The services of these detachments were acknowledged by the Governor-General on their landing, in Orders, from which the following is an extract:—“Under a grateful impression of the important aid derived to the common cause of our country by the able and successful conduct of the expedition from India to Egypt, his Excellency is pleased to order, that honorary medals be conferred on all the native officers, non-commissioned officers, troopers, sipahis, golundaz, and gun-lascars who have been employed on the service in Egypt.”

The insufficiency of the artillery in India had early attracted Lord Mornington’s attention; in June, 1799, we find him writing to Mr. Dundas—“Our artillery throughout India is very deficient. * * * I cannot too strongly press the necessity of attention to the artillery in India: if you do not send out ample supplies of proper men and officers for this useful corps, it will soon fall to ruin; it is already on the decay,—a larger annual supply of cadets, and a reduction of the export of writers would tend to recruit it.”

The Court of Directors had previously (July 5th, 1797) “advised the Government of their intention to send out properly-qualified cadets for the artillery, and prohibited the transfer of any infantry officers” to that branch, and “with a view to promote emulation in the cadets for the artillery or engineer corps who are educated at Woolwich,” the Court “resolved (5th March, 1800) to make it a standing regulation, that those who by their progress in the different studies are first reported qualified to proceed to India, shall have precedence in rank in the general list of cadets appointed for the respective presidencies;” and this order was highly approved by the Governor-General in his minute on establishing the College of Fort William.

In July, 1800, Lord Wellesley writes again to Mr. Dundas,—“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. * * * But the best remedy I may be able to apply will be insufficient, on account of the great deficiency of officers of artillery: some companies have now no more than one commanding officer doing duty with them. This deficiency proceeds, in a great measure, from the original deficiency of the establishment in point of commanding officers, and partly from the neglect of a regular supply of cadets.”

It is probable that men were allowed to volunteer from the European regiments for the artillery at once, for the returns of the regiment shew that 277 men joined “from other corps” in the months of July, August, and September, 1801, but the 2nd European regiment was not reduced until the February following. At the same time, two companies were added to each battalion of artillery, and the strength raised to 1 captain, 1 captain-lieutenant, 2 lieutenants, 2 lieutenant-fireworkers, 5 sergeants, 5 corporals, 2 drummers, 10 gunners, and 80 matrosses; the companies, however, remained incomplete, for upwards of 800 men were deficient.

This increase was reluctantly sanctioned by the Home authority, for we find Mr. Dundas writing to the Court of Directors, 30th June, 1801, on the subject of the liquidation of their debts:—“Mr. Wright observes, that if the addition to the artillery could be postponed, it would save £54,000; but I consider the addition to your artillery establishment to be of such deep importance to the security of your extended Indian empire, that I do not think the saving suggested should be adopted.” The authority was therefore given, and Lord Wellesley, in writing to General Lake, says, “in issuing the order for the reduction of the 2nd European regiment, I request your Excellency to annex to it the order for the augmentation of the artillery, as directed by the Honourable Court. The improvement of our artillery is a point of such importance, that I am resolved not to postpone it under any circumstances whatever.”

The augmentation was accordingly carried into effect; the companies were levelled, so as to divide the old gunners and matrosses equally among the companies, and they were filled up as well as they could be from the volunteers who joined; and the regiment consisted, at the beginning of 1802, of three battalions, of seven companies each, with thirty companies of lascars: neither lascars nor golundaz details being added with the six additional companies; and the golundaz details, all except nine, were reduced in the following November.

The men composing the corps of horse artillery were borne on the rolls of the companies.

The remonstrances of Lord Mornington having thus obtained a numerical increase to the corps, and the Court’s step of obtaining educated cadets from Woolwich having prepared men to fill the vacancies in the commissioned grades (the first of whom had arrived the preceding year), a new era may be considered as opening in the history of the regiment, and it may not be uninteresting to consider the state of the corps at this time.

Of the officers in its early years we have seen sketches in some of Pearse’s letters already quoted, and from the specimens who lived on into this century, and of whom many anecdotes are current among the present seniors of the regiment, they appear to have been deficient not only in the scientific knowledge necessary for their profession, but many were without even the ordinary education of gentlemen of that period; boatswains and gunners in their original calling, they never rose to the manners and acquirements which are expected in commissioned officers; they therefore shewed to great disadvantage when contrasted with the lately-arrived cadets, who to the usual liberal education of gentlemen had superadded a course of study at Woolwich fitting them for the attainment of the higher degrees of their professional knowledge. At the time, too, when they were studying, Indian affairs had awakened great attention; the wars with Hyder and Tippoo had just been brought to a conclusion, and all England rang with applause at the gallant and successful storming of Seringapatam and the expedition to Egypt; their minds were filled with these subjects, and themselves, on their arrival, either partaking in or watching the meteor-like career of Lake, how could they fail receiving a high tone, and infusing it into those who immediately followed, and thus laying the foundation of a permanent improvement in the commissioned grades.

But while we must consider many of the old hands deficient in some qualities requisite to the formation of good officers, let us not forget the habits of the times in which they lived, nor that these men proved themselves good and brave soldiers in the many hard services in which they were employed; “per mare, per terras” might have been their motto. In the wars of Bengal and the Carnatic they filled their part with credit, and many are the names from among them which have been handed down to our respect and esteem both as good soldiers and men of high talent and conduct. Pearse, Montague, Hutchinson, Duff, of the old hands, and others, such as Horsford, Clement Brown, Pennington, who living long into this century may fairly claim no small share in giving a tone to the present corps, are all names which we should not willingly allow to be forgotten; and although we may laugh at the anecdotes of the Hindes, Paschauds, and Greenes, and be tempted to rate the moderns highly when we look to the bright halo with which the Mahrattas, Nepal, Ava, and Affghanistan campaigns have encircled the heads of those whom we delight to honour, let us not forget those who shared in the wars with Hyder and Tippoo, and in the earlier campaigns in which the foundation of our Indian empire was laid. “Vixerunt fortes ante Agamemnona, multi.”

