His official return 
 of ordnance taken on the field amounts to ninety-eight 
 pieces of artillery. I have sent you the only official 
 letter yet received from him. 
 
 You have now actually accomplished every point of 
 my instructions in the few weeks which have intervened 
 between the 29th of August and the l7th of October. 
 If the successes of your operations stood alone, they 
 would astonish all Asia, but combined with the blows 
 struck in every other quarter, it is impossible to convey 
 to you an adequate idea of the splendour of your fame 
 in this part of the world. With all the sanguine temper
 
 220 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 of my mind I declare that I could not have hoped for a 
 completion of my plans at once so rapid and so secure. 
 I must now send you fresh instructions, as you have 
 reached the limits of all my first ideas. 
 
 You will excuse the delay of my official despatches 
 when you reflect that I am compelled every hour to look 
 all round India, and at this moment endeavouring to 
 despatch to England an adequate representation of your 
 merits and services. 
 
 I am particularly anxious to send you an order for 
 the distribution of prize ; I hope to be able to furnish it 
 to-morrow. In the meanwhile, you may assure the army 
 that I will grant all within my power, and even stretch 
 that power to the utmost for their interest. 
 
 I shall issue a general order, comprehending your 
 operations from the battle of Delhi to the fall of Agra, 
 on Monday. — Ever, my dear General, yours affectionately, 
 with sincere respect and confidence, 
 
 Wellesley. 
 
 Assaye vi^as indeed, as the letter states, fought 
 as if inspired by Lake himself There was the 
 same disregard of adverse circumstance, and the 
 same dogged determination to do or die, as were 
 shown at Aligarh, Delhi, and Agra. In his 
 after career the great Duke showed qualities of 
 patience and self-restraint nobler perhaps than 
 the rash courage that won Assaye ; but in one 
 respect he, to his last fight at Waterloo, always 
 took Lake as his model, namely, in his fixed habit 
 of going to the critical spot, so that, when there 
 was a reverse to be averted or an advantage to 
 be followed up, the commander was ever ready
 
 lake's losses. 221 
 
 to meet the emergency himself rather than by 
 deputy. 
 
 Lake has often been criticised for his exposure 
 of himself to the chances of war, but the most 
 casual study of the Duke of Wellington's career 
 will show that he acted in precisely the same 
 manner, and, of course, with the happiest results. 
 
 In another letter to the Governor-General of 
 about the same date. General Lake expresses 
 his great pleasure at the fact that he had not 
 been obliged to storm Agra, as " from the 
 intricate passages in the fort, and the strong 
 garrison, composed of the most desperate caste 
 of men, we must have lost a number of most 
 valuable lives, particularly Europeans, which 
 cannot be spared." Lake was indeed greatly 
 in want of reinforcements. His fifty days of 
 marching and fighting since crossing the Maratha 
 frontier, his three actions — at Aligarh, before 
 Delhi, and at Agra — had cost him nearly 1000 
 in killed and wounded, to say nothing of the 
 casualties from sickness ; he had in addition 
 been obliged to garrison the three captured 
 fortresses and the town of Muttra ; and before 
 him lay a task which must immediately be 
 taken in hand — the destruction of the residue 
 of the Maratha army in Hindustan. 
 
 This force, known to consist of seventeen
 
 222 THE MARATHA WAR OF 1803. 
 
 battalions of infantry with a numerous artillery, 
 lay at a distance of some thirty miles from 
 Agra, in the neighbourhood of Bhartpur ; and 
 although its leaders had not shown sufficient 
 military instinct to attack Lake's army while 
 engaged in the reduction of Agra, the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief felt that at any moment they 
 might take the easier course of recapturing 
 Delhi, with its inadequate garrison. 
 
 Weak as he was. Lake therefore decided at 
 once to grasp the nettle, and, leaving a weak 
 garrison at Agra, marched on October 27 in 
 the direction of his enemy. He could take 
 with him no more than ten battalions of 
 infantry,^ but all had now seen war and were 
 of tried valour. Above all, he relied on the 
 remains of the 76th, that " handful of heroes " 
 as he presently described them, and on his 
 three cavalry brigades trained under his own 
 eye, and still with their numbers but little 
 diminished. Marching rapidly. Lake covered 
 sixteen miles in his first march, encamping at 
 
 ^ The following eight battalions fought at Laswari : H.M.'s 
 76th Regiment, 2nd Battalion 8th, 2nd Battalion 9th, 1st and 2nd 
 Battalions 12th, 1st and 2nd Battalions 15th, six companies 2nd 
 Battalion 16th Native Infantry, and one company 1st Battalion 
 11th Native Infantry. In addition were the two battalions men- 
 tioned below as having been left with the baggage at Fahehpur- 
 Sikri.
 
 THE MARCH TO LASWARI. 223 
 
 Karauli-ki-serai ; but owing to heavy rain, un- 
 usual at this time of year, he was detained at 
 this place on the following day, October 28. 
 
 The march was resumed on the 29th, and 
 the force encamped north - west of Fahehpur- 
 Sikri, that curious and interesting city. Here 
 Lake, desiring to move yet faster, left his heavy 
 guns and baggage under the escort of two 
 battalions of the 4th Brigade, and on October 
 30 made a march of twenty miles, moving 
 direct on the enemy's guns, which had been 
 heard bombarding the small town of Khatumbar, 
 
 The march of October 31 brought the army 
 close to this place but a few hours after the 
 enemy had left it, and Lake determined to 
 make a night march and bring on an immediate 
 action. The consequence of this resolution was 
 the battle of Laswari, one of the most severely 
 contested victories won by the British army in 
 India.
 
 224 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 LASWARI. 
 
 In accordance with his determination, Lake set 
 out at the head of all his cavalry at 11 o'clock 
 on the night of October 31, resolved to engage 
 the Marathas and hold them at the place 
 where he might find them, whatever its nature, 
 until the arrival of his infantry, which he 
 ordered to march at 3 o'clock in the follow- 
 ing morning. Lake and his cavalry covered 
 twenty-four miles in a ride through the dark 
 ness of some six hours' duration, and came up 
 with the retreating Maratha army near the 
 village of Laswari at about sunrise on the 
 morning of November 1. 
 
 They were now commanded by one of their 
 own officers, Abaji by name, a Maratha whose 
 previous career had shown him to be possessed 
 of great pertinacity of character and of con- 
 siderable military talent. Abaji had at his dis- 
 posal seventeen battalions of the best infantry
 
 THE MARATHA POSITION. 225 
 
 of Perron's army, known as " the Deccan In- 
 vincibles," — fifteen battalions having recently 
 marched up from that region, while the other 
 two had escaped from the battle of Delhi. In 
 addition, the Maratha army possessed 72 guns 
 and between 4000 and 5000 horse. Abaji's 
 intention had been to retire into Mewat, a 
 hilly region to the south - west of Delhi, and 
 Lake's determination to bring on a battle before 
 the Marathas could reach that favourable ground 
 was the cause of his rapid night march and 
 somewhat hazardous division of his forces. 
 
 When the British cavalry first came in sight, 
 the Marathas showed signs of confusion, and 
 appeared to purpose continuing their retreat ; 
 but either from the knowledge that Lake's 
 infantry and heavy artillery could not be within 
 reach, or from fear of attack by the British 
 cavalry while in the act of retreating, Abaji 
 presently turned at bay and showed no mean 
 skill in taking up a defensive position. 
 
 His disposition of his infantry and artillery 
 was not dissimilar to that of Bourquin at the 
 battle of Delhi, for the former, in a long line, 
 rested on the villages of Laswari and Malpur, 
 in which were placed a number of guns, and 
 which provided ready - made defences for the 
 flanks. The remainder of the artillery were dis- 
 
 p
 
 226 LASWARI. 
 
 posed along the front of the infantry, and were 
 concealed from view by the long grass. 
 
 Laswari, the first of the two villages to be 
 reached by the British cavalry, stood close to 
 the north bank of the Baraki nala, a small 
 stream running between high and precipitous 
 banks. The Maratha line of battle lay with 
 its right at Laswari, and consequently with the 
 stream in its right rear. The village of Malpur, 
 on which lay the left of the line, was some 
 2000 yards distant from Laswari. The Maratha 
 cavalry, which was of inferior quality, was drawn 
 up in rear of Malpur, and took no part in the 
 first phase of the fierce action which was now 
 about to begin. 
 
 When General Lake first saw the Maratha 
 army, it was difficult to discern its movements. 
 The hurried assemblage of its horse, artillery, 
 infantry, and baggage caused a cloud of dust 
 through which nothing could for a time be seen. 
 Just above the village of Laswari, too, the stream 
 of the Baraki was intercepted by a dam, in order 
 to provide water for a small canal which flowed 
 eastward from the nala. Abaji had ordered this 
 dam to be cut, and the water thus suddenly 
 released flowed over the slightly lower ground 
 over which the British cavalry would have to 
 advance to attack the Marathas.
 
 LAKE ATTACKS WITH HIS CAVALRY. 227 
 
 The dust and the inundation confirmed Lake 
 in his belief that Abaji was still endeavouring 
 to escape, and determined at all costs to prevent 
 the removal of the Maratha guns, he ordered 
 his advanced-guard and the 3rd Cavalry Brigade, 
 which had crossed the nala, to advance as 
 rapidly as possible through the newly created 
 swamp, move along the whole Maratha front, 
 and attack Malpur and the left portion of the 
 infantry line. This flank movement would clear 
 the ground for the advance of the 1st Cavalry 
 Brigade, which was ordered to cross the nala 
 and attack the village of Laswari and the 
 right portion of the infantry line. The 2nd 
 Cavalry Brigade, which was in rear, was to 
 attack in like manner when ordered to do 
 so. The advanced -guard (one squadron of the 
 8 th Light Dragoons, commanded by Major 
 Griffiths of the 29th Light Dragoons), and the 
 1st Brigade (remainder of the 8 th Light 
 Dragoons, 1st and 3rd Native Cavalry), com- 
 manded by Colonel T. P. Vandeleur, advanced 
 somewhat slowly at first, in consequence of the 
 inundation, but afterwards at high speed, ig- 
 noring the heavy fire opened upon them by 
 all the Maratha guns, which caused numerous 
 casualties among men and horses. Approaching 
 the Maratha left, this fine brigade, headed by
 
 228 LASWARI. 
 
 the advanced-guard, charged with such impetu- 
 osity as to break clean through the Maratha 
 line and to penetrate into the village of Malpur, 
 where they captured several guns. Colonel 
 Vandeleur, however, did not live to lead this 
 gallant charge. Seeing that the moment of 
 action had arrived, immediately before ordering 
 the charge he had turned to address a few 
 words to his own regiment, the 8th Light 
 Dragoons, which were at the head of his brigade, 
 and urged them in spirited language to bring 
 honour to their standards, pointing at the harp 
 and crown with which they were emblazoned. 
 Vandeleur then placed himself at the head of 
 his beloved regiment, and while in the act of 
 drawing his sword, was shot through the heart 
 by a French artilleryman. 
 
 Vandeleur offered too conspicuous a mark to 
 the enemy that day, for while his regiment 
 were mounted on grey Arabs, he himself 
 rode a favourite black charger.^ Lieut. -Colonel 
 Gordon of the 1st Bengal Cavalry now took 
 command of the 1st Brigade, and led it in its 
 glorious and successful charge through the 
 Maratha position. This was an extraordinary 
 
 ^ Colonel Vandeleur's horse was kept by one of his brother 
 officers until the regiment left India, when it was shot, in order 
 that it might not fall into unworthy hands (Eegimental Records, 
 8th Hussars).
 
 A FINE CHARGE. 229 
 
 achievement, for the Maratha infantry were 
 thickly posted, and were drawn up behind a 
 deep breast-work, strengthened by all the bullock- 
 carts and other vehicles of their army. The 
 guns, too, arranged as has been described along 
 the front, were united to one another by chains, 
 forming an awkward obstacle to cavalry. The 
 Maratha artillerymen, as was commonly the 
 case with natives of India serving in that arm, 
 showed fine courage and devotion, holding their 
 fire until the British cavalry had arrived within 
 twenty yards of the muzzles of the guns. So 
 strongly was General Lake impressed by the 
 conduct of these brave artillerymen that he 
 subsequently enlisted all their survivors who 
 desired it into the British service. Fighting 
 against so determined and powerful an enemy, 
 and in the teeth of such formidable obstacles, 
 it will be readily imagined that the losses of 
 the advanced-guard and 1st Brigade were very 
 heavy. This was particularly the case with the 
 advanced - guard, the first body of troops to 
 come into action, and a brief extract from the 
 ' Records of the 8th Hussars ' brings this portion 
 of the battle of Laswari vividly before us : — 
 
 " Lieutenant Lindon (commanding the leading 
 troop) received a grape-shot in the knee, and 
 died within twenty -four hours in the arms of
 
 230 LASWARI. 
 
 his beloved friend. Cornet Burrowes. After 
 Lieutenant Lindon was wounded, the command 
 of the troop devolved on Lieutenant WlUard, 
 but he presently had his arm carried away by 
 a charge of grape while cheering on his men 
 under a destructive fire. Cornet Burrowes next 
 took command, and continued at his post in 
 spite of severe wounds in the face and head, 
 received in single combat with a French 
 artillery ofi&cer." ^ 
 
 The 8th Light Dragoons had 3 officers, 16 
 rank and file, and 72 horses killed ; and 2 
 officers, 34 sergeants, rank and file, and 24 
 horses wounded, in addition to 18 horses missing. 
 
 While the 1st Brigade was thus distinguishing 
 itself, the 3rd Brigade, under Colonel Macan, 
 was hurrying to the front to deliver its attack 
 on the right flank of the Marathas. The 
 staff of this brigade consisted of three brothers 
 Macan — Bichard, the brigadier, Arthur, brigade- 
 major, and Tom, aide -de - camp ; none were 
 touched at Laswari, though none but Lake 
 himself can have been more exposed. Macau's 
 brigade came up at a gallop, making for a 
 point a little clear of the village of Laswari, 
 
 1 The Eegimental Records add that during the battle three 
 French officers were captured by officers of the 8th Light 
 Dragoons.
 
 LAKE WAITS FOR THE INFANTRY. 231 
 
 and charged through the enemy's guns and 
 infantry as gallantly and successfully as the 
 1st Brigade. Having pierced the line, the 
 Brigade immediately formed up again and 
 charged twice more, backwards and forwards, 
 " with surprising order and effect " through the 
 Marathas. All the guns in this portion of the 
 ground were captured, but there were no means 
 of carrying more than two of them off the field, 
 and the enemy was so strong and his fire so 
 severe that Lake ordered the brigade to retire 
 just as Macan was about to lead on his men to 
 a fourth charge. 
 
 Similar orders were given to the 1st Brigade ; 
 and the Commander-in-Chief, finding that he 
 was losing men and horses with no adequate 
 result, withdrew all the cavalry from the 
 attack and ordered them to form up between 
 the villages of Sahajpur and Singraka, to 
 await the arrival of the infantry. There was 
 no long delay, for, knowing what was before 
 them, the infantry had strained every nerve 
 to be up in time. Marching at three in the 
 morning, they covered the twenty -four miles 
 to the bank of the Baraki nala, near Laswari, 
 by eleven o'clock. It was now evident that 
 the Marathas meant fighting, though on the 
 appearance of our infantry they sent Lake
 
 232 LASWARI. 
 
 word that they might be willing to surrender 
 their guns on certain conditions. Anxious, if 
 possible, to prevent more loss of life, Lake gave 
 the Marathas an hour in which to offer definite 
 terms, and expressed his readiness to accept 
 the conditions tentatively proposed by them. 
 Knowing, however, from his experience at 
 Agra, that the negotiations would probably 
 break down, he continued preparation for re- 
 newing the fight if necessary. The galloper 
 guns were withdrawn from the cavalry regiments 
 and formed into two batteries, and the field 
 guns which had been brought up with the 
 infantry were formed into two more. 
 
 After the infantry had eaten some food and 
 rested for a short time, it was formed into two 
 columns and ordered to attack the Maratha 
 right, which had now been withdrawn from 
 Laswari. 
 
 Far from surrendering, indeed the Maratha 
 general had employed the hour granted him 
 by General Lake in taking up a new and 
 formidable position. Seeing that there was a 
 danger that the British infantry might approach 
 Laswari under cover of the steep bank of the 
 Baraki nala, Abaji had now drawn up his 
 infantry in two lines facing east, at right angles 
 with the nala, and with the right of the lines
 
 THE MARATHAS CHANGE FRONT. 233 
 
 between 300 and 400 yards distant from it. 
 The village of Malpur lay between the two 
 lines, near the left flank, and would therefore 
 furnish a rallying-point on that side ; but the 
 right flank of the position was e7i fair. To 
 remedy this defect a very strong body of cavalry 
 was posted close in rear of the right of the 
 second line. The artillery, as usual, was' dis- 
 tributed along the front and in the village. 
 
 General Lake at once saw that the right 
 flank was his point of attack, and ordered his 
 infantry to advance in open company - column 
 along the nala until they should have gained 
 a point whence they could advance against 
 the Maratha right. Lake ordered the leading 
 brigade, on arrival at the desired point, to 
 drive in the enemy's infantry and capture 
 Malpur. Colonel Macan was directed to sup- 
 port the advance of the infantry with the 3rd 
 Cavalry Brigade. The 2nd Cavalry Brigade, 
 under Lieut. - Colonel John Vandeleur, was 
 detached towards the Maratha left, to watch 
 for any opportunity of action that might be 
 aflbrded by the coming infantry attack, and to 
 fall upon the Marathas should they retreat. 
 The 1st Cavalry Brigade, under Lieut. -Colonel 
 Gordon, had lost so heavily in the first phase 
 of the battle that Lake now held it in reserve.
 
 234 LASWARI. 
 
 determined not to employ it further save as a 
 last resource. 
 
 Three of the four batteries, whose composition 
 has been described, were ordered to come at 
 once into action against the vastly superior 
 Maratha artillery, — a duty which they most 
 gallantly performed, constantly advancing to 
 closer quarters as the infantry gained ground 
 towards Malpur. The fourth battery followed 
 the 76th Regiment, in order to take the first 
 opportunity of enfilading the Maratha position 
 from the right. 
 
 These simple and unconditional orders having 
 been explained to all concerned in the quiet 
 interval so conveniently afibrded by the enemy, 
 the right wing of the infantry, headed by Lake 
 and General Ware, promptly moved forward, 
 moving in an open column of companies, and 
 taking advantage of the cover afforded by the 
 inequalities of the ground near the bank of the 
 Baraki nala. To divert attention from their 
 advance the three batteries of light guns opened 
 fire, while Colonel Macan, interpreting his orders 
 to support the infantry in a liberal spirit, moved 
 his British regiment, the 29th Light Dragoons, 
 in file along the bed of the nala, close alongside 
 the 76th Begiment, which as usual led the right 
 wing. The advance of the 76th, owing to the
 
 A FLANK MARCH. 235 
 
 cover afforded by broken ground and long grass, 
 was for a short time unseen by the Marathas, 
 but as soon as the British regiment came clearly 
 into view every gun opened on them and quickly 
 caused many casualties in their ranks. The 
 distance to be traversed before an attack could 
 be attempted was about a mile ; but undeterred 
 by their losses, and the certainty of the storm 
 that would burst upon them whenever they 
 attempted to form up for attack, the 76th 
 pressed doggedly on, closely followed by the 
 battery and by the leading native battalions 
 of the right wing. These were headed by the 
 five companies of the 16th Native Infantry, 
 under Lieut. - Colonel White, which had done 
 such distinguished service in the capture of 
 Agra. The 16th were followed by the 2nd 
 Battalion 12th, the old "Lai Pultan" (red 
 regiment) of Plassy, the first Bengal regiment 
 to wear the colour of England. Their com- 
 mander at Laswari and throughout the cam- 
 paign was Major Bobert Gregory, a most 
 gallant soldier. After the 12th came the two 
 battalions of the 15th Native Infantry. All 
 showed the greatest possible zeal in pressing 
 forward to support the 76th. 
 
 Seeing that the fire of his artillery failed 
 to check the British advance, the Maratha
 
 236 LASWARI. 
 
 general now threw back the right flank of each 
 of his lines of infantry, thus showing a new 
 front towards the nala, the point from which it 
 was evident that he would shortly be attacked. 
 This movement was performed with a steadiness 
 which spoke highly for the training and dis- 
 cipline of the Maratha infantry.^ 
 
 As the 76th approached the Maratha position, 
 the battery which followed it found suitable 
 ground near the nala from which to open an 
 enfilading fire on the front line of the Marathas. 
 This proved very effective, but the place selected 
 was unfortunately immediately in front of the 
 narrow space on which the 29th Light Dragoons 
 were crowded together in readiness to assist the 
 76th. The fire of the Maratha artillery, drawn 
 by the British battery, fell heavily on the 29th, 
 for, although they were screened from the 
 view of the Maratha gunners, shots constantly 
 ploughed through the crowded ranks of the 
 Dragoons with fatal eflect. The 29th, however, 
 knowing that it was essential that they should 
 hold their ground, bore their losses stoically. 
 Among those killed in this place was Major 
 Griffiths, commanding the regiment, whose 
 
 * It is an interesting coincidence that the Maratha army 
 defeated at Assaye by General Wellesley also effected a change 
 of front during the battle, — an achievement of which native 
 armies were previously considered incapable.
 
 THE 76TH ATTACK SINGLE-HANDED. 237 
 
 services in the first phase of the battle, when 
 in command of the advanced - guard, will be 
 remembered. The command of the 29th now 
 devolved on Captain Wade. 
 
 Lake, who as usual was in the thickest of 
 the fight, seeing the severity of the Maratha 
 artillery fire, now determined to attack with 
 his leading troops, rather than expose the 29th 
 and 76th to the further heavy losses that they 
 must have suffered had he waited to deploy 
 his whole infantry force. Under his orders, 
 therefore, the 76th advanced single-handed to 
 the attack, whereupon the Maratha guns opened 
 so terrible a fire of canister on them as to 
 check even their advance, which ceased at a 
 point outside the village where a mosque 
 afforded them cover. At the same moment 
 Abaji, who had shown his ability as a com- 
 mander by the skill with which he had pre- 
 viously changed his front, gave further proof 
 of his ability by a well - timed order to his 
 cavalry to charge the 76th in flank. Had this 
 order been obeyed with spirit, it is not too 
 much to say that the 76th would have been 
 destroyed and Laswari would not have been a 
 British victory. The Maratha cavalry were, 
 fortunately, the weak element in their army. 
 Their charge was feeble, and was easily repulsed
 
 238 LASWARI. 
 
 by the fire of the 76th. The Maratha horse, 
 however, though checked and driven back, 
 raUied at a short distance and showed some 
 signs of intending to repeat their charge. The 
 situation was still highly critical, and Lake 
 ordered the 29th Light Dragoons to advance 
 along the rear of the 76th, form up beyond 
 them, and break the Maratha infantry. 
 
 So unfavourable was the ground that the 29th 
 were still compelled to move in file ; but in no 
 way daunted, they dashed forward in the most 
 spirited manner and formed up on the left of 
 the 76th. As they came up the Dragoons were 
 heartily cheered by the men of the 76th, and 
 the 29 th as heartily cheered in response. 
 E-apidly forming line, the 29th charged without 
 the delay of a moment, and broke through both 
 lines of the Marathas. 
 
 The Native Infantry regiments of the right 
 wing were now coming up, and the two leading 
 battalions quickly forming line, were led for- 
 ward by Lake to reinforce the 76th, and with 
 them follow up the advantage gained by the 
 charge of the 29th. The crisis was, however, 
 still acute, the Marathas standing valiantly to 
 their guns, pouring a concentrated artillery and 
 infantry fire on the two battalions, and facing 
 their charge, bayonet to bayonet. During the
 
 GENERAL LAKE AND HIS SON AT THE BATTLE OF LASWARL
 
 THE CRISIS. 239 
 
 single-handed rush of the 76th there had been 
 many casualties both in that regiment and 
 among the headquarter staff. Major - General 
 Ware was dead, his head having been carried 
 off by a round-shot ; Campbell and Duval, two 
 of Lake's staff, had also been killed ; Colonel 
 Macdonald^ had been severely wounded, but 
 remained in action, and took General Ware's 
 place during the rest of the day. Lake him- 
 self had his charger killed under him, and 
 George Lake was dangerously wounded by a 
 round-shot while giving his own horse to his 
 father. 
 
 Not a moment was to be lost. Lake was 
 instantly in the saddle, and leaving his son 
 apparently dying on the ground, galloped back 
 to the 12th Native Infantry, steadily yet 
 quickly coming forward under their gallant 
 commanding officer, and led them up on the 
 right of the 76th ; then, returning once more, 
 he in like manner brought the 16th Native 
 Infantry also into line. 
 
 Cheered on by Lake, Macdonald, White, 
 M'Leod, Gregory, and their other officers, the 
 wing hurled themselves against the Marathas, 
 
 1 Colonel Macdonald, at this time Adjutant-General at Army 
 Headquarters, was a cadet of 1766. He rose to the rank of 
 Lieutenant-General, became a K.C.B., and died at Calcutta in 
 1824.
 
 240 LASWARI. 
 
 burst through the gaps in their lines made 
 by the charge of the 29th, and attacked the 
 village of Malpur with a fury that none could 
 resist. Meanwhile the 29th Light Dragoons, 
 turning on the Maratha horse, drove them 
 clean off the field, and then, quickly returning, 
 fell upon the rear of the infantry, thus render- 
 ing essential aid to the British attack. 
 
 The struggle in and around Malpur lasted 
 until four o'clock in the afternoon, by which time 
 all the Maratha guns had been taken, and the 
 right wing of their infantry had been destroyed 
 almost to a man. The left wing preserved its 
 formation throughout this long trial, and seeing 
 that the day was lost, now endeavoured to re- 
 treat in good order. This movement gave the 
 desired opportunity to Colonel John Vandeleur 
 and the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, who broke into 
 the Maratha column and captured 2000 prisoners 
 and all the baggage of their army. 
 
 Abaji, the commander-in-chief, whose disposi- 
 tions had been so able throughout the day, now 
 exchanged for a swift horse the elephant on 
 which, according to the custom of Indian 
 armies, he had been mounted, and was thus 
 enabled to escape from the exhausted British 
 cavalry. His name appears no more in history. 
 The destruction of his army was practically
 
 DEFEATED BUT NOT DISGRACED, 241 
 
 complete, for the carnage about Malpur had 
 been terrible. The total of the Maratha losses 
 was never known, but the dead and severely 
 wounded left on the field, most of whom perished 
 there, were estimated at not less than 7000 men. 
 The army created by De Boigne and Perron 
 was defeated but not disgraced ; indeed, to have 
 fought as bravely and doggedly as they did, 
 against Lake's heroic troops under his brilliant 
 leadership, reflected the highest honour on the 
 Marathas. No one realised their quality more 
 fully than Lake himself; and Skinner states 
 in his Memoirs that when, at the end of the 
 battle, Lake was cheered by his troops, he 
 " took off his hat and thanked them, but told 
 them to despise Death, as those brave fellows 
 had done, pointing to the Marathas who were 
 lying thick about their guns." 
 
 In achieving their triumph, the British army 
 sustained very heavy losses. The killed and 
 wounded numbered 822, out of a total force on 
 the ground of about 8000 men. In the 76th 
 Regiment and the Native Infantry of the 
 right wing, who bore the brunt of the second 
 phase of the battle, the losses were very heavy 
 indeed. The British cavalry regiments also 
 suffered severely. The casualties in the 8 th 
 Light Dragoons have already been mentioned, 
 
 Q
 
 242 LASWARI. 
 
 and the 29th suffered yet more heavily, losing 
 19 killed, 5 of whom were officers, and 43 
 wounded, of whom 3 were officers. The 27th 
 Light Dragoons, though only employed in the 
 last phase of the battle, came off but little 
 more easily. The casualties among horses were 
 extraordinarily heavy, 277 being killed, 154 
 wounded, and 122 missing. 
 
 The physical endurance shown by Lake's 
 army at Laswari deserves record. The cavalry, 
 after marching forty -two miles in less than 
 twenty-four hours, were so hotly engaged from 
 sunrise to sunset that the horses could not be 
 watered or fed for twenty hours. Yet more 
 remarkable was the achievement of the in- 
 fantry, who went into action after covering 
 sixty-five miles in forty-eight hours. 
 
 General Lake's personal share in this bloody 
 struggle was a remarkable one. In the first 
 phase of the battle he shared the dangers of 
 the cavalry, and in the second phase he headed 
 the 76th in their advance and in every charge 
 made by them in the long -sustained fight at 
 close quarters about Malpur. He also suc- 
 cessively headed the 12th and 16th Native 
 Infantry, the two regiments that came so 
 staunchly to the assistance of the 76th at a 
 moment when the issue of the battle trembled
 
 lake's escapes. 243 
 
 in the balance. During the critical period 
 when the 29th Light Dragoons were forming 
 at a gallop on the left of the 76th, prior 
 to the attack on Malpur, Lake's horse, " Old 
 Port," the gift of Lord Wellesley, which 
 had received several wounds, fell dead under 
 him. His gallant son, Major George Lake, as 
 at the battle of Delhi, at once dismounted and 
 gave up his own charger to his father. Lake 
 at first refused this offer, fearing from the 
 proximity of the enemy that his son's self- 
 sacrifice might cost him his life. After some 
 entreaty the General accepted the horse, and 
 Major Lake, obtaining another mount, was 
 soon again in the saddle. At this moment 
 George Lake was severely wounded by a 
 round-shot, and his father was compelled to 
 leave him lying on the ground, hardly ex- 
 pecting again to see him living.^ 
 
 General Lake, among numberless escapes, 
 was fired at by a Maratha sepoy, who actually 
 placed the muzzle of his firelock against the 
 General's side as he fired. Lake's life was, 
 however, saved by his accidentally turning in 
 another direction, for he had not seen his 
 
 ^ Major Lake, a most promising soldier, recovered from this 
 wound, but fell in action when lieutenant - colonel of the 29th 
 Eegiment, at the battle of Roliga, in the Peninsular War, August 
 17, 1808. ,
 
 244 LASWARI. 
 
 assailant. His escape was so narrow that his 
 coat was burnt by the explosion of the charge. 
 At Laswari, however, Lake showed himself 
 much more than a mere fighting general. In 
 this battle he showed, perhaps more con- 
 spicuously than on any other occasion in his 
 long career, his qualities as a leader of men. 
 At Laswari were fully displayed his calmness 
 in danger, his self-reliance, and his power of 
 commanding the confidence of his troops. If 
 the narrative of this desperate struggle has 
 conveyed any true idea of its nature to the 
 reader, he will have understood the remarkable 
 qualities of Lake, which carried him triumph- 
 antly over obstacles that no other English 
 soldier of the period, save Arthur Wellesley, 
 could have surmounted. It was with reference 
 to Laswari that Malleson wrote of Lake : " He 
 was never so great as on the battle-field. He 
 could think more clearly under the roar of battle 
 than in the calmness and quiet of his tent. In 
 this respect he resembled Clive. It was this 
 quality which enabled him to dare the almost im- 
 possible. That which in others would have been 
 rash, in Lake was prudent daring." Laswari 
 was the turning-point of the campaign against 
 Sindhia and his allies. Assaye had already been
 
 A DECISIVE VICTORY. 245 
 
 fought and had ruined the hopes of the Mar- 
 atha confederacy in the south, but Sindhia was 
 still paramount in the vast countries north of 
 the Vindhayan range until the decisive defeat 
 of his sole remaining army at Laswari shattered 
 his power. Twenty days later Argaum was 
 fought by Arthur Wellesley ; but that action 
 was a mere rout, and the Maratha troops en- 
 gaged in it were defeated before they fought. 
 Laswari had taken the fighting stuff out of 
 every man in the Maratha dominions. It was 
 one of the decisive battles of India, and it 
 decided the course of the Maratha War. 
 
 The losses among officers were, as usual, 
 abnormally heavy, in Lake's staff alone two 
 being killed and four wounded. Captain Thorn's 
 casualty roll, which is incomplete, gives the 
 names of 15 officers killed and 26 wounded. 
 
 The highest in rank of those who fell, Major- 
 General Ware was sixty years of age, and had 
 served forty - one years in India. He was a 
 brave officer, who had frequently distinguished 
 himself in action, and he had been wounded 
 at the battle of Delhi. The story is told that, 
 early in life, Ware had saved a sum of money, 
 which was embezzled by a treacherous friend 
 to whom he had remitted it. Ware thereupon
 
 246 LASWARI. 
 
 vowed that he would never save another penny, 
 and acted up to his word. He was considered 
 the most hospitable man in Bengal. 
 
 As regards the distribution of losses in the 
 infantry, the 76th held a sad pre-eminence. 
 Their casualties numbered 170, of whom 43, 
 including 2 officers, were killed. Of the Native 
 Infantry, the 2nd Battalion 12th sustained 101 
 casualties, and the six companies of the 16th 
 had no less than 87. They were the two first 
 regiments to come up to the assistance of the 
 76th, and the conduct of both was admirable. 
 Major Gregory, who led his battalion in fine 
 style, was severely wounded in the head and 
 had his horse shot under him, and Lieut. - 
 Colonel White was also wounded at the head 
 of the 16th. 
 
 The foregoing account of the battle of Laswari 
 is based to so considerable an extent on Lake's 
 despatch and letter announcing his victory to 
 the Governor-General, that, to avoid repetition, 
 those passages from them alone follow in which 
 the Commander - in - Chief awards special dis- 
 tinction to corps or individuals. With regard 
 to the first phase of the battle. General Lake 
 offered his "best thanks and acknowledgments" 
 to all the cavalry for the intrepidity and courage
 
 "a handful of heroes." 247 
 
 displayed. Lieutenants Wallace and Dickson, 
 and the men who served under them with the 
 galloper guns, are selected for special praise. 
 In the second phase. Colonel Macan and his 
 brigade, consisting of the 29th Light Dragoons 
 and 4th Native Cavalry, receive an expression 
 of the Commander - in - Chief's warmest thanks 
 and gratitude for their conspicuous gallantry, 
 Colonel Macan, Captain Wade, and Captain 
 Elliot of this the 3rd Brigade alone being 
 mentioned by name. General Lake also de- 
 plores the death of Colonel Vandeleur, " a most 
 valued officer." Of the infantry, Major M'Leod, 
 Captain Robertson, and the officers and men 
 of the 76th Regiment are thanked in similar 
 terms, General Lake in his despatch speaking 
 of the regiment as a " handful of heroes," and 
 adding this glowing testimony to their conduct : 
 " On this, as on every former occasion, His 
 Excellency beheld with admiration the heroic 
 behaviour of the 76th Regiment, whose gallantry 
 must ever leave a lasting impression of grati- 
 tude on his mind." Of the Native Infantry, 
 the detachment of the 16th Regiment and 
 the 2nd Battalion 12th are singled out for 
 thanks " for their timely and gallant support 
 of the 76th." The officers mentioned by name
 
 248 LASWARI. 
 
 are Colonel Macdonald, Lieut. -Colonel White, 
 and Major Gregory.^ 
 
 General Lake again follows his rule of thank- 
 ing his staff as a body, saying that their zeal 
 at Laswari was but too plainly shown by 
 the returns of killed and wounded. The only 
 officers of the staff mentioned by name were 
 Major -General Ware ("a gallant officer, and 
 one whose loss I deeply lament"). Major 
 William Campbell, Deputy Quartermaster- 
 General, and Lieutenant Duval, 19th Light 
 Dragoons, aide-de-camp, all of whom were 
 killed. In conveying General Lake's thanks 
 to the cavalry. Colonel Macan added an 
 honourable mention by himself of Surgeons Lyss 
 and Newman, of the 29th Light Dragoons, 
 for their services to the wounded at the 
 greatest personal risk to themselves. 
 
