Daniel Henry MacKinnon

“ Every trench was filled to the brim with Sikh corpses, and the blood-stained area of the entrenchments told a fearful tale of massacre; but whilst that overgrown assemblage of lawless soldiery continued in existence, the Punjaub or the British frontier could entertain no hope of permanent security. Every Sikh carcase which floated on the Sutlej, or lay stiffening on the gory field of Sobraon, was one obstacle removed to the re-establishment of order and good government ”

“ But where, save on the battle-field, should the soldier hope to fall, and when can the dart of death be more welcome to the warrior's breast than when, falling in the arms of victory, he feels the immortal laurel wreath rest lightly on his brow? ”

“ The hum in the enemy's camp towards nightfall, and the glare of their camp fires, caused the scene to resemble the vicinity of a large city, whilst the occasional arrival of a chief from Lahore was greeted with acclamations and the roar of cannon. From the ramparts of a small fortified village on the right flank of our position, we could observe the Sikh battalions turning out every evening for parade and exercise, and their artillery practice was almost unremitting. ”

“ On the evening of the 18th, after our arrival in camp, at a small village named Lullianee, the Sikh chiefs arrived from Lahore, escorting their youthful Maharajah. The deputation were fully as humble in their deportment as the most punctilious despot could have required; and Dhuleep Singh, having been graciously forgiven for the offences of his countrymen, and raised to the precarious honours of acknowledged sovereignty, was at last treated to a royal welcome from the voices of our heavy cannon. ”

“ The Sikh dead, intermixed with our own, strewed the face of the soil, and the footing of the combatants was slippery with blood. Never had so resolute an enemy opposed the British [Pg 106] arms in India, and never had the aspect of British interests in the East rested on so slender a thread. But the Sikh powers of endurance had reached their limit; and, deeming the British indomitable, they fell back, leaving their camp and guns in the hands of the victors. ”

“ No sooner did the Sikhs perceive that the storm of their works was resolved upon, than the whole of their infantry lined the parapets, and the roll of musketry which tore through our ranks, accompanied by the steady and regular booming of their guns from every battery along their position, seemed to threaten our army with ultimate destruction. ”

“ It is a general opinion in the service, and I believe a correct one, that soldiers who have served long in India are not the best material for home employment. It does not at all surprise me, that men who have been employed in storming batteries and overcoming armies, whose days have been passed in marching under the fiery beams of an Eastern sun, and whose nights have been spent in watchfulness through the chilling damps of a January night in India, should not feel much relish for resuming their recruit's skin. ”

“ It had long been a favourite saying with military men in India, that the Sikhs would certainly fight one good battle when hostilities ensued, and that the remainder of the war would amount to no more than the reduction of their forts. ”

“ When a small body of devoted soldiers, careless of life, resolved on victory, and united by the iron bands of discipline, are brought to bear on a portion of an enemy who want confidence in each other, the attack must be successful, although the loss sustained may be severe.
In the meantime, whilst the combat raged with unabated fury at the entrenchments, Gen. Gilbert's division, to whom was allotted the attack of the centre, had been exposed to the fire of the heaviest batteries, and a shower of musketry, which would have staggered and repulsed any but the hardiest British veterans. ”

“ The surrender of all the cannon which had been used against the British was at length reluctantly complied with, for the attachment of native troops to their guns is proverbial throughout the East, and when this point was carried, the complete dispersion of the regular battalions ensued.
The reluctance on the Sikh part to abandon their profession, must appear an inexplicable matter to those who judge of soldiers' attachment to their trade by its unpopularity amongst our countrymen ”

“ The practical comment on the late war has been a large reduction of our native army, recently promulgated. If this be followed by an augmentation of the European troops employed in the north-western provinces, we may understand the economy, and applaud the policy, which dictated such a measure; but if, with the extension of territory, a reduction of the forces—which already had just sufficed to turn the scale in our favour—should ensue, a second campaign on the Sutlej will be likely to render the abolition of the Queen's and Company's forces in India a probable result. ”

“ What could be more conducive to the interests of the Ranee and many of the sirdars than these projects? What easier than to write to the British authorities a lamentation of her inability to restrain the licentious soldiery? Should they be repulsed, the British government must place them in a tractable and organized condition, but could never deprive an inoffensive child, and the hereditary successor to the throne, of its rights, for acts unauthorized by his advisers. ”

“ When will this happy system of railroads be applicable to India? or, rather, when will it be applied? for a more favourable surface for operations could hardly be selected in the world, and the advantages to Government are incalculable. A British force, after defeating the Burmese on the banks of the Burhampooter, might be steamed up to the Sutlej in time to repulse the malignant Sikhs before supper the following evening, and then proceed on their tour of conquest as long as the steam could be kept up or an enemy found. ”

“ When the Sikhs should have been once compelled to take to the open ground, their heavy siege guns would have been too unwieldly to manœuvre, whilst our light artillery would have been on advantageous ground, and, with an effective force of cavalry, the victory ought to have been speedy, and the enemy's retreat to the ford not altogether unmolested. ”

