The officers in the margin^[61] accompanied the artillery; and the native troops were decorated with a medal, not so much for the service, probably, as for the purpose of stimulating the native army to embark with alacrity for service beyond seas.

In this year the regiment furnished a portion for a far more serious conflict, in which native troops were once again brought into personal contest with Europeans, an event which had not occurred since the destruction of the French power in the Carnatic; we refer to the expedition to Java.

The artillery detachment was as follows:—

The detachment embarked on the 11th March, and reached Malacca in April, where the Madras division joined; the expedition remained inactive till the 11th June, almost the only event being the burning of one of the Bengal store-ships laden with powder; and this occurred fortunately without doing any damage to the fleet. Lieutenant Archer died on the voyage.

On the 4th August the fleet anchored near Chillingching; the troops were landed, and took possession of Batavia without opposition on the 8th; an attempt by the enemy to drive them out the following night failed; and on the 10th the British advanced and drove the enemy from their intrenched camp at Weltervreeden. Captain Noble, with the Madras horse artillery, performed the chief artillery duties on this occasion.

The enemy having concentrated their force in the strong lines around Fort Cornelis, a battering-train was landed, and trenches were opened at about 800 yards from the position. These the enemy flooded by cutting dams on the 19th; on the 20th batteries for twelve and eight 18–pounders and nine howitzers and mortars were commenced; on the 21st the enemy opened a heavy fire on the unfinished batteries; but nevertheless the guns were mounted by the 22nd, when the enemy made a vigorous sally, and overcoming the unarmed working parties, who were not even protected by a guard, succeeded for a moment in capturing the batteries; but they were quickly driven back. On the 23rd and 24th a heavy fire was kept up by the enemy from twenty-four 32–pounders on the batteries and trenches; but although, on the 24th the fire of the nearest redoubt was repeatedly silenced, and towards evening several of the enemy’s guns were dismounted by the fire from the batteries, yet it became evident that without regular approaches the place could not be carried (unless by a coup de main), and this would require time, labour, and exposure in a baneful climate, which was to be avoided by all means.

Lieutenant Farnabie was killed by a stray shot while standing in the trench, and Captain Richards was wounded by some cartridges taking fire in the battery during these two days.

It was determined to storm the lines on the 26th. To occupy the enemy, a party, covered with nine guns, took post behind a rising ground on the right, and opened their fire, while the main column, under Major-General Gillespie, attacked the left, and after sustaining a severe loss, finally succeeded in carrying the lines,—capturing 6,000 prisoners and 280 pieces of fine brass ordnance.

In the orders issued to the army after this exploit, no mention is made of the artillery; and this omission has been attributed to a dislike said to have been taken to the Bengal artillery. That some such feeling was supposed to exist, we may conclude from the following passage, which appears in a letter from an engineer officer on the island to Colonel Horsford, written in October:—“You will see that the artillery were left out in the thanks to the army on the 26th August; but allow me to say, and that decidedly, that had it not been from the fire of our 18–pounders on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th, I believe not a man would have returned from the storm of the 26th without some remembrance, as the day before the storm 130 men and 4 officers were killed and wounded by our batteries; the consequence was, that their artillerymen positively refused to work at the batteries, and hardly a gun was fired by the enemy during the storm, although they had plenty of time; in short, I declare to you that I scarcely ever saw a more destructive fire kept up than by our batteries; indeed the killed and wounded in a hospital four miles to the south of Cornelis showed it, as well as the number of guns that were dismounted. I was constantly in the batteries. * * * The effect of our artillery, when they did fire, was so conspicuous, that at a practice I never saw better firing, especially of three guns on the right of the twelve-gun battery, commanded by Lieutenant Cameron. I declare to you I never witnessed anything like it, for every shot he fired went into the enemy’s embrasures; the consequence was, that in an hour and a half the redoubt which was opposed to it was silenced.”

In Sir Samuel Achmuty’s report to Lord Minto, the following mention is made of the ordnance branches:—“I have the satisfaction to assure you that both the artillery and engineers were actuated by the same zeal in performing their respective duties which has been so conspicuous in all ranks and departments, though, from deficiency of the means at their disposal, their operations were unavoidably embarrassed with uncommon difficulties.”

From Cornelis, General Jansens fled to Bintenzorg, and thence to Samarang, near which town he took up a position, Jattoo, on high and rugged hills, defended by thirty pieces of artillery, and the road cut off by cheveux de frise; he was attacked on the 16th of September by a detachment of 1,200 men, under Colonel Gibbs, with whom were 110 artillerymen and six guns; with the artillery were Major Caldwell, Lieutenants Scott, Farrington, Cameron, and Ralfe. Two of the guns were sent to the right with a force to seize on a hill which overlooked the enemy’s left, while the remainder were placed in a position in front to throw their shot across the valley into the enemy’s position. As soon as the two detached guns opened their fire, the advance rushed on; the enemy were surprised and fled, doing little execution with their artillery, which was all taken.

