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History
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The 7th Regiment was raised on 5 April 1805. There was service in Oudh in 1808, and Hariana from 1809 to 1810. The regiment took part in the Nepal War of 1814-15, was present at the battle of Nalapani or Khalanga. They were at the siege and capture of Hathras Fort in February to March 1817.
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Third Maharatta War, 1817 -1819
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The Governor-General, the Marquis of Hastings organised an army to finish the Pindaris once and for all but at the same time keep a watch on the Maharattas at Poona, Nagpore, Indore and Gwalior. The Pindaris were concentrated around the River Narbada which was surrounded by thick jungle. Because the Pindaris relied on a quick retreat it was necessary to approach them from different directions to cut them off. So the forces were organised for combined operations, involving the Grand Army in Northern India under Hastings’ command, and the southern Army of the Deccan under the command of Sir Thomas Hislop. The 7th BNC was in the First or Centre Division of the Marquis of Hastings’ Grand Army, in the First Cavalry Brigade with the 24th Light Dragoons and the 3rd BNC. The Brigade was commanded by Lt-Col Philpot of the 24th LD. The army assembled at Cawnpore in September 1817 and the First, Centre Division marched to the Sindh River. Their objective was to intercept Pindaris moving to Gwalior via a route east of the Sindh.
General Marshall's Division 1818
However, early in Feb 1818 the Centre Division withdrew to the Jumna, proceeding eventually to Cawnpore and Lucknow. The Grand Army was broken up but a force was formed in the Saugor territory which was to be subjugated. Although the Maharatta chiefs had submitted to British rule, there were pockets of resistance to neutralise. The new Division, commanded by Maj-Gen Marshall, consisted of the 7th BLC, Sindhia’s Horse, Baddeley’s Horse and 5 battalions of Native Infantry. There was little resistance until the fortress of Dhamoni where a siege of 6 hours ended in the surrender of the fort. On 6 April the Division was at Gubri, on the 7th at Katangi, and on the 9th at Jubbulpore where they were joined by a squadron of the 8th BLC and a battalion of the 8th NI.
Siege of Mandla, April 1818
On 13 April the cavalry and the light companies were detached, under Brigadier Watson as an advance guard to capture Mandla (Mandala). They made a difficult march lasting 18 hours and attacked a force of enemy cavalry camped under the walls of Mandla. The enemy took refuge in the fort. The remainder of the Division arrived on 18 April. The town and fort of Mandla were on the Narbada River, separated by a flooded ditch so that the triangular Fort was surrounded by water. Batteries had to be erected and stores had to be brought in which delayed the siege until 25 April. The infantry were positioned all around the fort with a squadron of cavalry opposite the southern angle while on the right bank of the Narbada, 1,200 yards from the town, Khairi was occupied by a squadron of the 7th BLC and a company of infantry. Another squadron was at Benaika, and 100 Rohilla Horse with infantry. The batteries had created a breach at the end of the west wall by the 26th April.
The storming party consisted of men of the 1st, 13th, 14th NI with men of the 8th and 28th NI in reserve. But they came under fire and were badly mauled when they found the fort gates too difficult to break open. Some 250 of the enemy tried to exit the fort but were cut off by the cavalry who drove them from place to place until most of them drowned in the river except for 50 who were taken prisoner. The Killadar was apprehended that night trying to escape on a boat and the fort surrendered the next day. Their casualties were 500 while the besiegers lost 17 men.
Multai 1819
Apa Saheb, the deposed Raja of Nagpore, had escaped and was operating in the region under the control of the Gonds. The Raja’s men gained control of Multai in August 1818. Major Cumming, based at Hosainabad, was sent to recover the town and fort, which he succeeded in doing. Charles Duffin was a cornet when he served with the 7th BLC on campaign in the 3rd Maharatta War, promoted to lieutenant on 1 Sep 1818. He was posted to the 7th BLC in 1815 and took part in the siege and capture of Hathras in 1817. He was at Dhamoni, Mandla and Harna. At Multai he is reported to have led a gallant charge which was mentioned in the London Gazette of 10 August 1819. Other places were captured, Compta, Ambagerh, Pouri, and a successful action was fought at Burday. At Jivagerhi a detachment of 150 infantry and 50 men of the 7th BLC, and 80 Rohilla Horse defeated a 500 strong group of the Gond’s men. An expedition led by Captain Newton, consisting of the 2nd bn 12th Bengal NI, a company of the 23rd, and a squadron of the 7th BLC. They marched from Baitul and pursued Gonds and burned their villages.