 The night following the battle of Laswari 
 was a very trying one to the exhausted troops. 
 The plain on which the army lay was thickly 
 covered with the bodies of the dead, and on 
 all sides could be heard the groans of the 
 wounded and dying, for whose assistance but 
 scanty resources were at hand. From time 
 to time the air was rent by loud explosions 
 
 ^ Major R. B. Gregory attained the rank of Major-General in 
 1819 and received the C.B. He died at Benares in 1824.
 
 "a severe business." 249 
 
 as the jflames from the burning village of 
 Malpur caught powder-magazines and tumbrils 
 of ammunition. To crown the sufferings of 
 the troops, a furious hurricane came on at 
 niffht. 
 
 o 
 
 On the following morning (November 2) 
 General Lake, though still much exhausted 
 and depressed after his violent exertions of 
 the previous day, and on account of his anxiety 
 on behalf of his son, wrote the following inter- 
 esting letter to Lord Wellesley, which gives a 
 vivid picture of the remarkable eflSciency of 
 the Maratha army which he had been able 
 to destroy. 
 
 Marked [Secret], 
 Camp, Laswari, November 2, 1803. 
 
 I sent you last night an account of our having at 
 length completed the defeat of all the force belonging 
 to Perron or Scindiah on this side India, which has been 
 effected by great fatigue, difficulty, and severe loss. 
 However, it was an object of such importance to destroy 
 these battalions effectually that I felt it incumbent 
 upon me to use every exertion in my power. . . , Had 
 it been delayed one hour longer they would have 
 escaped entirely. . . . These battalions were most 
 uncommonly well appointed, had a most numerous 
 artillery, as well served as they can possibly be, the 
 gunners standing to their guns until killed by the 
 bayonet. All the sepoys of the enemy behaved exceed- 
 ingly well, and if they had been commanded by French 
 officers the event _ would have been, I fear, extremely 
 doubtful. I never was in so severe a business in my
 
 250 LASWARI. 
 
 life or anything like it, and pray to God I never may 
 be in such a situation again. Their army is better 
 appointed than ours — no expense is spared whatever. 
 They have three times the number of men to a gun 
 we have ; their bullocks, of which they have many more 
 than we have, are of a very superior sort ; all their 
 men's knapsacks and baggage are carried upon camels, 
 by which means they can march double the distance. 
 We have taken all their bazaar, baggage, and every- 
 thing belonging to them ; an amazing number of them 
 were killed — indeed the victory has been decisive. The 
 action of yesterday has convinced me how impossible 
 it is to do anything without British troops, and of 
 them there ought to be a very great proportion. The 
 returns of yesterday will, I fear, prove the necessity of 
 what I say too fully, I could not write you, my dear 
 lord, the various occurrences of the week — the wound 
 of my dear son rendered me totally unfit for anything ; 
 but I thank G-od his wound is less severe than I at first 
 believed. When I first saw him upon receiving it, it 
 almost unmanned me, but the alarming crisis when it 
 happened obliged me to quit him and look to the troops, 
 who at that time wanted every assistance I could give 
 them. We fortunately succeeded in carrying our point, 
 by which means I think we shall have destroyed all 
 the force that can now oppose us. I think, without 
 exception, yesterday was the most anxious day I ever 
 experienced, for had we been beaten by these brigades 
 the consequences attending such a defeat must have 
 been most fatal. These fellows fought like devils, or 
 rather heroes, and had we not made a disposition to 
 attack in a style that we should have done against the 
 most formidable army we could have been opposed to, 
 I verily believe, from the position they had taken, we 
 might have failed. As it is, I feel happy in having 
 accomplished all your wishes, except Gwalior, which 
 I trust we shall get possession of by treaty with
 
 REST AFTER TOIL. 251 
 
 Ambajee.-^ The fall of these brigades will bring him to 
 terms immediately, and will have an effect upon all the 
 different Eajahs who have been looking very much to 
 the proceedings of them, and I suspect many were 
 encouraging them to stand out for some time, and gave 
 them hopes of assistance if they did not absolutely 
 give it them. 
 
 I feel great satisfaction that my son is going on 
 well, has no fever, and no doubt of his having the use 
 of his knee. I fear it will be impossible for me to 
 send this evening a detailed account of the action, but 
 hope to be able to send it off to-morrow very early. 
 
 I do not think it will be possible for me to move 
 from hence before the 5th on account of my wounded 
 men, and other circumstances; I shall then turn 
 towards Gwalior, in order to arrange matters with 
 Ambajee. I will let you know more of my motions 
 instantly, and remain ever, my dear lord, with un- 
 feigned and sincere attachment, your devoted servant, 
 
 G. Lake. 
 
 General Lake's anticipation of being able 
 to march on November 5 was not fulfilled. 
 He found that the destruction of the Maratha 
 army was even more complete than he had 
 thought, and that there was not anywhere in 
 the field against him a formed body of troops. 
 In these circumstances he was enabled to halt 
 at Laswari until November 8, by which time 
 the air had become unfit to breathe from 
 
 1 Ambaji Inglia, the Maratha chief who had succeeded General 
 Perron in command of Sindhia's army — not to be confused with 
 Abaji, who commanded at Laswari.
 
 252 LASWARI. 
 
 the great number of dead bodies of men and 
 animals lying about. The army then marched 
 in a leisurely manner towards Pahesar, a 
 village thirteen miles west of Bhartpur, arriv- 
 ing there on November 14. Here a halt of 
 twelve days was made, and the sick and 
 wounded, together with 71 of the guns cap- 
 tured at Laswari, were sent to Agra. In 
 addition to the guns, the trophies included 
 44 stand of colours and 5000 stand of arms. 
 The victory had, as Lake anticipated in his 
 letter to the Governor- General, an immediate 
 effect on the native princes of Hindustan. 
 The adhesion of the Raja of Bhartpur has 
 already been recorded. During the halt at 
 Pahesar treaties were concluded with the 
 Pajas of Alwar, Jaipur, and Jodhpur, powerful 
 Pajput chiefs, and with the Begum Sumru, 
 a lady who during the great anarchy in Hin- 
 dustan, now drawing to its close, had risen 
 from the status of a dancing- girl to that of 
 a ruling chief, owning a small but highly 
 efficient army. There is a well - known story 
 that, on the arrival of the Begum in the 
 British camp, Lake, who was dining with his 
 staff, and may perhaps have had a glass of 
 the " exhilarating shiraz," received her with a 
 hearty embrace. The Begum, with great tact.
 
 THE GREETING OF A PADRE. 253 
 
 turned to her attendants and said, "It is the 
 greeting of a Padre to his daughter ! " 
 
 On November 27 the army marched to 
 Halena on the Banganga, and there received 
 some welcome reinforcements of Europeans. 
 These consisted of the flank companies of the 
 1st Bengal European Begiment, and those 
 men of the three British cavalry regiments 
 who had been invalided to Cawnpore and Agra 
 during the campaign from wounds or sickness. 
 There were now with the army a large number 
 of dragoons for whom there were no horses, 
 and they were formed into a temporary bat- 
 talion of infantry, under the command of 
 Lieut. -Colonel M'Leod of the 76th. The army 
 halted at Halena until December 7, during 
 which period General Lake received the fol- 
 lowing letter of thanks for his services at 
 Laswari : — 
 
 Barrackpore, November 18, 1803. 
 
 My dear Sir, — My last private letter was written 
 under the supposition that the fall of Agra had termin- 
 ated your difficulties and dangers, and finally crowned 
 your honours in this campaign ; but your despatch con- 
 taining the recital of the glorious and most decisive 
 victory of the 1st of November afforded a new cause 
 of my admiration and gratitude, and has opened a fresh 
 source of honour for you and your army. I certainly 
 expected that the force collected near Agra would give 
 you some trouble, but I was not prepared for an action
 
 254 LASWARl. 
 
 SO splendid, nor for so formidable an opposition. Your 
 judgment in pursuing this force meets my cordial appro- 
 bation. Your apprehensions for the safety of Delhi were 
 most wise and just ; but even if Delhi had been safe, it 
 would have been necessary to destroy this force before 
 you proceeded further to the southward. The action is 
 one of the most brilliant of which I have ever read the 
 relation. Your personal exertions in it surpass all praise, 
 all example, and all honour and glory acquired by any 
 commander of an army whose actions have reached my 
 knowledge. Your safety in the midst of such perils 
 reminds me of Lord Duncan's private account of the 
 battle of Camperdown, in which, describing his own 
 situation in the midst of the general slaughter, he said, 
 " God covered my head in the day of tattle." The dread- 
 ful and distracting event of your heroic son's wound in 
 your presence in the heat of action, and in the most 
 urgent and critical moment of your own public duty, 
 was such a trial as Heaven has seldom given to human 
 fortitude. The mere emotion of natural affection would 
 have rendered this trial almost insupportable to any 
 parent ; but in addition to the ties of blood, your son 
 possesses your confidence and respect ; in his danger 
 you must have felt at once that you were exposed to 
 the loss of your dearest relation, of your best officer, of 
 the true image of your own courage and military spirit, 
 of him who had been your firmest support in all your 
 recent difficulties and dangers, and in whom you must 
 have contemplated the surest pledge of transmitting to 
 later times a just memorial of your own fame. No scene 
 equal to this trial ever was presented to my imagination, 
 nor do I believe it is to be paralleled in all history. 
 With such parental affection as I know you to possess, 
 and with such just sentiments as you entertain of your 
 son's merits and high promise, I declare to you solemnly 
 that your resolution under such a blow, your instant 
 return to the attack of the enemy, and the alacrity and
 
 LORD WELLESLEY's LETTER. 255 
 
 ardour with which you prosecuted the glorious victory 
 of that day, constituted such a variety of extraordinary 
 and affecting circumstances that I could not command 
 strength of mind to read your letter in public. May 
 you never again be subjected to so excruciating a pang, 
 and may the same Providence (that has suffered your 
 gallant son to be wounded on the field of battle before 
 the eyes of his father, and has rescued him from death, 
 and even from injury, to enhance the joys of his father's 
 triumphs) preserve him to emulate his father's example 
 and to secure a succession of hereditary glory to his 
 family, and of victory and fame to his country. 
 
 It is impossible not to suffer severe grief in reading 
 the sad list of the killed and wounded on the 1st of 
 November. The names of Vandeleur and of poor 
 Griffith affected me most in the list of killed, the former 
 on account of his high professional character, and the 
 latter on account of my long acquaintance with him. The 
 loss, however, is not great when compared with the force 
 and artillery opposed to us, and it appears to be of still 
 inferior magnitude when compared with the brilliancy 
 of the action, and with its soHd and substantial benefit 
 to the common cause. The impression made by the 
 glory of that day, and above all, my dear sir, I must 
 say, by your conduct in it, surpasses all imagination. 
 
 I am now employed in despatching Colonel Nicholson, 
 who I hope will be liberated in three or four days. I 
 am highly pleased with him ; he takes charge of my de- 
 spatches, of which I will send copies to you immediately. 
 
 I write to you by Major-General Fraser, most sincerely 
 congratulating you on this last unexpected and imrivalled 
 success, and hoping that your danger is at an end. — I 
 remain, my dear sir, with the greatest attachment and 
 respect, &c., Wellesley. 
 
 P,S. — I grieve for the loss of my poor friend " Old 
 Port." I have lately received some fine horses from
 
 256 LASWARI. 
 
 Arabia, one, if not two, of which I hope will be ser- 
 viceable to you. I shall immediately endeavour to send 
 one to you, W. 
 
 This cordial, even affectionate, letter requires 
 no comment. It touched the vp^arm heart of 
 Lake, and elicited the foUovi^ing grateful reply : — 
 
 Camp, Halenah, December 3, 1803. 
 
 My dear Lord, — Your letter of the 18th, so full of 
 friendship and affection, added to all the kindness I have 
 already received from you, renders me a complete bank- 
 rupt in words to express the sensations which warm my 
 heart with every tie of attachment and gratitude to you, 
 my dear lord, for the various marks of esteem and confi- 
 dence so repeatedly manifested towards me, and which 
 nothing but death can ever eradicate from my mind. 
 Your noble and feeling expressions respecting my son, 
 while they afford me the most lively sensations of venera- 
 tion and regard, call to my recollection what indeed can 
 never be forgot — the pang I felt at the moment I saw 
 him wounded ; and believe me, I feel most truly thank- 
 ful to the Almighty for sparing his life, and, if possible, 
 still more particularly so for having granted me fortitude 
 sufficient to fulfil at that moment the duties of my 
 station, a moment most critical — so much so, that in the 
 event of any failure the mischief that might have ensued 
 is far beyond all calculation. The 1st of November 
 1803 will ever remain fresh in my mind for various 
 reasons, which cannot now be enumerated : the loss of 
 so many brave men and worthy officers I must ever 
 most sincerely regret, and have only to look up to that 
 Providence with adoration and thanksgiving who, in the 
 midst of our most perilous situation, saved so many of 
 us to relate the tale and offer up our prayers for His 
 mercies vouchsafed unto us.
 
 THE GIFT OF THE OFFICERS. 257 
 
 I have received joui letter by General Fraser, whom 
 I was extremely happy to see. The duplicate arrived 
 before him, which I will answer in a day or two. — I am, 
 my dear lord, with the truest affection and regard, your 
 devoted servant, G. Lake. 
 
 On leaving Halena the army marched in a 
 leisurely manner towards Biana, on the Gumbhir, 
 this place having been chosen as a winter camp 
 as a suitable base from which to guard the 
 Rajput states from an attack, which now ap- 
 peared possible on the part of Holkar. 
 
 It may be mentioned that early in this march 
 Ranjit Singh, the Jat Raja of Bhartpur, of 
 whom more will be heard later, visited General 
 Lake's camp and paid his respects. The Raja 
 is described by Thorn as an elderly little man, 
 dressed in very plain clothes, but followed by 
 a large number of attendants. 
 
 During the march also General Lake received 
 an address from the officers of the army, ex- 
 pressive of the high respect in which they held 
 him, and requesting his acceptance from them 
 of a service of plate of the value of £4000. 
 The address and present, both of which were 
 customary at the period, were accepted with 
 great pleasure by General Lake, and this episode 
 may be considered as the last connected with 
 the battle of Laswari. The army arrived at 
 
 R
 
 258 LASWAEI. 
 
 Blana on December 27, 1803, and remained 
 there unmolested until February 9 in the follow- 
 ing year. 
 
 In order to complete the narrative of the 
 campaign of 1803, we must now turn to the 
 operations of the detachment which, it will be 
 remembered, was stationed at the opening 
 of the campaign at Allahabad. This force, 
 under Lieut. -Colonel Peregrine Powell, was in- 
 tended to invade Bundelkhand and eventually 
 to capture Sindhia's fortresses in that region. 
 Colonel Powell marched from Allahabad, under 
 Lake's orders, on September 6, and after an 
 easy defeat of a force under Shamshir Bahadur, 
 Sindhia's local commander, captured Kalpi on 
 December 4. Shamshir Bahadur then surren- 
 dered, and his example was presently followed 
 by the Subadar of Jhansi (ancestor of the 
 Bani of Jhansi who was killed in action in 
 the Indian Mutiny). 
 
 Sindhia's officers were now all deserting him, 
 and among the traitors was Ambaji Inglia, who 
 engaged to surrender Gwalior, Sindhia's most 
 important fortress. General Lake consequently 
 detached a force from the main army to take 
 over charge of Gwalior, selecting as its com- 
 mander Lieut. - Colonel White of the 16th 
 Native Infantry, who was not incapacitated
 
 TECE SURRENDER OF GWALIOR. 259 
 
 from duty by a grape-shot wound received at 
 Laswari, and, by his services throughout the 
 campaign, had shown himself fitted for an in- 
 dependent command. 
 
 White, who was given the rank of Brigadier- 
 General, arrived before Gwalior about December 
 23, but on summoning the Killadar or fort- 
 commandant to surrender his charge, the latter 
 refused to comply with the orders of Ambaji 
 Inglia. General Lake promptly reinforced 
 White's force, bringing it up to four and a 
 half battalions of Native Infantry, a battalion 
 formed of the flank companies of the 22nd 
 Begiment and the Bengal European Begiment 
 under Major M'Leod of the 76th Eegiment, and 
 some heavy guns manned by a company of 
 European artillerymen. 
 
 Gwalior was a fortress of immense strength, 
 constructed on a rock which rises abruptly out 
 of the plain to a height of 300 feet. A great 
 part of the perimeter, which has a total length 
 of nearly five miles, is absolutely inaccessible. 
 
 Nothing daunted. White at once opened a 
 regular attack on the fortress, and by Febru- 
 ary 4, 1804, had made a practicable breach in 
 the wall. The garrison then made terms of 
 surrender, and Gwalior was evacuated on 
 February 5. A highly complimentary order
 
 260 LASWARI. 
 
 was issued on the occasion by General Lake, 
 and it is to be noted that the services of 
 Captain Wood, the senior engineer officer, re- 
 ceived special mention. 
 
 The capture of Gwalior took place several 
 weeks after the official end of the campaign 
 against Sindhia and the Raja of Berar, for a 
 treaty of peace had been signed by those 
 princes on December 30, 1803. It was, how- 
 ever, already evident that the end of the war 
 was yet far off.
 
 261 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 Towards the end of the campaign against 
 Sindhia and the Raja of Berar, it had become 
 clear to Lord Wellesley that Holkar was un- 
 likely to refrain much longer from hostilities. 
 
 Holkar had, in fact, been swayed throughout 
 the campaign by two conflicting motives, — his 
 desire to overwhelm the British, which impelled 
 him to an alliance with Sindhia and the Bhonsla, 
 and his fear of assisting Sindhia to become the 
 chief power in India. Finally his jealousy and 
 distrust of Sindhia proved stronger than his 
 hatred of the British, and Holkar stood by in- 
 active while Lake and Arthur Wellesley crushed 
 the confederacy which his aid might have ren- 
 dered too powerful for them. 
 
 Laswari and Assaye freed the hands of Lord 
 Wellesley as they never had been free from the 
 day of his assuming the office of Governor- 
 General ; yet his two armies were widely
 
 262 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 separated, and both were much diminished in 
 strength from the arduous campaign then ap- 
 proaching its close, and Holkar judged that the 
 time had come for him to enter the field. 
 
 He had, from the position of his dominions, 
 freedom of choice as to his point of attack, and 
 Lake's army being not only much weaker than 
 that of Arthur Wellesley, but easier to cut off 
 from its base, it was against Lake that Holkar 
 decided to move. 
 
 One of the first signs of Holkar's definite 
 decision to defy the British was his cruel 
 murder of three Anglo-Indian officers who had 
 done good service for him in past wars, but 
 now refused to serve against their countrymen. 
 After this atrocity Holkar moved northward 
 from Indore, his capital, and threatened the 
 dominions of the Rajput Raja of Jaipur, the 
 hereditary enemy of the Maratha princes, and 
 now a tributary of the British. In this inten- 
 tion Holkar was frustrated by the movements 
 of Lake, who after the battle of Laswari 
 marched, as has been stated, to Biana, where 
 he was conveniently situated to guard both the 
 Rajput states and the way towards the British 
 frontier. Jaipur being thus denied to him, 
 Holkar returned southward and plundered Ma- 
 hesar, a rich city on the Narbadda. It is said
 
 HOLKAR DETERMINES ON WAR. 263 
 
 that he here obtained no less a sum than 
 £1,000,000, and with this treasure at his com- 
 mand, and his army swollen by large numbers 
 of Sindhia's soldiers, both horse and foot, who 
 had flocked to him after the defeat of their 
 master, Holkar determined on war with the 
 British. 
 
 His action was absolutely unprovoked. Lord 
 Wellesley had made every effort to avert war, 
 sending as late as February 10, 1804, assur- 
 ances that Holkar would not be molested so 
 long as he would refrain from attacking the 
 territory of the Company and its allies. Six 
 days later, in reply to an invitation previously 
 sent to Holkar by General Lake, envoys ap- 
 peared in the Commander-in-Chiefs camp, who 
 propounded the Maratha chief's demands. These 
 were obviously inadmissible, including the pay- 
 ment of tribute to him by the Company, cession 
 of territory to which he had no legal claim 
 in the Doab and in Bundelkhand, and a guar- 
 antee of the territories actually in his pos- 
 session, some the property of chiefs under 
 British protection, Holkar further demanded 
 that a treaty similar to that just concluded 
 with Sindhia should be concluded with him. 
 The alternative — war — was proferred in the 
 following terms : " Friendship requires that,
 
 264 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 keeping in your view the long-existing unan- 
 imity between me and the English Company, 
 you act according to what my vakeels [envoys] 
 shall represent to you ; if not, my country and 
 property are upon the saddle of my horse ; and, 
 please God, to whatever side the reins of the 
 horses of my brave warriors may be turned, 
 the whole of the country in that direction 
 shall come into my possession." 
 
 Holkar's envoys spoke in a tone correspond- 
 ing to that of their master's letter, asserting 
 •that Holkar had 150,000 horsemen of his own, 
 in addition to 40,000 E-ohillas who had offered 
 to serve him for three years without pay, on 
 condition of being allowed to plunder the Com- 
 pany's territory. 
 
 General Lake responded to these threats and 
 demands with becoming brevity, saying that 
 it was not the custom of the English to boast 
 of their power, but that, in the event of war, 
 Holkar would possibly find that he had over- 
 estimated his own strength. The utmost mod- 
 eration was, however, still shown, and Holkar 
 was given yet more chances of coming to 
 terms. Insolent as was his demeanour. Lord 
 Wellesley was most anxious to avoid the neces- 
 sity of war. Men, horses, supplies, and money
 
 lake's anxiety. 265 
 
 were all deficient, and the hot weather was 
 impending. Lake was as anxious as the 
 Governor - General to avert war, and in a 
 private letter wrote to him early in April : " If 
 Holkar should break into Hindustan he will be 
 joined by the Rohillas. I never was so plagued 
 as I am by this devil. We are obliged to 
 remain in the field at an enormous cost. If 
 we retire he will come down upon Jaipur and 
 exact a crore (£1,000,000) from the Raja, and 
 then pay his army and render it more formid- 
 able than ever. If I advance and leave an 
 opening, he will give me the slip, and get 
 into our territories with his horse, and burn 
 and destroy." 
 
 Lord Wellesley now became convinced that 
 war could not be averted, and entered into 
 consultation with Lake and Arthur Wellesley 
 as [to the best manner of engaging Holkar. 
 Arthur Wellesley was unable to offer a very 
 active co-operation. He was at the head of 
 a large force in the Deccan, but there had 
 been a famine in that part of India, and for 
 the moment he could not move. He engaged, 
 however, as soon as rain should have supplied 
 him with grass and grain for his army, to oc- 
 cupy Holkar s possessions in his vicinity. The
 
 266 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 force in Gujarat, under Colonel Murray, was 
 immediately available, and was now encamped 
 about seventy miles north of Baroda. 
 
 Arthur Wellesley therefore suggested that 
 the principal advance should be made from 
 the north by Lake, that Sindhia should be 
 called upon to join in with it and to supply 
 a strong contingent of cavalry, and should 
 also furnish cavalry for Murray, whose force 
 was sufficiently strong in infantry. Thus 
 strengthened, Murray could advance to Indore, 
 while Lake, with the assistance of Sindhia's 
 horse, drove Holkar back from the north. If, 
 however, it was practicable to delay operations 
 until after the rains, Wellesley proposed that 
 he should then enter Hindustan at the head 
 of Murray's force and as much of his own 
 army as could be spared from the Deccan. In 
 this way, he submitted, Holkar could assuredly 
 be crushed. 
 
 It must be remembered that the Governor- 
 General, Lake, Arthur Wellesley, and Murray 
 were far apart from one another, and that letters 
 from one to the other often passed through 
 hostile country and sometimes miscarried, and 
 that in all cases communications were slow. 
 Thus it came about that before he had been 
 able to consider the wise proposals of his
 
 MONSON REJOINS THE ARMY. 267 
 
 brother, Lord Wellesley had already instructed 
 General Lake to commence operations against 
 Holkar, At the same time he informed Arthur 
 Wellesley of the fact, and directed him to co- 
 operate with Lake. 
 
 These orders were issued in the middle of 
 April 1804, when Lake was in camp some 
 twenty-five miles north-east of Tonk. 
 
 Arthur Wellesley, being unable to move from 
 the Deccan, directed Colonel Murray to advance 
 from Gujarat in co-operation with the move- 
 ments about to be undertaken by Lake ; but, 
 as will hereafter be seen, Murray^ who was a 
 man of undecided character, made but a short 
 advance, which he converted into a retirement 
 at the moment when his support was most 
 needed. 
 
 When Lake received his orders to attack 
 Holkar, the latter had again advanced towards 
 Rajputana, and with a part of his army was 
 threatening the city of Jaipur. Colonel Monson, 
 who had now recovered from the severe wound 
 which he sustained at the storming of Aligarh, 
 had rejoined the army, and on April 18 Lake 
 despatched him, at the head of a detachment 
 of three battalions of infantry, to protect that 
 city. Monson arrived at Jaipur on April 21, 
 whereupon Holkar retired southward. On April
 
 268 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 27 Lake also advanced with his main body, 
 and on May 8 was at Nawai, fifteen miles 
 north-east of Tonk. 
 
 From this place he despatched a second de- 
 tachment,^ consisting of a regiment of cavalry, 
 two battalions of infantry, and some guns, 
 against E,ampura, a Rajput town in the posses- 
 sion of Holkar, situated sixty miles south-east 
 of Jaipur. This detachment was commanded 
 by Lieut. - Colonel Patrick Don, an excellent 
 officer of the Bengal army, who had served 
 during the early part of the war in Bundel- 
 khand under Lieut. - Colonel Powell. Don, 
 who had no means of undertaking a regular 
 siege, determined to capture Rampura by a 
 coup -de- main, and, to avert suspicion from 
 his design, encamped on the side of the town 
 farthest removed from the principal gateway, 
 which he intended to attack. At 2 a.m. on 
 May 15, Don marched from his camp at the 
 head of eight picked companies of infantry, 
 with one 12 - pounder ; while a covering 
 party, consisting of three companies with the 
 five remaining guns, followed in rear. The 
 cavalry were left in camp until their services 
 should be required. 
 
 ' 3rd Bengal Cavalry, 2nd Battalion 8th, 2nd Battalion 21st, two 
 12-pounders, and four 6-pounders.
 
 CAPTURE OF RAMPURA. 269 
 
 Colonel Don and his detachment marched 
 rapidly and silently round the town towards 
 the gateway, making no reply to the ill-aimed 
 fire directed on them from the ramparts. On 
 reaching the gateway Don brought up his 
 12-pounder and quickly broke down the gate, 
 while his supporting infantry poured an effective 
 fire on the garrison as they crowded the ram- 
 parts near the point of attack. Rampura, like 
 Aligarh, was defended by four successive gates. 
 The storming - party found the second gate 
 open, it being out of repair, and the third and 
 fourth were quickly blown in like the first. 
 Don's force now prepared to attack the fort, 
 before the gate of which they had arrived 
 through the town, but the garrison had lost 
 heart and endeavoured to escape. Don's 
 stormers, therefore, forced their way without 
 difiiculty through the gateway of the fort and 
 completed the capture. The entire garrison was 
 then driven out of both town and fort, many 
 being cut down by the 3rd Bengal Cavalry, 
 who awaited them outside the walls. The 
 capture of Kampura was a gallant and well- 
 managed aifair, and the skill and decision shown 
 by Lieut. -Colonel Don and his detachment were 
 highly eulogised by General Lake. 
 
 The loss of Rampura completed the dis-
 
 270 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 comfiture of Holkar, who made a further 
 retirement into his territories south of the 
 river Chambal. The heat was now very great, 
 and was severely trying the European portion 
 of Lake's army, who had now been for a 
 considerable time exposed to the weather and 
 showed need of shelter. Holkar was so far re- 
 moved from regions whence he could threaten 
 British territory that no action on his part 
 appeared probable before the end of the hot 
 weather. Lake saw also that no movement 
 from the north was likely to be effective in 
 bringing Holkar to a decisive action, and that 
 it would be better to wait until after the rains, 
 when a combined operation, as suggested by 
 Arthur Wellesley, would finish off the war. 
 
 For all these reasons Lake decided to with- 
 draw his. main army to Agra and Cawnpore, 
 placing the Europeans in their barracks at the 
 latter station. As a safeguard against any 
 possible attempt at mischief on the part of 
 Holkar he decided to increase the strength of 
 Monson's detachment to five battalions, and to 
 call upon Sindhia to furnish it with a large 
 contingent of cavalry. With this force, and 
 with the strong post of Rampura behind him, 
 Monson should be able to hold his ground 
 against any force that could be brought against
 
 monson's detachment. 271 
 
 him until the main army was again ready to 
 take the field. Monson unfortunately proved 
 to be an incapable though brave and enter- 
 prising commander, and a narrative of the 
 misfortunes of his detachment has a painful 
 interest for us, even after the lapse of a 
 century. Its retreat before Holkar was the 
 first serious military reverse suffered by British 
 arms in India. 
 
 The detachment handed over to Monson was 
 of considerable strength, and, as regards the 
 artillery and infantry, of excellent quality. 
 The infantry battalions (2nd Battalion 2nd, 
 1st and 2nd Battalions 12th, 2nd Battalion 
 21st, notwithstanding the very short service of 
 the last-named corps) were among the finest in 
 the Bengal army, and were presently joined by 
 the 2nd Battalion 8th from Rampura under 
 their distinguished commanding officer, Lieut. - 
 Colonel Don. A company of European ar- 
 tillerymen manned the two 12 -pounders and 
 ten 6 -pounders with the force, and there were 
 in addition six galloper guns to serve with the 
 irregular horse. With these artillerymen was 
 Captain -Lieutenant Wimbolt, the officer whose 
 services at Shikohabad have been mentioned, 
 now released from his obligation not to serve 
 in the field, Sindiah being no longer the enemy.
 
 272 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 The weak spot in the detachment was the 
 doubtful quahty of a portion of the irregular 
 horse, composed of recently raised irregular 
 corps, and of small contingents from various 
 native states, loosely organised and inad- 
 equately trained. The strength of this arm 
 was about 3000 men, under the command of 
 Lieutenant Lucan, 74th Regiment, of whom we 
 have heard so much in the course of this 
 narrative. 
 
 Leaving Monson with his detachment near 
 Jaipur, and merely giving him general in- 
 structions to guard against any move on the 
 part of Holkar, General Lake started on May 
 18 for his march of 140 miles to Agra. The 
 heat was now almost unendurable in the open, 
 and the Europeans and natives alike suffered 
 terribly from the hot winds, which can only 
 be compared to the blast of a furnace. Many 
 brave fellows who had survived the battles of 
 Delhi, Agra, and Laswari died in this fearful 
 march. On May 30 nineteen Europeans perished 
 in the four weak regiments with the main 
 army (the three dragoon regiments and the 
 76th), and an even greater number on June 2. 
 On the latter day no less than 250 camp- 
 followers are said to have died. At last the 
 infantry marched into Agra and found shelter
 
 THE REVERSE AT BEL A. 273 
 
 on June 7, and the cavalry arrived at Cawn- 
 pore thirteen days later. 
 
 No sooner had the main army started on its 
 return march than things began to go wrong 
 with the detachments. The first misfortune 
 occurred early in May in Bundelkhand. The 
 command there had at first been in the com- 
 petent hands of Lieut. -Colonel Peregrine Powell, 
 but this officer had fallen into ill -health and 
 had been compelled to hand over his duties.-^ 
 
 His successor, Lieut. - Colonel Fawcett, who 
 was in camp at Kunch, sent a detachment of 
 seven companies of Native Infantry, with six 
 guns, to capture the small fort of Bela, about 
 eight miles away. Captain Smith, the officer 
 commanding this small detachment, unwisely 
 subdivided it, and placed two of his companies 
 and five guns in the trenches before Bela, while 
 the remainder of the detachment was in camp, 
 too far distant to support them. The com- 
 mandant of Bela lulled Captain Smith into 
 carelessness by a pretended surrender, and 
 treacherously invited Amir Khan to come to 
 his rescue. Amir Khan, a famous freebooter of 
 
 ^ Lieut.-Colonel Powell, who had served thirty-three years in 
 India, and, like so many of the best officers of the Bengal Army, 
 had served in the Mysore War under Colonel T. D. Pearse, was 
 invalided to England, and never resumed duty. He rose event- 
 ually to the rank of Lieutenant-General, and died in 1835, 
 
 S
 
 274 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 the period, who was at the head of a large 
 force, and was now in the interest of Holkar, 
 fell suddenly upon the unfortunate troops in 
 the trenches before Bela, and put them all to 
 the sword. Captain Smith had no time to 
 come to their rescue, even if he had thought it 
 possible, but succeeded in fighting his way 
 back to Kunch with the remaining five com- 
 panies and one gun. Lieut. - Colonel Fawcett, 
 instead of marching to attack Amir Khan, 
 whose force, though large, was not formidable, 
 lost his head and retired up the river Betwa, 
 leaving Bundelkhand open to the enemy. 
 
 Fawcett was removed from his command, and 
 Amir Khan's troops soon afterwards sustained 
 several reverses at the hands of Fawcett 's suc- 
 cessor, Lieut. -Colonel Martindell, and his sub- 
 ordinates, but Bundelkhand was not finally 
 subdued until 1809. 
 
 The affair at Bela fades, however, into in- 
 significance by the side of Monson's disaster. 
 