This was the last effort of General Jansens; he fled to Salatiga and capitulated; Fort Ludovick was surrendered, and the war, as far as the Dutch were concerned, may be said to have ended; but to avoid returning to Java again, we will here notice such other affairs as occurred during the time the British held possession of the island. But before continuing the narrative, we will here insert a sketch of the medal granted to the native troops employed in the expedition; and we may also state that medals were for this service granted to officers in H.M.’s service, but to none under the rank of commanding officer of a corps, or holding an important staff office.

The next service on which this force was employed was the expedition under Gillespie to the Palmsbury river, in April, 1822, in which were Captain S. Shaw, Lieutenants Hill and Delafosse.

In June, they again started for Samarang. Major Butler, who had previously come round, commanded the artillery; Lieutenants Farrington, Cameron, and Hill accompanied. They reached Djocjocarta on the 17th of June, and prepared for the attack of the “kraken,” or fortified residence of the Sultan of Mataram, three miles in circumference, armed with many guns, and defended by a broad wet ditch with drawbridges, by 17,000 regular troops, and an armed population of 100,000. The enemy were kept on the alert by a heavy fire till three in the morning of the 20th, they were then allowed a respite, and two hours before daylight the troops moved to the assault and carried the works. Major Butler, one drummer, and eleven rank and file of the artillery, were wounded.

In the Orders, we find, “The Commander of the Forces performs a pleasing task in recognizing the valuable services of Major Butler, commanding the artillery, who has uniformly displayed his wonted zeal and indefatigable exertion; the Commander of the Forces is therefore happy in the opportunity of bearing public testimony to the professional superiority and valuable acquirements of this excellent officer;” and Lieutenant Cameron’s conduct is also spoken of.

Other expeditions^[62] took place during the time we held possession of the island, in which, Captain-Lieutenant Shaw, Lieutenant Farrington, Lieutenants Cameron, Harris, and Delafosse, took part; in those against the town of Boni, in 1814, and against Macassar, in 1816, Lieutenant Farrington is mentioned in Orders, and attention drawn to his exertions.

Bundlecund still continued the seat of war; Gopal Sing, availing himself of the natural fastnesses of the country, evaded our troops continually. He was overtaken near Perereea in February (and Lieutenant Timbrell is mentioned on this occasion), but escaping, he fled to the hills, from whence he came out the following month, and before assistance could be sent, burned the cantonment of Tiroha, maintaining a harassing and desultory warfare, which, without producing any marked events, kept the troops constantly on the move during that and the following year; and it was only brought to a close by the siege of Callingur, in February, 1812; after which, Gopal Sing returned to his allegiance.

Callingur is a fort situated on one of those detached rocky eminences abounding in Bundlecund, and which require little aid from art, as they are almost natural fortifications. The rock at the summit forms a natural scarp, of from ten to twenty feet high, and the whole side of the hill is very difficult of access. The only entrance is in the centre of the northern wall, and the approach to it is by a steep pathway winding up the face of the hill; this gained, a succession of gates bar the entrance to the fort.

The force under Colonel Martindell assembled on the 19th January; on the 21st occupied a small hill, within 800 yards, which promised to be the most favourable point for attack. The 22nd, 23rd, and 24th were employed in clearing the jungle and making a road for the guns, and, on the 25th, two 18–pounders were, with great labour, got up. In the night, two more guns and two mortars followed, and were placed in battery: two other batteries were erected at the foot of the hill, against the main gateway, and the whole being ready by the 28th, opened with great effect. The enemy’s guns were immediately dismounted, and the bastion opposed to the guns on the hill demolished.

The town was taken this day; and the batteries continuing to play till the 2nd of February, the breach was supposed practicable, and a party advanced to storm it, but finding a perpendicular ascent of twenty feet, their ladders crushed and broken by the showers of large stones the enemy rolled down, the party were forced to retire with heavy loss: the killadar, however, was glad to come to terms, and capitulated on the 8th February.

Major Fuller commanded the artillery in this siege, and their exertions were acknowledged in General Orders:—“The Governor-General deems it his duty to express his concurrence in the honourable testimony borne to the distinguished services of the artillery and engineer departments by Colonel Martindell.”