The ranks were filled with men of an indifferent class; the great demand caused by European wars rendered it difficult to recruit for the Company’s service, and, as a natural consequence, the worst men were enlisted. The Regimental Orders, as might be expected, record many courts-martial and the infliction of punishments to preserve order; still, however, when any portion was sent on service, they never forgot what was expected from them, and always supported the national character by their conduct in the field.^[54]

A very mistaken notion as to the composition of the regiment has long prevailed, and is still repeated by those ignorant of the facts of the case; it is often affirmed that a large majority of the regiment is Irish, but from a reference to the long rolls at the period of which we are writing, we find the respective numbers as stated below,^[55] and at a period six years anterior to it (1795), the proportion of Irish was still less, the English being 437 and the Irish 284. At the present time (1845) the English and Irish are nearly equal. We purpose noticing the constitution of the regiment in this point from time to time at different epochs, and also adding the casualties wherever we are able to ascertain them, and this we trust will form a valuable addition to our knowledge of the statistics of Indian mortality.

Having detailed the formation of 1802, we must revert to the preceding year to bring up the record of the services of portions of the regiment.

In November, 1801, two complete companies were ordered for foreign service, to embark on the Dover Castle and Asia Indiamen.

The former company proceeded to Macao, and returned the following November, but does not appear to have been engaged in any active service during the expedition. The latter had a much longer absence; for, reaching Goa in January, 1802, it was sent on to Bombay, and thence to Guzerat in May, Surat in June, and back to Bombay in October; in December it was stationed at Tannah, having been detained by the Bombay Government.^[56] In August, 1803, it participated in the successful attack on Baroach, and then continued with the Bombay army, under Major-General Jones, and joined the army before Bhurtpore in 1805, towards the conclusion of the siege; returned to Bombay in 1806, and reached Fort William in the Sir William Pulteney in July, 1806, after an absence of nearly five years, reduced to 33 men.

Captain C. Wittit, Captain-Lieutenant Paschaud, and Lieutenant-Fireworker S. Hay returned to the presidency in March, 1803. Lieutenant Drummond joined the company in December, 1802, and left in September following. Captain Watkins and Lieutenant T. D. Smith joined it at a later period. Lieutenant Dunn appears to have remained with it throughout.

Other portions of the regiment were called into the field, at the end of 1802, against a powerful zemindar, Bulwunt Sing, who was in possession of three forts, Sarsnee, Bidgegurh, and Cutchowrah, in the neighbourhood of Hattrass; these forts were situated in the districts ceded in 1801 by the Vizier of Oude and Nawab of Furruckabad, to maintain the stipulated British force. Mustering 20,000 followers, he trusted he could successfully resist the demand for his jumma, he therefore tendered a lower sum; this, of course, was refused, and as he appeared determined not to yield the point, a force was collected against him, which gradually increased to 4 battalions of infantry, 4 troops of cavalry, and detachments from 3 companies of artillery, with four 18–pounders, two 4⅖-inch howitzers, and ten 6–pounders.

The trenches were opened against Sarsnee on the 27th December, and a battery erected on the 4th January, 1803, but at such a distance that the rownee was not breached; a storm was nevertheless made on the 15th, which proved unsuccessful.

Lieutenant Boyle was dangerously wounded by a cannon-ball on the 8th, and died on the 24th of January.

Reinforcements under the Commander-in-Chief arrived, and the siege was renewed; the approaches being advanced 200 yards, the town was taken on the 8th February, and on the 11th the garrison abandoned Sarsnee and fled to Bidgegurh; thither the army moved on the 13th; batteries were ready on the 21st February, and by the 27th a practicable breach was effected; during the night, however, the enemy were discovered evacuating the fort, and next morning it was taken possession of by the British.

Whilst proceeding round the fort in the morning, most probably with a view to ascertain the ordnance and stores, Major (Lieutenant-Colonel) Gordon was killed, along with several sipahis and lascars, by the accidental explosion of a powder-magazine. In reporting his death, the Commander-in-Chief says that he felt “particularly indebted for his exertions, directed by uncommon zeal and ability.”

The Governor-General, in the order published to the army, “deeply regrets the severe loss which the public service had sustained by the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon;” he also notified his “high approbation of the gallantry and steadiness displayed by the troops, and of the readiness with which they submitted to extreme labour under circumstances of peculiar hardship from the unusual severity of the weather.”

The force next moved to Cutchowrah, which, after some attempts at treachery and delay, was given up. Major T. Green had command of the artillery, and the troops then broke up and returned to their cantonments, small garrisons being left in Sarsnee and Bidgegurh.

In the contemporary accounts of these sieges we meet with no intimation of excessive rain having fallen, which, no doubt, adds exceedingly to the fatigues and hardships incidental to troops in trenches, and we are therefore rather at a loss to understand what the excessive hardships caused by the season, adverted to in the general orders, were; the heat in the month of March, in the provinces, is not overpowering, and we cannot help smiling when we recollect that within a few months these very troops were to form part of that army which Lake, contemning the seasons, led, in the hottest parts of successive years, through the Dooab and Rajasthan.