 That officer, when first left to his own re- 
 sources, showed complete confidence, and in 
 spite of the great heat evidently intended to 
 exhibit activity and enterprise. He moved 
 southward, presumably on hearing of Murray's 
 9-bortive advance, and on June 2 was at Kotah, 
 when he was joined by Lieut. -Colonel Don with
 
 CAPTURE OF HINGLAZGARH. 275 
 
 the 2nd Battalion 8th Native Infantry from 
 Rampura, and by 1500 Maratha horse under a 
 chief named Bapuji Sindhia. Monson now con- 
 sidered himself strong enough to enter Holkar's 
 territory, and marched through the Mokandara 
 Pass and on to the town of Sonara. On 
 July 2 he captured by escalade the strong fort 
 of Hinglazgarh, — a gallant enterprise executed 
 in Monson's best style. The fort was captured 
 by the 2nd Battalion 2nd Native Infantry, 
 led by their brave commanding oflficer. Major 
 Sinclair, and by Monson himself. Sinclair and 
 his battalion remained in garrison at Hin- 
 glazgarh, and Monson rejoined his main body. 
 So far all had gone well with him, though 
 he had latterly experienced difficulty as to 
 supplies, and the commencement of the rains 
 was making marching more and more difficult. 
 Now, however, his troubles were to begin, for 
 he simultaneously heard that Colonel Murray, 
 instead of advancing from Gujarat to join hands 
 with him, was falling back, while Holkar in 
 great strength was on the Chambal within forty 
 miles of his camp. Monson was now in a most 
 critical position, and had to make an immediate 
 choice between an attack on the vastly superior 
 force of Holkar and a difficult and dangerous 
 retirement. Monson's full reasons for not fight-
 
 276 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 ing are unknowD, for it does not appear that 
 he was ever called upon to state them, but he 
 elected to retire. His high courage would 
 certainly have led him to attack Holkar, had 
 he thought it possible to bring him to decisive 
 action, and he probably thought that after a 
 running fight with Holkar's force, which was 
 more mobile and fresher than his own, he 
 would still have been compelled to retreat, and 
 would have been in even worse condition to 
 do so. 
 
 Monson's retreat began on July 8, on which 
 date his camp was distant thirty miles from the 
 Mokandara Pass, and about double that dis- 
 tance from Kotah. At four in the morning 
 Monson despatched his baggage and stores 
 towards Sonara, the halting-place between his 
 position and the Pass, and kept his force formed 
 up and ready for action until eleven o'clock 
 anticipating an attack by Holkar. 
 
 None came ; so Monson, ordering his mounted 
 troops under Lucan and Bapuji Sindhia to 
 follow him half an hour later, marched off 
 northward after his baggage. Monson's troops 
 then marched nine miles, but saw no more of 
 their cavalry, nor did Monson learn for some 
 time why Lucan had failed to carry out his 
 orders to follow him. Some time before Monson
 
 LUCAN DEFEATED AND TAKEN. 277 
 
 reached Sonara, however, Bapuji Sindhia rode 
 up unattended and informed him that the 
 cavalry had been attacked and defeated with 
 heavy loss, and that Lucan was wounded and 
 a prisoner. Bapuji, who was a traitor, sub- 
 sequently made his escape and openly joined 
 Holkar, who gave him a large command. 
 
 James Skinner, who had the best means of 
 ascertaining what happened to the unfortunate 
 Lucan and his cavalry, states in his memoirs 
 that the disaster was thus brought about. 
 Lucan had under him nearly 5000 men, with six 
 guns. He was extremely anxious to distinguish 
 himself in the British service, and when 
 Holkar 's advanced-guard appeared on the scene 
 soon after Monson had marched off, decided to 
 try the effect of a bold charge. This might 
 well have succeeded had Lucan's troops all 
 remained staunch, but Bapuji Sindhia's men at 
 once deserted him and joined Holkar's troops. 
 This large defection proved fatal. Lucan's own 
 men fought bravely, as did two corps of 500 
 men each commanded by a Rajput prince. 
 Lucan, though wounded early in the fight, made 
 a brave resistance, but was finally overcome 
 and captured. A great number of his men and 
 of the Rajputs, together with their brave and 
 loyal chiefs, were put to the sword, and the
 
 278 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 remainder dispersed. The unfortunate Lucan 
 was never seen again. He perished at the 
 hand of the savage Holkar, either from his 
 wounds or by torture or poison. Monson 
 arrived at Sonara at 9 p.m., after a march of 
 nearly thirty miles. A little later Major Sinclair 
 arrived with his battalion (the 2nd of the 2nd 
 Native Infantry) from Hinglazgarh, where, it 
 will be remembered, he had been left in garrison. 
 Sinclair left one company at Hinglazgarh under 
 Lieutenant Owen, who was joined by a Lieutenant 
 Davidson, who had missed his way while pro- 
 ceeding to join his regiment with a convoy of 
 ammunition. These two officers were, it is 
 stated, soon afterwards betrayed to Holkar, and 
 were beheaded by order of Harnat Singh, an 
 adopted son of Holkar, at the Bundi Pass. The 
 garrison of Hinglazgarh and Davidson's party 
 entered Holkar's service under compulsion. 
 
 Monson continued his retreat from Sonara on 
 July 9, and reached the Mokandara Pass at 
 noon unmolested. This was in itself a strong 
 position, but liable to be turned by way of 
 another pass some eight or nine miles distant. 
 Monson therefore decided to continue his march. 
 The southern entrance of the Pass was fortified 
 by a strong gateway, with a loopholed parapet 
 ascending the hill on either side. Lieut. -Colonel
 
 monson's retreat. 279 
 
 Don was ordered to hold this gateway with his 
 regiment while the rest of the column continued 
 its retreat through the Pass. This duty Don 
 performed well, assisted by Captain Fetherston, 
 who, with two companies of the 12th Native 
 Infantry, guarded a ford across a nala in front 
 of the Pass. It was night when Lieut. -Colonel 
 Don commenced to move off his ground. The 
 frequent flashes of lightning w^ere at times the 
 only guide along the rugged path, now con- 
 verted into a rushing torrent. Having cleared 
 his position, Don blocked the gateway with 
 heavy stones. A havildar sent to recall Fether- 
 ston reported that he had already retired ; but 
 Don knew that Fetherston would never have 
 left his post without orders, and sent a second 
 and more trustworthy messenger. The gateway 
 was now securely blocked, and at 2 a.m. on 
 July 10 Don began to traverse the defile. It 
 was intensely dark : the guns had to be dragged 
 over rocks with infinite labour by the light of 
 portfires, 500 of which the artillerymen ex- 
 pended before morning. The retreat continued 
 through the following day, and early on July 
 12 the force arrived at Kotah. Here Colonel 
 Monson desired to purchase supplies and to 
 leave two 12-pounders in charge of the Raja, 
 as the gun-bullocks had suffered much from the
 
 280 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 heavy condition of the ground. The Raja, 
 however, not unreasonably refused to accept 
 the guns, pleading that as Monson intended to 
 leave Kotah, he would merely incur the wrath 
 of Holkar and be unable to preserve the guns 
 from capture. 
 
 Monson left Kotah on July 13, but the 
 country was now so boggy that his force could 
 only reach the Gamach Ghat (ford), on the 
 Chambal river, seven miles away. The river 
 was unfordable on the arrival of the detach- 
 ment at the Ghat, and although a crossing was 
 effected on the 14th, a halt was found necessary 
 for the purpose of collecting supplies. 
 
 Monson was ready to march on July 15, but 
 the rains rendered it impossible to move the 
 guns : no provisions remained, and the only 
 course was to spike and abandon the guns. 
 This was done at daybreak on the following 
 morning, and the ammunition was destroyed. 
 The march which followed was of a terrible 
 nature, and the sufferings of the troops can 
 only be estimated by those acquainted with 
 the rains of India. During the day no less 
 than fifteen elephants and a large number of 
 camels were left actually embedded in the mud, 
 and it is recorded that only one small tent 
 was pitched that evening in the whole detach-
 
 SUFFERINGS OF THE TROOPS. 281 
 
 ment. The march performed on July 17 was 
 of a similar nature, and all the food eaten by 
 the troops was a little wheat procured from 
 a small village. The European officers and 
 gunners bought and killed a wretched bullock 
 from the same village, which they cooked as 
 best they could. In the afternoon the force 
 arrived at the Mej river, a small stream which 
 was now found to be 300 feet across and 6 feet 
 deep. On the previous day Lieut. Dalton of 
 the 12th Native Infantry, who had lost a leg 
 at the battle of Laswari, had been drowned at 
 this place, which he had reached on his way to 
 rejoin his regiment. 
 
 None of the detachment were able to cross 
 the Mej on July 18 except the European artillery- 
 men, who were ordered by Colonel Monson to 
 cross on their remaining elephants and proceed 
 to Rampura. The remainder of the detachment 
 were compelled to remain where they were for 
 eight days, but Holkar was evidently unable to 
 take advantage of this favourable opportunity. 
 A party of 500 of his horse arrived on July 23 
 within eight miles of Monson's camping-ground, 
 and Monson at once attacked them. The force 
 sent ag-ainst them consisted of all the flank 
 companies of the detachment, commanded by 
 Captain O'Donnell. This officer divided his
 
 282 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 force into three parties, and having surrounded 
 the Maratha camp under cover of heavy rain, 
 charged in and dispersed the horsemen, kilHng 
 forty or fifty of them and capturing many 
 horses and camels. This, in the trying cir- 
 cumstances, was a most dashing feat of arms, 
 and for a time greatly raised the spirits of the 
 detachment.^ 
 
 On July 25 the water in the Mej had fallen 
 considerably, but it was not yet fordable. On 
 the 26th the 2nd Battalion 21st crossed on 
 five elephants, followed by the 2nd Battalion 
 12th. When half the latter corps had crossed, 
 the Maratha horse began to threaten the troops 
 remaining on the south bank. At first a small 
 number showed, but by 3 p.m. about 2000 
 Marathas had closed up to the outpost line. 
 They, however, showed little enterprise and 
 withdrew at dusk, and the whole detachment 
 succeeded in crossing in the course of July 27. 
 There had, however, been a great loss of life 
 among the unfortunate camp-followers, numbers 
 of whom were drowned while crossing the MeJ 
 on small and unstable rafts. 
 
 Within a short distance of the Mej was the 
 
 ^ Captain O'Donnell was specially mentioned by General Lake 
 for his services in the retreat. He became a lieutenant-colonel 
 and a C.B. He was wounded in the Mysore War of 1781, and 
 again at Bhartpur.
 
 LAKE ORDERS MONSON TO HALT. 283 
 
 mouth of the Lakeri Pass, through which the 
 detachment continued its retirement to Rampura. 
 There was no organised attack, but all stragglers 
 from the battalions and a great number of camp- 
 followers were murdered by Minahs, a predatory 
 tribe. 
 
 Rampura lay eighteen miles beyond the 
 northern outlet of the Lakeri Pass, and the 
 whole force had arrived at that town by 
 July 30 and encamped on the glacis of the 
 fort, erecting any poor shelters obtainable. 
 Colonel Monson, who had arrived at Kampura 
 with the 2nd Battalion 2nd Native Infantry 
 four or five days earlier, had busied himself 
 with some slight success in collecting supplies. 
 He here received orders from General Lake 
 not to fall back beyond Kotah ; but that place 
 was forty -five miles behind him, and it was 
 impossible for him to retrace his footsteps. 
 From various letters written by Monson at 
 this time, it is evident that his misfortunes 
 had been too much for his endurance. He in- 
 cessantly changed his plans, and issued orders 
 one day only to cancel them the next. 
 
 On August 14 reinforcements arrived from 
 Agra, consisting of the 2nd Battalion 9th Native 
 Infantry and the 1st Battalion 14th Native 
 Infantry, under Lieut. -Colonels M'Culloch and
 
 284 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 Ashe, — two fine battalions, well commanded; 
 also a body of irregular horse, quite untrust- 
 worthy, and six guns. The detachment was 
 now stronger than ever ; but unfortunately the 
 reinforcements brought but scanty supplies with 
 them, and their arrival therefore made it more 
 difficult for Monson to hold his ground. 
 
 Holkar's army now approached Rampura in 
 two large bodies, — one commanded by himself, 
 and the second by the traitor Bapuji Sindhia. 
 Monson finally decided to continue his retreat, 
 leaving a garrison of one battalion and four 
 companies with four guns in the fort of Ram- 
 pura. The battalion selected was the 2nd 
 Battalion 8th Native Infantry, but Lieut. -Colonel 
 Don was too ill from privations and exposure 
 to remain with it, and accompanied the main 
 body as an invalid. 
 
 This force, now consisting of five and a half 
 battalions ^ with two howitzers, marched from 
 Bampura on August 21 in the direction of 
 Khushalgarh, but on the following day, soon 
 after sunrise, was stopped by the Banas river 
 twenty miles away. Holkar showed himself 
 as incompetent a general as Monson, and had 
 
 ^ 2nd Battalion 2nd, 1st Battalion 9th, 1st Battalion 14th, Ist 
 and 2nd Battalions 12th, and six companies 21st Native Infantrj. 
 The remainder of the 21st were left at Bampura.
 
 CAPTAIN NICHOLL's SERVICES. 285 
 
 made no dispositions to forbid the crossing ; but 
 Monson also had lost the opportunity given 
 him by his long halt at Rampura of collecting 
 boats and securing the crossing- place, and this 
 neglect proved the ruin of his unfortunate 
 force. 
 
 On August 23 three small boats were obtained, 
 in which the treasure of its detachment, with its 
 escort of six companies 21st Native Infantry, 
 and the sick and wounded of the detachment, 
 were ferried across. These details, under Captain 
 William Nicholl, the commanding officer of the 
 21st Native Infantry, had written orders to 
 proceed at once to the mud fort of Baroda, 
 eighteen miles on the way to Khushalgarh. 
 On arriving at Baroda, Captain Nicholl, an 
 experienced officer of twenty-three years' service, 
 found the position so weak that, on his own 
 responsibility, he disobeyed his orders and 
 pushed on to Khushalgarh. By this independ- 
 ent conduct, and by his subsequent admirable 
 behaviour at Khushalgarh, Captain Nicholl 
 saved Monson's force from destruction or cap- 
 ture at that place. On the 24th the Banas 
 had fallen and was fordable. Three battalions 
 crossed by wading, carrying their arms and 
 accoutrements on their heads, — the rear -guard, 
 consisting of the 2nd Battalion 2nd Native
 
 286 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 Infantry and a company of the 9th Native 
 Infantry, holding the south bank to cover the 
 crossing of the baggage and camp-followers. 
 
 Major Sinclair presently found that the 
 Marathas had surrounded the rear -guard at 
 such close range that it would be impossible 
 for him to cross the river. He therefore, at 
 the head of his own battalion and of the picquets 
 of the 9 th Native Infantry, made a gallant 
 charge, capturing eleven of the Maratha guns 
 and driving the enemy from them. Sinclair 
 himself, a man of slight frame and in bad health, 
 planted with his own hand the colour of his 
 regiment in the Maratha battery, but at this 
 moment he was wounded in the knee and fell 
 to the ground. Seeing his fall, the Marathas 
 rallied, charged the rear-guard sword in hand, 
 broke them, and drove them into the river. 
 Sinclair and twelve other officers were killed. 
 Colonel Monson, who had remained with the 
 rear-guard and had shown his unfailing personal 
 courage throughout the struggle, was wounded 
 and hardly escaped. The only survivor of the 
 officers of the 2nd Battalion 2nd Native Infantry 
 was a lieutenant who had been wounded and 
 carried off the field early in the day. The 
 picquets of the 9th Native Infantry were killed 
 or drowned to a man, and but few of the brave
 
 DESTRUCTION OF THE 2ND N.I. 287 
 
 2nd, all of them wounded, made their way across 
 the river. A native officer was seen carrying 
 the colours of the regiment in one hand and 
 defending himself with the other, but he fell 
 in mid-stream, and he and the colours were seen 
 no more. One of the two howitzers with the 
 force was captured in consequence of the destruc- 
 tion of the rear-guard, and the greater part of 
 the baggage also fell into the hands of the 
 enemy. The original detachment had nothing 
 to lose, and the 9th and 14th, which had joined 
 at Rampura, were now equally destitute. 
 
 The detachment moved on from the Banas 
 river at seven in the evening, formed in a 
 hollow square, with the howitzer, the remaining 
 baggage, and the surviving camp - followers in 
 the centre. The enemy's horse accompanied 
 them, and made many attempts to charge the 
 rear-face. At about 11 p.m. a horseman galloped 
 up to the square. His horse was shot and he 
 fell to the earth, stunned and slightly wounded. 
 He proved to be Lieutenant Shaw of the 14th 
 Native Infantry, who, in consequence of a 
 previous wound, had been placed on a camel, 
 and had so fallen into the hands of the enemy. 
 The Marathas had put him on a pony, and he 
 had taken this opportunity to escape. 
 
 The detachment continued its retreat on
 
 288 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 August 25, and though harassed until six in 
 the evening by the enemy's horse, the corps 
 kept their discipline and formation, and repulsed 
 all attacks. The fire of the howitzer proved 
 most valuable this day. At seven o'clock the 
 detachment had the good fortune to meet a 
 Brinjari convoy of 1000 bullocks carrying grain, 
 which had been sent from Agra, and by some 
 accident had not discovered the troops at Khush- 
 algarh. This was a godsend, for the sepoys had 
 had no food for two days. After an uncooked 
 meal the exhausted detachment struggled into 
 Khushalgarh, having marched thirty -six miles 
 in thirty hours. 
 
 Here Monson had expected to be reinforced 
 by a considerable body of Sindhia's troops with 
 twenty-five guns. On hearing of Monson's misfor- 
 tunes, however, the Maratha officer in command 
 showed open hostility, and called on Captain 
 Nicholl to deliver to him the treasure which 
 he had brought from the Banas river. Nicholl 
 showed so bold a front that, after two faint- 
 hearted attacks, the Marathas withdrew. Soon 
 afterwards Monson arrived with his exhausted 
 troops. Had Captain Nicholl failed to hold 
 Khushalgarh, Monson's force would have had 
 no place of refuge. 
 
 On the following day, August 26, Monson
 
 LOYALTY OF THE SEPOYS. 289 
 
 ordered a halt, and the grain was served out. 
 Until this date the conduct of the detachment 
 had been admirable, but now, unhappily, symp- 
 toms of disaffection appeared in the 9th and 
 14th Regiments, who refused to accept their 
 rations, saying that they would rather have 
 nothing than hard grain. In justice to the 
 sepoys, it must be added that seldom had troops 
 been more severely tried. So long-continued a 
 retreat was calculated to try the moral of any 
 troops, and every mode of bribery had been con- 
 stantly tried by the enemy. Money was offered, 
 promotion was held out to all who would desert 
 their colours and give up their officers, and the 
 most cruel death threatened to those who might 
 refuse these offers and afterwards fall into the 
 enemy's hands. In spite of all these tempt- 
 ations and their great sufferings, the 12th and 
 other regiments remained loyal almost to a 
 man, and the desertions from the 9th and 
 14th Reo^iments were not wholesale. The 
 total number of those who deserted is un- 
 known, and is stated variously at two to five 
 companies in the entire detachment. 
 
 During the halt the Marathas collected 
 round Khushalgarh in great numbers, esti- 
 mated at 20,000 horse, with some infantry 
 battalions and twenty-five guns. The town was 
 
 T
 
 290 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 completely surrounded, but at dusk the enemy 
 withdrew some distance. 
 
 At 8 P.M. Monson silently evacuated the 
 town, and when outside the gateway reformed 
 his square and continued his retreat. The 
 enemy constantly charged the rear of the 
 square, but were always repulsed by the brave 
 and steady 2nd Battalion 21st Native Infantry,^ 
 the only corps of young soldiers in the de- 
 tachment, not a man of whom (except the ser- 
 geants) was more than twenty-three years of age. 
 These attacks continued until noon on August 
 
 27, when the Marathas drew off; but it was 
 now found necessary to spike and abandon 
 the last-remaining howitzer, the bullocks being 
 no longer able to drag it. The weary troops 
 continued their march until sunset, when they 
 arrived at Hindun. The enemy held the 
 town, but a ruined fort near the town was 
 found unoccupied and seized. No long halt 
 was possible, and Monson determined to give 
 the troops a few hours' rest and to march 
 about midnight. 
 
 The detachment moved out of the ruined 
 fort at one o'clock in the morning of August 
 
 28, and formed square as before. At 6 a.m. 
 
 ^ The 21st Regiment is now represented by the 1st Brahmans, 
 the senior infantry regiment of the Indian Army.
 
 THE LAST EFFORT. 291 
 
 some ravines were entered, and the square did 
 not clear them for an hour. This was a 
 fatiguing operation, and caused some strag- 
 gling. Just as the square left the broken 
 ground in somewhat loose order, a desperate 
 charge was made on it by the Maratha horse 
 in three strong bodies. Fatigue was forgotten, 
 discipline rose triumphant, and the square was 
 ready in good time. The sepoys, obedient to 
 the orders of the few remaining officers, held 
 their fire until the Marathas were within fifty 
 yards of the right face of the square. This was 
 formed of the 12th and 21st Regiments, who 
 now opened a steady file-firing, almost every 
 shot taking efiect from the great numbers of 
 the enemy. The Marathas lost heavily, and 
 retired in disorder. Their chiefs endeavoured 
 to bring them to the charge again, but with- 
 out success. Instead of charging they opened 
 a heavy fire, which caused many casualties. 
 The square now moved on, but were unhappily 
 obliged to leave many of their wounded on 
 the ground, who were all cruelly murdered. 
 This repulse of the Maratha horse was the 
 last triumph of the unfortunate detachment. 
 
 " At sunset the force reached the Biana 
 Pass, where on account of the exhausted and 
 suifering condition of the troops Monson halted
 
 292 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 and would have passed the night ; but the 
 enemy brought up his guns and opened so 
 galling a fire that Monson was obliged to 
 continue his retreat, which was continued to 
 the town of Biana. But the night was dark, 
 the camp - followers and baggage got mixed 
 with the line, the troops were thrown into 
 inextricable confusion, order could no more 
 be restored, the troops fairly broke and fled ; 
 and such as escaped the straggling parties of 
 the enemy — for there was no further regular 
 attack — made their way to Agra, which they 
 reached in flying and detached groups on 
 August 31." 
 
 With these words James Skinner concludes 
 his narrative of Monson's terrible retreat, 
 which, in conjunction with the very clear and 
 straightforward despatch of the latter, gives 
 the most intelligible account of the disaster. 
 It is estimated that between 300 and 400 
 survivors of each battalion, except the 2nd 
 Battalion 2nd Regiment, whose destruction 
 has been mentioned, eventually reached Agra. 
 Lieut. - Colonel St George Ashe,^ of the 2nd 
 Battalion 9th Native Infantry, marched from 
 
 ^ Lieut.-Colonel St George Ashe received special mention from 
 General Lake for his services during the retreat. He became a 
 major-general, but appears to have received no reward.
 
 COLONEL MONSON's REPORT. 293 
 
 Biana on foot at the head of his bat- 
 talion and kept it in formation. Of the 
 few European artillery who survived so far, 
 those who reached Fatehpur Sikri were taken 
 prisoners with a Doctor Burgh, and were 
 afterwards barbarously murdered in Holkar's 
 presence for refusing to enter his service. 
 
 Monson's report, written at Agra on Sep- 
 tember 2, does justice to the courage and 
 loyalty shown by so large a proportion of 
 his force. It concludes with these words : " I 
 beg leave now to assure your Excellency that 
 the coolness and determined bravery shown 
 by the officers and men of the detachment 
 during this arduous conflict merit my warmest 
 praise ; the firmness with which they received 
 the repeated attacks of so superior and power- 
 ful an enemy, and the patience with which 
 they underwent the greatest hardships, claim 
 my admiration and gratitude, and showed 
 them worthy of the name of British troops. 
 Your Excellency will perceive by the enclosed 
 return of killed and wounded that our loss 
 has been very great. Though I cannot but 
 lament with the deepest regret the loss of 
 so many noble fellows, yet I cannot but 
 observe with some satisfaction that, even in 
 the hour of death, each emulated the other
 
 294 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 to deeds of glory, and fell as became British 
 soldiers and men." 
 
 The officers selected by Monson for particular 
 mention for the services in the retreat were 
 Lieut. - Colonels Don, M'Culloch, and Ashe; 
 Major E-adcliffe ; Captains O'Donnell, Nicholl, 
 Fetherston, and Fletcher. 
 
 The immediate results of Colonel Monson's 
 disaster were serious. All hopes of a speedy 
 termination of the war vanished, and for a 
 time the safety of Upper India was gravely 
 imperilled. The energy of Lord Wellesley and 
 his Commander-in-Chief, and the brave defence 
 of Delhi, which will presently be described, 
 saved the situation ; but permanent injury to 
 British prestige was the result of so serious and 
 complete a reverse. The natives of India had 
 discovered that British armies were not invinc- 
 ible, and the course of this narrative will show 
 the consequence of their discovery. The story 
 of Monson's advance and retreat proves him 
 to have been rash and undecided, — hard 
 words to apply to a brave and unfortunate 
 soldier ; yet none others will fairly describe his 
 conduct. His recklessness regarding supplies 
 and communications, which had such fatal con- 
 sequences, cannot be palliated. 
 
 Many severe criticisms have been directed
 
 lake's senior officers. 295 
 
 against General Lake, both for his selection 
 of Monson for an independent command and 
 for his despatch of the detachment southward 
 from Jaipur at so unfavourable a time of year. 
 As regards the choice of Monson, it does 
 not appear that General Lake can fairly 
 be blamed. A glance at the table of com- 
 mands on page 148 will show that in this 
 matter he acted with scrupulous fairness at the 
 commencement of the war, dividino- the com- 
 mands of divisions and brigades impartially 
 between the officers of the kinof's and the 
 Company's armies ; and the narrative has shown 
 that in the matter of independent commands 
 he had acted in like manner throughout the 
 operations. Of senior officers who took the field 
 in 1803, General Ware and Colonel Vandeleur 
 had been killed, and General St John had left 
 the army. Of the colonels who had shown 
 themselves fit for command. White was at 
 Gwalior, Blair at Agra, Ochterlony at Delhi, 
 Burn at Saharunpur, Don, in bad health, at 
 Bampura. Monson, when chosen to command 
 his detachment, was the senior brigadier with 
 the army, and a man who had frequently dis- 
 tinguished himself in action. He had just 
 shown his zeal and military spirit by returning 
 to duty in the field as soon as he had re-
 
 296 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 covered from a dangerous wound. It has 
 been charged against Monson that he was out 
 of sympathy with native troops and had no 
 confidence in them. This may possibly be true, 
 but he had, at least, much longer experience 
 of the Indian Army than had Lake himself, 
 who not only liked his native troops, but was 
 both loved and trusted by them. Monson's 
 defects of character were as yet unknown, 
 and Lake had had no opportunity of detecting 
 them. It seems a fair conclusion that Lake 
 was in no way to blame for his choice of 
 Monson. 
 
 As for the unfortunate southward march which 
 caused the disaster, it was not ordered by Lake. 
 He, as far as the writer can ascertain, gave 
 Monson a free hand, merely charging him with 
 the protection of the Rajput states and of the 
 British frontier. It would certainly have been 
 better, as the event showed, had Lake given 
 Monson more definite orders as to the limits 
 of his movements ; but to treat a subordinate 
 with generous confidence was natural to Lake, 
 and was a venial sin. A man must have the 
 defects of his qualities, and so it was with 
 Lake. 
 
 The defeat of Monson fell as a grievous blow 
 on Lord Wellesley and on Lake, and both ac-
 
 wellesley's generosity. 297 
 
 cepted it with admirable spirit. The Com- 
 mander-in-Chiefs first thought was to take all 
 the blame on his own shoulders, to suggest 
 excuses both for Monson and Murray/ and to 
 attempt to cheer the Governor-General by assur- 
 ances that the situation should speedily be 
 restored. 
 
 Lord Wellesley's response was equally gener- 
 ous. Regarding Monson, whom at the time he 
 believed to be dead, he writes : " Whatever 
 may have been his fate, or whatever the results 
 of his misfortunes to my own fame, I will 
 endeavour to shield his character from obloquy, 
 nor will I attempt the mean purpose of sacrific- 
 ing his reputation to save mine. His former 
 services and his zeal entitle him to indulgence. 
 We must endeavour rather to retrieve than to 
 
 ^ Colonel, afterwards Lieut. - General Sir John Murray, was 
 eventually removed from his command by Lord Wellesley on 
 account of his failure to co-operate with Monson's southward 
 advance. The contradictory orders given to Murray by Major- 
 General Arthur Wellesley might have absolved Murray had he 
 made no advance ; but having moved forward, and thereby en- 
 couraged Monson also to advance, it was clearly Murray's duty 
 to hold his ground until the safety of his own force was seriously 
 threatened. This was never the case, and Murray's punishment 
 was therefore deserved. It is a singular fact that Murray was 
 subsequently employed under General "Wellesley, then Lord Wel- 
 lington, in the Peninsular War, and he again proved a failure. 
 Sir John Murray was tried by court-martial in 1815 for his 
 conduct of affairs at Alicante, but was acquitted to anything 
 worse than want of judgment.
 
 298 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 blame what is past." The letter concludes 
 with expressions of undiminished confidence in 
 Lake, who acted with his usual promptitude 
 and energy. Not a day was lost, for Lake 
 marched from Cawnpore on September 3 at 
 the head of his British troops. The 8th, 
 27th, and 29th Light Dragoons, and what 
 was left of the 76th, were still with him. 
 The only newcomers were the newly - raised 
 experimental battery of horse artillery and the 
 flank companies of the 22nd Eegiment, — a 
 regiment which had an interesting history. It 
 had returned in 1795 to England from the 
 West Indies a mere skeleton, most of the men 
 having died of yellow fever, and the survivors 
 having been drafted to regiments remaining 
 abroad. Recruiting difficulties were great, and 
 every device was being tried to fill the ranks 
 of the army. Three regiments, of which the 
 22nd was one, were selected as " experimental 
 regiments" in which boys from sixteen to nine- 
 teen years old were to be enlisted. Those taken 
 were principally boys who were maintained by 
 their parishes. They came forward in large 
 numbers, and grew into excellent soldiers. The 
 22nd served two and a half years in the south 
 of England, went to Guernsey in 1798, and 
 in February 1800 was sent to South Africa.
 
 THE 22ND REGIMENT. 299 
 
 Owing to the disgraceful transport arrange- 
 ments of the period, over seventy men of the 
 regiment died during the voyage, but the re- 
 mainder, broken to an iron discipline by the 
 severe metbods of the day, hardened into an 
 exceptionally fine regiment. The 22nd moved 
 on to India in February 1803, and the flank 
 companies saw some service in the early portion 
 of the Maratha War with the force under 
 Colonel Harcourt in Cuttack. In January 1804 
 these companies were ordered from Calcutta to 
 join General Lake's army. John Shipp, a work- 
 house boy, who had enlisted in 1795 and was 
 now a sergeant in the Light company, states 
 in his memoirs that the flank companies 
 marched from Calcutta to the Biana Pass at 
 the rate of twenty -five or twenty -six miles a- 
 day, and thought nothing of it. The whole 
 army was ordered to assemble at Agra ; and 
 although the rains still continued to fall in 
 torrents, and the whole country was inundated, 
 the British corps reached the left bank of the 
 Jumna on September 22. The regiments crossed 
 the river independently, and proceeded to a 
 camp between Agra and Sikandra, commanded 
 by Colonel Macan. Here the army was formed, 
 and was finally allotted to brigades on Sep- 
 tember 27.
 
 300 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 Colonel Macan was placed in command of two 
 brigades of cavalry — the first, under Lieut. - 
 Colonel Vandeleur, consisting of the 8 th Light 
 Dragoons and the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th Bengal 
 Cavalry ; and the second, commanded by Lieut. - 
 Colonel Brown, comprising the 27th and 29th 
 Light Dragoons and the 1st and 4th Bengal 
 Cavalry. 
 
 The infantry, commanded by Major- General 
 Fraser, who had taken the place of Major- 
 General St John, was divided into three 
 brigades. Of these, Brigadier-General Monson 
 again commanded the first, and had under him 
 the 76th, the 1st Battalion 2nd and the 1st 
 Battalion 4th Native Infantry ; Brigadier- General 
 G. S. Browne commanded the second brigade 
 (1st and 2nd Battalions 15th and 1st Battalion 
 21st Native Infantry); and Brigadier -General 
 Ball, the third brigade, of two battalions only — 
 the 1st Battalion 8th and the 2nd Battalion 
 22nd Native Infantry. In order that Monson's 
 detachment should not feel themselves in dis- 
 grace. General Lake took the three most efiect- 
 ive battalions, the 1st and 2nd Battalions 12th 
 and the 2nd Battalion 21st, and formed them 
 into a reserve brigade, the command of which 
 was given to Lieut. - Colonel Don. The flank
 
 HOLKAR RAIDS THE DOAB. 301 
 
 companies of the 22nd Regiment were attached 
 to this brigade. 
 
 Lake desired to march against Holkar without 
 delay, and by dint of great exertions was actu- 
 ally able to leave Agra on October 1. 
 
 Holkar's horse, though it had shown no 
 great spirit in the pursuit of Monson's detach- 
 ment, had been bold in the absence of organised 
 resistance. During Lake's march from Cawnpore 
 to Agra it had pushed into British territory and 
 overrun a portion of the Doab, burning, robbing, 
 and murdering as it went. As Holkar ap- 
 proached Muttra on September 15, Colonel 
 Browne, the commandant, who was at the head 
 of a considerable garrison, retired hurriedly on 
 Agra. This was pardonable, for Holkar's 
 strength at this time, according to James 
 Skinner, was 60,000 horse of sorts, 15,000 in- 
 fantry, and 192 guns. The town of Muttra, 
 with much baggage and a store of grain, fell 
 into the hands of Holkar ; great alarm filled the 
 minds of the inhabitants of the Doab ; the Jat 
 Baja of Bhartpur, who had become an ally 
 of the British at the time of Laswari, evidently 
 inclined to the cause of the Marathas ; and the 
 general aspect of affairs was highly alarming. 
 
 Lake's arrival at Agra, however, restored con-
 
 302 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 fidence, and his decision to employ part of 
 Monson's detachment assured the sepoys that 
 he still confided in their loyalty and fight- 
 ing quality. Lal/e marched from Sikandra, as 
 has been stated, on October 1, and arrived 
 almost unopposed at Muttra three days later. 
 On the first day's march no enemy was seen, 
 but after it the Maratha horse hung about 
 the columns of march and gave Lake hopes of 
 bringing on a general action. Holkar, however, 
 was playing a deep game, for while thus occu- 
 pying Lake's attention with his cavalry, he 
 despatched his infantry and artillery under his 
 adopted son, Harnat Singh, to attempt the 
 capture of Delhi and the emperor. 
 
 This was a brilliant move, and would have 
 succeeded but for the sagacity of Ochterlony, 
 the Resident, who had anticipated some such 
 an attempt, and had prepared to meet it. 
 During the hot weather Delhi had lain with- 
 out a garrison, except for the regular battalion 
 which formed an escort for the emperor and 
 furnished the Resident's guard. Lieut. - Colonel 
 Burn, who had originally commanded the troops 
 appointed to watch the city, had been sent with 
 his regiment to Saharunpur, in order to guard 
 against any movement on the part of the Sikhs. 
 One of Sindhia's battalions, which had been
 
 THE DEFENCE OF DELHI. 303 
 
 taken into the British service, had similarly 
 been stationed under Major Harriott, its com- 
 manding officer, at Rohtak, and another bat- 
 talion of the same origin, under Lieutenant 
 Birch, was at Panipat. All these outlying 
 detachments were called in by Ochterlony as 
 soon as he heard of the approach of Holkar, 
 but so rapid was the approach of the Marathas 
 that any sluggishness of movement would have 
 been fatal. Realising the situation, Lieut. - 
 Colonel Burn made forced marches from Saha- 
 runpur, covering nearly thirty miles a-day, and 
 arrived at Delhi on September 5. The country 
 people rose, for the star of Britain seemed to 
 be declining : most of Burn's baggage was 
 captured, but he, an experienced soldier, saw 
 that no time was to be lost, and hurried on, 
 allowing the marauders to escape unpunished. 
 
