Bengal Native Infantry

“ There were officers of the 10th regiment; other military officers on leave; gun-carriage agents; civil servants; merchants and dealers; a few tent-makers and other artisans; indigo-planters from the neighbouring estates; and many native Christians under the care of the American Presbyterian mission.
We have already seen (pp. 112, 113) by how small a number of native troops several stations were set in commotion in May. The 9th regiment Bengal native infantry was separated into four portions, which were stationed at Allygurh, Bolundshuhur, 173Etawah, and Minpooree, respectively ”

“ The enemy were found to have abandoned the village, but many were shot down in the advance of the skirmishers through the enclosures. When clear of the village, the infantry advanced in echelon of battalions from the right. While the 71st took ground to the right, and the 19th Bengal Native Infantry went to the help of the Bombay Artillery, the 92nd, under Captain Cameron, advanced in the face of a large body of cavalry, who had posted themselves under a large tope of trees on a rising ground and frequently threatened to charge. ”

“ Three-fourths of the recruits of our Bengal native infantry are drawn from the Rājpūt peasantry of the kingdom of Oudh, on the left bank of the Ganges, where their affections have been linked to the soil for a long series of generations. [14] The good feelings of the families from which they are drawn continue through the whole period of their service to exercise a salutary influence over their conduct as men and as soldiers. ”

“ The Bengal contingent amounted in all to 2,175 men, consisting of two regiments, the second battalion of the 20th (now 40th) native infantry, and two companies of artillery; that of Madras was much greater, and amounted to 9,300 men, making together the somewhat formidable number of 11,475 men, of whom nearly 5,000 were Europeans. In addition to the transports, there was a Bengal flotilla of twenty gun-brigs and rowing-boats, each carrying an eighteen-pounder. ”

“ It is from this peasantry, the military cultivators of Oudh, that our Bengal native infantry draws three out of four of its recruits, and finer young men for soldiers can hardly anywhere be found. [8]
The advantage which arises to society from doing the soldiers' duty with a smaller number has never been sufficiently appreciated in India; but it will become every day more manifest, as our dominion becomes more and more stable—for men who have lived by the sword do not in India like to live by anything else, or to see their children anything but soldiers. ”

“ There were the 60th (Rifle) regiment, 1000 strong; the 6th Dragoon Guards or Carabineers, 600 strong (but not fully mounted) ; a troop of horse-artillery; and 500 artillery recruits—altogether about 2200 men, with a full complement of officers. The native troops were but little more numerous: comprising the 3d Bengal cavalry, and the 11th and 20th Bengal infantry. In such a relative state of the European and native forces, no one for an instant would have admitted the probability of a revolt being successful at such a time and place. ”

“ In November certain corps ordered to proceed to the Punjaub from Delhi openly showed insubordination. In December still graver signs of revolt occurred. The Thirty-Second Bengal Native Infantry refused to accept their pay, and mutinously demanded increased rates. The presence of a veteran general officer quelled this outbreak at Wuzzerabad, but a still more serious instance of insubordination was soon to manifest itself. In February, 1850, the Sixty-Sixth Regiment of Bengal Infantry broke into open mutiny at Govind Ghur, a suburb of Umritsur the sacred city of the Sikhs. ”

“ The Bengal army was recruited from Hindustan, the infantry being mostly drawn from Oudh and the great Gangetic plains. The soldiers were chiefly high-caste Hindus, a sixth being Mahommedans. The cavalry was composed mainly of Mahommedans, recruited from Rohilkhand and the Gangetic Doab. The only other elements in the army were four Gurkha regiments, enlisted from Nepal, and the local Punjab irregular force. The Madras army was chiefly recruited from that presidency, or the native states connected with it, and consisted of Mahommedans, Brahmans, and of the Mahratta, Tamil and Telugu peoples. ”

