The Sultan of Turkey, in addition to the Order of the Medjidieh, bestowed a silver medal on every officer and man present in the Crimea, and Queen Victoria in like manner granted the Crimean Medal to every French, Sardinian, and Turkish soldier or sailor present in the campaign.

Decorations bestowed by our Allies during the Crimean War.

The Victoria Cross.

This decoration dates from the Crimean War, and was instituted, as is well known, as a reward open to all ranks for conspicuous bravery in presence of the enemy. During the campaign the following regiments were able to add to their other honours the Victoria Cross:

The following table is of interest, as showing the total losses incurred by the army in the Crimea in the different arms:

From the above it will be seen that, whilst 2,769 officers and men were killed in action or died of their wounds, the losses by disease amounted to no less than 16,037! For every ten officers killed in action, six died from disease, whereas in the proportion of the men who fell the figures were reversed. For every ten who fell in action or as a result of their wounds no less than sixty died of disease.

CHAPTER XX

BATTLE HONOURS FOR THE INDIAN MUTINY, 1857-1859

India—Delhi—Lucknow—Central India—Defence of Arrah—Behar.

INDIA, 1857-1859.

For some inscrutable reason, the colours of those regiments which were employed in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny bear no record of their services unless they happened to have been employed at the Siege of Delhi or in the operations at Lucknow or in Central India. There is, indeed, one notable exception. A group of Sikhs, but fifty in number, aided Mr. Wake in his determined defence of Arrah, and subsequently the regiment was engaged in maintaining peace in the province of Behar. For these services the 45th Rattray's Sikhs are authorized to bear the words "Defence of Arrah" and "Behar" on their colours and appointments. Yet British and native troops—aye, civilians and delicately-nurtured women—were engaged for many weary months in a daily contest with battle and with wounds, with plague, pestilence, and famine. Throughout the length and breadth of the northern portion of Hindustan we were waging a life-and-death struggle for the maintenance of British supremacy in India. The details of many incidents in that struggle we never shall know. Our Indian graveyards are filled with tombs recording the losses of those days, from Generals who, like Nicholson, fell in the hour of victory, to wee bairnies who perished from want of the bare necessaries of life, and, alas! also from the sword and bullet of our foes. The whole peninsula is hallowed with the unknown graves of our gallant dead.

The history of the Siege of Delhi, where a force of less than 10,000 men besieged a city defended by four times their number of disciplined troops for a period of twelve long weeks in the hottest season of the year, is only equalled by the dauntless bravery with which Lucknow was defended against incalculable odds. Loyal native vied with his British comrade in upholding the honour of our flag, whilst the cheerful heroism and self-abnegation of the women who bore such a noble part in the struggle is deserving of more than a passing tribute of homage. The romantic interest that centred round Havelock's relief of Lucknow has dwarfed the marvellous achievements of the Delhi force—an achievement never surpassed in the military annals of our own or any other country.

The losses suffered by the troops at the siege of that fortress exceeded in number the total casualties incurred by the rest of the army in the suppression of the rebellion. The "morning states" of September 13—the day before the storm of the city—showed a total strength of 9,366 effectives; on the evening of the 20th, when the entire city was in our hands, there were but 5,520. No less than 3,846 officers and men had been killed and wounded; yet four days afterwards General Wilson was enabled to despatch a little column to aid in the relief of Lucknow. It consisted of three batteries of Bengal Artillery, 300 men of the 9th Lancers, the headquarters of the 8th and 75th Regiments, totalling only 450 men, so grievously had these battalions suffered in the siege. Four squadrons of native cavalry and two battalions of Punjab troops brought the total strength of the brigade to just under 2,000 men.

Delhi, May to September, 1857.