 On arriving at Delhi, Burn assumed the com- 
 mand of all the troops there, and prepared to 
 defend the city and palace. The total force, 
 after the concentration, consisted of two bat- 
 talions and four companies of sepoys ; the 
 two irregular battalions from Rohtak and Pani- 
 pat, each about 400 strong ; 400 other irregular 
 matchlock men ; and a party of irregular horse, 
 about 1200 strong, under Lieutenant Hunter. 
 This seemed to Colonel Burn a very inadequate
 
 304 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 force with which to defend the seven miles of 
 ruinous walls which surrounded the city of Delhi, 
 particularly as eight companies, or a third of the 
 regular sepoys, were unavailable, being required 
 to garrison the palace and Fort Selimgarh, in 
 which there were reserve provisions for twenty 
 days. Burn therefore took up a position outside 
 Delhi, and for more than a month successfully 
 held at a distance the weak parties of Marat has 
 who approached the city. On October 7, how- 
 ever, Ochterlony decided that it was no longer 
 safe for the small force to remain in the open. 
 Burn's irregulars had on several occasions given 
 trouble, and severe measures had been necessary 
 in the case of one corps. On this day, too, the 
 irregular horse had behaved badly, and Ochter- 
 lony therefore used his authority as Resident 
 and insisted on Burn retiring into the city. As 
 the infantry marched into Delhi Hunter's horse 
 deserted, the greater part of them going over to 
 the enemy. 
 
 Having received definite orders, Burn loyally 
 took up the defence of the city of Delhi, and 
 found before him the following task : with 1400 
 regular sepoys, 1100 irregulars, and 11 guns, to 
 defend seven miles of ruinous walls pierced by 
 many gates against a force of 10,000 infantry, 
 8000 cavalry, with 160 guns. The enemy could
 
 ochterlony's forethought. 305 
 
 choose his point of attack, and was defended by 
 the immense army of Holkar himself against 
 anything that General Lake might attempt 
 in aid of the besieged. 
 
 The task committed to Burn would have been 
 a hopeless one but for the wise forethought exer- 
 cised by Ochterlony during Burn's month of 
 active operations outside Delhi. In this period 
 Ochterlony had to some extent repaired the 
 walls, and had constructed redoubts for the 
 defence of the principal gates. Burn, on enter- 
 ing the city, allotted small garrisons to these 
 redoubts, and posted the remainder of his force 
 in selected positions along the walls. So in- 
 adequate was the number of men available to 
 the space to be guarded that no relief could 
 be furnished. Every man, therefore, had to 
 cook his food on his post and there get what 
 rest he could. 
 
 The atrocities committed by Holkar on the 
 prisoners and wounded of Monson's force now 
 recoiled on his head. The defenders of Delhi 
 determined to hold their post to the last, and 
 never by surrender to risk having to endure 
 similar cruelties. 
 
 Burn's troops were hardly distributed in their 
 positions when, early in the morning of October 
 8, the Marat ha army, under Harnat Singh, were 
 
 u
 
 306 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 seen advancing through the ravines and filing 
 off in every direction so as to envelop the city 
 of Delhi, Operations quickly began, for at nine 
 o'clock the Marathas brought several large guns 
 into action and opened a heavy fire on the 
 north-east bastion, on which an 18-pounder was 
 mounted. The defences of this gun were soon 
 destroyed, and it was found necessary to with- 
 draw it lest its own fire should bring down the 
 bastion. As it appeared that this was likely to be 
 the point of assault, a battery for three guns was 
 constructed on a height behind the bastion, and 
 the defences were otherwise strengthened. In 
 the course of the night the Marathas constructed 
 a very fine battery mounting twenty-four guns, 
 and dug trenches for two battalions to guard it ; 
 and although the distance from the wall was too 
 great, they had, by the evening of October 10, 
 made three practicable breaches, in spite of the 
 unremitting exertions of the garrison to repair 
 the damage. A heavy fire was also kept up on 
 other portions of the wall, but it seemed evident 
 that an assault on the three breaches near the 
 north-east bastion was intended. Colonel Burn 
 therefore decided that a sortie was necessary, 
 which was made the same night (October 10) 
 by a party of 300 picked men. This party was 
 led by Lieutenant John Rose, an officer of nine
 
 LIEUTENANT ROSE's SORTIE. 307 
 
 years' service, who had been severely wounded 
 and had highly distinguished himself at the 
 capture of Agra. 
 
 Lieutenant R-ose's party carried out their 
 duty on this occasion with complete success, 
 reaching the battery unobserved. Charging 
 into the trenches, they drove away the gunners 
 and infantry in the vicinity, spiked the guns, 
 and returned, having suffered very slight loss. 
 This spirited sortie so alarmed the Marat has 
 that they abandoned the low ground altogether, 
 and the garrison was able to repair the 
 breaches unmolested. 
 
 On the morning of October 11 the enemy 
 turned their attention to the wall near the 
 Delhi gate, and also at a place near the 
 Turkoman gate, making considerable breaches 
 at both places. The first breach was repaired 
 during the night, and no further attempt was 
 made at that point ; but as the ruins near the 
 Turkoman gate afforded much cover and served 
 as ready-made batteries and trenches, the wall 
 in that region was severely battered, and the 
 breach there soon became practicable. This 
 danger was met by Burn by the construction 
 of an inner line of defence, consisting of 
 strongly constructed parapets. 
 
 The Marathas, while keeping up a heavy
 
 308 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 fire on the breach, assailed these new works 
 by mining, and, had more time been available, 
 would doubtless thus have taken Delhi. On 
 October 13 they discovered that General Lake 
 was approaching with his army, and having 
 no wish to be caught between two fires, they 
 resolved to attempt an immediate assault. 
 Accordingly, on the morning of October 14, 
 the Maratha artillery opened a very heavy fire 
 on selected points in all portions of the wall 
 of Delhi save on the side washed by the 
 Jumna, and soon after sunrise their infantry 
 was seen advancing in large bodies with scal- 
 ing-ladders against the points selected for 
 escalade. The attempts, however, were made 
 with little vigour, and were all repulsed. The 
 Marathas retired, leaving their ladders on the 
 ground. There was some expectation of a 
 second attempt at night, but none was made, 
 and in the morning of October 15 it was 
 found that the Marathas had abandoned the 
 siege. 
 
 In spite of the want of spirit shown by the 
 enemy, the defence of Delhi by Burn and 
 Ochterlony must be regarded as a fine feat of 
 arms ; for it was undertaken at a time when an 
 adverse tide was flowing, and the disparity of 
 men and guns was very great. The loyalty
 
 A BRAVE DECISION. 309 
 
 of the irregular portion of the garrison was 
 also doubtful, and it is on this account that 
 Burn and Ochterlony deserve so much credit 
 for their decision to risk all and to hold the 
 city as well as the fortress. Less determined 
 men would have found fair reason to abandon 
 the larger task, and would have been satisfied 
 to hold the fort and palace alone. Nor must 
 the fine courage and discipline of the sepoys 
 be forgotten, for both were tried to the utmost 
 by the manner in which they were distributed 
 among scattered posts, with full knowledge 
 that a treacherous surrender in any part of 
 the defences would seal the doom of every 
 man wearing the Company's uniform. 
 
 Recognising that the character of the defence 
 threw exceptional responsibility on junior officers. 
 General Lake bestowed the honour of a mention 
 in General Orders on a large number of those 
 who had distinguished themselves. Having 
 eulogised the " skill and fortitude " shown by 
 Lieut. -Colonel Burn, and the "wise and timely 
 precautions" taken by Ochterlony, special men- 
 tion was accorded to Lieutenants Bose, Evans, 
 Heathcote, Dickson, and Locket, the subalterns 
 who led the sortie. Captains Harriott and 
 Carnegie and Lieutenants Woodville and Birch, 
 officers who had abandoned Sindhia's service at
 
 310 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 the beginning of the war, were also mentioned, 
 as were Lieutenants Lindsay and Hunter, 
 cavalry officers who " handsomely volunteered 
 their services." Not satisfied with this reward, 
 General Lake consistently devoted his patronage 
 as Commander-in-Chief in furthering the in- 
 terests of officers who had rendered good service 
 in the field or had been disabled by wounds. 
 
 The name of the gallant commandant of 
 Delhi in the defence of the city in October 1804 
 is still preserved, for Burn's Bastion is so called 
 in his honour. Lieut. -Colonel Burn retired from 
 the army in 1810, but his colleague Ochterlony 
 lived to become a lieutenant-general, a baronet, 
 a Grand Cross of the Bath, and the conqueror 
 of Nepal. John Bose, the young subaltern 
 who led the sortie, also reached high rank in 
 the army, dying a lieutenant-general and a 
 Knight Commander of the Bath. 
 
 MONSON'S RETREAT. 
 
 The most able criticism of Monson's operations is 
 contained in a private letter written by the Duke of 
 Wellington at Calcutta in September 1804. The 
 Duke, then Sir Arthur Wellesley, wrote with a full 
 knowledge of all the circumstances, and he was well 
 acquainted with Monson. It may be added that in all 
 his long life the Duke never wrote an unfair criticism 
 of an operation of war.
 
 A CELEBRATED LETTER. 311 
 
 Sir Robert Peel, in speaking of the Duke of Well- 
 ington, said that he considered him the most powerful 
 writer in the English language, and that the letter upon 
 Colonel Monson's retreat was the best military letter 
 he had ever read. In addition to this testimony there 
 is on record an interesting letter by General Sir Charles 
 Napier, written shortly after the battle of Miani, in 
 which he says : " The Duke's letter on the retreat of 
 Colonel Monson decided me never to retire before an 
 Indian army. If I have done wrong abstractedly (for 
 success, like charity, covers sins), the Great Master led 
 me into it : but my own conviction is that I have done 
 right ; and that my admiration of him, and study of his 
 words and deeds, as the great rules of war, have caused 
 this victory." A letter so admired by Peel, and taken 
 by Charles Napier as his guide in a critical moment, 
 is surely worthy of the attention of students of the 
 art of war. 
 
 "Fort William, September 12, 1804. 
 
 " You will have heard reports of poor Monson's 
 reverses, but as I am on the spot, you will be glad to 
 hear the truth from me ; and as they give some im- 
 portant military lessons to us all, I do not regard the 
 trouble of writing them to you. When it became 
 necessary to attack Holkar, Monson was detached from 
 the grand army with three battalions and their gims, and 
 a body of cavalry under Lieutenant Lucan. Holkar, who 
 was then near Ajmeer with an army composed only of 
 horse (and as Gen. Lake was at no great distance from 
 Monson), retreated towards Malwa. 
 
 " After quitting the river Jumna and passing through 
 the flat country depending on Agra, the first country 
 going to the southward is a mountainous tract called 
 Jeypoor, governed by the Rajah of that name, who had 
 been tributary to Scindiah and Holkar previous to the 
 late war, and who had been relieved from his tribute by
 
 312 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 the operation of the treaty of peace. Joining to the 
 territory of Jeypoor is that of the Rajah of Boondy, of 
 the same description ; and joining to Boondy is the 
 territory of the Rajah of Kota. These last two Rajahs 
 had been, and are still, tributary to Scindiah ; and Holkar 
 has claims upon them which they hoped to get rid of 
 by the British assistance, in consequence of their conduct 
 in the war ; at all events they were desirous to obtain 
 for a time British protection against the demands of 
 Holkar. 
 
 " Between Boondy and Jeypoor is a small territory 
 and fort called Rampoora, which at the commencement 
 of the war belonged to Holkar. This territory had 
 formerly been part of the Jeypoor territory, and had 
 been seized by the Holkar family in some of their former 
 contests with the Rajah of Jeypoor. The whole of this 
 country between Agra and the province of Malwa, which 
 joins to the Kota territory and which is entered through 
 a pass called the Muckundra ghaut, is intersected by 
 rivers and nullahs, which are either full throughout the 
 western rains or are filled at times by those rains, and 
 become impassable for troops. Of these the principal is 
 the river Chumbul, which runs between Kota and 
 Boondy, and the river Banas, which runs between 
 Rampoora and Agra. 
 
 " When Holkar fled in front of the army of the 
 Commander-in-Chief, Col. Monson followed him success- 
 ively to Boondy and Kota, the Rajahs of which countries 
 were very desirous to have the protection of the British 
 troops against his exactions, and promised supplies and 
 everything which Col. Monson could want. At the 
 same time that Col. Monson advanced, a detachment 
 under Col. Don, consisting of two battalions, was sent to 
 take Rampoora, of which place it got possession by 
 storm ; and this detachment afterwards joined and re- 
 inforced Monson's corps, which then consisted of five 
 battalions.
 
 THE LETTER (continued). 313 
 
 " In the month of June the Commander-in-Chief with- 
 drew his army into cantonments, leaving Monson's corps 
 in the Kota country. Monson, towards the end of that 
 month, passed through the Muckundra ghaut into Malwa, 
 accompanied by the troops of the Eajah of Kota, and 
 some of Scindiah's, under liappojee Scindiah, and attacked 
 and took by storm the hill fort of Hinglisghur ; and after 
 this operation he took up a position in Malwa, recom- 
 mended to him by the Eajah of Kota, at some distance 
 from the Aluckundra ghaut, in which the Eajah told him 
 he was likely to get supplies, and from which Monson 
 expected to be able to communicate with Col. Murray, 
 at that time on his march from Guzerat towards 
 Ougein. 
 
 " After his retreat in front of the Commander-in-Chief 
 Holkar had first threatened Ougein, and afterwards gone 
 to Mundissoor, a town belonging to Scindiah, situated to 
 the north-west of Ougein, and on the left of the Chumbul. 
 Between the middle and latter end of June he took and 
 plundered this town ; and at that time the river Chum- 
 bul was between him and Col. Monson, who was encamped 
 about five coss from the river, on the right bank. 
 
 " Towards the beginning of July Holkar passed the 
 Chumbul with his army. Col. Monson learnt that he 
 was doing so, and intended to attack him. He moved 
 towards the place at which he heard Holkar was, and 
 found that the whole army had crossed the river ; nearly 
 about the same time, he understood that Col. Murray, 
 who had made two marches towards Ougein from 
 Guzerat, had recrossed the Myhie ; and upon the whole, 
 Monson, having only two days' provisions, thought it 
 best to retreat. Accordingly he sent off his baggage 
 early on the following morning, the 8 th July I believe, 
 towards the Muckundra ghaut ; and he followed with 
 the infantry at about nine in the morning, meaning to 
 reach Muckundra that night, the distance about seven- 
 teen miles. He left Lucan, with his irregular horse and
 
 314 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 Bappojee Scindiah's horse, to cover his rear, and to follow 
 as his rear-guard. After Monson had marched a few 
 miles he heard that Holkar had attacked with his 
 cavalry his rear - guard of irregular horse, and shortly 
 afterwards he received intelligence that the rear-guard 
 was destroyed and Lucan taken prisoner. He arrived 
 at Muckundra unmolested and took up a position that 
 covered the ghaut, but which, like all others that I have 
 seen, had many passages practicable for cavalry. 
 
 " On the next day, or the next but one, Monson was 
 attacked by the whole of Holkar's cavalry in three 
 separate bodies, who, however, could make no impression 
 on him, and they were beat off. Towards evening he 
 heard that the infantry was arrived at a camp within 
 two or three coss of the Muckundra ghaut, with their 
 guns, 175 in number, and he determined to retreat 
 again. He accordingly marched to Kota, the Eajah of 
 which place urged him to stay there, but could not 
 supply him with provisions ; and then Monson marched 
 on the following day and crossed the Chumbul in boats 
 provided by the Eajah, which he sunk after he had 
 crossed. 
 
 "The rain began about the 10th July and became 
 incessant, and rendered Monson's marches much more 
 difficult than they would otherwise have been, partic- 
 ularly in that country, which is a black cotton soil. At 
 last, after he had crossed the Chumbul, he was obliged 
 to spike his guns and leave them behind ; and he con- 
 tinued his march, getting but little provision on the 
 road until he reached Rampoora. He was followed, 
 but not much harassed, by a body of Holkar's horse, 
 which overtook him at a nullah, which, being full, 
 stopped him. He twice beat up the camp of this body 
 of horse, and then I believe they quitted him. On his 
 arrival at Eampoora, Monson was joined by two bat- 
 talions with their guns, and a body of Hindustany horse 
 under Major Frith, which had been sent from Agra to
 
 THE LETTER (continued). 315 
 
 reinforce him, and he immediately began to collect pro- 
 visions at Eampoora. 
 
 " The rains which had been so distressing to Monson 
 likewise impeded Holkar, some of whose guns remained 
 to the southward of the Muckundra ghaut. His pro- 
 gress to the northward was likewise impeded by Monson 
 having destroyed the Eajah of Kota's boats on the 
 Chumbul. However, at last he advanced, and towards 
 the 20 th August again approached Monson at Eampoora. 
 
 " By this time Monson had collected only about 
 twelve days' provisions, and the Commander-in-Chief, 
 foreseeing the difficulty in which he might again be 
 involved, desired him on the 20 th August to retire 
 towards Jeypoor, if he should think it probable that 
 he might be distressed for provisions. Monson, how- 
 ever, remained till Holkar approached him within six 
 coss with his whole army, and on the 21st August, 
 in the evening, commenced his retreat towards Agra 
 by Kooshalghur, leaving Jeypoor on his left hand. He 
 left fifteen companies as a garrison in Eampoora. He 
 arrived at Banas river on the 23rd, and found that it 
 was full ; on the 24 th, in the morning, it fell and 
 became fordable, and he passed over his baggage and 
 a battalion, and between twelve and three o'clock he 
 passed over three more battalions, leaving the picquets 
 and one battalion to support them on the southern bank. 
 
 "Holkar's troops had appeared in the morning, and 
 were seen crossing at different fords on the right and 
 left flank ; and towards evening Holkar's infantry and 
 guns appeared in front. They attacked the picquets, 
 but were repulsed ; and the picquets and battalion took 
 eight guns ; but afterwards our troops were overpowered 
 by superior numbers and were obliged to retreat across 
 the river to the main body, in which operation they lost 
 many men, being attacked on their rear, and also by the 
 horse who had crossed the river and moved up its bed. 
 Monson retreated from Banas river on the night of the
 
 316 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 24th, leaving his baggage, and arrived at Kooshalghur, 
 about forty miles distant, on the night of the 25th. He 
 was followed throughout the march by Holkar's horse, 
 who, however, were not able to make any impression on 
 him. He halted on the night of the 25 th and the 26 th 
 at Kooshalghur, and on the 26 th at night marched to- 
 wards Agra. Something happened on the 27 th of 
 which I have not received an account; but on the 30th 
 Monson and his detachment arrived at Agra. The 
 Commander-in-Chief has taken the field, and it is to 
 be hoped that he will have an early opportunity of 
 wiping away the disgrace which we have suffered. 
 
 " It is worth while to review these transactions, in 
 order that we may see to what these misfortunes ought 
 to be attributed, that in future, if possible, they may 
 be avoided. 
 
 " In the first place, it appears that Col. Monson's corps 
 was never so strong as to be able to engage Holkar's 
 army, if that chief should collect it ; at least the Colonel 
 was of that opinion. Secondly, it appears that it had 
 not any stock of provisions. Thirdly, that it depended 
 for provisions upon certain Eajahs who urged its advance. 
 Fourthly, that no measures whatever were taken by 
 British officers to collect provisions either at Boondy 
 or Kota, or even at Eampoora, a fort belonging to us, 
 in which we had a British garrison. Fifthly, that the 
 detachment was advanced to such a distance, over so 
 many almost impassable rivers and nullahs, without any 
 boats collected or posts upon those rivers ; and in fact, 
 that the detachment owes its safety to the Rajah of 
 Kota, who supplied them with his boats. 
 
 " The result of these facts is an opinion in my mind 
 that the detachment must have been lost, even if Holkar 
 had not attacked them with his infantry and cavalry. 
 
 " In respect to the conduct of the operations, it is my 
 opinion that Monson ought to have attacked Holkar in 
 the first instance. If he chose to retire, he ought to
 
 THE LETTER (continued). 317 
 
 have supported the rear-guard with his infantry, and to 
 have sent the irregular horse away with the baggage. 
 
 " When he began to retreat, he ought not to have 
 stopped longer than a night at Muckundra; because he 
 must have been certain that the same circumstances 
 which obliged him to retire to Muckundra would also 
 oblige him to quit that position. The difference between 
 a good and a bad military position is nothing when the 
 troops are starving. 
 
 " The same reasoning holds good respecting Monson's 
 halt at Eampoora, unless he intended to fight. As he 
 had been reinforced, he ought to have fallen back till he 
 was certain of his supplies ; and having waited till Holkar 
 approached him, and particularly as Holkar's army was 
 not then in great strength in infantry and guns, he ought 
 to have vigorously attacked him before he retired. 
 When his picquets were attacked on the Banas, he ought 
 to have supported them with his whole corps, leaving one 
 battalion on the northern bank to take care of his 
 baggage ; and if he had done so, he probably would have 
 gained a victory, would have saved his baggage, and 
 regained his honour. 
 
 " We have some important lessons from this campaign. 
 First, we should never employ a corps on a service for 
 which it is not fully equal. Secondly, against the 
 Mahrattas in particular, but against all enemies, we 
 should take care to be sure of plenty of provisions. 
 Thirdly, experience has shown us that British troops 
 can never depend upon Eajahs, or any allies, for their 
 supplies. Our own officers must purchase them ; and 
 if we should employ a native in such an important 
 service, we ovight to see the supplies before we venture 
 to expose our troops in the situation in which they 
 may want them. Fourthly, when we have a fort which 
 can support our operations, such as Eampoora to the 
 northward, or Ahmednugger, or Chandore, in your quarter, 
 we should immediately adopt effectual measures to fill
 
 318 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 it with provisions and stores in case of need. Fifthly, 
 when we cross a river likely to be full in the rains, we 
 ought to have a post and boats upon it, — as I have 
 upon all the rivers south of Poonah, and as you have, 
 I hope, upon the Beemah and the Godavery. 
 
 " In respect to the operations of a corps in the situa- 
 tion of Monson's, they must be decided and quick ; and 
 in all retreats it must be recollected that they are safe 
 and easy in proportion to the number of attacks made 
 by the retreating corps. But attention to the foregoing 
 observations will, I hope, prevent a British corps from 
 retreating." 
 
 Sir Arthur Wellesley lived to witness the destruction, 
 in 1842, of a British army through the neglect of the 
 principles so clearly laid down by him in the above 
 letter ; and if the Great Master's advice was ignored in 
 his lifetime, it may be of use to reproduce it a century 
 after it was written. The conditions of war may change, 
 but its principles remain the same.
 
 319 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR — C07ltinued. 
 
 While Holkar's infantry and artillery were en- 
 deavouring to capture Delhi, their master was 
 doing his best to avoid contact with General 
 Lake's small army. Holkar was well aware 
 that an encounter with -Lake, with his dreaded 
 European troops, would not be willingly risked 
 by his army ; nor in spite of his boast to General 
 Wellesley, written in the previous February, 
 " General Lake shall not have leisure to breathe 
 for a moment," did he show any desire to measure 
 his skill against that of the Commander-in-Chief 
 It seemed easier to him, and more in accordance 
 with the character of his army, to carry out 
 the remainder of his threat, " countries of many 
 hundred kos shall be overrun and plundered, and 
 calamities will fall on lakhs of human beings 
 in continual war, by the attacks of my army, 
 which overwhelms like the waves of the sea." 
 It was related in the last chapter that Muttra
 
 320 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 fell into the hands of Holkar on September 
 15, and was reoccupied by General Lake on 
 October 3. On the following day a convoy of 
 100 camels, bringing grain to the army from 
 Agra, was captured, with its escort of conval- 
 escent sepoys. This happened at the village 
 of Aring, under the very nose of Lake's army, 
 and, according to Skinner's memoirs, several 
 other convoys of grain were captured about 
 the same time, owing to the great numerical 
 strength of the enemy. There was, in conse- 
 quence, something approaching starvation in 
 Lake's camp, six pounds of coarse flour, the 
 common food of the sepoys, selling for a rupee. 
 Lake made two attempts to bring Holkar's 
 horse to action, marching from his camp on 
 October 7 and 10 at such an hour as to arrive 
 at the Maratha outposts a few minutes before 
 dawn. On these occasions the infantry made 
 a direct approach, while the cavalry made an 
 enveloping movement ; but the Marathas were 
 nervously on the alert, and were found in 
 the saddle, warning having been given by 
 rockets and signal -fires. On October 7 a few 
 Marathas only were killed by the galloper guns, 
 while on the 10th, though the British cavalry 
 swept at a gallop through the Maratha camp, 
 Holkar's horsemen scattered in every direction
 
 A MESSAGE TO HOLKAR. 321 
 
 and suffered but little loss. When, however, 
 after these affairs, the British turned to retrace 
 their footsteps to Muttra, the Marathas, writes 
 Thorn, who was present, " dashed on, attacking 
 our rear and flanks, firing long shots with 
 their matchlocks, while those who were armed 
 with spears and tulwars (swords) flourished their 
 weapons, making at the same time a noise like 
 jackals by way of bravado." On the second 
 occasion about thirty Marathas were killed and 
 several captured, who expected to be put to 
 death in retaliation for the atrocities committed 
 upon Monson's men. General Lake, however, 
 gave each prisoner a rupee and put them at 
 liberty, sending a message to Holkar " that 
 none but cowards treated their prisoners with 
 cruelty." 
 
 Lake now received information of the siege 
 of Delhi from Colonel Ochterlony, and was 
 anxious to march to the relief of the hard- 
 pressed garrison. This, however, was impossible 
 without supplies, which depended on the arrival 
 of a Brinjari convoy from Cawnpore. There had 
 been a great scarcity of food for six days, the 
 native troops were uneasy in mind, and Skinner 
 states that Lake found it necessary to post a 
 sepoy with each trooper vidette, with orders to 
 shoot the trooper should he attempt to desert.
 
 322 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAE. 
 
 Skinner was asked by General Lake to attempt 
 to bring the Brinjari convoy into camp, and 
 with this object made a most gallant night 
 march of thirty-five miles at the head of 1200 of 
 his horse. By good management and determina- 
 tion Skinner succeeded in bringing in the whole 
 convoy of 60,000 bullocks laden with flour, which 
 provided seven days' rations for the army. This 
 was a priceless service, which Lake recognised 
 by presenting Skinner with his own sword and 
 20,000 rupees (£2000). 
 
 Lake was now able to start for Delhi, and 
 set out on October 12. His cavalry led the 
 way, followed by the baggage and bazaars, 
 which marched along the bank of the Jumna, 
 the infantry in column guarding the exposed 
 flank. Holkar could do nothing to retard the 
 march of the army while in this secure for- 
 mation, though he made feeble attacks on 
 October 13 and 17, which were repulsed at the 
 cost of a few casualties. 
 
 On October 18 Delhi was reached; but the 
 Maratha besieging force had gone away four 
 days earlier, and were now followed by their 
 main body, which retired about four days' 
 march from Delhi in a northerly direction. 
 General Lake desired to pursue Holkar at once, 
 and issued immediate orders for the army to
 
 holkar's superior mobility. 323 
 
 deposit half its camp equipage at Delhi and 
 to march on October 19. Sufficient supplies, 
 however, were not obtainable, and it was repre- 
 sented to Lake that it would be useless to pursue 
 Holkar with weary transport animals, his guns 
 being drawn by the best bullocks in India, 
 assisted by an ample supply of elephants. 
 
 A halt at Delhi was therefore imperative ; 
 but on October 26 Lieut. - Colonel Burn was 
 despatched to his former post, Saharunpur, 
 where it was thought desirable to re-establish 
 a garrison in order to keep an eye on the 
 southern Sikhs. Three days later Holkar sud- 
 denly took the offensive, crossed the Jumna 
 near Panipat, and overtook Burn on his march 
 near Shamli, a town about sixty - four miles 
 north-east of Delhi. 
 
 Burn's detachment consisted of his own bat- 
 talion, the 2nd Battalion 14th Native Infantry, 
 and an irregular battalion, with six guns. He 
 was attacked almost immediately after crossing 
 the Jumna ; but being a resolute man, and 
 knowing that Mr Guthrie, the magistrate at 
 Saharunpur, was besieged by the Sikhs, he 
 determined to push on by forced marches, and, 
 if possible, thus keep ahead of the Marathas. 
 
 Unfortunately, Burn was delayed on the road 
 on October 28 by the breakdown of one of
 
 324 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 his gun - carriages, and on the following day, 
 outside Shamli, the Marathas appeared in great 
 strength, commanded by Holkar himself. Burn 
 was anxious that Holkar should attack him ; 
 but the Marathas showed no such intention, 
 contenting themselves, as stated in Burn's nar- 
 rative, with " sniping " ^ his men from the 
 shelter of the surrounding jungle. 
 
 Early on October 30, Burn, finding that he 
 could not advance through the jungle owing to 
 the great number of the Marathas, and feel- 
 ing confident that Lake would soon hear of his 
 situation and come to his relief, took refuge in 
 a walled enclosure furnished with small bast- 
 ions at the four corners. Believing that Burn 
 would be unable to mount his guns, the Marathas 
 came in close to the walls. After great labour, 
 however, four 6 -pounders were got up on the 
 bastions, which opened unexpectedly on the 
 enemy with great effect. The Marathas con- 
 stantly threatened the detachment with assault, 
 and exhibited ladders, thereby keeping them 
 on the alert. They also erected platforms from 
 which they were able to fire into the crowded 
 troops, causing heavy loss. Among other casu- 
 
 ^ The word has long been popular with soldiers, but the writer 
 is not aware of its having been used prior to tlds instance.
 
 THE DEFENCE OF SHAMLI. 325 
 
 alties, an officer who was pointing one of the 
 guns was shot from one of these platforms, 
 losing the sight of both his eyes. The Marathas 
 confidently expected to compel the detachment 
 to surrender, for the troops had been unable to 
 take any grain with them into the fort, and 
 the only food at first obtainable was the sheep 
 and goats taken by the officers for their own 
 supply. These were carefully distributed among 
 those who would eat meat, but many of the 
 sepoys were Hindoos of high caste, who, as a 
 matter of course, refused it, and were conse- 
 quently reduced to starvation. Lieutenant Rose, 
 the officer who led the sortie from Delhi, per- 
 formed a similar service at Shamli, and headed 
 a foraging party, which brought in some scanty 
 supplies. In spite of their very severe sufferings 
 and losses, Colonel Burn's detachment showed a 
 noble fortitude and loyalty, refusing all the 
 bribes offered them by Holkar if they would 
 betray their officers. On November 3 General 
 Lake relieved Shamli, arriving from Delhi, after 
 a forced march of four days, with six regiments 
 of cavalry and the reserve brigade of infantry 
 under Lieut. -Colonel Don. These marches formed 
 the first stage of Lake's pursuit of Holkar, one 
 of the most remarkable marches on record.
 
 326 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 Colonel Burn's detachment was reduced to a 
 very weak state from starvation, and nearly 
 a hundred sepoys had been killed. 
 
 The townsmen of Shamli had combined with 
 the Marathas against Colonel Burn's detachment, 
 and General Lake consequently gave up the 
 town to plunder as an example to others. 
 
 Mr Guthrie, hearing that Burn was besieged 
 at Shamli, had provided for his own safety 
 by placing himself under the protection of the 
 Begum Sumru. Lake therefore decided that 
 it was unnecessary to garrison Saharunpur at 
 this stage, and, for the time being, carried 
 Colonel Burn's detachment to Meerut, where 
 he left it to watch the course of events. 
 
 We must now revert to General Lake's march 
 in pursuit of Holkar, and, to make matters clear, 
 must return for a moment to Delhi. It will be 
 remembered that when Burn's detachment left 
 that city, Lake was engaged in collecting sup- 
 plies and transport, in order to bring Holkar 
 to action. Information was presently obtained 
 that the Maratha infantry and guns had retired 
 towards Dig, — or Deeg, to use the spelling then 
 in vogue, — while Holkar himself, with the bulk 
 of his cavalry, had moved in the direction of 
 Shamli. 
 
 General Lake, therefore, set out with a small
 
 lake's pursuit of holkar. 327 
 
 force, as has been stated, on October 31, in 
 pursuit of Holkar, while he despatched the re- 
 mainder of his army, under Major - General 
 Fraser, to deal with the infantry and artillery 
 before Dig. 
 
 There was at first no reason to suppose that 
 Holkar would have caught up Burn's detach- 
 ment, that event having only been brought 
 about by the unfortunate mischance to his 
 gun, and Lake's two first marches were conse- 
 quently of reasonable length, as is advisable 
 after a halt. The first march, to Loni, was 
 ten miles, and the second, to Bhagpat, fourteen 
 miles. Lake then heard of Burn's position, 
 and, on November 2, marched from Bhagpat 
 to Kandla, twenty -seven miles. Early on the 
 following day he marched the eleven remaining 
 miles to Shamli, and effected the relief On 
 November 4 the force halted. 
 
 Not to weary the reader by a string of 
 marches with unpronounceable names, it may 
 suffice to say that from November 5 to 17 
 Lake's force marched continuously until on the 
 latter date they found their quarry, and, what 
 is yet more remarkable, Don's reserve brigade 
 of infantry kept with them, march by march, 
 until on the last day the distance and pace 
 went beyond the powers of even that admirable
 
 328 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 brigade. From October 31 to November 17 the 
 total distance covered in this march by the 
 infantry and baggage was 325 miles by the 
 map, — an average of 18 miles a-day, including 
 the halt day. The actual distance covered by 
 the cavalry and horse artillery was considerably 
 greater, and was estimated by Captain Thorn, 
 who was Brigade-Major of Cavalry to Colonel 
 Macan, at 25 miles a - day, during the last 
 fourteen marches. 
 
 It is worth remembering, as bearing on the 
 working powers of young Indian soldiers, that 
 one of the infantry battalions which performed 
 this feat of marching was the 2nd Battalion 
 21st Native Infantry, not a man of which 
 had been over twenty-two years old when the 
 battalion joined the army. The 21st and 12th, 
 the latter a veteran corps, had also recently 
 maintained their efficiency under the hardships 
 of Monson's retreat. 
 
 Throughout Lake's pursuit of Holkar through 
 the Doab, the Marathas always kept from 
 twenty-five to thirty miles ahead, burning and 
 destroying as they went along. When, how- 
 ever, Aliganj was reached, on October 16, the 
 village was found still burning, and Holkar 
 was reported to be near Farakhabad (the native 
 city near Fatehgarh), twenty -six miles ahead.
 
