J. Biddulph

“ The campaign that ensued was remarkable, not only for its complete success, but for the extended nature of the operations carried on simultaneously by a number of bodies of troops, acting to a great extent in complete independence of each other, after the signal for hostilities had been given. No better lesson in the art of war could be studied than in the dispositions made by the Marquis of Wellesley to bring matters to a successful issue, when the maintenance of peace was no longer possible. ”

“ In the many wars in which the British army has fought, it would be hard to find a parallel instance in which British troops have been so mishandled. The co-operation of the fleet was unnecessary, as the enemy’s squadron could not have maintained its position with the whole of Plattsburgh in British hands. Nine thousand of Wellington’s veterans, who had defeated Napoleon’s choicest troops again and again, were made to retreat from an inferior force that could not have withstood them for an hour, with a loss of less than 40 killed since they had crossed the frontier. ”

“ At the time of its arrival, the very existence of the British settlements in Southern India hung by a thread. England had then been at war with France, and the two countries were still at war. But the conditions were changed. Now the French flag had disappeared from India, and not a single native power dared meet a British army in the field, without risking its own existence. From a trading corporation the East India Company had grown into a great and powerful government, whose supremacy in India was unchallenged. In achieving this result, the 19th Light Dragoons had played no small part. ”

“ From the period of the arrival of his majesty’s 19th dragoons in India, in the year 1782, until the present time, that regiment has shared in almost every action of difficulty and of glory, in which the British arms have been engaged during that long and eventful interval, and has deservedly established a degree of reputation seldom equalled, never surpassed. ”

“ The same evening, Colonel Stevenson came up with the remains of the retreating enemy near Deodroog, and entirely dispersed them, capturing their remaining guns, baggage and cattle.
The episode of Dhoondia Wao is an instance of the danger likely to arise out of the overthrow of a military government, when a large number of disbanded men are suddenly thrown out of employ without means of subsistence. It was the overthrow of Tippoo’s kingdom and the dispersal of his large army that enabled Dhoondia to gather together so formidable a force. ”

“ The war was one to be fought out by small bodies of men far from their supports, wielding the axe and the oar as much as the rifle: forage was hard to get, and there was little place for mounted men. Under these conditions, the 19th Light Dragoons were only engaged in small detachments, never more than a squadron, seldom more than a troop. Their duties were of a most harassing kind, on outpost and reconnoissance duty. Never once did they have an opportunity of crossing swords with the enemy’s cavalry. ”

“ No wonder that the enemy first took the retreat for a ruse de guerre, and that a British General broke his sword, vowing he would never serve again. In the whole of the operations against Plattsburgh, the land forces under Prevost’s immediate command suffered a total loss of 37 killed, 150 wounded and 55 missing. In their anger at the fiasco, an immense number of men deserted during the retreat, causing a greater loss than a successful prosecution of the enterprise could possibly have entailed. The 19th Light Dragoons while covering the retirement, lost five men and horses taken prisoners. ”

“ To gain this end he was resolved to give the command to a Company’s officer, who would naturally be more pliable than a King’s officer, though it was a recognised principle with the British Government to keep the command of the King’s troops under an officer of their own appointment. It is almost incredible that this miserable quarrel should have gone on at a time of the greatest public distress, when Tippoo was triumphant in the field, and it was still uncertain that the Mahrattas would not take up arms again. ”

“ In America, things had gone from bad to worse. On 19th October [20] 1781, Cornwallis was forced to capitulate at Yorktown with the whole of his army, a disaster which practically brought the war in America to a close, though it lingered on for nearly a year and a half longer. In India, affairs were nearly as bad. The three most important of the native powers at that time were Hyder Ali of Mysore, the Mahrattas, and the Nizam of Hyderabad, and matters had so turned out that we were at war with them all three. ”

“ The U.S. forces were in equally bad case. Three of their generals were wounded, while the rank and file had lost heavily. In the confusion and darkness the whole force had become disorganized; Scott’s brigade, that had commenced the fight, had dwindled to a few companies: there were an enormous number of stragglers. Closing their ranks for a last attack the wearied British troops, headed by the light company of the 41st, regained possession of the hill and of the guns, just as Brown had decided on withdrawing. ”

“ The United States’ officers on the Niagara frontier, had also learned that enthusiasm without discipline was of little value, when opposed in the open field to a disciplined enemy; the winter and spring therefore were utilised by them in enforcing a higher degree of drill and discipline than had hitherto been aimed at. This resulted in a marked improvement in the fighting qualities of their troops during the remainder of the war. ”

“ Their presence in India was an important factor in the politics of the day. Every Chief, however unimportant he might be, had Europeans to lead his troops. The first Chief in India to thoroughly recognize the importance of European organization and discipline had been Hyder Ali of Mysore. But his efforts had been directed rather to forming complete Corps of European Artillery, Cavalry, and Infantry, which never exceeded a few hundreds in number. He also had many Europeans as leaders of his native troops, but little was done by him to discipline native troops on the European model. ”