“ The total loss of the British was 38 officers and 564 men killed, 94 officers and 1,557 men wounded, and 104 missing. The Sikhs, who "fought like devils," lost about 3,000 killed and 4,000 wounded.
The following British regiments took part: 24th, 29th (whose "undaunted bravery" was placed on record) , 61st Foot; 3rd, 9th, and 14th Light Dragoons; Bengal Horse and Foot Artillery; the 2nd Bengal Fusiliers; 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 31st, 36th, 45th, 46th, 56th, and 69th Bengal Native Infantry; 1st, 5th, 6th, and 8th Bengal Light Cavalry; 3rd and 9th Irregular Cavalry and Bengal Pioneers. ”

“ We had, however, in their place, the survivors of the 32nd Foot, and of the Native regiments who had behaved so loyally during the siege. These latter were formed into one battalion, called the Regiment of Lucknow—the present 16th Bengal Infantry. The 32nd Foot, which was not up to full strength (1,067) when the Mutiny broke out, had in 1857-58 no less than 610 men killed and wounded, exclusive of 169 who died from disease. ”

“ Every augmentation of native troops in India should be accompanied by a due augmentation of the European force, artillery as well as infantry.
“The Company’s European artillery are everywhere extremely weak. The fixed establishment of this corps is defective at all the presidencies, and the numbers wanting to complete even that defective establishment are now so considerable that I intend without delay to reduce one of the Company’s European regiments in Bengal for the purpose of augmenting the artillery of this presidency. ”

“ During the months of April and May, reinforcements continued to arrive to strengthen the expedition, and the belief was general that it was determined to put an end to the war as soon as possible, by some means or other. A fresh corps of Bengal volunteers, a remarkably fine body of men, arrived from Calcutta; the 41st and the 2nd native infantry arrived from Madras, with a reinforcement of artillery, and a few horses for the guns. ”

“ About the close of July, the disarmed 26th native infantry mutinied at Lahore, killed Major Spencer and two native officers, and fled up the left bank of the Ravee; but the police, the new levies, and the villagers pursued them so closely and harassed them so continuously, that hardly a man remained alive. In August, something of the same kind occurred at other places in the Punjaub; native Bengal regiments still were there, disarmed but not disbanded; and it could not be otherwise than that the men felt chafed and discontented with such a state of things. ”

“ He raised the Bengal native light infantry, and commanded that battalion in two campaigns against the hill-robbers about Rajmahal, in which he distinguished himself by his lenity and humanity no less than by the success of his operations. He also rendered good service against the Mahrattas and in the Rohilla war. His services were acknowledged by the court of directors on 19 April 1771, and again on 30 March 1774, in terms almost unprecedented in the case of an officer of junior rank. ”

“ The casualties given in the table on p. 331 show, however, that the distinction "Central India" was not earned without hard fighting.
Defence of Arrah—Behar, 1857.
These two distinctions are the peculiar property of the 45th Rattray's Sikhs, and demand a passing notice.
When the Mutiny broke out, there was but one British regiment in the long stretch of nearly a thousand miles between Calcutta and Lucknow—the 10th Foot, at Dinapore. Here, too, was a large native garrison—the 7th, 8th, and 40th Regiments of Bengal Infantry. ”

“ There are Europeans, Goorkhas, Sikhs, Punjaubees, Beloochees, and mountaineers from the Afghan frontier; but the only entry referring clearly to the Bengal native army is that of 78 men of the 4th irregular cavalry, and these appear in the unsoldierlike condition, ‘disarmed and unhorsed.’ The horse-artillery were frequently referred to in dispatches by the names of the officers in command—such as Tombs’, Turner’s, Renny’s, and Remington’s troops ”

“ The local European army was abolished, and its personnel amalgamated with the royal army. The artillery became wholly British, with the exception of a few native mountain batteries. The total strength of the British troops, all of the royal army, was largely increased, while that of the native troops was largely diminished. Three distinct native armies—those of Bengal, Madras and Bombay—were still maintained. The reduced Indian armies consisted of cavalry and infantry only, with a very few artillery, distributed as follows:—
There were also three sapper battalions, one to each army. ”