 THE LAST MARCH. 329 
 
 The distance covered that day had been twenty- 
 three miles, but General Lake decided to make 
 a night march to surprise the enemy, and so 
 save the garrison of Fatehgarh. Accordingly, 
 at nine o'clock in the evening, he moved on 
 again with the three British cavalry regiments 
 and Captain Clement Brown's battery of Horse 
 Artillery, without any baggage whatever, leav- 
 ing the remainder of the force to follow on 
 next day. Just as the Light Dragoons were 
 mounting, the good news reached General Lake 
 that General Fraser had defeated Holkar's in- 
 fantry brigades at Dig, and this intelligence 
 made the cavalry doubly anxious to come up 
 with the boasted Maratha horse, in order to 
 give the finishing stroke to Holkar's power. 
 Thorn, in his interesting account of the march, 
 adds that the moon was up, and the night mild 
 and pleasant, so that every one was cheered by 
 the hope of finishing, by the night's work, their 
 late harassing marches. The intelligence de- 
 partment was admirably conducted by Major 
 Salkeld, and reports concerning the enemy were 
 received by him at intervals during the march. 
 
 Just at daybreak on October 17, the head 
 of the British column reached the outskirts 
 of the enemy's camp. They found the horses 
 still picketed, while the Marathas, wrapped in
 
 330 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 their blankets, slept beside them. There were 
 no outposts, and the first warning of the ap- 
 proach of Lake was given by the discharge of 
 several rounds of grape from the Horse Artillery, 
 directed where the enemy lay most thickly. 
 The 8 th Light Dragoons, who were leading, 
 galloped into the camp, charging and cutting 
 down the Marathas in every direction, the 
 27th and 29th doing the same as soon as 
 they could come up ; so that in a short time 
 the whole plain was covered with dead bodies. 
 
 The Marathas had no thought but flight, 
 and Holkar was among the first to escape. 
 He, like Lake, had heard of the battle of Dig 
 on the previous evening, and the bad news 
 had kept him awake all night, though he had 
 not informed his officers of what had happened. 
 His spies had told him of Lake's position at 
 Aliganj, thirty miles away, and we may fairly 
 imagine Holkar calculating on having time to 
 destroy the small garrison of Fatehgarh next 
 morning, and to capture (or slay, according to 
 his fancy) the European civil servants and 
 merchants. 
 
 Shortly before the British cavalry arrived at 
 the Maratha camp, an ammunition waggon be- 
 longing to Captain Brown's battery blew up. 
 Holkar heard and was alarmed by the sound,
 
 holkar's flight. 331 
 
 but his servants assured him that it was the 
 usual morning gun at Fatehgarh. Soon after- 
 wards came the roar of Brown's guns at close 
 quarters, followed by the trampling of many- 
 horses and the wild shouts of the Royal Irish 
 Light Dragoons. Holkar was in the saddle in 
 a moment, and fled, protected by his faithful 
 bodyguard, not stopping, it is said, till he was 
 eighteen miles on the way to Mainpuri. The 
 Marathas were hunted in every direction for 
 ten miles, and most authorities agree that not 
 less than 3000 of them fell in the charge and 
 pursuit. Thorn, who was present, says that 
 many, whose horses were more exhausted than 
 those of the British cavalry, climbed for safety 
 into the mango-trees that grew thickly around. 
 Here they might have escaped but for their 
 rash courage in opening fire with their match- 
 locks on the rear squadrons of the dragoons 
 as they came up. They were therefore dis- 
 covered and pistolled, so that numbers tumbled 
 lifeless from the trees. Thorn calculated that, 
 by the time they had ridden back into 
 camp at Farakhabad, the British cavalry had 
 covered considerably over seventy miles in 
 twenty - four hours, — an effort, as he remarks, 
 " probably unparalleled in the annals of military 
 history, especially when it is remembered that
 
 332 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 it was made after a long and harassing march 
 of 350 miles in the space of a fortnight." 
 
 Thorn gives his distances in round numbers, 
 but he is a careful writer, narrating facts 
 within his own knowledge ; and as cavalry 
 always covers much more ground than is esti- 
 mated by following marches on the map, his 
 calculation may be taken as an accurate descrip- 
 tion of a remarkable exploit. 
 
 Lake's loss in this affair was very slight, 
 only two dragoons being killed and about 
 twenty wounded. There were also seventy-five 
 casualties among the horses. Holkar's loss was 
 far from being limited to the number killed at 
 Farakhabad. It is, indeed, stated by several 
 writers that half his force deserted after the 
 surprise, and returned to their homes. This de- 
 fection is said to have amounted to 30,000 men. 
 Holkar's intention in making for Farakhabad 
 had been to plunder the town, which was rich 
 and prosperous, carrying on a considerable trade 
 with other places on the Ganges. He had 
 already (on October 16) burned part of the 
 barracks and officers' bungalows at Fatehgarh, 
 as the cantonment was called, and nothing 
 could have saved the European civilian popula- 
 tion and garrison but the wonderful march of 
 Lake and his Light Dragoons.
 
 SKINNER CONTINUES THE PURSUIT. 333 
 
 The British force halted two days at Fateh- 
 garh to rest after their exertions, during 
 which time the Horse Artillery battery had 
 the pleasure of firing three royal salutes for 
 as many victories, — their own, that of General 
 Fraser at Dig, and for the capture of Chandur, 
 Holkar's only stronghold in the Deccan, which 
 had been taken by a force under Colonel 
 Wallace. 
 
 On the morning of October 19 the reserve 
 brigade and other troops arrived at Fatehgarh 
 from Aliganj : among them was Skinner's Horse ; 
 and in the evening General Lake ordered 
 Skinner to pursue Holkar and find out where 
 he had gone. Skinner accordingly left all his 
 baggage, sick men, and galled horses, and started 
 off with 600 sowars at 2 a.m. on October 20. 
 He reached Mainpuri that same evening in 
 time to save the lives of the officers and 
 civilians there, Holkar having heard that Lake 
 was coming up, and having hurriedly fled again. 
 
 On the 21st Skinner again came up with 
 Holkar and took a hundred prisoners. On these 
 men Skinner played a trick which he relates 
 with great glee in his memoirs. " Telling them 
 that my corps considered them as brethren, I 
 gave them their liberty, but advised them to 
 take care not to fall into the hands of the
 
 334 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 dragoons, who were but a few hours behind, 
 and bade them give my salaam to Holkar." 
 Thankful for this treatment, Holkar's sowars 
 improved on their instructions, telling him that 
 they had seen General Lake and his dragoons. 
 " This," said Skinner, " made him fly faster than 
 ever, but I kept hanging on his rear, marching 
 20 to 25 kos a day (40 to 50 miles) until he 
 crossed the Jumna near Muttra. In this hard 
 seven days' work I had no provisions but what 
 the fields afforded, and neither tents nor bazaar 
 with us. The horses were never unsaddled, and 
 we rested with the hagdoor (halter) in our 
 hands all night, having frequently to change 
 our ground two or three times during each 
 night to avoid a surprise from Holkar. In 
 this pursuit I acquired great plunder in horses 
 and camels. We lived on the green jowar that 
 was standing in the fields, which we prepared 
 by husking it out and putting it into large 
 pots, adding ghee and meat, and boiling the 
 whole together. It was then served out in 
 earthen pots, my share being always brought 
 me by the men, who showed me great love and 
 attention, and were willing to act as my private 
 servants, and tried in every way to please me 
 and add to my comfort ; but I felt the want 
 of my dram.
 
 THE IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 335 
 
 " Four days after . . . General Lake arrived, 
 and the corps paraded to receive him. He came 
 up and praised them highly, promised that their 
 services should never be forgotten, and said 
 that they had, by their exertions, secured per- 
 manent bread for their lives. On me also he 
 bestowed high commendations, giving me a 
 horse with silver trappings, which had been 
 sent him by some E-ajah, and told me to go 
 back to AUeegurh and rest for a month, and 
 recruit my corps to 1700 strong, for he should 
 soon require my services again." 
 
 This interesting passage affords a vivid picture 
 of the old irregular Indian cavalry at their 
 work, and shows also how well Lake knew 
 how to secure their devotion. 
 
 On October 20 General Lake's force marched 
 from Fatehgarh for Dig, towards which fortress 
 Holkar and the remainder of his force were 
 reported to have retired. As Lake went on 
 his way he found more and more proof of the 
 terrible losses suffered by the Marathas at 
 Farakhabad. The villages were all full of 
 wounded, most of whom died. 
 
 The Zemindars and people of the Doab, who 
 before that action had all been ready to join 
 Holkar and turn against the British, were now 
 full of protestations of loyalty. They had only
 
 336 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 been deterred from showing their hand by the 
 punishment of the town of Shamli, and that 
 well-timed act of severity had doubtless averted 
 infinitely greater and more widespread suffering, 
 — a lesson that English sentimentalists would 
 do well to remember. 
 
 In letters to Lord Mornington, written im- 
 mediately after his arrival at Fatehgarh, Lake 
 congratulated himself on the complete success 
 of his march. Had it failed in any way, he 
 stated, the Sikhs and Rohillas would all have 
 joined Holkar, and the whole of Upper India 
 would have been in arms against the British. 
 As it was, the Bhartpur Baja, who owed every- 
 thing to them, had alone thrown off all disguise. 
 For this hostility Lake declared that the Baja 
 must be immediately punished, — a suggestion 
 which was formally approved by Lord Morn- 
 ington. The Baja, indeed, deserves no sym- 
 pathy. The ruler of the very ancient tribe of 
 Jats, Baja Banjit Singh of Bhartpur, became 
 a tributary of Madhaji Sindhia in 1785. He 
 was among the first to desert his master and 
 form an alliance with the British after Lake's 
 victory before Delhi, He now, thinking from 
 Monson's reverse that the tide had turned, 
 again changed his side. Baja Banjit Singh, 
 who must not be confused with his famous
 
 THE TOWN OF DIG. 337 
 
 namesake and contemporary the ruler of the 
 Sikhs, possessed a fortress of great size and 
 strength in Bhartpur, the capital town of his 
 state, which is said at this time to have con- 
 tained 50,000 fighting men within its massive 
 ramparts of beaten mud. Before dealing with 
 General Lake's unfortunate operations against 
 this formidable fortress we must, however, re- 
 turn to Delhi and follow the operations of the 
 force left there, under Major - General Fraser, 
 when Lake set out on his hunt after Holkar. 
 
 General Fraser, whose force on leaving Delhi 
 consisted of the 76th Regiment and six battalions 
 of Native Infantry, with about twenty 6 -pounder 
 guns, marched from the Moghul capital on 
 November 5, and on reaching Govardhan, about 
 eight miles from Dig, on November 10, was 
 joined by the 1st Bengal European Begiment.^ 
 His total strength was still under 6000 men. 
 
 Dig, or Deeg, as the name used to be written, 
 is a fortified town standing on a rocky site 
 twenty miles east of Muttra, and is a part of 
 the State of Bhartpur. On November 1 1 General 
 Fraser reconnoitred the Maratha position, and 
 moved at night to a position about two and a half 
 miles east of Dig, close to the village of Bheij. 
 Between this village and Dig was a marsh. 
 
 ^ Now the 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers. 
 Y
 
 338 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 The Maratha army, consisting of twenty-four 
 battalions, a considerable number of horse, and 
 160 guns, more than half of which were 16- or 
 18 -pounders, was encamped between the fortress 
 of Dig and the village of Kasba Au, This 
 village, which was fortified, guarded the Maratha 
 right, and their left rested on Dig, the garrison 
 of which place now openly showed the alliance 
 of their Raja with Holkar. 
 
 On November 12 Major-General Fraser con- 
 tinued his observation of the Maratha position, 
 and in spite of the great strength of the enemy 
 and their advantageous position, decided to 
 attack. The small British force marched at 
 three o'clock in the morning of November 13, 
 two battalions of Native Infantry forming the 3rd 
 Brigade, with the irregular horse, being detailed 
 as escort to the baggage, with orders to follow 
 the advance. The whole attacking force marched 
 round the intervening swamp and made towards 
 the Maratha right. On approaching the village 
 of Kasba Au the advance of the British column 
 was observed and the Marathas opened a distant 
 fire. General Fraser now deployed his force into 
 two lines, each brigade forming one line and the 
 European battalions taking the centre of each 
 line. The cavalry was placed on the left, that • 
 flank being threatened by the enemy's horse.
 
 GENERAL FRASER's ATTACK. 339 
 
 As soon as the infantry had deployed, the 
 village of Kasba Au was carried without diffi- 
 culty. This village, as is commonly the case 
 in India, stood on a slight eminence, and from 
 it the enemy's position could be clearly seen, 
 consisting of a succession of batteries and en- 
 trenchments running back almost to the walls 
 of Dig. 
 
 As the 1st Brigade issued from the village 
 they came under a severe cross-fire of artillery ; 
 but the 76th instantly ran forward down the 
 hill and captured the nearest battery, bayonet- 
 ing the Maratha gunners at their post. 
 
 The charge of the 76th had carried them far 
 in advance of the remaining battalions of the 
 1st Brigade, and when the 2nd Brigade cleared 
 the village, their centre battalion, the Bengal 
 European Regiment, rushed forward to the 
 support of the 76th. The Native Infantry 
 battalions on the left of each line advanced 
 to the support of the British battalions, but 
 those on the right (the 1st Battalion 2nd, and 
 the 2nd Battalion 15th) took ground to the 
 right, under Major Hammond, to check a 
 threatened attack by a large body of Marathas 
 from the lower end of the swamp. General 
 Fraser accompanied the Bengal Europeans, and 
 was mortally wounded in the captured battery.
 
 340 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAK. 
 
 his leg being carried off by a cannon-shot. The 
 command consequently devolved on Brigadier- 
 General Monson. 
 
 Monson, quite in his element, cheered on 
 the infantry, who captured battery after battery 
 at the point of the bayonet, until they came 
 under the close fire of Dig and suffered con- 
 siderable loss. In the meantime, a body of the 
 enemy's horse came round, re -took the guns 
 in the position first captured by the 76th, and 
 turned them against our troops. The reserve 
 brigade had not yet come up, and there was 
 no one to stop this dangerous fire until Captain 
 Norford of the 76th, with only twenty -eight 
 men, charged back and again captured the guns, 
 losing his own life in performing this gallant 
 and valuable exploit. 
 
 During all this time the two Native Infantry 
 battalions which had moved off to guard the 
 right flank had been hard pressed by the superior 
 artillery -fire of the enemy. Brigadier -General 
 Monson, however, finding it necessary to draw 
 back from the fortress of Dig, and seeing the 
 situation of Major Hammond's two battalions, 
 now brought the fire of several of his guns to 
 bear on the brigade of Marathas opposed to 
 Hammond. Under the fire of his guns Monson 
 also brought his own four battalions up against
 
 A HARD- WON VICTORY. 341 
 
 the Marathas, who made a precipitate retreat 
 into the marsh, where many perished, including 
 two of Holkar's principal officers. At the same 
 time the 3rd Brigade, under Lieut. -Colonel Ball, 
 arrived on the scene and proceeded to secure 
 the captured guns and carry the British wounded 
 into a place of safety. In this task the 3rd 
 Brigade was assisted by the two native cavalry 
 regiments, under Lieut. -Colonel T. Brown, ^ who 
 had covered the advance of the infantry at 
 the beginning of the battle and had success- 
 fully held off the large mounted force of the 
 Marathas throughout the day's fighting. This 
 performance was a remarkable one, for Lieut. - 
 Colonel Brown had only 484 sabres in action 
 in his two regiments. 
 
 The British force encamped on the field of 
 battle, their front guarded by a cavalry picquet 
 on the rising ground near the first Maratha 
 position, and about half-way between the British 
 camp and the fortress of Dig. 
 
 The battle of Dig was won entirely by hard 
 fighting. General Fraser's wound proving 
 mortal, he was unable to write any despatch, 
 and it is therefore impossible to say what 
 his precise intentions were regarding the 
 conduct of the fight. The Marathas' position, 
 
 ' Afterwards Major-General Sir Thomas Brown, K.C.B.
 
 342 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 however, was unassailable save by a frontal 
 attack, and the resolution having been formed 
 to make this attack, it would appear that 
 Monson performed his task bravely and well. 
 An unfriendly critic^ has stated that General 
 Fraser's plans for the battle were admirable, 
 and that, after his fall, Monson made no 
 attempt to carry them out, neglecting to 
 make use of his native troops and concerning 
 himself only with leading the 76th and Bengal 
 Europeans. There appears to be little, if 
 any, truth in this accusation, and Monson 
 must be considered fortunate in obtaining this 
 opportunity of regaining his military reputa- 
 tion, and in having made a good use of it. 
 
 The British casualties in the battle of Dig 
 were very severe, amounting to 643, including 
 21 officers. The Maratha losses were, how- 
 ever, much heavier, it being believed that 
 nearly 2000 were either killed or drowned in 
 attempting to effect their escape. 
 
 The captured guns numbered 87, and among 
 them were 14 guns and 1 howitzer which 
 had been captured in Monson's retreat. There 
 were also six 18 -pounders, presented in 1792 
 to the Marathas at Serin gapatam, they being 
 
 ^ " A Military Autobiography " in the ' East Indian United 
 Service Journal,' vol. ii.
 
 MONSON RETIRES. 343 
 
 then our allies, — an interesting token of the 
 shifting conditions of Indian policy at this 
 period. In Brigadier-General Monson's report 
 on the battle of Dig, the mentions of officers 
 were confined to commanding officers and the 
 staff When forwarding the report to the 
 Governor - General, General Lake generously 
 stated his opinion that the victory surpassed 
 anything that had previously been done in 
 India, and expressed his belief that, in con- 
 junction with his own defeat of Holkar, it 
 had practically ended the war. 
 
 Monson unhappily displayed his fatal want 
 of judgment immediately after the victory, 
 writing to Lake that he intended to fall back 
 on Muttra for supplies. Lake justly com- 
 mented on this proposal that, as there were 
 ample supplies at Muttra, Monson should have 
 drawn them from there, for which purpose he 
 could easily have detached two regiments after 
 his victory : to fall back from Dig would be 
 looked upon by the natives as tantamount to 
 a retreat. Monson's retirement was indeed a 
 glaring error, for which there was no excuse. 
 It enabled some of Holkar's army to escape 
 and other portions to enter Dig, and it gave 
 the necessary encouragement to Holkar to con- 
 tinue the war.
 
 344 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 General Lake, who had left Fatehgarh on 
 November 20, hurried to Muttra to take over 
 charge of the army before Monson could do 
 any worse mischief, and arrived there on the 
 28th. 
 
 The Raja of Bhartpur, to whom Dig belonged, 
 was now an open foe, instead of a treacherous 
 ally. He had, as already stated, concluded a 
 treaty with the British Government after the 
 battle of Delhi, by which the possession of his 
 territories had been guaranteed to him. He 
 had, moreover, subsequently received, as a free 
 gift, lands nearly equal in value to one -third 
 of his original possessions. The Baja, almost 
 immediately after the conclusion of the treaty, 
 entered into a secret correspondence with 
 Holkar, and during the retreat of Monson's 
 detachment showed his intentions more boldly. 
 The climax was reached during the battle of 
 Dig, when a party of Bhartpur horse took an 
 active share in the fighting, and the fortress, 
 which belonged to the Baja, opened fire on 
 our infantry as they were capturing the posi- 
 tions held by Holkar's troops. General Lake 
 therefore decided to use his discretionary powers 
 and to commence immediate operations against 
 the Raja, in anticipation of the Governor- 
 General's approval. Lord Mornington, on Decem-
 
 LAKE MOVES AGAINST DIG. 345 
 
 ber 20, formally approved of General Lake's 
 proceedings, but Dig had fallen some days 
 before the arrival of his despatch. 
 
 Lake had advanced from Muttra on December 
 1, moving towards Dig, the garrison of which 
 place had been raised to great strength by 
 the inclusion of a portion of Holkar's infantry 
 and a number of his guns, which had escaped 
 capture in the battle of November 13. On 
 December 2 the army encamped in sight of 
 Dig, and halted for nine days, pending the 
 arrival of the reserve brigade and a small 
 battering- train, which were marching from Agra 
 under Lieut.- Colonel Don. During the halt 
 General Lake moved out repeatedly to recon- 
 noitre the country about Dig, on which occasions 
 Holkar's cavalry showed considerable boldness. 
 
 The troops arrived from Agra on December 
 10, and on the following day the army marched 
 in two columns 600 yards apart. The inter- 
 mediate space was occupied by the artillery, 
 baggage, and provision train ; the reserve brigade 
 formed an advanced - guard ; and the picquets, 
 strengthened by a regiment of cavalry, formed 
 a rear -guard. The camp-followers were still 
 inordinately numerous, and in the great square, 
 formed as described, there marched, writes Thorn, 
 " not less than 60,000 human beings, 200 ele-
 
 346 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 phants, 2000 camels, and 100,000 bullocks, at a 
 very moderate estimate." The army encamped 
 near the fortified village of Kasba Au, and on 
 December 13 proceeded, in the same order of 
 march as on the 11th, to the position selected 
 by the Commander-in-Chief for his attack on 
 the fortress. The ground selected for the en- 
 campment lay to the west of the town of Dig, 
 which was of considerable size, the circuit of 
 the walls being 4f miles. The town was sur- 
 rounded by lofty walls, with round bastions 
 connected by earthen ramparts. Within the 
 town was a citadel of about 150 yards 
 square, with ramparts 70 to 100 feet high 
 and 20 to 50 feet thick, surrounded by a wet 
 ditch. At the time of the attack the town 
 walls mounted thirty-one guns of all sizes, from 
 74-pounders to 4-pounders. The point chosen for 
 attack was the south - west angle, which is 
 formed by a small enclosed work called the 
 Shd,h Biirj, about 50 yards square, having an 
 exposed masonry wall 36 feet high, which 
 could be breached from a distance. Five 
 hundred yards south of this is a detached 
 work called Gopdl Garh. 
 
 Having taken up his position, General Lake 
 immediately opened his trenches against the 
 fortress, the reserve, under Colonel Don, first
 
 THE SIEGE- WORKS. 347 
 
 driving the Marathas from the grove of trees 
 from which it was desired to commence opera- 
 tions. The Pioneers, under Captain Swinton 
 and Lieutenant Forrest, immediately broke 
 ground, and worked so quickly through the 
 night that before daylight they had completed 
 a small parallel 300 yards long, and two small 
 batteries. On the evening of December 14 
 volunteers from the three British cavalry 
 regiments began the construction of a breach- 
 ing battery within 750 yards of the Shilh Biirj. 
 This battery was within easy range of the 
 detached fort of Gopal Garh, which was crowded 
 with matchlock-men, whose fire greatly annoyed 
 the working parties. Lake was apparently bent 
 on his main object, the capture of the entire 
 fortress, and would not spare the time that 
 would have been taken up by the previous 
 capture of Gopal Garh. The work on the 
 breaching battery was therefore hurried on, 
 and it was able to open fire with fourteen 
 guns on the morning of December 17. Their 
 fire, however, proved very ineffectual, and on 
 the 20th a second battery, at even closer 
 range, was erected, in order to bring a cross- 
 fire on the breach. The Marathas, on their 
 part, had used their guns with considerable 
 skill, and had managed to enfilade both the
 
 348 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 British batteries, until Colonel Horsford silenced 
 their fire by distributing his own guns in 
 several localities about the plain. The author 
 of "A Military Autobiography" says that the 
 enemy were throwing shells which, as they 
 were known to have come into their hands 
 during the retreat on Agra, were greeted 
 whenever they burst with cries of "Thank 
 you, Colonel Monson ! " 
 
 Beside the reinforcement which they had 
 afforded to the garrison of Dig, part of Holkar's 
 infantry were entrenched outside the walls, and 
 also held the ravines near the British attack, 
 thus adding greatly to the difficulties of the 
 operations. 
 
 At length a practicable breach was reported, 
 an assault was ordered, and at half-past eleven 
 on the night of December 23 a storming -party 
 moved down to the trenches. The force detailed 
 for the assault was divided into three columns. 
 The right column, consisting of four companies 
 of the Bengal European Regiment and five 
 companies 1st Battalion 12th Native Infantry, 
 under Captain Kelly, was ordered to carry 
 the enemy's batteries outside the fortress, 
 between the Sh^h Burj and Gopal Garh — that 
 is, on the right of the main attack. The left 
 column, composed of a like number of companies
 
 THE STORM OF DIG. 349 
 
 of the same regiments, under Major E-adclifte, 
 was to carry the entrenchments and batteries 
 on the left of the main attack. The centre 
 column, led by Lieut. -Colonel Macrae, consisting 
 of the flank companies of the 22nd, 76th, and 
 Bengal European regiments and the 1st Bat- 
 talion 8th Native Infantry, was to storm the 
 breach in the Shd>h Burj. 
 
 The centre column found the plain under the 
 breach so covered with the debris of the broken 
 walls that its progress in the darkness was 
 seriously impeded. The outer columns conse- 
 quently came into action first, springing into 
 the enemy's outworks, which they soon suc- 
 ceeded in capturing, forcing the enemy to seek 
 cover within the fortress, and securing the guns, 
 which they spiked. 
 
 In the meantime Macrae's column, having 
 with great difficulty crossed the plain, formed 
 up for the attack under cover of the walls of 
 the fortress, and the order to storm having 
 been given by Macrae, a rush was made up 
 the incline. The leading files, scrambling over 
 the broken masonry, gained the breach, when 
 there ensued a desperate fight for its possession. 
 The first few men who forced their way through 
 the breach were sabred by the enemy ; but the 
 rest of the column quickly followed, and.
 
 350 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 favoured by the darkness, flocked through the 
 breach, and charging forward, carried the south- 
 west bastion of the Shah Biirj. The enemy's 
 artillerymen showed great courage and deter- 
 mination, fighting with their tulwars against 
 the bayonets of our soldiers, until at last, over- 
 powered, they lay in mangled heaps around 
 their guns. 
 
 One of the first to mount the breach was 
 Charles Metcalfe, afterwards Lord Metcalfe, 
 then a young civilian aged nineteen, who had 
 been despatched from Calcutta by Lord Wellesley 
 to act as civil attache to the Commander-in- 
 Chief It is believed that some of the ofiicers 
 of Lake's staff had resented the presence of a 
 civil officer in the field, and that Metcalfe took 
 this opportunity of showing his martial instincts. 
 General Lake mentioned Metcalfe's gallantry in 
 his despatch, and ever after spoke of him as 
 " my young stormer." Metcalfe was the 
 nephew by marriage of Colonel Monson, his 
 mother being the sister of Mrs Monson. 
 
 Kelly's and Radcliffe's columns now joined 
 Macrae in the captured bastion ; and having 
 re-formed, the united force attacked the main 
 walls of the fortress to the south and west, 
 most of the bastions being carried at the 
 point of the bayonet.
 
 THE CAPTURE COMPLETED. 351 
 
 The British column now formed up inside the 
 walls and advanced towards the gate of the 
 citadel. Preparations were made for its capture, 
 and Lieutenant G. Pollock,^ Bengal Artillery, 
 was detailed to blow in the gate. 
 
 Some unavoidable delay occurred before the 
 citadel could be assaulted, and its garrison, who 
 had been alarmed by the determined attack of 
 our troops on the Shah Burj, took advantage 
 of the respite afforded them and stole secretly 
 away during the night of December 24, mak- 
 ing for Bhartpur. Thus on Christmas morning, 
 after a siege of twelve days. Dig was in 
 General Lake's hands. 
 
 The cost of the operations was by no means 
 heavy, the killed numbering 4 officers and 39 
 men; 13 officers and 171 men were wounded. 
 Captain Effingham Lindsay, who commanded 
 the flank companies of the 22nd, received two 
 wounds, and three of his subalterns were 
 wounded. Among other casualties in the 22nd 
 was Sergeant Shipp, of whom we shall hear 
 more. 
 
 The capture of Dig appears to have been, in 
 a considerable measure, due to the neglect of 
 the Marathas to repair the breach in the Shah 
 Burj prior to the assault. Their neglect to 
 
 ^ Afterwards Field-Marshal Sir George Pollock.
 
 352 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 do SO is probably attributable to over-confidence 
 in the strong works outside the fortress, which 
 might well have been expected to hold their 
 own against the weak flanking columns of 
 assault. 
 
 The British -Indian infantry, indeed, showed 
 very fine fighting quality in the assault at 
 Dig, and the easy triumph which resulted con- 
 tributed, with that at Aligarh, to encourage 
 General Lake in his belief that his army, if 
 boldly led, could achieve any capture. For this 
 belief he was, unfortunately, soon to sufler. 
 
 In his despatch General Lake laid special 
 stress on the good services of Colonel Horsford 
 and the artillery, thanking also the leaders of 
 the three columns of assault, and in addition, 
 Lieut. - Colonel Ball of the 1st Battalion 8th 
 Native Infantry, Captain Lindsay of the 22nd 
 Regiment, and Captain Robertson and Lieu- 
 tenant Smith of the Engineers. Both of the 
 officers of Pioneers, Captain Swinton and Lieu- 
 tenant Forrest, were severely wounded during 
 the operations. Lieutenant Forrest sustaining 
 twenty-one wounds. He was left on the ground 
 for dead, but recovered with the loss of an arm. 
 
 One hundred guns were captured at Dig, and 
 the loss of life among the Jats and Marathas 
 was great.
 
 NO QUARTER TO DESERTERS. 353 
 
 John Shipp states in his memoirs that when 
 the British army marched into Dig they found 
 five companies of sepoys who had deserted 
 during Colonel Monson's retreat. The sepoys, 
 wearing the uniform in which they had deserted, 
 stood "outside the principal gate of the fort, 
 with their arms ordered, without apparently 
 making any resistance, and frequently crying 
 out, ' Englishmen, Englishmen, pray do not kill 
 us ; for God's sake do not kill us.' As these 
 supplications," continues the worthy Shipp, 
 " proceeded rather from fear than from penitence 
 for the crime they had been guilty of, — that of 
 deserting to an enemy, — these men could ex- 
 pect no mercy. We had positive orders to 
 give them no quarter, and they were most of 
 them shot." The order to give no quarter 
 was probably directed against the garrison of 
 Hinglazgarh, who are said by Colonel Skinner 
 to have entered Holkar's service. 
 
 General Lake left the 1st Battalion 4th 
 Native Infantry in garrison and marched from 
 Dig for Bhartpur on December 28. He was 
 joined on the 31st, while on the march thither, 
 by Major-General Dowdeswell ^ with the 75th 
 
 ^ Major-General Dowdeswell was an officer of the Guards who 
 had served under Lake at Lincelles. He had accompanied Lord 
 William Bentinck to Madras as private secretaiy, and, on promo- 
 
 Z
 
 354 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 Regiment and a convoy of stores. After this 
 reinforcement the strength of the army was 
 about 7800 men, thus composed : — 
 
 British cavalry . . . . 800 
 
 Native h .... 1600 
 
 British infantry . . . .1000 
 
 Native ,. .... 4400 
 
 The Engineer department was represented by 
 three officers and three companies of Pioneers, 
 each under an infantry officer. The ordnance 
 comprised 61 guns and 18 howitzers and mor- 
 tars, manned by 15 officers and 200 European 
 artillerymen, with about 800 native gun-lascars 
 and golundaz, part of whom had recently joined 
 from Sindhia's service. Of the 61 guns, only 
 six 18 -pounders were heavy enough for siege 
 operations. 
 
 With this weak and ill-equipped force General 
 Lake had to choose between two tasks, for 
 either of which it was inadequate. He could 
 either leave the Raja of Bhartpur to be dealt 
 with subsequently and devote his energies to 
 the pursuit of Holkar, or he might decide to 
 attack Bhartpur, and so, by its capture and 
 
 tion to Major-General, was requested to join the army in the field. 
 After the close of the operations at Bhartpur General Dowdeswell 
 commanded the troops in the Doab. He subsequently retired from 
 the army and became well known as a print-collector.
 
 WHY LAKE ATTACKED BHARTPUR. 355 
 
 that of the remaining strongholds in that state, 
 which were of no strength, deprive Holkar of 
 his last - remaining footing in Hindustan, and 
 ensure his eventual destruction. 
 
 Lake, as we already know, had decided on 
 the second course. His cavalry were for the 
 time in no condition to undertake another rapid 
 pursuit of Holkar, and Skinner had been 
 despatched to Aligarh to raise more irregulars. 
 These could not take the field for a couple of 
 months at any rate, and Lake therefore decided 
 to utilise this period by the capture of Bhartpur. 
 He apparently felt no doubt of his ability to 
 perform this task, in spite of the weakness of 
 his army and the inadequacy of his siege 
 artillery, and the history of the war justified 
 him in his confidence. Aligarh, Agra, and 
 Gwalior were among the strongest fortresses in 
 India, and, until the coming of Lake, had 
 been considered impregnable ; yet Aligarh had 
 been captured in a morning, and Agra and 
 Gwalior had surrendered to avoid a storm. 
 Dig, also a powerful and strongly garrisoned 
 town, had just fallen a very easy prey to his arms. 
 Lake cannot be fairly blamed for believing that 
 he would be equally successful at Bhartpur. 
 
 Lake therefore began the New Year by march- 
 ing confidently forward, his army as light-hearted
 
 356 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 as himself, and on January 2, 1805, he encamped 
 about two miles south-west of Bhartpur. The 
 march had been a long and tedious one, and 
 the troops therefore gladly rested on the follow- 
 ing day, while the quartermasters' establish- 
 ments of the various corps were employed in 
 collecting materials for fascines and gabions, 
 and in constructing them under the superintend- 
 ence of Lieutenant Robertson, the senior officer 
 of Engineers. 
 
 The fortress of Bhartpur, now to become 
 famous, stands upon a plain amidst jungle and 
 water, and is distant about thirty miles W.N.W. 
 of Agra. The town has a perimeter of about 
 five miles, and in 1805 was surrounded by an 
 immense mud wall of very rude design, but 
 practically impervious to artillery fire. Outside 
 the wall was a wet ditch of varying depth. 
 The srarrison is believed to have amounted to 
 50,000 men, amply provided with food and 
 military stores : large numbers of guns were 
 mounted on the bastions, and Holkar was out- 
 side, with a large force, to hamper the besieg- 
 ing army. The point of attack having already 
 been chosen, the encampment was located so as 
 to face it, and on the evening of January 3 a 
 party of infantry with two guns, under Lieut. - 
 Colonel Maitland, 75th Regiment, occupied a
 
 OPENING OF THE SIEGE. 357 
 
 garden surrounded by a low mud wall, distant 
 about 1200 yards from the wall of Bhartpur. 
 From this garden one bastion, with part of the 
 ramparts, was visible, the view elsewhere being 
 obstructed by dense jungle. About 500 yards in 
 advance of this garden, or 700 yards from the 
 rampart, a breaching battery for six 18 -pounders 
 was constructed. On either side of it, and about 
 400 yards apart, two small fortified posts were 
 constructed, in order to protect the battery from 
 enfilade fire from the adjoining jungle. The 
 battery opened fire early on January 7, work hav- 
 ing been pushed forward with the utmost haste ; 
 but as it had been built entirely of brushwood, 
 and constructed so hastily, the fire was therefore 
 not directed on the exact point of the curtain 
 that it had been intended to breach. The point 
 of attack being now made evident, the enemy 
 occupied positions outside the walls from which 
 they could bring a flanking fire on any attacking 
 force, and also deepened the ditch in front of 
 the incipient breach. 
 