The regiments authorized to bear the battle honour "Delhi" on their colours and appointments are the

Carabiniers.
9th Lancers.
King's (Liverpool).
Gloucesters.
Oxford Light Infantry.
King's Royal Rifles.
Gordon Highlanders.
Royal Munster Fusiliers.
9th Hodson's Horse.
10th Lancers.
21st Daly's Horse.
22nd Sam Browne's Horse.
25th Cavalry.
Q.O. Corps of Guides,
1st P.W.O. Sappers and Miners.
54th Sikhs.
55th Coke's Rifles.
56th Punjab Rifles.
57th Wilde's Rifles.
127th Baluch Light Infantry.
2nd Gurkhas.
3rd Gurkhas.

It will be noted that the Carabiniers is the only corps which bears the two honours "Delhi" and "Sevastopol."

On the first news of the mutiny at Meerut reaching the Commander-in-Chief at Simla on May 12, he at once moved down with the Headquarters Staff to Umballa, where the regiments at Kussowlie, Dugshai, and Subathoo, had been ordered to assemble. The 9th Lancers and two troops of Bengal Artillery were quartered at that station, and at Meerut were the Carabiniers, the 60th Rifles, and the headquarters of the Bengal Artillery.

Much unavoidable delay occurred in procuring carriage for the troops, and, of course, it was necessary to provide for the safety of the Punjab. It was not until May 24 that the Commander-in-Chief was able to move. Two days afterwards he died of cholera at Kurnal, and the command devolved upon General Barnard—a gallant officer who had been Chief of the Staff during the latter part of the Crimean War, but who was new to India. The force moving down from Umballa consisted of two brigades, and was to be joined before reaching Delhi by the Meerut garrison. This junction took place on June 7. The Meerut force had fought a successful action with the mutineers a week previously, capturing five guns.

On the 7th General Barnard found the mutineers drawn up in a strong position at Budli-ka-Serai to dispute his advance. They had thrown up some works, in which heavy guns were placed. After a sharp fight, in which we lost 51 killed and 131 wounded, the rebels were driven out of their vantage-ground, with the loss of thirteen guns, and from this day the siege may be said to have commenced. Just one month later General Barnard died of cholera, which was daily claiming victims from all ranks. Indeed, until the close of the siege, this scourge was never absent. From time to time, as circumstances permitted, reinforcements of both British and native troops were pushed down from the Punjab, and the loyal Sikh chiefs also sent contingents, which, though not of great fighting value, served to keep open our communications with Lahore, and to a certain extent, no doubt, did aid in the work of the siege.

Between June 7 and September 14—the day of the assault—the besieging force fought no fewer than thirty-two engagements, and so heavy were the duties thrown on officers and men that it was impossible to relieve the guards, men remaining for days at a time on duty, whilst staff officers took their turn in the batteries and trenches. On the morning of September 13 the decision was taken to carry the city by storm. Two breaches were declared practicable on the northern side of the walls at the Water and Kashmir bastions. Practically the whole available force was detailed for the assault. The first, second, and third columns, under the command of General John Nicholson, were to act on the left; the fourth, under Major Reid, of the 2nd Gurkhas, on the right. It consisted of Major Reid's own gallant regiment (now well known to all soldiers as the 2nd Gurkhas), the infantry of the Guides, and such men as could be spared from the picquets of the British regiments on the ridge. No. 1 column of the force, under Nicholson, was composed of the 75th (now the Gordon Highlanders), the 1st Bengal Fusiliers (now the 1st Munsters), and the 2nd Punjab Infantry (now the 56th Rifles). This stormed the breach at the Kashmir bastion. No. 2 column, under Colonel Jones, of the 61st, consisted of the 8th (Liverpool) Regiment, the 2nd Bengal Fusiliers (now the 2nd Munsters), and the 4th (now the 54th Sikhs). The third column, under Colonel Campbell, of the 52nd, was composed of the 52nd (Oxford Light Infantry), the 3rd Gurkhas, and Coke's Rifles. The total strength of the three columns amounted to 2,800 men, whilst the fourth, under Major Reid, was 680 strong, but it had in support 1,200 men of the Kashmir contingent. The reserve was under Colonel Longfield, of the 8th, and comprised the 61st Foot (2nd Gloucesters), the 4th Punjab Infantry (now the 57th), Wilde's Rifles, and the Baluch battalion (now the 127th Baluch Light Infantry).