The neighbouring districts of Boglecund and Rewah were, during the next year, the scenes of petty warfare, similar to what had taken place in Bundlecund; marked by no features of great importance, yet involving much exertion on the part of the troops, particularly the artillery employed, from the mountainous and rugged features of the country and the number of nullahs and rivers intersecting it. We have but few records of this campaign, and are therefore unable to give the details, interesting as they would be to those who are acquainted with the country, and can, from the present state of the Heerapoor, Bisramgunge, and Bundry ghats, easily imagine the difficulties they presented at the time of which we are now writing.

About this period an alteration took place in the matériel of the regiment, by the introduction of the Gribeauval pattern of gun-carriage and the long caisson for ammunition, a description of which will be found in the fourth chapter. The matériel and the means of draught occupied much attention at this period, and there is every reason to believe that the recently organized driver corps and the gun bullocks about this period, under the particular care and attention of Lieutenant-Colonel Grace, commanding the artillery in the field, were in a most efficient state. The bullocks were carefully selected and trained, fairly worked and well looked after, and the consequence was, that we find the gun bullocks condemned as past their work, selling, from the high condition they were in, for the purpose of slaughter, at a higher rate than the good young cattle bought to replace them were costing.

As the next war in which the army was engaged proved how insufficient the strength of the regiment was, and caused a considerable addition to the native portion of it, we propose here to notice the additions to the end of 1815, although the war commenced the preceding year: by so doing, we shall avoid breaking the thread of the narrative of the Goorkha war.

The last additions we have noticed were two companies of independent golundaz, added in 1809; a third company was raised in February, 1812, and a fourth in August, 1814; in 1815 four additional companies of golundaz were raised to meet the wants of the service; so that the regiment now consisted of 1 horse brigade of three troops, 3 European battalions of 7 companies each, and 1 Native battalion of 16 companies, together with lascars (42 companies) and ordnance-drivers (26 companies); but these additions to the numerical strength of the regiment had been made without any corresponding increase to the ranks of the commissioned officers. This was peculiarly galling; for while struggling with the difficulties of their position, the officers had the mortification of seeing the numbers of the infantry increased by whole regiments at a time, bringing fair promotion with the augmentations, while, in their own branch, from 1802 to 1815, the troops and companies had increased from 21 to 40, yet, with the exception of the field officers added in 1806, not an officer had been given: the infantry had during that time risen from 25 to 31 regiments.

An important change in the location of the regiment took place in 1813. The head-quarters had hitherto been in Fort William, and moved out to Dum-Dum during the cold months for practice and exercise; this year, barracks having been completed, Dum-Dum was permanently occupied as the head-quarters of the artillery,—a change, no doubt, adding much to the comfort of all ranks, for there can be no comparison as to the comfort and health of men cooped up within the narrow limits of a fortress, and those occupying an airy roomy cantonment,—even if a cantonment surrounded with swamps, as Dum-Dum is; and in spite of which it is now one of the most salubrious of stations for European troops. As it had been used as a practice-ground for upwards of thirty years, many bungalows of different degrees of stability had sprung up,—chiefly, we believe, of mat and thatch; and as the officers doubtless were not idle while the barracks were building, we may believe that they found plenty of accommodation ready for them; and houses, of a more durable nature, soon began to spring up, some on new sites, others replacing the temporary habitations. A mess-house, we believe, had been previously built by Government; occupying the site of the centre room of the present building, which, by gradual additions and alterations, has reached its present handsome proportions. These were chiefly made in 1824–5, in 1836, and in 1841–2, when the verandah was raised and the portico added. The last improvement was made in 1845, when the roof, put on twenty years before, requiring to be renewed, the centre rooms were raised several feet. The other houses in the cantonment have hardly undergone less change: brick walls first replaced the mats, and then puckah roofs superseded the thatch; the usual additions of rooms and verandahs taking place. The very last of the old bungalows was recently transformed into a puckah house, and, save the old avenue, which all declare to have been exactly in its present state when they landed half a century ago, there is little in the present cantonment which can be recognized by those who first occupied it permanently. The barracks had an upper story placed on them about 1830; the church was built in 1819; and a year or two ago a racket-court, for the men of the regiment, was built: the officers erected one for themselves in 1834.

For many years Dum-Dum was a very favourite station; its mess, its amateur theatre, its band, and, at one time, its pack of fox-hounds, rendered it a place of resort to many from Calcutta and the neighbouring stations; but the gradual change in the location of the artillery has necessarily reduced the numbers there, and the heavy tax upon the means of living, caused by the station being placed on half-batta in 1829, causes all who can to avoid it; and consequently hardly any are to be found there save the staff of the regiment of the station and the battalions quartered there, with the young men just arrived from England and awaiting their dispatch to the provinces.