“ They have found out that the “Feringhee ray”—English reign—is not all over out here, and that civility is much cheaper than shot, shell, cold steel, or a rope. As for a Native army, we must keep up one, or send out at least 50,000 more men, to hold this vast country. The old Bengal Native Army has been almost destroyed. There are a few regiments that have remained loyal, and the places of the others are filled up with Punjaubees and Afridis—inhabitants of the lower range of the Himalaya Mountains. One would almost pity some of the old mutineers that escaped the ravages of war. ”

“ So long as the delta of the Ganges remained in British hands, there would always be a base of operations for reconquering Upper India, if necessary; but that delta once lost, the services of a Clive, backed by a large army from England, would be again needed to recover it. A plan was therefore formed for locating five or six thousand European troops in Bengal, quartered at Calcutta, Dumdum, Chinsura, Barrackpore, Dinapoor, Benares, and one or two other places. It became very seriously contested whether any native army whatever would be needed in the province. ”

“ In May 1857, the mutiny of the Bengal Native Army occurred, which so profoundly changed the nature of British administration in India. Through carelessness and false economy, the East India Company had allowed the number of European troops in India to sink to a dangerously low level, in proportion to the number of native troops. As against some 230,000 native soldiers, the European troops numbered less than 40,000 men, of whom about 23,500 were royal troops. ”

“ After these battles the Mahratta army submitted to our Government, and in about a fortnight afterwards six or eight thousand of them actually volunteered to enter our service, and were at once formed into ten regiments under British officers selected from the Bengal native forces, and styled from that day “The Gwalior Contingent.” They remained faithful to our service until the general mutiny of the native Bengal army, and then I believe they joined the revolt to a man. ”

“ The governor-general in council declined to accede to this request. He urged in reply—that there was no evidence of the native population of Bengal being in so disaffected a state as to render martial law necessary; that such law had already been enforced in the northwest provinces, where the mutineers were chiefly congregated; that in Bengal the native police, aided by the European civilians, would probably be strong enough to quell ordinary disturbances; that, as all his European troops were wanted to confront the mutinous sepoys, he had none to spare for ordinary police duties ”

“ He was thwarted in his labours, ridiculed for his fears, censured for his measures of reform. The men who opposed him became the petted favourites of his enemies. His own friends were marked out for enmity or neglect. He resigned. Time passed. The old soldier sank into his grave, and the hatred of his detractors did not ease its slander even when the tomb had closed upon the hero. Seven years went by, and suddenly the storm he had so vainly foretold broke upon India and upon England. The native army of Bengal mutinied. India ran with blood. Men, women, and children perished in thousands. ”

“ From this time up to the date of their departure from India, the 19th Light Dragoons never ceased to furnish non-commissioned officers and privates as instructors to the Native Cavalry, not only in Madras, but also in Bengal. In every muster roll they are shown on duty, at Madras, Vellore, Hyderabad, Seringapatam, Poonamallee, and other military stations in the Madras Presidency. In Bengal there were always from four to sixteen sergeants, corporals, and privates on this duty, as long as the regiment was in India, and, for a time, some were on similar duty in Bombay and Poona. ”

“ With these views it is not to be wondered at that the Home Government should have directed the golundaz to be reduced; but Indian experience might even then have taught that no more dangerous ally can be found for a native army than a large and imperfectly-equipped artillery. A native power will hardly bear the heavy continued expense required to keep it efficient ”

“ The greater part of the Bengal army in open mutiny; sepoys murdering their officers, together with their wives and children; widespread disaffection among the native troops of both the other Presidencies. As written at the time, and when the intelligence was fresh: “It appears that the ostensible cause of the outbreak was the issue of cartridges greased with animal fat. But for a long time past a deep-rooted determination has existed among the natives to throw off a foreign yoke, and to raise for themselves a king of the Delhi line of succession. ”