Casualties at the Siege and Assault of Delhi, May to September, 1857.

The story of the siege and the assault is an epic which will remain a monument of the heroism of our troops, British and native, to all time. Those who stand on that famous ridge and gaze at the stupendous walls before them, must wonder, as I have wondered, at the audacity which conceived and the gallantry which achieved such a feat of arms. As I have said, by September 20 the city, with its arsenal, was in our hands, and on the following day a small brigade of all arms was at once despatched to open up communications with the North-West Provinces, and to aid in the tranquillization of the country. Our losses during the siege were grievously heavy. Out of a total strength of 640, the 60th Rifles lost 389 of all ranks; the 2nd Gurkhas lost 310 out of 540; the Guides 303 out of 550. Coke's Rifles had all its officers killed or wounded, and more than half the men. The 52nd had arrived from Sialkot just a month prior to the assault. It marched into camp 640 strong; on the morning of September 14 it paraded 240 rank and file, having lost 74 men from cholera and sunstroke in one short month! The table on p. 315 tells its own tale.

Lucknow.

The following regiments are authorized to bear this battle honour on their colours and appointments:

Queen's Bays.
7th Hussars.
9th Lancers.
Northumberland Fusiliers.
King's Liverpools.
Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
Lincolns.
Lancashire Fusiliers.
Border.
Scottish Rifles.
Cornwall Light Infantry.
South Staffords.
South Lancashire.
Black Watch.
Royal West Kent.
Shropshire Light Infantry.
North Staffords.
York and Lancaster.
Seaforth Highlanders.
Gordon Highlanders.
Cameron Highlanders.
Sutherland Highlanders.
Royal Munster Fusiliers.
Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
Rifle Brigade.
9th Hodson's Horse.
10th Hodson's Horse.
11th Probyn's Lancers.
21st Daly's Horse.
22nd Sam Browne's Horse.
25th Cavalry.
1st P.W.O. Sappers and Miners.
2nd Q.O. Sappers and Miners.
14th Sikhs.
16th Lucknow.
32nd Pioneers.
56th Punjabi Rifles.
57th Wilde's Rifles.

This one battle honour, "Lucknow," covers four distinct military operations—the memorable defence of the Residency under Sir Henry Lawrence; the first relief, or rather reinforcement, of the beleaguered garrison by Sir Henry Havelock; the final relief and withdrawal of the women and children by Sir Colin Campbell; and, lastly, the siege and capture of the city in March, 1858. With the medal granted for the Indian Mutiny clasps were issued for the Relief, the Defence, and one simply superscribed "Lucknow," which covered the final operations only. Wearers of the medal are enabled to show the distinctive part they played in the grand struggle in and around Lucknow, but survivors are now few and far between. In a very few short years there will be no wearers of the Mutiny Medal left. Whilst the men by their clasps showed the share they took in the operations, the regiments bear no distinctive mark showing the part they played. The Somerset Light Infantry and the 12th Khelat-i-Ghilzai Regiment are authorized to bear a mural crown as a distinctive honour for their defence of Jelalabad and Khelat-i-Ghilzai; the 16th Lucknow Regiment wears a battlemented gateway, to connect it with the memorable defence of the Residency; the 45th Sikhs bear the words "Defence of Arrah"; and the regiments which formed the garrison, under Sir George White, were granted the honour "Defence of Ladysmith," to differentiate them from their comrades who, under Sir Redvers Buller, effected their relief. It is true that the 32nd were made light infantry as a recognition of their conduct at Lucknow, but so little is this fact remembered that in the month of January, 1910, a leading service paper gravely asserted that the Cornwalls were given their bugles in the year 1832! Sic transit gloria mundi.

Defence of Lucknow.