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Operations Against the Bhils 1822
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The regiment was part of an expedition sent to Khandesh to take part in Operations against the Bhils in 1822-23. These people lived in the forests and had been ruled by the Maharattas until Baji Rao II surrendered the territory to the British in 1818 so that it came under the control of the Bombay Presidency. But sporadic war continued until James Outram gained influence over them and formed them into a light infantry corps.
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Omraiz, Feb 1825
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The 7th BLC provided a squadron to accompany a force of 300 men of the 44th Bengal NI and a 6-pounder, to apprehend the headman of Omraiz who had refused to pay his tax and had led a gang of followers committing ‘depradations on the surrounding villages’. The force, under the command of Lt-Col Collette, marched from Sholapore in February 1825 and arrived at the fort of Omraiz where an attempt was made to blow the gates. The assault was led by Lt Phillipson of the 44th but they suffered heavy casualties and had to retire. However, the defenders decided to quit the place and escaped to hide and disperse.
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Kolapur 1827
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The Raja of Kolapur, Kshetrapati Karavir, a young and unruly chief, assembled a force to seize the district of Kagal in 1825. No action was taken against him so he built up his army to 6,000 cavalry and infantry, and artillery, and used this show of strength to extract money from villages, and commit atrocities. The Bombay government was at first reluctant to interfere but eventually sent a detachment to deal with the Raja. Being cowardly by nature he retired to Kolapur and promised to abide by the restrictions imposed on him. But by 1827 he resumed his gangster activities and a large force was assembled to stop him. The 4th and 7th BLC formed the cavalry brigade, while the infantry consisted of a wing of the 41st Foot, the Bombay European Regiment, the 49th NI and the Wallajabad LI, together with artillery. and a battering train. They marched from Belgam in early 1827 under Colonel Welsh and occupied forts in the vicinity of Kolapur. The Raja decided not to fight, and he was required to stick to stringent conditions, but still allowed a private army of 400 cavalry and 800 infantry. A military presence was maintained to watch him for the rest of his life.
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Shekhawat expedition 1834
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The 7th BLC was part of an expedition into the Shekhawati country near Jaipur. Gangs of robbers were terrorising the local population and defying the authority of the Raja of Jaipur. As the Raja did not possess enough troops to deal with the situation, the Government was obliged to step in. The force was assembled at Amjere and entered the territory in November 1834. Various Thakurs who commanded fortified towns offered their support for the expedition and the column advanced north. A detachment of Local Horse commanded by Lt Forster fought against one of the gangs led by Sujawal Khan and defeated the robbers. Various other bandit forts were captured and dismantled. Local troops were raised and put under the charge of British officers to maintain the peace. The country was retained under British rule, and tax payable to Jaipur was retained to cover the cost of the expedition.
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First Afghan War 1841-42
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The 7th BLC were with the Army of Reserve from October 1842 to January 1843, at Ferozepore, where there appeared to be little hardship. The memoirs of Captain Charles Wilbraham Ford of the 42nd Bengal NI, who was related to two officers of the 7th BLC, describe how he and the men of his regiment survived the rigours of the war in Afghanistan and reached the Army at Ferozepore:
‘Now our troubles ended, no more fighting, as we were in the Punjaub. We halted at Jumrood a day and then marched on to Peshawar, where we were hospitably received by General Avitabile, the governor. After staying for some days at Peshawar to allow the other Divisions to move on, we continued our march towards Ferozepore, where we arrived in due course, a ragged lot. Here we were met by Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General, the commander-in-chief and their staffs to welcome us on our return. The Army of Reserve was encamped at Ferozepore, and the troops there, with Pollock’s and Nott’s forces, amounted to 70,000 men. My two cousins, Charles Ekins and Charles Radcliffe, both of the 7th Light Cavalry, heartily welcomed me and took me off at once to their mess for breakfast, and I was made a little lion of. There were lots of entertainments whilst we were at Ferozepore in the shape of dinners and balls at the Governor-General’s tents. and there was also a grand review of the whole of the troops before Runjit Singh, the Ruler of the Punjaub. It took three hours to pass in review and then the whole did not go by.’