“ With alacrity was the order obeyed, and the exhausted British infantry rested for an interval on their arms, whilst a rushing sound, as of a suddenly bursting tempest, was heard approaching the fray, and onwards came H.M. 3rd Light Dragoons to the charge. The entrenchments and the batteries were equally futile obstacles to oppose those gallant cavaliers, though the former brought many a horse and rider to the ground, and the latter tore a deadly gap through their ranks. ”

“ Had the master and founder of the Sikh military power been spared, or his sagacity and political wisdom been inherited by any of his successors, this day of death would have been averted, or at least deferred to a succeeding generation. ”

“ With an effective British force of 16,000 or 20,000 men in the open plain, I conceive it to be a matter of unimportance whether a native enemy be double or treble that amount; for when confusion once ensues amongst a half-disciplined multitude, it doubtless is greater in proportion to the number. ”

“ In this part of India, a few years back almost unknown, and affording a safe asylum for the predatory tribes of Pindarrees until the wise policy of Lord Hastings' government uprooted those daring tribes of banditti, the most profound tranquillity now prevails. The natives have learned, not only to respect, but to love, the mild authority which has restored the golden era, enabling all to repose in security, and to lead the life of inoffensive simplicity for which the Hindoo is eminently qualified, but which the oppressive rule of the Mussulman conquerors long forbade him to enjoy. ”

“ Under the present reduced state of the Sikh army, it is not the least probable that the nation can ever become again the formidable enemy which they have lately been found.
In the first place, their military establishment being numerically reduced to one-third of their late numbers, and the extent of the country requiring these to be quartered far apart, a British force of superior numbers could, in a few days, in case of an insurrection, take post under the walls of Lahore. ”

“ Formerly, the Sikhs had been in the habit of crossing a few thousand by day, and retiring again at nightfall; but now that the works had assumed a more permanent appearance, the enemy seemed to have nearly vacated their camp on the right shore, and to have occupied permanently the entrenchments with battalions of regular infantry. The cavalry spread themselves along the banks, scouring the immediate neighbourhood, and watching for any aggressive movement on our part. ”

“ Our questionable allies, the Sikhs, having been a cause of some disquietude, it was thought prudent to assemble a large force on the north-west frontier, at the close of the year 1842, which was denominated the "Army of Reserve." This force, encamped on the banks of the Sutlej, in the vicinity of Ferozepore, awaited the return of the victorious troops from Afghanistan, and Lord Ellenborough was present in person to welcome the arrival of the Caubul warriors under a triumphal arch which he had caused to be erected at the extremity of a bridge of boats thrown across the Sutlej. ”

“ Few military men will venture to blame Sir Harry Smith for declining an action with the enemy on the 21st of January, when it is taken into consideration—firstly, that Colonel Godby's force, taking another line of country, had not arrived when the Sikhs were upon us; secondly, that our infantry were nearly exhausted by fatigue, and scarcely able to make their way through the deep sand, whilst the enemy were quite fresh; and, lastly, that the Sikhs could have compelled us to attack them under cover of their batteries in Buddewal, for which operations we had no sufficient ordnance. ”

“ European nations are not much in the habit of wasting ammunition in that playful manner, and when a battery opens, it generally means something; but this is by no means the case amongst the Asiatics. The Sikhs especially delight in noise, and neglect no opportunity of indulging the propensity. Indeed, it was a matter of surprise to us, how they could ever rest with such a perpetual clatter of cannon and musketry going on in their camp.
With the above-named exception, the Sikh pickets did not appear more on the alert than usual ”

“ As the last faint notes died away, we gradually awoke to the world around us, which we had long before quitted for the realms of imagination, and were almost startled by the tones of a human voice informing us that the music was of this earth, and had been provided for the occasion by our considerate host. ”

“ That soil can surely never flourish, which is eternally watered with human blood. The earliest records of Afghan history present to us the same prevalence of murderous tastes, from the days of Sinkol, the contemporary of Romulus, throughout the Middle Ages, down to the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and forty-two, when the British Government wisely resolved to have nothing more to do with Afghanistan. ”

“ As in the case of a rustic caught by the recruiting serjeant with a bunch of coloured ribbons and an Eldorado in the distance, sad experience alone unmasks the sombre reality, and the disappointed aspirant to a shadow, finds that rank and honours are reserved for the soldier's declining years; but youth and glory are rarely companions. ”

“ But, as I have before stated, the principal confidence of all Indian armies is placed in their guns. As the greater part of these are in our possession, and the Lahore arsenal cannot be as busily employed now, without our knowledge and consent, as formerly, the scarcity of cannon will be an obstacle, to which it ought not to be difficult to add a scarcity of artillerymen, for the profession is a noisy one, and therefore their practice is easily overheard, and without unremitting attention and practice, artillery are not usually very formidable. ”