Lucknow, the capital of the newly-annexed kingdom of Oude, was in 1857 a city of some 150,000 inhabitants, known to be fanatically hostile to our rule. Only the year before the Mutiny the King had been deposed, and with good cause. Misgovernment and tyranny were rampant throughout his kingdom, and we were performing a mere act of justice towards his people in removing him from power. We have not yet learnt the lesson that a nation prefers bad government under its own rulers to the best form of government under an alien administration. The unpopularity of the annexation was felt beyond the confines of Oude. A very large proportion of the sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited from this very country, and their sympathies were naturally with their fallen King.

Fortunately, Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General responsible for the annexation, had selected one of the very best soldier-statesmen in India for the post of Chief Commissioner—Sir James Outram, a tried soldier of the Bombay army. At this moment he was absent from his post, having been selected to command the troops in the Persian Expeditionary Force. His successor, Sir Henry Lawrence, was, like Outram, a soldier—one of that gallant band of brothers whose names will last so long as does our Indian Empire. He commenced his career in the Bengal Artillery, had seen a great deal of service as a gunner, and had earned a still higher reputation in the early days of the administration of the Punjab. Fortunate it was for England that she had such a man in Lucknow. The Mutiny caused no surprise to Henry Lawrence. Fifteen years previously, in the pages of the Calcutta Review, he had predicted an attempt on the part of the pampered sepoy to gain the upper hand, but his warnings had fallen on deaf ears. Now he was ready for the emergency—ready so far as his means permitted. The garrison of Lucknow consisted of one British battalion—the 32nd (Cornwall Regiment), numbering 19 officers and 517 other ranks—one weak company of the 84th—one officer and 48 men. There were, in addition, six regiments of native infantry, two of native cavalry, and two batteries of native artillery.

The news of the mutiny at Meerut and of the capture of Delhi by the adherents of the old Mogul Emperor was known in Lucknow on May 12, and then Lawrence commenced to take steps to meet the coming storm. Measures were adopted to render the Residency defensible—no easy task. It was in the heart of the city, surrounded by a few buildings erected for the convenience of the staff of the Resident. These were in plots of ground, separated by low mud walls. Within easy range were several masonry palaces, which afforded good shelter to an enemy. It was impossible to include all of the staff houses in the scheme of defence, owing to the smallness of the garrison. All that could be done was to connect the various buildings by a breastwork, and to excavate a ditch all round. Provisions and ammunition were brought in, and all the civilians, as well as the British troops, were concentrated as near the Residency as possible.

On May 29 the native garrison threw off all semblance of loyalty, murdered their officers, including the Brigadier (Handscomb), and moved out of their lines, which they fired. They were from time to time joined by other mutineers, who had committed grievous outrages in other stations in Oude. No attack, however, was made on the Residency.

On June 29 Lawrence determined to undertake the offensive, and he moved out to Chinhut, where the mutineers were massed, to attack them. He met with a sharp reverse, losing some of his guns, whilst the wing of the 32nd, who were with him, lost 115 killed out of 300 men engaged. The following morning Lawrence blew up the magazine, containing 249 barrels of powder and 594,000 rounds of ammunition, which it was found impossible to carry into the Residency, and made final preparations for the siege. His garrison consisted of under 2,000 men, of whom 100 were civilians and 765 loyal natives—men of the mutinied regiments who had determined to throw in their lot with the Sirkar. With them were nearly 200 pensioners—men mostly past work.

It is not within the scope of this work to deal with the details of that heroic defence, where civilian vied with soldier, native with Englishman, to uphold the honour of our name; where delicately-nurtured women and the no less devoted wives of the privates shared all the dangers, all the privations, of the humblest sepoy. Many women and children died from want of the bare necessaries of life; more than one babe was shot in its mother's arms, and more than one woman fell a victim to the bullets of our foes. For a long eighty-seven days did the siege last, and then the little band under Havelock forced its way through the many thousands of the besieging force, and brought the welcome reinforcement of British bayonets to the beleaguered garrison. The figures below tell the sad tale of the severe losses which were endured by the heroic garrison of Lucknow:

Casualties in the Defence of Lucknow.