 During the night of the 7th trenches were 
 dug connecting the battery with the two flank- 
 ing posts, and eight mortars were placed on the 
 right of the battery. 
 
 On January 8 the augmented battery opened 
 fire on the town and on the enemy's posts out-
 
 358 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 side the ditch, as well as on the breach, which 
 was reported practicable in the course of the 
 day. Efforts were also made, but without effect, 
 to prevent the enemy from stockading and re- 
 pairing the breach during the night following, 
 on which the Commander-in-Chief intended to 
 assault. On January 9, therefore, the breaching 
 battery kept up a heavy fire all day, until at dusk 
 the troops told off for the storming-party went 
 to the front and compelled a cessation of the fire. 
 The stormers were thus distributed : — 
 
 Main Attack (Lieut. - Colonel Maitland, 75th Eegiment, 
 commanding) — 
 
 Flank Companies of the 22nd, 75th, 76th, and Bengal 
 European Regiments. In aU about 500 men. 
 
 1st Battalion 8th and 2nd Battalion 12th Native In- 
 fantry. 
 
 Four 6-pounders. 
 Eight Attack (Major Hawkes commanding) — 
 
 Two Companies 75th Regiment. 
 
 1st Battalion 2nd Native Infantry. 
 
 Two 6-pounders. 
 Left Attack (Lieut.-Colonel Rayne ^ commanding) — 
 
 100 men of the Bengal European Regiment. 
 
 2nd Battalion 22nd Native Infantry. 
 
 Two 6-pounders. 
 
 The main attack was headed by a forlorn -hope 
 of twelve European volunteers, led by Sergeant 
 
 ^ This officer, called Ryan or Kyan in the despatches, was 
 Colonel Robert Rayne of the Bengal European Regiment, a cadet 
 of 1769, who became a Major-General in 1808, and died 1810.
 
 THE FIRST ASSAULT FAILS. 359 
 
 Shipp, 22nd Regiment, who had been severely 
 wounded at Dig. The orders to Major Hawkes 
 were to attack the enemy's position near the 
 Anah gate, and afterwards the gate itself. 
 Should this prove impossible, he was to move 
 to his left and proceed down to support the 
 main attack. In like manner, Lieut. - Colonel 
 Kayne was ordered to attack the Kumbhir 
 gate, and if possible to carry it : he was also 
 to support the main attack. 
 
 The ground between their starting-point and 
 the places they were ordered to attack had not 
 been examined by any of the leaders of columns, 
 nor were they provided with guides. The ground 
 traversed was broken, and in many places there 
 were deep pools of water. It is therefore almost 
 a matter of surprise that any of them reached 
 their objective. That the attack failed can 
 cause no surprise whatever. 
 
 The right column was the most successful, 
 for Major Hawkes found the position before 
 the Anah gate, captured it at the point of 
 the bayonet, and spiked three of the guns. 
 Instead, however, of carrying out his orders 
 to attack the gate, he then proceeded to join 
 the main attack. Lieut. -Colonel Rayne failed to 
 reach the Kumbhir gate, and was compelled 
 to return. As for the main attack, a part only
 
 360 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 of the column reached the ditch. The flank 
 companies of the 22nd Regiment did, however, 
 succeed in arriving at a point opposite the 
 breach, and a party of twenty-three men, under 
 Lieutenant Manser, crossed the ditch, though 
 the water was breast-high. Lieutenant Manser 
 ordered his men to sit down under cover, while 
 he went in search of the rest of the column. 
 
 The whole main attack, with the finest 
 courage, gradually closed on the point of 
 attack, and Lieut. -Colonel Maitland showed 
 desperate determination, repeatedly leading 
 small parties of men forward to the attack. 
 After receiving several wounds, he was at last 
 shot through the head and instantaneously 
 killed near the top of the breach. In these 
 efforts Maitland was seconded by many devoted 
 ofiicers ; but such isolated attacks could by no 
 possibility succeed, and merely caused a fruitless 
 loss of life. The defenders of Bhartpur had 
 stockaded the breach, and during the attack 
 and the subsequent retirement poured a terrific 
 fire on the British columns while themselves 
 in perfect safety. The first assault consequently 
 failed with heavy loss, the killed numbering 
 4 ofiicers and 96 men, and the wounded 23 
 officers and 341 men. The losses of the 
 Europeans were very heavy, particularly in
 
 KENEWED EFFORTS. 361 
 
 the flank companies of the 22nd and 75th 
 Regiments, which latter regiment had its com- 
 manding officer killed and 8 officers wounded. 
 As only four companies of the regiment were 
 engaged, it appears that most of the officers 
 employed were killed or wounded. 
 
 Disastrous as this attempt had proved, Lake 
 and his army neither lost confidence nor 
 slackened their effi^rts. On the contrary, two 
 new batteries were constructed, in one of which 
 were placed four 18 -pounders and two fresh 
 24-pounders, brought over from Dig. Fire was 
 concentrated on a portion of the curtain to the 
 right of the bastion between the Anah and 
 Kumbhir gates, the previous breach having 
 been to the left of that bastion. The new 
 breach was consequently nearer the Anah gate 
 than the old one. 
 
 On this breach the guns kept up a fairly 
 heavy fire from January 15 to 20, and many 
 shells were thrown into the town, causing a 
 number of casualties among the crowded de- 
 fenders. Among the slain was a brother of 
 the Eaja, who was killed while looking at the 
 British dead lying in the old breach by a single 
 aimed shell fired by Captain Nelly of the Bengal 
 Artillery ; and the eldest son of the Raja was 
 also wounded in the arm by a chance shot.
 
 362 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 On January 18 Major-General Smith joined 
 the army with three battalions of Native In- 
 fantry and 100 European convalescents — in all, 
 about 1600 men. General Smith, like Lake, 
 had been an officer of the First Guards, in 
 which regiment he served twenty - five years. 
 He had also served under Lake in the cam- 
 paign of 1793-94 in the Netherlands. Ismail 
 Beg, an independent chief in Holkar's army, 
 also joined the British, bringing with him 500 
 of his followers. On the other hand, the Baja 
 of Bhartpur, who possessed great wealth, bought 
 the alliance of Amir Khan by a gift of six 
 lakhs of rupees. 
 
 In view of a renewed assault, it was felt that a 
 reconnaissance of the ground up to the ditch and 
 an examination of the ditch itself were necessary. 
 A reconnaissance in force was at first contem- 
 plated, but as this would have entailed a heavy 
 loss of life, an offer made by some volunteers was 
 accepted. On January 20 a havildar and three 
 troopers of the 3rd Bengal Cavalry, under pre- 
 tence of being deserters, rode down to the ditch 
 pursued and fired at by a party of sepoys. The 
 horsemen succeeded in reaching the ditch and in 
 riding along it as far as the Anah gate, but the 
 reconnaissance thus effected was too hurried to 
 be trustworthy. They reported that the new
 
 A HASTY RECONNAISSANCE. 363 
 
 breach was practicable, and that the ditch in 
 front of it was 28 feet wide and not deep.^ 
 Three ladders, covered with laths and broad 
 enough to carry two men abreast, had been 
 prepared to act as floating ditches, and on this 
 favourable report an assault was ordered for 
 the following morning. On this occasion the 
 troops detailed for the attack were taken into 
 the trenches before daylight on January 21, with 
 orders to advance about noon or whenever the 
 batteries should have been able to destroy any 
 repairs that the Marathas might have efleeted 
 at the breach. This took longer than was ex- 
 pected, and it was not until 3 p.m. that the 
 attacking force left the trenches. It was divided 
 into two columns, — the right, under Lieut. -Colonel 
 Simpson, having orders to attack the Anah gate ; 
 and the left, commanded by Lieut. - Colonel 
 Macrae, 75th Regiment, being ordered to storm 
 the breach. Lieut, -Colonel Macrae's column was 
 headed by the following parties from the four 
 British regiments : — 
 
 120 of the 75th, 150 of the 76th, 100 of the 
 First Bengal Europeans, and 50 of the flank 
 companies of the 22nd. This party was led by 
 Captain Lindsay of the 22nd, who had been 
 
 ^ One of these sowars was still serving in January 1826, and was 
 present with his regiment at the capture of Bhartpur in that month.
 
 364 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 severely wounded at the assault of Dig, but now 
 threw away his crutch and marched with his 
 left arm in a sling. In support of the British 
 detachments followed the 2nd Battalion 15th 
 and the 2nd Battalion 22nd Native Infantry, 
 and four 6-pounder guns, while the remainder 
 of the 75 th and 76 th Begiments were ordered 
 to form a covering party and to keep down the 
 fire from the ramparts during the assault. A 
 picked body of Europeans carried the portable 
 bridges, in the use of which they had been prac- 
 tised, and the scaling-ladders were entrusted to 
 a party of native pioneers. Lieut. - Colonel 
 Macrae moved straight on the breach, and on 
 reaching a dry tank some 200 yards from it, 
 he halted his column under cover of the bank 
 and went forward himself with the bridges, 
 scaling-ladders, and a small party of Europeans. 
 On reaching the ditch, Macrae found that 
 instead of being 28 feet it was 40 feet 
 across. An attempt was made to lengthen the 
 bridges by lashing scaling-ladders to them, but 
 this failed. Lieutenant Morris, with some men 
 of the Bengal European Begiment, swam the 
 ditch and mounted the breach, Morris being 
 twice wounded ; but it was evident that no 
 assault was possible, and Lieut. -Colonel Macrae 
 wisely ordered a retirement. The right column
 
 A SECOND FAILURE. 365 
 
 meanwhile had reached the Anah gate, but 
 failed to force it, and Lieut. -Colonel Simpson 
 therefore united with the main column and 
 assisted to carry away the four 6-pounders, which 
 had gallantly come into action in the opening 
 close to the breach and had suffered some loss. 
 The second assault on Bhartpur was thus as 
 complete a failure as the first, and for the same 
 reason — insufficient reconnaissance prior to the 
 assault. On this occasion the breach was found 
 practicable, and had more care been taken to 
 ascertain how the ditch could be bridged, the 
 assault would probably have succeeded. 
 
 The casualties among the Europeans were 
 18 officers and 284 men killed and wounded, 
 and there were 285 casualties in the native 
 regiments engaged. The European portion of 
 the main column, being in front, suffered ter- 
 ribly. Of the 50 men of the 22nd, 41 were 
 killed or wounded, and the gallant Sergeant 
 Shipp, who led as usual, was dangerously 
 wounded. The 120 of the 75th lost 111, the 
 150 of the 76th lost 75, and the 100 Bengal 
 Europeans lost 40. Nearly all the officers 
 of the European detachments were killed or 
 wounded. The gallant Captain Lindsay ^ of the 
 
 ^ Captain Effingham Lindsay became a major-general in the 
 Gazette on the accession of William IV.
 
 366 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 22nd lost his leg ; the 75 th had three officers 
 wounded ; and the 76th, already so cruelly 
 reduced, had two officers killed and three 
 wounded. The enemy disgraced themselves 
 by barbarously murdering all the wounded who 
 could not be carried away. This massacre took 
 place in full view of the British trenches, and 
 seriously affected the moral of the army. 
 
 Amir Khan had now appeared on the scenes, 
 and while the second assault was in progress 
 the whole plain in rear of Lake's army was 
 covered by his cavalry and that of Holkar and 
 the Bhartpur Baja. Lake, with his cavalry and 
 horse artillery, moved out to cover the camp, 
 and inflicted some loss on the enemy ; but the 
 British camp was for a time as much besieged 
 as was Bhartpur itself. 
 
 Lake published a General Order warmly 
 thanking the troops engaged in the second 
 assault for their gallantry and steadiness, and 
 assuring the army of his confidence that, in a 
 very few days, this good conduct and courage 
 would be rewarded by the possession of Bhartpur. 
 
 After the failure of the second assault the 
 army lay inactive before the fortress for a con- 
 siderable time. It was necessary to select an 
 easier point of attack, and at first there was 
 also a scarcity of supplies. General Lake was
 
 LOSS OF A CONVOY. 367 
 
 also watching for an opportunity of dealing a 
 blow at Holkar and Amir Khan. 
 
 While efforts were being made to find a weak 
 point in the defences of Bhartpur, two convoys 
 were despatched, from Muttra and Agra respec- 
 tively, carrying provisions to the army. The 
 Muttra convoy, of 12,000 bullocks, guarded by 
 a few matchlock -men, was met on January 22 
 by the 1st Bengal Cavalry and the 1st Bat- 
 talion 15th Native Infantry, under Captain 
 Walsh of the former corps, — an insufficient force 
 for the purpose. Amir Khan, hearing of the 
 weakness of Walsh's detachment, attacked him 
 on the march at the head of 8000 horse and 
 foot, with four guns. Captain Walsh took post 
 in a village and defended as much of the convoy 
 as he could collect, but was about to be crushed 
 by superior numbers when rescued by Lieut. - 
 Colonel Need, at the head of the 27th Light 
 Dragoons and the 2nd Bengal Cavalry. The 
 gallant escort, seeing the dust raised by Need's 
 regiments, imagined that General Lake, with 
 all the cavalry, was coming to their rescue, and 
 were so animated as to sally forth from their 
 village and make a vigorous bayonet charge on 
 Amir Khan's infantry, 600 of whom were killed, 
 being deserted by their cavalry. Amir Khan 
 himself narrowly escaped capture, getting away
 
 368 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 on foot and in disguise. Of the 12,000 bullock- 
 loads of grain, however, but 1800 reached the 
 army. It is to be regretted that Captain 
 Walsh, when he saw the cavalry coming to 
 his assistance, could not refrain from exclaim- 
 ing, "A friend in need is a friend indeed." 
 
 On the day after this affair, General Lake 
 despatched a strong escort of three regiments 
 of cavalry and three battalions of infantry under 
 Lieut. - Colonel Patrick Don to Agra, to guard 
 the second convoy, which was a very large and 
 important one, consisting of 50,000 bullocks 
 carrying grain, 800 bullock-carts of stores and 
 ammunition (including 8000 rounds of 18-pounder 
 shot for the breaching battery), and six lakhs 
 of rupees. This immense convoy left Agra on 
 January 28, and proved an irresistible bait to 
 Amir Khan and his allies. Holkar, Amir Khan, 
 and Bapuji Sindhia all sallied forth with a large 
 force of infantry and every mounted man they 
 had at their command. When this force, for- 
 midable at least in numbers, was weU away 
 from Bhartpur, Lake fearlessly pursued them 
 with the remainder of his cavalry and two bat- 
 talions of infantry. The enemy were so alarmed 
 at finding themselves between the convoy and 
 Lake's force, that far from endeavouring to 
 capture the convoy, they sheered off to a re-
 
 AMIR KHANS RAID. 369 
 
 spectful distance, and the convoy was eventually 
 brought into camp without the loss of a bullock. 
 
 The Raja of Bhartpur now saw that he was 
 getting a very poor return for the six lakhs of 
 rupees that he had given to Amir Khan, and 
 taunted the latter with his failure. Amir Khan, 
 who had relied on filling his pockets, and had 
 lost both men and reputation instead of so 
 doing, was also discontented. He therefore 
 determined to make a raid into Bohilkhand, his 
 native country, thinking that he would there 
 obtain ample plunder, and that Lake could not 
 spare troops to pursue him. He had good 
 reason to suppose so, but little knew Lake's 
 dauntless courage and determination. 
 
 Amir Khan therefore left the allied army and 
 crossed the Jumna on February 7 with his 
 whole mounted force and as many of Holkar's 
 irregulars as were willing to accompany him. 
 Lake, on the following day, despatched Major- 
 General Smith in pursuit with the Horse Artil- 
 lery, the three British cavalry regiments, and 
 the 1st, 3rd, and 6th Bengal Cavalry. Charles 
 Metcalfe accompanied General Smith as political 
 adviser, and rendered valuable services. Amir 
 Khan's raid was entirely frustrated, for Major- 
 General Smith's force followed him so closely 
 through the Doab that he had no time for 
 
 2 A
 
 370 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 operations against the large towns, which alone 
 were worth robbing. On passing Aligarh (Feb- 
 ruary 11), General Smith picked up Captain 
 Skinner with 500 of his horse, who did excel- 
 lent service. During the pursuit the whole 
 British force forded the Ganges at a point 
 where it was nearly a mile wide, though the 
 stream, at the time of crossing, was not more 
 than half that width. 
 
 On arriving at Moradabad (February 18) the 
 cavalry found Mr Leycester,^ the collector, gal- 
 lantly defending his house, which he had con- 
 verted into a miniature fortress. Aided by 
 the local residents and their servants and a few 
 militia, Mr Leycester had successfully repulsed 
 several assaults, when General Smith's force for- 
 tunately came up and prevented an inevitable 
 disaster. 
 
 After a long and pertinacious pursuit through- 
 out eastern Rohilkhand, General Smith at last 
 succeeded in bringing Amir Khan to action on 
 March 2 at Afzalgarh. 
 
 The British force — from which was deducted 
 the 3rd Bengal Cavalry, left in charge of the 
 baggage — numbered about 1400 regular cavalry, 
 
 ^ William Leycester, the hero of this exploit, which resembled 
 the defence of Arrah in the Indian Mutiny of 1857, entered the 
 Indian Civil Service in 1791, and, after a distinguished career, 
 died in India in 1831.
 
 AFZALGARH. 371 
 
 with Skinner's 500 irregulars in addition. It 
 came up with Amir Khan's force at two in the 
 afternoon, and found it drawn up in order of 
 battle, with the Kamgunga river in its front and 
 the Kumaon hills in the rear. The small British 
 force, having forded the river, was formed up in 
 two lines — the first consisting of the 27th and 
 29th Light Dragoons ; and the second, of the 
 8 th Light Dragoons and the 6th Bengal Cavalry. 
 Skinner's horse were ordered to guard the left, 
 and the 1st Bengal Cavalry the right flank, 
 but there was not time to complete this dis- 
 position. As the first line advanced from the 
 river the enemy advanced also, on which the 
 Horse Artillery went to the front and opened 
 a brisk fire. At this moment about 500 of the 
 enemy's Kohilla horsemen suddenly charged, 
 and the General, seeing his artillery imperilled, 
 ordered the 27th Light Dragoons to advance 
 through the guns and repel them. Barely had 
 the 27th passed through the guns when the 
 E-ohillas were upon them, and taking them thus 
 at the walk, drove them back in confusion on 
 the guns. Captain Brown was unable to fire 
 into the mingled mass of friend and foe, and a 
 disaster seemed imminent, when the prompt 
 action of a squadron leader saved the day. 
 Captain George Deare, whose squadron of the
 
 372 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 8th Light Dragoons was on the right flank of 
 the second Hne, advanced, and wheeling to the 
 left, charged down the front and drove off" the 
 Rohillas in headlong flight. 
 
 While the frontal attack was thus repulsed, 
 those made on either flank of the British force 
 also failed, Skinner's horse charging with great 
 eflect on the left, while on the right the fire of 
 the galloper guns proved highly eflective. The 
 loss of the British was not more than forty 
 killed and wounded, but Amir Khan's force was 
 severely punished. A number of his best officers 
 were killed, and a body of his Bohilla country- 
 men, who had joined him and fought very 
 courageously as infantry, fell almost to a man. 
 
 On March 5 Major-General Smith's force arrived 
 at Moradabad, and found that Amir Khan had 
 passed by the town on the previous day. Leav- 
 ing his wounded, Smith marched to Bareilly 
 in order to protect southern Bohilkhand from 
 the marauder. Two other British detachments 
 were now in the field farther north, Colonel 
 Burn having come down from Saharunpur, and 
 a mounted force under Captain Murray acting 
 in CO - operation with him. The latter force 
 inflicted a severe defeat on Amir Khan on 
 March 8, at Chandpur, near Amroha. The 
 result of these movements was that Amir
 
 GENERAL SMITH'S EXPLOIT. 373 
 
 Khan suddenly abandoned Rohilkhand, recross- 
 ing the Ganges and making his way to Bhart- 
 pur, whence he presently departed to Bundel- 
 khand. Major-General Smith followed him to 
 Bhartpur, rejoining the army there on March 
 23 after an effective pursuit of over 700 miles 
 in forty-four days — a noteworthy exploit for an 
 infantry general.^ 
 
 During his absence two more attempts had 
 been made to storm the fortress. 
 
 General Lake had decided that the strength 
 of the Kumbhir and Anah gates, and the depth 
 of the portion of the ditch lying between them, 
 rendered further attacks in that quarter im- 
 possible, and on information that there was 
 much less water farther east, he decided to 
 take up fresh ground in that direction. This 
 was also desirable for sanitary reasons, so on 
 February 6 the army changed position, encamp- 
 ing with its left nearly opposite the Anah gate 
 and its right facing the Nimdar gate. It was 
 determined to breach between the two bastions 
 nearest to the Anah gate. 
 
 A grave oversight was the neglect to capture 
 an advanced post on some rising ground opposite 
 the Nimdar gate. A battery was constructed 
 
 1 Major-General John Smith did not long survive this exploit. 
 He died at Muttra on August 6, 1806.
 
 374 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 to fire on the post, but It cannot be doubted it 
 should have been taken before any attempt was 
 made to attack Bhartpur itself from this quarter. 
 
 On February 11 the army received a con- 
 siderable accession of strength from the arrival 
 in camp of the Bombay column, formerly com- 
 manded by Colonel Murray. This officer had 
 been removed from his command in consequence 
 of his failure to assist Colonel Monson, and the 
 column was now commanded by Major-General 
 Bichard Jones of the Bombay Artillery. Great 
 interest was felt by the Bengal army in this 
 meeting with Bombay troops, whose appearance 
 was jealously scanned. The Bombay men had 
 been five years on active service, and it was 
 generally admitted by candid spectators that 
 they had a business-like look. They carried 
 much less baggage with them than did the 
 troops of Bengal. There was a fine emulation 
 between the troops of the two Presidencies, — 
 the Bombay men requesting that as newcomers 
 they might be given the next chance of action, 
 while the Bengal troops, worn as they were, 
 begged to be allowed to finish off their work. 
 
 They had, indeed, shown the utmost zeal 
 and cheerfulness in trying conditions, and the 
 officers and men of the Bengal European Regi- 
 ment, good fighters all, had been conspicuous
 
 THE "DIRTY SHIRTS." 375 
 
 for their exertions in the trenches. The Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, who personally supervised the 
 field-works, frequently thanked them for their 
 hard work, and on one occasion (says the regi- 
 mental history) some of the men of the regiment 
 apologised to the Chief for their dirty appear- 
 ance, urging as an excuse that they had not 
 found time to change their shirts for several 
 weeks. General Lake remarked approvingly 
 that their dirty shirts were an honour to 
 the wearers, showing that they had willingly 
 sacrificed comfort to duty ; and his Excellency 
 used frequently to address the regiment as 
 his own " Dirty Shirts," — a name which was 
 treasured with pride by the Bengal regiment ever 
 afterwards. Some handsome pieces of plate on 
 the mess - table of that famous old corps are 
 inscribed as the gift of " An old Dirty Shirt." ^ 
 Major General Jones' force consisted of — 
 
 1 Troop Bombay Cavalry. 
 
 500 Irregular Horse. 
 
 65th Regiment (8 companies). 
 
 86th Regiment. 
 
 2nd Battalion 1st Bombay Native Infantry. 
 
 2nd II 2nd h n 
 
 1st II 3rd II II 
 
 1st II 9th II II 
 
 Two 12-pounders, twelve 6-pounders, two field howitzers. 
 
 1 From the ' History of the Bengal European Regiment,' by 
 Lieut.-Colonel Innes.
 
 376 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 In all, about 700 Europeans and 2400 native 
 cavalry and infantry. 
 
 The batteries had now been at work for 
 several days, and on the day on which the 
 Bombay troops arrived the new breach was 
 reported practicable. The mistake of breaching 
 before the arrangements for assault were com- 
 plete was thus repeated. 
 
 On this same night a trench leading up to 
 the bastion nearest the Anah gate was com- 
 menced, while on their part the enemy not only 
 stockaded the breach but built a mud wall in 
 support of the stockade. The enemy's artillery 
 fire was unsubdued, and our gunners now found 
 Lake's punctilio in regard to uniform highly 
 inconvenient, for whenever the General and his 
 staff visited the trenches their scarlet coats and 
 plumed hats brought down a shower of shot. 
 This continued until a plain-spoken captain of 
 artillery told George Lake that his feathers 
 endangered the life of every man in the battery, 
 and begged him to lay them aside when he 
 came down there, — a request that was after- 
 wards complied with by all the staff. ^ 
 
 The third assault was ordered to be made 
 on February 20, and there was now a sufficient 
 
 ' " Military Autobiography," ' East Indian United Service 
 Journal.'
 
 A DARING SORTIE. 377 
 
 force for the purpose ; but a fatal want of care 
 regarding details marred the design. A suf- 
 ficient number of troops was not kept in the 
 approaches, and this fact becoming known to 
 the enemy, a daring and successful sortie was 
 made from Bhartpur early on the morning of 
 February 19. On this occasion the assailants, 
 accompanied by coolies and women (a fact which 
 shows how thoroughly they knew the state of 
 aifairs in the British approaches), made their way 
 to a newly constructed battery and destroyed 
 it, emptying and carrying away the sand-bags. 
 Such an incident should surely have pre- 
 vented an opportunity bein^ given for another 
 surprise, but on the following morning — the very 
 day on which the assault was ordered — a general 
 sortie was made from the town, and the whole 
 of the trenches were attacked. The scene was 
 a curious one. The enemy ran along the crest 
 of the trenches, aiming blows with their spears 
 and swords at the troops crowded below them 
 in the trenches, and awaiting the order to 
 assault. The bold assailants were eventually 
 cleared off by the flank companies of the 22nd, 
 whose conduct was conspicuous on every occa- 
 sion, and the British batteries opened fire on 
 the defences that had been constructed in the 
 breach.
 
 378 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 The troops for the assault had been formed 
 in three columns, as follows : — 
 
 Right Column (Lieut.-Colonel Taylor) — 
 
 65th Eegiment, 300 men. 
 
 1st Grenadier Battalion Bombay Native Infantry. 
 
 1st Battalion 3rd n ti 
 
 Centre Column (Captain Grant, 86th Regiment) — 
 
 86th Regiment, 200 men. 
 
 1st Battalion 8th Bengal Native Infantry. 
 Left Column (Lieut.-Colonel Patrick Don) — 
 
 22nd Regiment. 
 
 75th M 
 
 76th n 
 
 Bengal European Regiment. 
 
 1st Battalion 12 th Bengal Native Infantry. 
 
 2nd ,1 12th ., u 
 
 1st II 15th II II 
 
 Of these, the right and centre columns were 
 destined to make auxiliary attacks, while the 
 strong left column was to assault the breach. 
 
 The right column was ordered to make a 
 detour far to the right and to force the Bhim 
 Narayan gate, which was reported easy of 
 access. The column was led by its guide under 
 the fire of the town, lost its scaling-ladders, 
 and had a 12-pounder gun dismounted. It was 
 then ordered to return to camp. The centre 
 column carried out its orders successfully. Ad- 
 vancing at 3 P.M., the hour named for the 
 assault, it advanced and carried the high 
 ground opposite the Nimdar gate, capturing
 
 THE THIRD ASSAULT. 379 
 
 eleven guns and pursuing the enemy up to the 
 Atil gate, which was only closed as the head 
 of the column reached it. For a moment it 
 appeared as if Grant and his little column 
 would actually effect an entrance, and Lake's 
 ready expectation of success was aroused, but 
 it was soon disappointed. 
 
 This success should have rendered the task 
 of the assaulting column comparatively easy, 
 but, sad to relate, the attack ignominiously 
 failed on account of the misconduct of those 
 very troops who had so often covered them- 
 selves with glory. The signal for the advance 
 was the sound of the attack of the centre 
 column, which was heard about 4 p.m. Fifty 
 men of the main attack were then to approach 
 the breach by way of the trench, which had 
 been constructed to the very edge of the ditch : 
 they were then to file outwards and open fire 
 on the wall to the right and left of the breach, 
 while the storming - party advanced to the 
 attack. 
 
 The troops had now been waiting many hours 
 in a hot sun. They had been considerably de- 
 moralised by the attack that had been made 
 on them in the early morning, and yet more 
 so by the fact that the extremity of the ap- 
 proach had remained all day in the hands of
 
 380 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 some of the enemy. Therefore, when the 
 order to advance was given, the fascine bearers 
 hesitated : a rumour spread that the approach 
 had been mined, and the European troops in 
 front finally refused to advance. 
 
 Lieut. - Colonel Don, grasping the situation, 
 called on the troops in rear to quit the ap- 
 proach and follow him, whereupon the glorious 
 remnant of the 22nd flank companies at once 
 stepped out of the trench, as did the 12th 
 Bengal Native Infantry. They were supported 
 by two 6-pounders, under Lieutenant G. Swiney. 
 Led by Don, these brave soldiers advanced on 
 the bastion on the right of the breach, where 
 the ditch was less deep. (A tall sepoy had 
 already proved, by jumping into the water, 
 that in front of the breach it was impassable.) 
 A party of the 12th Native Infantry succeeded 
 in clambering to the top of the bastion and 
 there planted their regimental colour, and many 
 individuals of this regiment and the surviving 
 22nd flankers showed great gallantry. So difii- 
 cult of access was the bastion that the men 
 had to climb up singly, some reaching the crest 
 of the parapet, and some entering through the 
 embrasures. In such circumstances success was 
 impossible. A chance was now, however, given, 
 for, seeing the colour of the 12th Native In-
 
 A DISASTROUS FAILURE. 381 
 
 fantry on the bastion, the defenders of the 
 breach thought that the storming -party must 
 be near, and exploded the mines that had been 
 prepared for its defence. Fourteen officers in 
 the approach saw the opportunity, and running 
 out, called on their men to follow them. Few, 
 if any, answered to the appeal, and Colonel 
 Don, seeing that the attempt was useless, re- 
 called all who had gone on. 
 
 The losses in this disastrous affair were very 
 heavy, amounting to 894, The native troops, 
 who deserved all honour for their conduct, had 
 113 killed and 556 wounded. The Europeans 
 had 49 killed and 176 wounded. Lake, in his 
 despatch to Lord Wellesley, praised Captain 
 Grant and his small column for their gallant 
 conduct. While regretting the failure of the 
 two other columns, he made no disparaging 
 remarks as to the conduct of the troops, and 
 assured the Governor - General that "though 
 unfortunately not crowned with success, the 
 exertions of Colonel Don were meritorious and 
 gallant in the extreme." 
 
 General Lake, though much grieved by these 
 heavy losses, and by the misconduct which had 
 caused them and caused the failure of the assault, 
 determined to make an immediate attempt to 
 retrieve the prestige of his army. As it had
 
 382 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 been found practicable to clamber up the bas- 
 tion on the right of the breach, it was thought 
 that if heavily bombarded it might be rendered 
 easy of access, and the battering guns were 
 therefore turned on it. With the little ammu- 
 nition that remained they made a large gap 
 at the base of the bastion, but did not succeed 
 in bringing it down. 
 
 Early the following morning (February 21) 
 the European troops were formed up and, 
 writes Thorn, addressed by Lake "in terms of 
 affectionate regret, rather than stern severity." 
 He expressed his sorrow that by not obeying 
 their officers yesterday they had lost the laurels 
 which they had gained on so many occasions. 
 Being yet willing to give them an opportunity 
 of retrieving their reputation, he now called for 
 such as chose to volunteer for another effort to 
 step out. 
 
 " Overpowered with shame and remorse," con- 
 tinues Thorn, " they all volunteered to a man ; 
 and Lieutenant Templeton, with a noble fervour 
 of patriotic zeal, offered to lead the forlorn- 
 hope." Templeton, one of the surviving officers 
 of the 76th, had been wounded in the second 
 assault. The storming-party, for the fourth and 
 last attempt on Bhartpur, moved to the attack 
 about three in the afternoon, led by Colonel
 
 THE FOURTH ASSAULT. 383 
 
 Monson. It consisted of all the British infantry 
 of the Bengal Division, and the 1st Battalion 
 2nd and 2nd Battalion 15 th Bengal Native 
 Infantry. The Bombay Division contributed 
 the greater part of the 65th and 86th Regi- 
 ments, the 1st Bombay Grenadier Battalion, 
 and the flank companies of the 1st Battalion 
 3rd Bombay Native Infantry. 
 
 When the gallant remnant of the flank com- 
 panies of the 22nd passed Lake, he was seen 
 to turn away in tears. Quickly recovering him- 
 self, he waved his hat and cheered the brave 
 fellows. As the stormers, cheering Lake, ap- 
 proached the breach, the ground was found 
 strewn with the dead and wounded from the 
 last assault, many stripped naked, some with- 
 out heads, some without legs and arms, others 
 shamefully mutilated and literally cut to pieces. 
 Many of the poor fellows were still alive, and 
 raised their heads, clotted with blood, others 
 their legs and arms, making signs or faintly 
 begging to be put out of their misery. Un- 
 deterred by this horrible sight, the stormers, 
 headed by Templeton and Shipp, moved steadily 
 on to the bastion, which they endeavoured to 
 climb. Some of the men, driving their bayonets 
 into the rampart, endeavoured to gain a footing 
 step by step ; some clambered up by the shot-
 
 384 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 holes. The enemy, in great strength, defended 
 the bastion and breach in the most determined 
 way, keeping up an incessant shower of grape on 
 our troops. The people on the walls, too, con- 
 tinually threw down upon them pieces of timber, 
 flaming packs of cotton soaked in oil, solid shots, 
 pots filled with gunpowder, and other explosives. 
 The stormers showed the most determined cour- 
 age, and maintained the struggle for two hours, 
 when Monson, who had strained every nerve to 
 attain success, reluctantly ordered a retirement. 
 The losses in this assault numbered 987, the 
 European troops having 69 killed and 410 
 wounded. The native troops lost 56 killed and 
 452 wounded. Among the officers killed was 
 the gallant Templeton, who fell just as he 
 planted a Union-Jack flag on the bastion. Major 
 Menzies, aide-de-camp to the Commander-in- 
 Chief, was killed near the top of the breach. 
 General Lake's attempts to storm Bhartpur thus 
 finally failed, with a total loss of 103 officers and 
 3100 men. In his despatch to Lord Wellesley 
 he speaks in high terms of the " uncommon 
 gallantry and perseverance" shown by Colonel 
 Monson.^ Of the storming column he writes : 
 
 ^ Colonel Monson shortly afterwards returned to England, and 
 entered Parliament. He died in 1807. His son succeeded as the 
 sixth Lord Monson.
 
 LOSSES OF THE 76TH. 385 
 
 " Though the troops were unable to effect 
 their object, I am happy to assure your lord- 
 ship that they have on no occasion displayed 
 greater steadiness. Those of the Bengal army 
 supported their former character, and the Bom- 
 bay division displayed a degree of resolution 
 and discipline which entitles them to my high- 
 est praise and approbation." 
 