“ It was Madho Rao Scindia who first developed the system of disciplining his native troops in European fashion under the celebrated De Boigne, which quickly rendered him the most powerful Chief in India. At the time of which we are treating, his nephew and successor, Dowlut Rao Scindia, had in his service a force estimated at 43,650 men, with 464 guns, armed and disciplined in European fashion, and commanded by Europeans. This formidable body of men had lived in a state of continuous warfare ever since it was first raised in 1784. ”

“ Accompanied by the 4th native cavalry who emulated their conduct throughout this arduous day, the 19th passed through the broken but invincible 74th, whose very wounded joined in cheering them as they went on, cut in and routed the horse, and dashed on at the infantry and guns. Never did cavalry perform better service or contribute more to the success of a battle. ”

“ This being the case, it is in the power of the officers to select handsome well-formed men of good character, and to keep them in good discipline merely by the fear of being dismissed. The officers who were first entrusted with the formation of a body of cavalry in India, thought to establish and preserve the same discipline among them, without attending to the great difference of time, place, and persons. ”

“ The 19th Hussars led the way. As night closed in, progress became very slow. Men and camels were exhausted, and, in the darkness, great confusion ensued. Night marching over an unknown route is a doubtful expedient. In the early morning of the 19th, the line of the Nile, with villages, was sighted about six miles distant. But between them and the column was a gravel ridge on which the enemy appeared, and soon, dense masses of them were visible, swarming out to meet the column. In view of the distress for want of water, it had been Sir Herbert Stewart’s wish to reach the Nile without fighting ”

“ The 19th Light Dragoons had 6 men wounded. The battle of Argaum was fought on a perfectly level plain intersected by small water courses, without any buildings or other natural obstacles between the two lines, after they had been formed, and was carried out exactly like a field day as then practised. The pursuit of the enemy by the British cavalry was maintained for six miles, and was then taken up and continued by the allied Mysore and Nizam’s horse for another twenty miles. The loss of the enemy, in the battle and subsequent pursuit, was estimated at five thousand men. ”

“ The recruits sent from England to India are in general libertines, and people of bad character: and, as the Company will not dismiss a soldier, all the punishment inflicted on a horseman is, to reduce him to serve in the infantry; so that a man is no sooner put among the cavalry, than he is sent back to his former station. The French have succeeded in forming very good cavalry in India, by attending more to their horsemanship, and less to their discipline and manners. ”

“ Colonel Sterling by Major General Sir John Burgoyne, seem to be solely for promoting good discipline in his Majesty’s troops, and to respect only their internal economy, which, as the King’s Commander in Chief, he had not only a right to give, but enforce also. ”

“ Full subsistence for the troops in Upper Canada could not be procured among the scanty population, and they were largely dependent for rations on pork and biscuit from England. So long as the waterway was open, the defence of the Niagara frontier was possible. As the supremacy of the U.S. navy on Lake Erie made it impossible for the British to continue the war on the Detroit frontier, so a decisive defeat on Lake Ontario would have lost the Niagara frontier also. But, till the end of the war, the U.S. navy never succeeded in establishing more than a temporary supremacy on Ontario. ”

“ One troop of the 19th was left at Abu Dom, while the remainder marched for Korti.
In spite of the extremely hard work, the health of the troops, as with the Desert Column, had been excellent. Not a single man of Major Flood’s party had been on the sick list, from the time of leaving Korti till the date of return. Of the horses, three had succumbed. The performance of the small Arab horses both with the River and Desert Columns, carrying a heavy weight, on scanty fare and less water, is a marvel of endurance. ”

“ Your success is due not only to the Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, who have taught you, and who lead you, but to the Private Soldiers, each one of whom knows his work as a Cavalry Soldier, and does his duty so thoroughly. ”

“ Out of the crowd of raw recruits, we had to find all our Non-Commissioned officers from Troop Sergeant Major downwards, so it may be imagined what little respect was paid to the highest grades.”
On the 1st November 1858, the Crown assumed the government of India, and the East India Company thenceforth ceased to exist. No attention was paid to the view that might be taken of the change, in the ranks of the Company’s army. The British soldier, though he yields to discipline, never forgets that he is a soldier by his own free will; he objects to be treated like a conscript. ”

“ It reflects the highest honour on the Commanding Officer, whose great military knowledge, joined to indefatigable exertions, has brought the regiment to that degree of perfection which, while it pleases and astonishes, teaches the very useful, though long doubted lesson, that men can be disciplined, and horses trained in this country equally as well as in Europe. ”

“ The Arabs were found in great numbers, in a position too strong to attack. The infantry were formed in square, while the cavalry and guns were sent forward to try and draw the enemy out of their position. But the memory of El-Teb and Tamai were too fresh in the Arab mind for them to be induced to attack the arrayed infantry. They refused to quit their position, and after a prolonged skirmish, General Fremantle’s force returned to camp. One Egyptian trooper was wounded, and the 19th Hussars lost a horse. ”

“ The region between Chippewa and Erie had been so completely laid waste that it remained almost uninhabited. In addition to his troops, Drummond had several thousand non-combatants to feed, and, in the destitute condition of the country, this seemed an almost hopeless task. Most of the western Indians that had survived General Proctor’s defeat, as well as the whole Six Nations from the Grand River, three thousand persons in all, of whom two-thirds were helpless women and children, had sought refuge near the British cantonments at Burlington. ”