 In the fourth assault on Bhartpur the 76th 
 Regiment had 11 killed and 122 wounded. 
 "With these losses the regiment was practically 
 annihilated as a fighting force. It lost alto- 
 gether 44 killed and 260 wounded at Bhart- 
 pur ; and during the entire campaign it had 15 
 officers and 155 non-commissioned officers and 
 men killed, and 21 officers and 654 of other 
 ranks wounded, — a total of 36 officers and 809 
 men, which does not include deaths firom dis- 
 ease. The wreck of the 76th went home 
 shortly afterwards, with hardly an unwounded 
 man in the ranks, and only two survivors of 
 the original soldiers who had sailed for India 
 under its colours. 
 
 The flank companies of the 22nd Begiment, 
 which, as we have seen, served only during the 
 latter portion of Lake's campaigns, also suffered 
 very heavily. All the officers of the two com- 
 panies, 4 in number, were severely wounded ; 
 
 2 B
 
 386 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 and, of the rank and file, 27 were killed and 
 127 wounded, — 158 casualties in all. Such was 
 active service in the days when the Indian 
 Empire was a - making. Sergeant Shipp was 
 immediately rewarded for his remarkable gal- 
 lantry by a commission as ensign in the 65th 
 Regiment, and very shortly afterwards he was 
 promoted to a lieutenancy in the 76th. 
 
 After the failure of the fourth assault it was 
 evident that no more could be attempted at 
 Bhartpur until fresh supplies of food and 
 ammunition had been collected, for both were 
 practically exhausted. Lake, however, had no 
 intention of removing his pressure from the 
 fortress. On the night of February 22 the 
 ordnance was withdrawn from the batteries, 
 and on the 24th the army changed ground to 
 a spot 6|- miles north-east of the town, covering 
 the roads to Agra, Muttra, and Dig. Detach- 
 ments were sent away for supplies, and the 
 troops remaining in camp were set to work 
 on the construction of great numbers of fascines 
 and gabions. Fresh guns, with ammunition, 
 were brought up from Fatehgarh and Aligarh, 
 and those rendered unserviceable by constant 
 firing were repaired. 
 
 The Raja of Bhartpur saw with alarm the 
 determined attitude of Lake. His allies were
 
 THE raja's congratulations. 387 
 
 rapidly failing him, his townspeople were 
 beginning to lose heart, and he thought it 
 was time to see what terms he could obtain. 
 
 The elevation of General Lake to the peerage 
 afforded an opportunity of correspondence which 
 the E,aja eagerly seized, and, much to the 
 amusement of the British army, a letter arrived 
 from him on March 10 congratulating the 
 Commander-in-Chief on his new honours, and 
 intimating the Raja's desire to visit him in 
 the British camp. 
 
 Whatever wish Lake may — nay, must — have 
 felt to retrieve his failure, he was yet more 
 anxious, for Lord Wellesley's sake, to bring the 
 war to a close. This was clearly his first duty, 
 so he at once entered into negotiations with 
 the Raja. 
 
 While the terms of peace were under consider- 
 ation, Major-General Smith arrived (on March 23) 
 from his pursuit of Amir Khan. Lord Lake gave 
 the cavalry a few days' rest, and then, about 
 one in the morning of March 29, marched at 
 their head silently out of camp, with the intention 
 of beating up Holkar's headquarters, which lay 
 about eight miles west of Bhartpur. The sound 
 of the British guns was unfortunately heard, 
 and Holkar escaped, losing in the pursuit, which 
 extended over several miles, about 200 men.
 
 388 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 together with some elephants, camels, horses, 
 and his camp. Holkar then removed to a con- 
 siderable discance south-west of Bhartpur, where 
 he thought himself secure ; but on April 2 Lord 
 Lake made a similar night march with greater 
 success, guided by Holkar's camp - fires alone. 
 Heavy loss was inflicted on Holkar's troops, 
 who dispersed in confusion. The British force 
 sustained few casualties, but Holkar's losses 
 were estimated at 1000 killed, and his scattered 
 and demoralised troops were pursued for many 
 miles over very broken ground. In this action 
 the 27th and 29th Light Dragoons, like the 
 Commander-in-Chief, appeared under new desig- 
 nations, having been respectively renumbered the 
 24th and 25th Light Dragoons. 
 
 On April 8 the army again changed its camp, 
 marching to nearly the same place on the south- 
 east of Bhartpur that it had occupied during 
 the siege. This movement accelerated the con- 
 clusion of the treaty, the preliminaries of which 
 were signed on April 10. Bhartpur remained 
 in the possession of the E-aja, but the fortress 
 of Dig was to be kept in British hands until 
 the Government should be satisfied as to the 
 loyalty of the Raja, who pledged himself to 
 hold no communication with the enemies of
 
 THE END OF THE SIEGE. 389 
 
 Great Britain, nor to employ any European in 
 his service without the sanction of Government. 
 The Baja also agreed to pay an indemnity of 
 20 lakhs of rupees (£200,000). 
 
 The British force before Bhartpur broke up 
 on April 21, after lying there three months 
 and twenty days. 
 
 It left behind it the dead bodies of a great 
 number of brave soldiers and a considerable 
 amount of prestige ; for although the Jats and 
 their Raja had been compelled to sue for peace, 
 India long remembered that the great War 
 Lord had sustained repeated defeats under the 
 walls of Bhartpur, and had been unable in the 
 end to effect its capture. 
 
 Baja Banjit Singh died eight months after 
 the repulse of Lake's last assault. In December 
 1825 Bhartpur was again besieged by a British 
 army, under Lord Combermere, in consequence 
 of the usurpation of the throne by a cousin of 
 the recognised heir. Lord Combermere, though 
 provided with a powerful artillery, found it im- 
 possible to breach the walls of Bhartpur, and 
 the place was eventually captured by means of 
 an immense mine. Lake, it is true, from the 
 utter inadequacy of his means, did not succeed 
 in his attempt ; yet few soldiers will fail to
 
 390 THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HOLKAR. 
 
 recognise that his dogged persistence and his 
 vigorous offensive action against the enemies in 
 his rear, while incessantly assailing Bhartpur 
 with the scanty resources at his disposal, offer 
 a shining instance of determination such as has 
 rarely been excelled.
 
 391 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 A PASSING reference was made in the preceding 
 chapter to the elevation of General Lake to the 
 peerage. The honour, as is shown by the title 
 chosen, Lord Lake of Delhi and Laswari and 
 of Aston Clinton, was granted as a reward for 
 the campaign of 1803 ; but by the irony of 
 fate, and thanks to the habitual delay of the 
 British Government in conferring rewards. Lord 
 Wellesley's letter informing Lake of his eleva- 
 tion did not reach him until March 8, 1805, 
 when he was smarting from his final failure at 
 Bhartpur, and we may be sure that so ill-timed 
 a recompense lost much of its value to the 
 recipient. Lord Lake was, however, as his 
 reply to Lord Wellesley shows, grateful to 
 the King who had sanctioned the reward, and 
 to the Governor- General who had recommended 
 it. "Be assured," he writes to the latter, 
 *' that I feel much more than words can express
 
 392 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 for your kindness upon this and upon every 
 other occasion, and would write more upon the 
 subject was not my mind and time so much 
 occupied with a variety of important objects, 
 which I flatter myself will be found productive 
 of the desired effect. I most sincerely lament 
 our late disasters, which I own takes off much 
 from the pleasure I should have received from 
 the honours granted to me, but I trust before 
 long to say I am in possession of this town." 
 
 Lord Lake, as we have seen, was destined 
 never to possess Bhartpur, but he was too 
 good a soldier, and too true to his duty, to 
 allow this bitter blow to his pride to divert 
 him from the main object in view — the termina- 
 tion of the war. The Kaja of Bhartpur having 
 ceased to be an active enemy, the obvious task 
 before Lake was the extinction of Holkar, now 
 the more pressing in that Sindhia was again 
 showing signs of activity, and was evidently 
 inclined to revive the Maratha Confederacy. 
 
 The forts and armies of Bhartpur no longer 
 affording Holkar a base for operations against 
 the Company's territories, he retired westward 
 after Lord Lake's raid on April 2 and crossed 
 the Chambal. The immense host with which 
 Holkar had begun the campaign of 1804 was 
 now reduced to 13,000 men, with between 20
 
 SINDHIA AGAIN THREATENS WAR. 393 
 
 and 30 worn - out guns ; and although Lord 
 Lake presently followed him, marching from 
 Bhartpur on April 21, he did so more because 
 of the necessity of checking the designs of 
 Sindhia than with any hope of crushing the 
 fugitive and swift-footed hordes of Holkar. 
 
 The threatened hostility of Sindhia hardly 
 requires explanation. He was naturally ready 
 to take the first opportunity of revenging him- 
 self for the events of 1803, and the failure of 
 the first assault on Bhartpur appeared to him 
 to mark the turn of the tide of British conquest. 
 Sindhia knew that Lake's victories had all been 
 won, by a sort of miracle, with inadequate means. 
 Such miracles, he thought, would no longer 
 come to pass now that the spell of victory was 
 broken ; so Sindhia took heart of grace, and after 
 the repulse of the first assault wrote to the 
 Kaja of Bhartpur urging him to hold out 
 stoutly, promising to come to his assistance, 
 and sounded Holkar as to the renewal of the 
 confederation. Sindhia's letter fell into the 
 hands of Lord Lake, who directed Mr Richard 
 Jenkins, the acting Resident at Sindhia's Court, 
 to retire thence and enter British territory. 
 Sindhia, defiant though still undecided, refused 
 to allow the departure of Mr Jenkins, and con- 
 nived at the pillage of his camp-equipage and
 
 394 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 baggage. On hearing of this incident Lake at 
 once threatened Sindhia with hostilities, and 
 the latter, although he eventually permitted Mr 
 Jenkins to depart, retired to Kotah, attended 
 by a number of Maratha and Rajput chiefs 
 whom he had drawn from their allegiance to 
 the British Government. 
 
 Lord Lake followed Sindhia as far as Dholpur, 
 and having called the troops in Bundelkhand to 
 join him, found himself by the end of April at 
 the head of 18,000 men. Alarmed at this show 
 of strength, many of Sindhia's adherents deserted 
 him and proceeded, with their contingents, to 
 Lake's headquarters, swelling his army to the 
 imposing strength of 30,000 men. With camp- 
 followers there were, writes Thorn, an aggregate 
 of 300,000 people assembled on the barren rocks 
 and sandbanks of the Chambal. 
 
 The defection of the chiefs from Sindhia and 
 the disputes between him and Holkar having 
 put an end to all immediate danger, Lord Lake 
 determined to disperse this great assemblage, 
 who could not long be maintained in so arid a 
 region. On May 10, accordingly, the Bombay 
 division marched for Bampura, and ten days 
 later the Bundelkhand troops set out for their 
 own province. There was, however, to be no 
 repetition of the mistake of the previous year.
 
 THE RECALL OF LORD WBLLESLEY. 395 
 
 The Bengal army was all to remain, during the 
 hot weather, west of the Jumna, and ready for 
 prompt concentration should the necessity arise. 
 Setting out from Dholpur on May 26, the troops 
 were all cantoned early in June, — the British 
 infantry, under Colonel Monson, at Fatehpur 
 Sikri ; the artillery and the native cavalry and 
 infantry divided between Agra and Muttra ; 
 while the three Light Dragoon regiments, with 
 their galloper guns, housed themselves in the 
 magnificent tomb of the Emperor Akbar at 
 Sikandra and in the surrounding buildings. 
 
 The firm attitude of Lord Lake, supported as 
 he was by the Governor - General, had had its 
 inevitable effect on Sindhia, and there was every 
 prospect of affairs between him and the British 
 Government arriving at a satisfactory settlement. 
 With this end in view Lord Wellesley was indeed 
 prepared to make considerable concessions, but 
 an event presently occurred which came near 
 frustrating Lake's negotiations. This was the 
 recall of Lord Wellesley from India and the 
 appointment of Lord Cornwallis as his successor, 
 pledged to a policy of peace and retrenchment. 
 As far back as January 1802 Wellesley had 
 informed the Court of Directors of his intention 
 to resign the government of India, and he re- 
 peated this request in March of the same year.
 
 396 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 The Directors, hesitating between a desire to 
 recall a Governor-General who habitually dis- 
 regarded their ideas and followed his own, and 
 a feeling that it would be impossible to replace 
 him, begged Wellesley to remain in ofl&ce until 
 January 1804. In accordance with his demand, 
 this application of the Directors was warmly 
 supported by the Ministry, and Wellesley con- 
 sented to remain in office. Again in 1803 he 
 desired to resign, and again he was requested to 
 remain. This singular state of affairs continued, 
 and when the home Government rewarded Lake 
 and Arthur Wellesley for their services in the 
 campaign of that year. Lord Wellesley not only 
 received no reward but was practically censured 
 by the Directors, who, while congratulating him 
 on the brilliant successes of the campaign, de- 
 clared that " they did not enter at present into 
 the origin or policy of the war." 
 
 Thus although his sense of duty kept Wellesley 
 from again resigning his post while the difficulties 
 brought about by his policy still existed, he ex- 
 pressed in the strongest language his hatred — for 
 it was nothing less — of his masters in London. 
 " Your lordship," he wrote to Castlereagh, " may 
 be assured that as no symptom of tardy remorse 
 displayed by the honourable Court in consequence 
 of my recent successes will vary my present esti-
 
 "the loathsome den." 397 
 
 mation of the faith and honour of my very- 
 worthy and approved good masters, or protract 
 my continuance in India for one hour beyond 
 the limits prescribed by the public interests, 
 so no additional outrage, injury, or insult which 
 can issue from the most loathsome den of the 
 India House will accelerate my departure when 
 the public safety shall appear to require my aid 
 in this most arduous situation." 
 
 So Wellesley remained in oflSce until the dis- 
 aster to Monson's force gave the denizens of the 
 said loathsome den an opportunity which they 
 eagerly seized. Wellesley was recalled, and 
 Lord Cornwallis having arrived at Calcutta on 
 July 30, 1805, the great proconsul sailed on 
 August 15 for England. His farewell letter 
 to Lake shows his undiminished friendship, and 
 his wish that Lake should not leave India until 
 his work had been accomplished : — 
 
 Fort William, July 30, 1805. 
 
 My dear Lord, — The preparations for my approaching 
 departure have occupied me so severely that I have been 
 unable to reply to your last very kind and affectionate 
 letters. This morning I have, to my very great satis- 
 faction, been relieved from the charge of this Government 
 by Lord Cornwallis ; and I shall now be at liberty to 
 answer your lordship's obliging private communications 
 in the fullest manner, previously to my actual embarka- 
 tion. But I could not allow this express to depart
 
 398 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 without renewing to your lordship, in the most cordial 
 spirit of gratitude, affection, and respect, the assurances 
 of my unalterable friendship and attachment. I propose 
 to embark between the 15 th and 20 th of August. Lord 
 Cornwallis having written to your lordship, you will be 
 apprised of the intentions of this Government respecting 
 the state of affairs in Hindustan. You will also have 
 learnt the arrangements which have been made in 
 England with regard to your own situation. On this 
 subject I shall offer no further remark than that my 
 wish must be to preserve your lordship's invaluable 
 services until affairs shall have been finally settled in 
 India. As far as your kindness to me is concerned, 
 your lordship will best satisfy my mind by continuing 
 to serve your country in this quarter of the globe to the 
 completion of every object of peace and prosperity. 
 Lord Cornwallis will probably embark on the river 
 before I can attempt to sail in the present state of the 
 season. It is doubtful whether any letter from your 
 lordship, however, would now find me in India ; but 
 I sincerely hope to hear from you fully and frequently 
 in England. 
 
 Ever, my dear lord, yours most sincerely and 
 affectionately, Wellesley. 
 
 In accordance with his promise to the Directors, 
 Lord Cornwallis immediately set about the task 
 of reducing expenditure, and on his first working 
 day in India wrote thus to Lake : " It is my 
 earnest desire, if it should be possible, to put 
 an end to this most unprofitable and ruinous 
 warfare." The voice of history has declared 
 that Lord Wellesley's wars were neither un-
 
 DEATH OF LORD CORNWALLIS. 399 
 
 profitable nor ruinous. On the contrary, they 
 averted ruin and established an Empire ; but 
 the dying eyes of Cornwallis could not see the 
 truth. Soon, indeed, they saw no more in this 
 world, for having set out from Calcutta for 
 Allahabad, in order to provide personally that 
 his measures should be carried into execution, 
 Lord Cornwallis died at Ghazipur on October 5, 
 1805. 
 
 Much as we must deplore the orders which 
 the dying Governor-General sent to Lake, which, 
 but for the firmness of the latter, would in all 
 probability have caused the dying war again 
 to spring to life, no reproachful words shall 
 here be written of one who had been in his 
 day a clear-sighted statesman and an able 
 soldier, and was always an upright English 
 gentleman. 
 
 The instructions sent by Cornwallis to Lake, 
 dated September 19, were to the following 
 effect. All points under dispute with Sindhia 
 were to be surrendered ; Gohad and Gwalior were 
 to be returned ; Delhi was to be abandoned ; 
 and Sindhia was to be permitted to restore 
 Maratha influence in Hindustan ; the Company's 
 border was to be drawn back from the Chambal 
 to the Jumna ; and British protection was to
 
 400 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 be withdrawn from the native princes whose 
 territories lay between these rivers. Dholpur 
 was to be given back to Sindhia, and the 
 Raja of Jaipur was to be left to make terms 
 for himself as best he could. 
 
 In sending this letter to Lord Lake, the 
 Governor -General enclosed one for Sindhia to 
 the same effect. 
 
 The terms proposed being a complete sur- 
 render of the conquests made during the war, 
 which was still unfinished, the letter was 
 nothing less than a confession of defeat, and 
 would undoubtedly have been so regarded 
 by Sindhia and every ruling prince in India. 
 The proposal to abandon to their enemies the 
 chiefs with whom alliances had been concluded, 
 ranks with the most humiliating and dishonour- 
 ing policies ever imposed on an English general 
 by his employers. 
 
 To his eternal honour. Lord Lake took all 
 risks and detained the letter to Sindhia, pend- 
 ing a reply to the remonstrance which he ad- 
 dressed to Lord Cornwallis. Before it could 
 reach him the Governor - General was dead. 
 He was succeeded by Sir George Barlow, the 
 senior member of Council, who had held a 
 dormant commission during the Governor- 
 Generalship of Lord Wellesley. Barlow's opinions
 
 SIR GEORGE BARLOW. 401 
 
 at this time reflected those of Lord CornwalHs, 
 just as they had reflected those of Wellesley 
 while the latter was in office. As a civil ser- 
 vant of the Company, Barlow was indeed in 
 duty bound, when a free agent, to carry out 
 what he knew to be the wishes of the Court 
 of Directors, and the death of Lord Cornwallis, 
 therefore, did little to diminish the difficulties 
 of Lake in his negotiations with Sindhia. 
 
 That Lake was able to carry them event- 
 ually to a successful issue is partly due to the 
 happy circumstance that Colonel (afterwards 
 Sir John) Malcolm was now his political as- 
 sistant. Malcolm was entirely in sympathy 
 with " the forward policy " of Wellesley and 
 Lake, but was able from his position and 
 training to calm the anxiety of Sir George 
 Barlow, and so gain the time necessary to 
 complete the bargain with Sindhia. A treaty 
 fixing the British border at the Chambal was 
 finally accepted by Sindhia in November, but 
 a month earlier Lake's mind was so far at rest 
 that he had been able to set out from Muttra 
 to deal once and for all with Holkar. 
 
 Reference has been made to the rupture 
 between Holkar and Sindhia, after which in- 
 cident the former, attended by Amir Khan, 
 had proceeded to Ajmir. After vainly en- 
 
 2 c
 
 402 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 deavouring to persuade the Raja of Jaipur 
 to join him, Holkar marched northward in Sep- 
 tember, hoping to obtain the support of the 
 chiefs of the southern Sikh states, of whom 
 the most powerful were the E-ajas of Patiala, 
 Nabha, and Jhind. Holkar marched through 
 Shekawatti, skirting Alwar and Rewari, to 
 Dadri in Jhajhar, where he left his infantry, 
 numbering about 3000, with 1000 cavalry and 
 30 guns, to harry the British territories. He 
 himself, with about 11,000 horse, went on to 
 Patiala. Lord Lake immediately pursued him, 
 marching from Muttra towards Delhi on October 
 10, and disposing the bulk of his troops for 
 the protection of the northern portion of the 
 Doab, both against Holkar's infantry and any 
 attack that the Sikh chiefs might be induced 
 to make. These dispositions proved effectual, 
 and we need only follow the march of the 
 small body of troops with which Lord Lake 
 personally pursued Holkar. This consisted of 
 two brigades of cavalry, composed of the three 
 Light Dragoon regiments and the 3rd and 
 5th Bengal Cavalry, Captain Brown's battery 
 of Horse Artillery, some field - guns, and the 
 reserve infantry brigade, now composed of the 
 entire 22nd Regiment, the Bengal European 
 Regiment, the 1st Battalion 9th and the 1st
 
 lake's last pursuit. 403 
 
 Battalion 11th Native Infantry. Colonel Need ^ 
 commanded the 1st Brigade of Cavalry, and 
 with the tough old Commander-in-Chief was 
 one of the few senior officers remaining with 
 the army who had taken the field at the 
 beginning of the war. 
 
 On October 28 Lake's force met on the 
 march the garrison of Dig, that fortress having 
 been returned to the Raja of Bhartpur in 
 consideration of a large money payment, which 
 supplied Lake's army with the sinews of war. 
 Lake arrived at Delhi on November 7, and 
 was at Panipat, the famous battlefield on which 
 the mastery of India had so often been de- 
 cided, on November 17. Here Lake picked up 
 the column, under Colonel Burn, which had 
 been cantoned at Panipat during the hot 
 weather. Burn's force included Skinner's horse, 
 and with his force thus considerably increased, 
 Lord Lake confidently followed Holkar. There 
 was still a chance that Banjit Singh, now the 
 most powerful of the Sikh chiefs north of the 
 Sutlej, might assist the fugitive, but Lake was 
 for the moment free of control from Calcutta ; 
 he had money enough for present needs in his 
 
 ^ Colonel Samuel Need entered the army 1784, and became a 
 major-general in 1814. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 
 1830, appointed colonel of the 9th Light Dragoons in 1837, and 
 died in 1839.
 
 404 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 treasury, a sufficient force at his disposal, and 
 he was determined to bring the war to a 
 decisive issue. On November 24 the British 
 force arrived at Patiala, where the Raja in- 
 formed Lake that he had refused to assist 
 Holkar with men or money. The southern Sikh 
 states had indeed decided to accept British 
 protection, in preference to absorption by the 
 growing power of Ranjit Singh. 
 
 The pursuit of Holkar still continued, and on 
 December 2 the army arrived at Ludhiana, a 
 town standing on a tributary of the river 
 Sutlej, the southern boundary of the Punjab. 
 Holkar had already crossed the river and was 
 at Jalandhar, some thirty miles farther north. 
 Lord Lake was now anxious to make a forward 
 dash, and, if possible, bring Holkar to a de- 
 cisive action ; but the native regiments showed 
 considerable reluctance to cross the Sutlej, 
 probably on account of some religious prejudice. 
 Here the unquestioning loyalty of Skinner's 
 horse proved of great service. Knowing that 
 Skinner would undertake any task, and that 
 his men would follow him blindfold. Lord Lake, 
 when at dinner on December 3, observed that 
 he wished some one would try the ford over 
 the Sutlej with a troop and a galloper gun. To 
 leave no room for a mistake. Colonel Worsley,
 
 LAKE ENTERS THE PUNJAB. 405 
 
 the Adjutant -General, told Skinner that the 
 hint was intended for him. " On which," writes 
 Skinner in his memoirs, " I immediately rose 
 and said, ' If your lordship will give me leave, 
 I will try the ford to-morrow morning.' He 
 replied, * Be there about dawn with two rissalahs 
 of your yellow boys and a galloper, and I will 
 also be with you.' " Skinner continues that on 
 the following morning he crossed the Sutlej, 
 though with some difficulty, his horses having 
 to swim for about twenty yards, and the gun 
 sticking in a quicksand. However, in less than 
 an hour they were all well over, and Skinner 
 took off his hat and gave three cheers, in which 
 Lord Lake, Malcolm, and the staff all heartily 
 joined, proclaiming that the first British gun 
 had entered the Punjab. Meanwhile Malcolm, 
 with his usual tact and knowledge of the 
 native character, had pointed out to the sepoys 
 that there could be no objection to crossing 
 over towards Amritsar, a sacred Hindu city. 
 They were at once persuaded, and made no 
 difficulty when a battalion was ordered to 
 cross and secure the ford on December 5, On 
 the following day the whole army crossed the 
 Sutlej, and on the 7th marched on towards the 
 Bias, the northern tributary of that river. 
 On December 8 Skinner was sent on with 400
 
 406 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 of his men to find Holkar, After a march of 
 thirty miles Skinner came to the south bank 
 of the Bias, to find that Holkar had crossed 
 the river. His rear- guard were still on the 
 north bank, and fired a few rounds from an 
 18-pounder at Skinner's men. These were the 
 last shots of the war. 
 
 Holkar was now at Amritsar, but could fly 
 no farther, as Ranjit Singh refused to befriend 
 him. During Lake's march through the southern 
 Punjab the utmost care had been taken to 
 give no offence to the population, the troops 
 maintaining strict discipline and paying liberally 
 for all supplies. Still, Ranjit Singh was desirous 
 that Lake's army should penetrate no farther 
 into the Sikh country, and it was clearly a 
 time for patience and diplomacy. 
 
 Lake and his army therefore encamped on 
 the south bank of the Bias opposite Amritsar, 
 and Charles Metcalfe was deputed to enter into 
 negotiations with Holkar. This proved a most 
 difficult task for the young diplomatist, for 
 Holkar, in spite of the difficulties of his own 
 position, was ready to presume on the pacific 
 spirit that he knew actuated the British Govern- 
 ment. Metcalfe, however, young as he was, 
 had the necessary strength of character to play 
 a firm part. He and Colonel Malcolm were
 
 METCALFE AND HOLKAR. 407 
 
 politicians of the Wellesley school, and being 
 aware that the new Cornwallis- Barlow policy 
 of flabby surrender would merely defeat its 
 own ends and fail to secure peace, they heartily 
 encouraged Lord Lake in the line of action 
 congenial to him. Lake showed himself, as 
 ever, strong and bold. A long career, ending 
 in four strenuous years of Indian warfare, had 
 sapped his constitution, but he still appeared 
 to possess his full vigour of body, and no weak- 
 ness of will had overtaken him. Ignoring all 
 timid instructions from Calcutta, he refused 
 to make further concessions, and finally de- 
 clared that if the - treaty as propounded by 
 Metcalfe were not signed within three days, 
 he would cross the Bias and march upon 
 Holkar's camp. 
 
 Metcalfe has left in a private letter an inter- 
 esting account of his negotiations with Ek- 
 chasm-ud-daula (" His one-eyed Highness," as 
 it may be translated). He describes Holkar's 
 appearance as " very grave, his countenance 
 expressive, his manners and conversation easy. 
 He has not at all the appearance of the savage 
 we know him to be. ... A little lap-dog was 
 on his musnud, a strange playfellow for Holkar. 
 The jewels on his neck were invaluably rich." 
 Holkar was still attended by Amir Khan, whom
 
 408 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 Metcalfe describes as " blackguard in his looks. 
 . . . He affected on the occasion of my re- 
 ception to be particularly fierce, by rubbing his 
 coat over with gunpowder and assuming in 
 every way the air of a common soldier." 
 
 Lord Lake's firmness, and the conviction that 
 he would make good his threat to attack, 
 brought Holkar to his knees. His troops had 
 no more fight in them, and the Sikhs, not 
 yet welded into a nation by Banjit Singh, 
 could not help even had they desired to do 
 so; so on January 7, 1803, a treaty of peace 
 was signed between Holkar and the British 
 Government, and the long-drawn-out war was 
 at last at an end. The terms, as usual, were 
 generous. Large possessions were restored to 
 the man who, a little time before, had declared 
 that he could carry all his all on his saddle. 
 Holkar was required to renounce all claims on 
 the territory north of the Chambal and in 
 Bundelkhand, and, like Sindhia, to engage to 
 employ no Europeans without the consent of 
 the British Government ; he was to relinquish 
 his claims on Bampura and against the Baja 
 of Bundi, and to return to his own territories 
 by a route prescribed, with the intention of 
 keeping his ill-disciplined army from molesting 
 the chiefs who had befriended the English
 
 TERMS OF PEACE. 409 
 
 during the war. On the other hand, Holkar 
 received back all the territory south of the 
 Tapti and Godaveri rivers that had been cap- 
 tured from him during the war, and he was con- 
 firmed in the possession of his provinces south 
 of the Chambal. He was, in fact, restored 
 to his original position, losing his temporary 
 acquisitions, but deprived of nothing. 
 
 Such a conclusion to the war was both satis- 
 factory and honourable, and Lord Lake had fair 
 reason to suppose that Sir George Barlow would 
 accept the settlement. When announcing to 
 him the signature of the treaty. Lake writes : 
 " I offer my most cordial congratulations on an 
 event which promises to restore complete tran- 
 quillity to India, and which you, I am satisfied, 
 will judge to be highly favourable to the in- 
 terests of the British Government." 
 
 Sir George Barlow, however, was not content. 
 He was bent on a retrograde policy, and on 
 repudiating all protective obligations. There- 
 fore, in ratifying Lake's treaties with Sindhia 
 and Holkar, Barlow added to them certain 
 " declaratory " articles, which practically aban- 
 doned the small states west of the Jumna to 
 the vengeance of the Marathas. 
 
 Sir George Barlow is perhaps not to be judged 
 by the same standard as an ordinary Governor-
 
 410 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 General. He was not, like Wellesley, a great 
 nobleman, an Imperial statesman, governing 
 India for its own good, but also for the ad- 
 vantage of the Empire. Barlow was merely a 
 servant of the East India Company, pledged, 
 as he believed, to carry out the timid and 
 huckstering policy of Leadenhall Street, and 
 the onus of his base surrender of the allies of 
 England rests perhaps chiefly on the Directors 
 rather than on him. 
 
 Whosesoever the blame. Lord Lake would no 
 more consent to exercise political duties, nor 
 to connive at the abandonment of faithful 
 friends. He had already suffered sufficient 
 humiliation from the repudiation by Lord Corn- 
 wallis of his engagements to the corps of irreg- 
 ulars. Sir George Barlow's abandonment of the 
 Rajput chief was the last straw. Lake there- 
 fore resigned his political functions, and prepared 
 to retain his office of Commander-in-Chief only 
 until he should have been able to carry out 
 the task of demobilising the army and placing 
 it in its peace stations. His conduct at this 
 juncture is thus described by Metcalfe, — a civil 
 servant, be it remembered, — in a letter dated 
 February 12, 1806: "Lord Lake has acted in 
 a dignified and noble manner. He declares his 
 sentiments in opposition to those of the Governor-
 
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 MAP or HESTDITSTAN &ADJOININCt STATES IN 1803. 
 
 C
 
 THE RETURN MARCH. 411 
 
 General, and he urges every argument and fact 
 which he hopes will induce him to alter his 
 plans. Having done this, he is determined not 
 to embarrass or counteract the views of the 
 Government ; and feeling that he cannot be a 
 fit instrument for the execution of measures 
 which he entirely disapproves, . . . his lord- 
 ship is resolved to resign all political powers 
 and to confine his attention to military arrange- 
 ments. His despatches are marked equally by 
 proper respect and manly firmness." 
 
 Lord Lake's army commenced its return march 
 to Hindustan on January 9, two days after the 
 acceptance of the treaty by Holkar, and re- 
 crossed the Sutlej on January 18. The march 
 was subsequently continued in a leisurely manner, 
 delay being caused by late winter rains. At 
 Karnal, reached on February 10, a detachment 
 of two battalions of sepoys, with Skinner's 
 horse, was left in garrison under Brigadier- 
 General Burn, the remainder of the army, with 
 the Commander-in-Chief, arriving at Delhi on 
 February 15. Brigadier -General Burn will be 
 mentioned no more in these pages, but as one 
 of the best of Lord Lake's officers he deserves 
 a farewell notice. Burn left India in 1807 after 
 thirty-six years of valuable service. He reached 
 the rank of Major-General, and died in England
 
 412 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 on April 11, 1814. Had he lived a year longer, 
 it cannot be doubted that he would have been 
 included in the first list of Indian officers who 
 received the Bath on the enlargement of that 
 Order. His name should stand high among the 
 most distinguished soldiers produced by the 
 Indian army. 
 
 Lord Lake remained two months at Delhi, 
 and was obliged to keep the army in readiness 
 for action by the unsatisfactory conduct of 
 Holkar, who showed great disinclination to 
 return to his own dominions and a fixed in- 
 tention of maltreating the Rajput states. Sir 
 George Barlow was, however, no less fixed in 
 his policy of non-intervention, and Lord Lake 
 had to endure the humiliation of being re- 
 proached by the Baja of Jaipur for his im- 
 pending ruin. 
 
 While at Delhi several fetes were given to 
 the army, the most magnificent being that 
 given by the Begum Sumru, a lady who, though, 
 as Thorn mentions, " somewhat advanced in 
 years," took great delight in camp life, and was 
 a warm admirer of Lord Lake and his army. 
 
 Having completed all the necessary arrange- 
 ments for the distribution of the troops. Lord 
 Lake went on his way to Cawnpore, and thence 
 to Calcutta. In February 1807 he embarked
 
 LAKE AND HIS SOLDIERS. 413 
 
 for England, "followed," writes Thorn, "by the 
 prayers of the people of India, as well natives 
 as Europeans, who esteemed him for his personal 
 virtues no less than they admired him for his 
 unshaken firmness in war, the vigour of his 
 operations, the judgment displayed in his plans, 
 and the liberality of his conduct in the hour 
 of victory." 
 
 Lord Lake was one of the most popular Com- 
 manders - in - Chief who ever served in India ; 
 yet he was a strict disciplinarian, and he never 
 spared his troops when there was an attack to 
 be made or hard marching to be undertaken. 
 He lived before the growth of the strange theory 
 that victories could be won and armies defeated 
 without loss of life, so the soldiers who served 
 him knew that he would call upon them to 
 face hardship, wounds, and death. Yet they 
 served Lake willingly, for they always saw him 
 share with them the toil and the danger, and 
 they knew by a hundred proofs that he was 
 generous and kind-hearted. 
 
 No one was more closely associated with 
 Lake in the last portion of his arduous Indian 
 career than Colonel, afterwards Sir John, 
 Malcolm, and no one was better fitted than 
 he to judge of the quality and character of 
 a man. His picture of Lake is therefore 
 
 j> ^ 
 
 ?
 
 414 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 of special value. " I am truly proud," he 
 writes in a private letter, " to think that I 
 have succeeded, to the very extent of my 
 hope, in obtaining Lord Lake's uniform ap- 
 probation ; and you will be surprised to learn 
 that I have had the good fortune to go on, 
 through the arduous and vexatious scene in 
 which I have been engaged, without once dis- 
 pleasing his lordship in the most trifling 
 instance. And, indeed, I have every hour 
 received, from the first day I joined to the 
 present moment, fresh marks of his regard, 
 esteem, and confidence, which I attribute in 
 the first instance to the respect and afiection 
 which Lord Lake entertains for Lord Wellesley, 
 and the inclination he in consequence feels to 
 be kind to any person honoured by his pro- 
 tection ; and, in the second, to the direct course 
 I have observed, and the freedom with which 
 I have expressed my sentiments on every 
 occasion. For, believe me, whatever defects 
 there may be in the character of Lord Lake 
 (and he, like other men, has his share), that 
 of want of accurate observation of those about 
 him is not of the number. Indeed, he ap- 
 preciates, as justly as any man I ever knew 
 in my life, the characters and views of those 
 with whom he has personal communication.
 
 SIR JOHN Malcolm's estimate. 415 
 
 As for myself, I have a sincere attachment to 
 the old lord, which has been created by a 
 full knowledge of his many admirable quali- 
 ties. His heart is kind almost to weakness. 
 He is honourable in the fullest sense of 
 the word. As to his military talents, let 
 his life speak. Without that regular system, 
 and without that comprehensive mind which 
 theorists may conclude indispensable to form 
 a great leader, he will (as far as I can judge), 
 from his attention to the temper and character 
 of those he commands, — from his looking, in 
 military points, to essentials and not trifles, — 
 and from his extraordinary energy, courage, 
 and animation, always do more with troops 
 than those who may be reputed abler ; and I 
 am satisfied that he will always merit and 
 enjoy the highest confidence of those under 
 his orders. I thought you would be anxious 
 to know what I thought of Lord Lake, and 
 I have told you sincerely. Many may difier ; 
 but I have formed my opinion after a good 
 deal of reflection, and after having had the 
 best opportunity of judging of most parts of 
 his character." 
 
 This very interesting study gives the clue 
 to much of Lord Lake's extraordinary power 
 of commanding the confidence of his oflScers
 
 416 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 and men, that quality the absence of which 
 nullifies all the other talents of a general. 
 It was because his army saw that Lake looked 
 to essentials and not to trifles that they 
 believed in him, and it was his energy, 
 courage, animation, and sympathy that gave 
 him the magnetic influence over his soldiers 
 of all races that carried him so often to 
 victory in the face of difliculties and odds 
 that seemed overpowering. 
 
 If these great qualities earned for Lake the 
 veneration of his army, as indeed they did, 
 his very foibles and habits were such as 
 pleased the soldiers of his day. " He had," 
 writes Sir John Kaye, "no small contempt 
 for civilians and penmen. ' Damn your writ- 
 ing — mind your fighting,' was the exhortation 
 which he blurted out in the rude language 
 of the camp. He was a disciplinarian and 
 something of a formalist. It mattered not at 
 what time of the morning the army commenced 
 its march, there was Lord Lake in full uni- 
 form, buttoned to the chin, powdered, and 
 peruked. But there was a warm heart beneath 
 the rigid exterior, and no man was more be- 
 loved by all ranks of the army." There is an 
 honourable confirmation of this last statement 
 in Lieut. -Colonel Innes's ' History of the Bengal
 
 THE PRIVATE SOLDIER AND LORD WELLESLEY. 417 
 
 European Regiment,' Lord Lake's own " Dirty 
 Shirts": "He was beloved by the Bengal 
 European Regiment. The anniversary of his 
 death was for many years observed with 
 solemnity, and his memory was at all times 
 held dear by those officers who had had the 
 glorious privilege of serving under him in the 
 field." 
 
 Such was the feeling towards Lord Lake of 
 those who served England under his command. 
 A record of the estimation in which he was held 
 by the great Governor - General, to whom he 
 devoted every faculty of mind and body from 
 the day of his arrival in India, has also hap- 
 pily been preserved, and with it we may fitly 
 conclude this estimate of Lake's quality as a 
 soldier. "I am anxious," wrote Lord Wellesley 
 to the Prince of Wales, "to ofier ray con- 
 gratulations to your Royal Highness upon the 
 brilliant and highly useful services of General 
 Lake. His masterly operations, his unex- 
 ampled alacrity and honourable zeal, the judg- 
 ment, skill, and promptitude of decision which 
 he has manifested in every crisis of difficulty 
 or danger, combined with his irresistible spirit 
 of enterprise and courage, entitle him to the 
 gratitude and admiration of every loyal British 
 
 subject, and of every heart and mind which 
 
 2 D
 
 418 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 can feel for the honour, or can understand the 
 interests, of the British Empire." 
 
 It is strange but true that the object of 
 this eulogium from the illustrious Wellesley 
 has been forgotten by his countrymen, or re- 
 membered, if at all, rather by his failure to 
 capture Bhartpur than by his long life of 
 faithful and loyal service, and by the glorious 
 victories of his Indian campaigns. 
 
 The remainder of Lord Lake's story may be 
 dismissed in a few words. Having completed 
 his period of service as Commander-in-Chief in 
 India, he embarked for home in February 1807. 
 In October of the same year he was raised 
 to the rank of Viscount, but survived this 
 new honour but a few months. 
 
 In February 1808, while serving as president 
 of the court - martial on the unfortunate 
 General Whitelocke, Lord Lake suddenly fell 
 ill, in consequence of a violent chill aggravated, 
 according to a family tradition, by the refusal 
 of the punctilious old soldier to wear a great- 
 coat. His constitution, sapped by long and 
 arduous service, gave way, and after three days 
 of suffering, he died on February 20, 1808, at 
 the age of sixty-three years. Lake's last day 
 on earth was cheered by the kindness of his 
 old master and friend, the Prince Begent, who
 
 A life's record. 419 
 
 paid him a long visit, and was seen to be in 
 tears as he left the dying man. 
 
 Just a hundred years have elapsed since 
 death put a period to Lake's long and faith- 
 ful services to England. In that he did not 
 escape calumny he but shared the fate of every 
 soldier, seaman, and statesman who has held 
 high office in our party-swayed country. The 
 slanders which assailed Lake, in common with 
 all who had borne a part in the conquests of 
 Wellesley, were easily and promptly disproved. 
 It was readily shown that with great oppor- 
 tunities of blamelessly acquiring wealth. Lake 
 had died a poor man, leaving but a pittance 
 to his family. Time, however, while clearing 
 his honour, has robbed Lake of an inheritance 
 to which he was entitled, the fame of a com- 
 mander who never encountered defeat in the 
 field. Malleson, in a striking passage, com- 
 pared Lake with Clive for his calmness of 
 mind and clearness of vision in the stress and 
 turmoil of battle ; and for this rare and price- 
 less quality, and for his commanding influence 
 in moments when victory and defeat were 
 hanging in the balance, Lake will bear com- 
 parison with an even greater commander. To 
 him may be applied the majestic eulogy of 
 Addison : —
 
 420 THE END OF THE WAR. 
 
 " 'Twas then great Malborough's mighty soul Avas proved, 
 That in the shock of charging hosts unmov'd, 
 Amidst confusion, horror, and despair, 
 Examin'd all the dreadful scenes of war ; 
 In peaceful thought the field of death survey'd, 
 To fainting squadrons sent the timely aid ; 
 Inspir'd repuls'd battalions to engage, 
 And taught the doubtful battle where to rage." 
 
 In the battles of the future the personal 
 influence of the commander, though differently 
 manifested, will still be decisive. No longer 
 will it be possible for him, like Lake at Las- 
 wari or Wellesley at Assaye, to lead in the 
 charge both his cavalry and his infantry, and 
 to watch with his own eyes every shifting 
 phase of the battle. Yet the same qualities 
 that gave Lake his long train of victories at 
 Aligarh, Delhi, Agra, and Laswari, that encour- 
 aged him to deal blow after blow at Bhartpur, 
 regardless of the hosts that encompassed his 
 small army, the qualities of daring enterprise 
 and iron determination, will alone secure suc- 
 cess in future wars as they have in the past. 
 
 Commanders of the type of Lake may make 
 mistakes, but they win victories, and their 
 value to the countries that give them birth 
 is inestimable.
 
 421 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE DESCENDANTS OF LORD LAKE. 
 
 LoED Lake's family consisted of three sons and five 
 daughters — 
 
 I. Feancis Geeaed, the eldest son, born in 1772, 
 entered his father's regiment, the 1st Guards, in which 
 he became Lieutenant and Captain in 1793, and Captain 
 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1798. Francis Lake served 
 as Aide-de-Camp to General Lake in Holland in 1794, 
 and commanded a battalion of the 1st Guards in Sicily 
 in 1806 and 1807. He succeeded as second Viscount 
 on the death of his father in February 1808, and in the 
 same year was promoted a Colonel in the army. He 
 became a Major-General in 1811, and a Lieutenant- 
 General in 1821. Viscount Lake married, first, in 
 1800, Priscilla, daughter of Sir Charles Whitworth ; 
 and secondly, in 1833, Anne, daughter of Admiral Sir 
 Richard Onslow, Bart., but had no issue. He died 
 May 12, 1836, when the peerage devolved on his 
 youngest brother, of whom presently. 
 
 II. Geoege Augustus Feedeeick, second son of Lord 
 Lake, also entered the army at an early age, and received 
 rapid promotion. He became a Cornet in the 8th Light
 
 422 APPENDIX. 
 
 Dragoons in 1796, and served as Aide-de-Camp to his 
 father throughout the Irish rebellion and the French 
 expedition to Ireland. On the appointment of his 
 father as Commander-in-Chief in India, George Lake, 
 then a Captain in the 34 th Eegiment, received the 
 appointment of Aide-de-Camp, and subsequently that of 
 Military Secretary, being presently promoted Major in 
 the 40th Eegiment. On November 12, 1803, he was 
 promoted Lieutenant -Colonel in the 29 th Regiment, 
 though with only seven years' total service. George 
 Lake, who showed conspicuous promise as a soldier, 
 was dangerously wounded in the knee at Laswari. 
 His services throughout the Maratha War were very 
 valuable, and, notwithstanding his youth, he showed 
 himself worthy of the important and responsible duties 
 entrusted to him. Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. George Lake 
 was one of the first officers killed in the Peninsular 
 War, falling at the head of the 29th Eegiment, in which 
 he was greatly beloved, on August 17, 1808, at the 
 action of Eoli^a — only six months after the death of his 
 father. In this action the 29 th, an exceptionally fi»e 
 regiment, was near the centre of that part of the British 
 line which made a frontal attack on the heights forming 
 the French position, and, hurried forward by the impetu- 
 ous gallantry of their Colonel, made their attack some 
 time before any other corps was engaged. The grenadier 
 company of the 29 th, headed by Colonel Lake, was over- 
 whelmed by the enemy, and Lake was killed ; but the 
 remaining companies gallantly fought their way to the 
 crest of the position, supported by the 9 th Eegiment, 
 and succeeded eventually in holding their ground until 
 the remainder of the line came up, when the French, 
 who were now outnumbered, executed an orderly retire- 
 ment. In this gallant attack the 29th Eegiment sus- 
 tained 190 casualties, nearly half the total British loss 
 at Eoliga. Although the impetuosity of their attack 
 may be condemned, it had an important effect on the
 
 THE DESCENDANTS OF LORD LAKE. 423 
 
 confidence of the army, occurring as it did at the com- 
 mencement of hostilities against the renowned French 
 army, which had vanquished the troops of every country 
 in Europe. In his despatch Sir Arthur Wellesley wrote 
 that he had never seen more gallant fighting than that 
 of the 9 th and 29 th Eegiments. 
 
 George Lake was, as has been stated, universally 
 beloved in his regiment and by all who knew him, 
 and several writers on the Peninsular War have recorded 
 the circumstances attending his death. Major Fletcher, 
 in his ' Recollections,' describes Lake on the morning of 
 Rolica as " mounted on a charger nearly seventeen hands 
 high, and dressed in an entirely new uniform. Even his 
 hat, feather, epaulettes, sash, &c., all new. His hair was 
 powdered and queud, his cocked hat placed on his head 
 square to the front." 
 
 Major Fletcher said : " Well, Colonel, you are dressed 
 as if you were going to be received by the King." Lake 
 smiled, and replied in words that had often been used by 
 his father : " Egad, sir, if I am killed to-day, I mean to 
 die like a gentleman." An hour later he had fulfilled 
 his promise, "leaving," says Major Ross -Le win, the 
 chronicler of the 29th, "a void in that regiment which 
 it was not easy to fill again." Major Eoss-Lewin states 
 that Lake's horse having been killed during the advance, 
 Major Way, who was riding Lake's second charger, dis- 
 mounted and gave the horse to Lake. When surrounded 
 by the French, Lake, who had already been wounded, 
 refused to surrender, and was shot dead. Sergeant- 
 Major Richards at once ran forward to defend Lake, 
 and himself received thirteen bullet and bayonet wounds. 
 Richards' last words were : " I should have died happy 
 if our gallant Colonel had been spared," 
 
 Major Campbell, Aide-de-Camp to Sir Arthur Wellesley, 
 who was near the spot, came up to see if he could do 
 anything for Lake. As he was passing the wounded 
 soldiers of the 29th, many of them called out to him:
 
 424 APPENDIX. 
 
 "Never mind us, sir; for God's sake take care of the 
 Colonel." 
 
 Major Eoss-Lewin goes on to say that " the prisoners 
 of the 29 th were sent off to Lisbon without delay, and 
 on their march thither the men never ceased to lament 
 the loss of their gallant commanding officer, and to extol 
 his many virtues. When one of the escort understood 
 this he immediately stepped forward and declared that 
 he deeply regretted his having been the person who had 
 shot such a man, and that he would never have fired at 
 him had he known his worth in time." ^ 
 
 General Delaborde, who commanded the French army 
 with so much skill at Roli^a, generously presented to the 
 29th Eegiment "Black Jack," the horse which Colonel 
 Lake was riding when he was killed ; and the General 
 also recovered Lake's watch and sent it to his relations. 
 
 The officers and soldiers of the 29 th erected a monu- 
 ment in memory of Colonel Lake on the spot where he 
 fell, and they also placed a memorial tablet in the north- 
 west tower of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. George Lake died unmarried. 
 
 III. Warwick, third and youngest son of Lord Lake, 
 entered the Royal Navy, saw a considerable amount of 
 active service during the Napoleonic war, and rose to the 
 rank of Captain. He succeeded his eldest brother as 
 third Viscount and Baron Lake in 1836, and died June 
 24, 1848, when the peerages became extinct. 
 
 Warwick, Viscount Lake, married, in 1815, Elizabeth, 
 daughter of James Beveridge Duncan, Esq., and had 
 issue a son, who died in infancy, and two daughters — 
 
 (1) Isabella Elizabeth Augusta, who died, unmarried, 1894. 
 
 (2) Elizabeth Georgiana, married, 1865, John Austin Gloag, 
 
 Esq., who altered his surname to Lake-Gloag. The 
 Hon. Mrs Lake - Gloag had issue one daughter, 
 
 ' The Life of a Soldier.' By a Field Officer. Bentley. 1834.
 
 THE DESCENDANTS OF LORD LAKE. 425 
 
 Elizabeth Duncan Lake, born December 27, 1867; 
 married, June 26, 1899, John Lionel Blackwood, 
 Esq., and has issue living — 
 
 (i) Terence Anthony Warwick, born 1902. 
 (ii) Patrick Haig Grceme, born 1904. 
 
 I. Anna Maria, the eldest daughter of General 
 Viscount Lake, married, 1799, Sir Kichard Borough, 
 Bart., and died June 14, 1863, leaving issue — 
 
 (1) Sir Edward Eichard Borough, second baronet, born 
 
 1800, married, 1831, the Lady Elizabeth St Lawrence, 
 daughter of second Earl of Howth, and had issue four 
 daughters — 
 
 (i) Margaret Anna Maria, married Sir George 
 
 Campbell, fourth baronet of Succoth. 
 (ii) Elizabeth. 
 (iii) Augusta Frances, married Sir Arthur John 
 
 Eludyer, fifth baronet, 
 (iv) Emily Georgina, married Colonel M. S. 
 Brownrigg. 
 
 (2) Gerard Charles, Captain, 38th Regiment, died, un- 
 
 married, 1835. 
 
 (3) Amabel Elizabeth, married Thomas "William, fourth 
 
 Earl of Pomfret, and had issue — 
 
 (i) George William, fifth Earl, died 1867. 
 (ii) Lady Anna Maria Arabella (Fermor), married 
 Sir Thomas Hesketh, Bart., and died 1870, 
 leaving issue — 
 
 (1) Thomas Henry, sixth baronet. 
 
 (2) Thomas George, seventh baronet. 
 
 (3) Edith Elizabeth, married Lawrence 
 
 RaAvstorne, Esq. 
 (iii) Lady Hem-ietta Louisa (Fermor), married 
 Colonel Thomas Wedderburn Ogilvy, and 
 died 1888. 
 (iv) Hon. Thomas H. G. Fermor, died 1864. 
 The Countess of Pomfret married, secondly, the Eev. 
 William Thorpe, D.D.,. and had issue — 
 (i) Gerard William, died 1883. 
 (ii) Amabel Elizabeth, 
 (iii) Louisa Elizabeth.
 
 426 APPENDIX. 
 
 (iv) Alice, married the Rev. William Seymour, 
 (v) Georgina, married William Stewart Ferrers, Esq. 
 (vi) Catherine Elizabeth, died 1891. 
 
 (4) Georgina Theodosia, married John Wilson Barlow, Esq., 
 
 and died 1875. 
 
 (5) Augusta, married the Eev. Sir Henry Fludyer, Bart., 
 
 and died 1889. 
 
 II. Amabel, second daughter of Lord Lake, married 
 at Cawnpore, May 20, 1803, Major, afterwards Major- 
 General, Joseph Brooks, Indian Army. 
 
 The Hon. Mrs Brooks died 1831, having had issue — 
 
 (1) Edward Augustus, born 1819. 
 
 (2) Gerard Lake, born 1820, married Louisa Barbara, 
 
 daughter of Admiral Pakenham. Issue living one 
 son, Lancelot Montague, and one daughter, Annette 
 Louisa Amabel. 
 
 (3) Elizabeth Amabel, born 1804, unmarried. 
 
 (4) Anna Maria, born 1806, unmarried. 
 
 (5) Frances Jane Matilda, born 1807, married, 1842, the 
 
 Eev. Samuel Smith, and died April 25, 1847. 
 
 (6) Georgina, born 1808, married the Rev. W. Duncan, 
 
 and died March 20, 1889. 
 
 (7) Harriet, born 1810, died, unmarried, May 14, 1867. 
 
 (8) Caroline Anne, born 1813, died, unmarried, September 
 
 1830. 
 
 (9) Amabel Theodosia, born 1815, married, 1843, the Rev. 
 
 Joseph Bush, and died November 29, 1903, leaving 
 issue living — 
 
 (1) Joseph Edward, born 1848. 
 
 (2) George Gerard Lake, born 1857. 
 
 (3) Henry Biddulph, born 1860. 
 
 (4) ElizalDeth Mary Anne. 
 (10) Frederica, born 1817. 
 
 III. Elizabeth, third daughter of Lord Lake, married, 
 in India in 1806, Colonel, afterwards Lieutenant-General, 
 Sir John Harvey, K.C.B., K.C.H., A.D.C. to George III. 
 
 The Hon. Lady Harvey died in 1851, having had 
 issue —
 
 THE DESCENDANTS OF LORD LAKE. 427 
 
 (1) Gerard Lake; Captain, 70th Eegiment; died 1839. 
 
 (2) Lancelot. 
 
 (3) One daughter. 
 
 IV. Fkances, fourth daughter of Lord Lake, died, 
 unmarried, June 4, 1853. 
 
 V. Anne, fifth daughter of Lord Lake, married, 1812, 
 Lieut.-General John Wardlaw, second son of Captain 
 William Wardlaw, E.K, of Abden, KB. 
 
 The Hon. Mrs Wardlaw died in 1845, leaving issue — 
 
 (1) Eobert ; Major-General and C.B. ; commanded the Royal 
 
 Dragoons in the Crimean War; died 1885. 
 
 (2) Gerard; 73rd Regiment. 
 
 (3) James ; Indian Army ; served at Mudki, Ferozeshahr, 
 
 Aliwal, &c. ; married Jane Mackenzie, daughter of 
 Sir Colin Mackenzie, Bart., of Kilcoy, and had issue 
 a daughter, who married George Francis Gillanders, 
 Esq., of Highfield, Ross-shire, N.B. 
 
 (4) John ; Indian Army ; severely wounded at Ferozeshahr. 
 
 (5) William; Royal Navy; killed in action in South 
 
 America. 
 
 (6) Ramsay; 19th Regiment; killed in the battle of the 
 
 Alma. 
 
 (7) George ; Captain, 6th Dragoon Guards ; killed in action 
 
 in the Indian Mutiny, December 13, 1857.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Abaji, the Maratha Genei-al at 
 Laawafi, 224. 
 
 Abercromby, General Sir Ralph. 
 Resigns the command in Ire- 
 land, 91. 
 
 Abercromby, Colonel Robert. 
 Commands the sortie from 
 Yorktown, 61. 
 
 Agra, action outside, 212; sur- 
 render of, 217. 
 
 Aligarh, cavalry action at, 165 ; 
 description of, 168 ; storm of, 
 172. 
 
 Ambaji Inglia, Sindhia's Com- 
 mander-in-chief, 251. 
 
 Amir Khan, the Pathan soldier of 
 fortune, 273, 369. 
 
 Argaum, battle of, 245. 
 
 Asgill, Captain, afterwards Major- 
 General Sir Charles, condemned 
 to death, 64 ; defeats Irish 
 rebels at Kilcomney Hill, 111. 
 
 Ashe, Lieut. - Colonel St George, 
 292, 294. 
 
 Assaye, battle of, 218 ; points of 
 resemblance with battle of Las- 
 wari, 236, note. 
 
 Ball, Colonel, 341, 352, 
 
 Barlow, Sir George, 400, 401. 
 
 Bourquin, General, 185. 
 
 Brinjaris, the, 158, note. 
 
 Broglie, Marshal de, 25, 31, 33, 
 34. 
 
 Brown, Colonel, afterwards Major- 
 General Sir Thomas, 341. 
 
 Browne, Brigadier-General G. S., 
 300, 301. 
 
 Brunswick, Hereditary Prince of, 
 29, 33, and note. 
 
 Brunswick, Prince Ferdinand of, 
 character of, 19, 25; his winter 
 campaign, 30, 32, 33, 35, 37. 
 
 Burgoyne, General, surrenders at 
 Saratoga, 50. 
 
 Burn, Colonel William, 411, 412; 
 his defence of Delhi, 302 ; at 
 Shamli, 323. 
 
 Ciesar, Major-General Julius, 26, 
 43. 
 
 Carleton, Lieut. -Colonel the Hon. 
 C, 148. 
 
 Carleton, General Guy (Lord Dor- 
 chester), 48. 
 
 Clarke, Brigadier-General, 213. 
 
 Clinton, General Sir Henry. Cap- 
 tures Charleston, 51 ; orders 
 Comwallis to Yorktown, 56 ; 
 fails to join him, 62. 
 
 Colman, George, dramatist, 13. 
 
 Conway, Lieut. -General the Hon. 
 Henry Seymour, 27, 36. 
 
 Cornwallis, General Earl, after- 
 wards Marquis. Defeats Ameri- 
 cans at Camden, 52 ; and at 
 Guildford, 54 ; overruns Vir- 
 ginia, 55 ; ordered by Clinton 
 to Yorktown, 56 ; defends 
 Yorktown and Gloucester, 58 ; 
 forced to surrendei-, 62 ; ap- 
 pointed Governor - General of 
 Ireland, 112 ; appointed Gover- 
 nor-General of India, 397 ; dies, 
 399. 
 
 Crauford, Colonel (afterwards 
 Major-General), 125, 126. 
 
 Dampierre, General, 73 ; his death, 
 74.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 429 
 
 Delhi, reception of Lake at, 201; 
 attacked by Holkar, 302 ; gal- 
 lant defence of, 305. 
 
 Don, Lieut.-Colonel Patrick. Cap- 
 tures Rampura, 269 ; in Mon- 
 son's retreat, 279, 284 ; leads 
 third assault on Bhartpur, 380. 
 
 Dowdeswell, Major-General, 353, 
 note. 
 
 Dumouriez, General, 70, 72. 
 
 Election address. Lake's bur- 
 lesque, 68. 
 
 Enniscorthy, rebel tactics at, 96 ; 
 destruction of, by rebels, 97. 
 
 Exeter, Countess of, 5 and note, 
 6-8. 
 
 Ferguson of Pitfour, Major 70th 
 
 Regiment, killed in American 
 
 War, 52. 
 Fitzherbert, Mrs, 66. 
 Fleury, Commandant, 181. 
 Forrest, Lieutenant, receives 
 
 twenty-one wounds at Dig, 352. 
 Eraser, Major-General, killed at 
 
 Dig, 339. 
 
 Gates, General, 49. 
 
 George II., King, 17; his death, 
 
 29. 
 George III., King, thanks Lake, 
 
 81. 
 George, Prince Regent, 65-67 ; 
 
 visits Lord Lake on his death- 
 bed, 319. 
 Gerard, Elizabeth, 11 ; her royal 
 
 descent, 12. 
 Germaine, Lord George. See Sack- 
 
 ville. 
 Gondomar, 6. 
 Granby, John, Marquis of, 21 ; 
 
 succeeds Lord George Sackville 
 
 after battle of Minden, 24 ; 
 
 his conduct at Warburg, 28 ; 
 
 and at Wilhelmstal, 38 ; notices 
 
 Lake, 40. 
 Grasse, Admiral, Comte de, 57. 
 Graves, Admiral (Lord), 56, 57. 
 Greene, General, 53. 
 Gregory, Major Robert, 235. 
 Griffiths, Major, killed at Laswari, 
 
 236. 
 
 Harcourt, Colonel, 142. 
 
 Hindustan, description of, 135. 
 
 Horsford, Colonel, R.A., 192, 
 note. 
 
 Howe, General Sir William, 47. 
 
 Hutchinson, Major - General the 
 Hon. John (Earl of Donough- 
 more), 116, 119; character, 124. 
 
 James I., King, 3; his wisdom, 
 7 ; compares Sir Thomas Lake 
 to Adam, 10. 
 
 Johnson, Major-General, defends 
 New Ross, 100 ; his gallant 
 conduct, 101; at Vinegar Hill, 
 107. 
 
 Lake, Bishop Arthur, a model 
 prelate, 2. 
 
 Lake, Gerard, family history, 1 ; 
 royal descent, 12 ; birth, 13 ; 
 enters 1st Guards, 15 ; serves 
 in Seven Years' War, 26 ; 
 distinguishes himself at Wil- 
 helmstal, 39 ; serves in Ameri- 
 can War of Independence, 54 ; 
 leads sortie at Yorktown, 61 ; 
 enters Parliament, 68 ; pro- 
 moted Major-General, 70; 
 commands Guards Brigade in 
 Holland, ih. ; distinguishes 
 himself at St Amand, 74 ; 
 defeats French force at Lincelles, 
 77 ; appointed to command in 
 Ulster, 84 ; officiates as Com- 
 mander - in - Chief during first 
 portion of the Irish rebellion, 
 87 ; defeats the rebels at 
 Vinegar Hill, 106 ; proceeds to 
 meet Humbert's expedition, 
 117; present at defeat of 
 Castlebar, 119; captures Hum- 
 bert's force, 127 ; appointed 
 Commander-in-Chief in India, 
 131 ; proceeds to Cawnpore, 
 150 ; correspondence with Lord 
 Wellesley, ih. ; prepares his 
 troops for war, 151 ; takes the 
 field against Perron, 155 ; 
 defeats Perron's cavalry, 165 ; 
 captures Aligarh, 174 ; defeats 
 Maratha army at battle of 
 Delhi, 194 ; enters Delhi, 201 ;
 
 430 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 marches on Agra, 207 ; defeats 
 Maratha troops, 213 ; fall of 
 Agra, 217 ; destroys Maratha 
 army at Laswari, 224 ; Lake's 
 conduct at Laswari, 244 ; letter 
 from Lord Wellesley, 253 ; 
 capture of Gwalior, 260 ; cam- 
 paign against Holkar, 267 ; 
 Monson's detachment, 271 ; its 
 misfortunes, 276 ; Lake's selec- 
 tion of Monson for command, 
 295 ; the defence of Delhi by 
 Burn, 305 ; arrival of Lake, 
 322 ; the pursuit of Holkar, 
 323 ; relief of Shamli, 325 ; 
 defeat of Holkar at Farakhabad, 
 329 ; the battle of Dig, 339 ; 
 capture of Dig, 351 ; siege of 
 Bhartpur, 355 ; the first assault, 
 358 ; the second assault, 364 ; 
 the pursuit of Amir Khan, 369 ; 
 action of Afzalgarh, 371 ; third 
 assault on Bhartpur, 378 ; 
 fourth assault, 382 ; Lake 
 raised to the Peerage, 387 ; 
 Raja of Bhartpur makes terms, 
 388 ; Lord Wellesley's farewell, 
 
 397 ; Lake and Cornwallis, 
 
 398 ; Sir George Barlow, 400 ; 
 Lake pursues Holkar into the 
 Punjab, 404 ; Holkar comes to 
 terms, 409 ; end of the war, 
 411 ; Lord Lake leaves India, 
 413 ; his character as a soldier, 
 414; death, 418; conclusion, 
 419. 
 
 Lake, Honble. George A. F., 131 ; 
 wounded at Laswari, 239 ; at 
 Bhartpur, 376 ; killed at Roli^a, 
 422. 
 
 Lake, Mary, Duchess of Chandos, 
 11, 15. 
 
 Lake, Sir Thomas, his rise, 3 ; 
 his fall, 9 ; his skill as a peia- 
 man, 10. 
 
 Lake, Warwick, brother of Lord 
 Lake, 13. 
 
 Lake, Warwick, father of Lord 
 Lake, 11. 
 
 Lake, Warwick (Honble.), after- 
 wards 3rd Viscount, 14. 
 
 Lincelles, action of, 76. 
 
 Lindon, Lieutenant, his death, 229. 
 
 Lindsay, Captain Effingham, 
 wounded at Dig, 351 ; loses 
 his leg at Bhartpur, 365. 
 
 Loftus, Major-General, repulsed 
 at Gorey, 100 ; commands a 
 column at Vinegar Hill, 108. 
 
 Lucan, Lieutenant, guides Ali- 
 garh stormers, 171 ; commands 
 cavalry with Monson's force, 
 272 ; taken prisoner by Holkar, 
 277 ; is killed, 278. 
 
 Macan, Colonel Richard, 230, 
 
 231, 234. 
 Macan, the brothers, 230. 
 M'CuUoch, Lieutenant - Colonel, 
 
 212, 283. 
 Macdonald, Colonel, 239. 
 M'Leod, Major, 174. 
 Maitland, Lieutenant - Colonel, 
 
 killed at Bhartpur, 360. 
 Malcolm, Colonel (afterwards Sir 
 
 John), 401 ; his estimate of 
 
 Lord Lake, 415. 
 Maratha States in 1803, 140, 141, 
 Metcalfe, Charles (afterwards 
 
 Lord), "my young stormer," 
 
 350. 
 Minden, battle of, 23. 
 Monson, Colonel the Hon. W,, 
 
 170, 174, 267, 271. 
 Moore, Major-General (Sir John), 
 
 106. 
 Morgan, Colonel, 53. 
 Murphy, Father John, 110, 111. 
 Murphy, Father Michael, killed 
 
 at Arklow, 104. 
 Murray, Colonel (afterwards 
 
 Lieutenant-General Sir John), 
 
 266, 275. 
 
 Napier, General Sir Charles 
 (quoted). 
 
 Needham, Major - General the 
 Hon. J. (Earl of Kilmorey), 
 defeats Irish rebels at Arklow, 
 104. 
 
 Nicholl, Captain, 285 ; his dis- 
 tinguished conduct, 288. 
 
 Ochterlony, Colonel (afterwards 
 Sir David), appointed Resident 
 at Delhi, 204 ; with Colonel
 
 INDEX. 
 
 431 
 
 Burn defends Delhi against 
 
 Holkar, 305. 
 O'Donnell, Captain, 281, 282, 
 
 note. 
 "Old Port," Lord Lake's charger, 
 
 killed at Laswari, 255. 
 
 Pearse, Colonel Thomas Deane, 
 192, note, 273, note. 
 
 Pedron, Colonel, 175. 
 
 Perron, General, 165, 167. 
 
 Phillips, Major-General, 55. 
 
 Pierson, Major - General Sir 
 Richard, 44. 
 
 Pollock, Lieutenant (afterwards 
 Field-Marshal Sir George), 351. 
 
 Powell, Colonel (afterwards Major- 
 General) Peregrine, 258, 273. 
 
 Prosperous, massacre at, 93. 
 
 Rayne, Colonel, 358, 359. 
 Rodney, Admiral Lord, 56. 
 Roos, Lord, 4-6. 
 
 Rose, Lieutenant John, 307, 320, 
 325. 
 
 Sackville (afterwards Germaine), 
 
 Lord George, conduct at Min- 
 
 den, 23. 
 St Amand, action at, 74. 
 St John, Major-General the Hon. 
 
 Frederick, 154. 
 St Ledger, Colonel William, 148. 
 Schuyler, General, 49. 
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 Shah Alam, 200 ; confers titles on 
 
 Lake, 203. 
 Shaw, Lieutenant, strange escape 
 
 of, 287. 
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 glazgarh, 275 ; killed in Mon- 
 
 son's retreat, 286. 
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 garh, 176 ; raises Skinner's 
 
 Horse, 205 ; pursues Holkar, 
 
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 Smith, Major-General John, 372, 
 
 373. 
 Soubise, Mar6chal Prince de, 31, 
 
 34. 
 Stainville, General Comte de, 38. 
 Sumru, the Begum, 252, 412. 
 
 Tarleton, Colonel Banaster, de- 
 feats Americans in Carolina, 52 ; 
 is in turn defeated, 53. 
 
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 Bhartpur, 384. 
 
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 pertinacity, 48 ; his mastery of 
 strategy, 56 ; his humanity, 65. 
 
 Wellesley, Major - General the 
 Hon. Arthur (afterwards Duke 
 of Wellington), occupies Poona, 
 defeats the Marathas at Assaye, 
 218 ; and at Argaum, 245 ; his 
 opinion of Lake's capture of 
 Aligarh, 179, note; his letter on 
 Monson's disaster, 311. 
 
 Wellesley, Marquess, letters to 
 Lord Lake, 199, 218, 253 ; 
 quarrels with the Court of 
 Directors, 396 ; leaves India, 
 398. 
 
 Weltjee (steward to the Prince of 
 Wales), 68. 
 
 Wexford Bridge, massacre on, 109. 
 
 White, Colonel Henry, at battle 
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 wounded at Laswari, 246 ; cap- 
 tures Gwalior, 260. 
 
 Woodington, Colonel, 142. 
 
 Wraxall, Sir Nathaniel, 65. 
 
 York, H.R.H. Duke of, 71 ; issues 
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