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Breakdown of Discipline 1848
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There was trouble in the regiment in 1848, probably a breakdown of discipline, although this first-hand account is unclear, Lt-Col John Hearsey of the 6th BLC who had commanded the 2nd Gardner’s Horse wrote this:
“I was in England during the year 1847 but in January 1848 my agents in Calcutta, Cockerell & Co failed, and I was necessitated to return to India. I was posted to the 7th Light Cavalry. That regiment was at Jullundhur, under the command of Major ——, with the force commanded by Sir Hugh Massy Wheeler. Sir Hugh wrote to me to come up by dawk, otherwise he should be obliged to take the command from Major ——, the regiment being in a very discontented state under his authority. I went up by ‘carriage-dawk propelled,’ and I found the corps in a sad state. I soon had it all right again.”
Hearsey does not explain the nature of the problem, or how he solved it. The Major’s name was left blank in the text, a common practice in autobiographies of the 19th century. However, we know that the major in question was Benjamin Travell Phillips who appears on the 1850 army list as the only major in the 7th, with J B Hearsey as lieutenant-colonel. In the 2nd Sikh War Major Phillips was with Brigadier Wheeler’s force in Jullunder and Bari Doabs. The breakdown in discipline at that time would explain why the regiment did not play a significant part in that war.
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2nd Sikh War 1848-49
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The 7th BLC is the only one of the regiments of Bengal regular cavalry that has one battle honour. C B Norman’s book, Battle Honours of the British Army says this about the honour PUNJAUB:
‘All regiments employed in the operations in the Punjab against the Sikhs in the year 1848-49 were awarded this distinction. Some bear it in addition to one of the three battle honours ‘Chillianwallah’, ‘Mooltan’ and ‘Goojerat’ granted for this campaign. Others, which were not present at any of these general actions, but which were actually under fire, bear only the word ‘Punjaub’.
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Mutiny at Lucknow, 1857
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The Army List of 1857 gives the location of the 7th Bengal Light Cavalry as Jullundur (arrived Dec 1853) but ‘Ordered to Nowgong’. However, a detailed account of the mutiny at Nowgong in ‘Annals of the Indian Rebellion’ mentions only the 12th Bengal Native Infantry, and no mention of the 7th BLC. But the list of units at Lucknow does include the 7th Light Cavalry. Other regiments at Lucknow were the 32nd Foot, 370 strong, European artillery, about 50 gunners, 13th, 48th and 71st NI, and the Oudh Irregulars, infantry and cavalry.
The first sign of trouble was on 28 April when the 7th Oudh Irregular Infantry refused to bite the cartridges. Sir Henry Lawrence was determined to crush this act of mutiny. The 7th BLC were quartered at Moon Bagh about 7 miles from the Lucknow cantonment. The Oudh Irregulars were paraded on 3 May and faced by artillery guns loaded with cannister. The infantry (32nd Foot) and 7th Cavalry, commanded by Colonel Master, formed two sides of a square with the guns. A port fire was lit by accident which panicked the mutineers and two thirds of them threw down their weapons and fled. They were chased by the cavalry and brought back. Sir Henry gave them a dressing down and they were sent back to their lines to await a decision.
Native soldiers of the other units disarmed the men of the Oudh Irregulars and there was no further trouble until 24 May when the officers were alarmed at reports of a rising. Families and the sick were moved to the Residency compound. The insurrection broke out on 30 May at 9 pm. The 91st NI set fire to officers’ bungalows. They were joined by some men of the 13th and 48th NI and moved on to the cavalry lines. Sir Henry Lawrence confronted them with 200 Europeans, two guns, and the 7th BLC who at this stage, along with some Irregulars, were loyal. As they proceeded they were joined by 500 more Indians who declared their loyalty. The 7th BLC were in the advance guard, but on nearing the mutineers, 2 whole Troops went over to the other side. However, the rebels turned and fled, to be pursued by loyal cavalrymen for 20 miles, to Seetapore.
The strength of the regiment at that time was 406. The number of troopers of less than 16 years service was 302 and the number of more than 20 years service was 65. At some point the bulk of the 7th BLC joined the mutineers so that the only cavalry available to Sir Henry were those men of the Irregular cavalry. The British officers were now without most of their men and had to attach themselves to the Irregulars. One officer of the 7th in particular, Captain C W Radcliffe, came in for praise from Brigadier Inglis after a battle at Lucknow on 30 June. The irregulars were from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Oudh Irregular cavalry. Radcliffe led a group of 40 men. Another officer, Adjutant, Lt A C Warner led men of the 32nd Foot on 27 Sep in a sortie from the Residency to capture guns; they managed to have one gun spiked but retreated under heavy fire.
Death of J Eldridge, July 1857
The diary of Mrs Harris, wife of the chaplain at Lucknow has this entry which is quoted in Angels of Albion by Jane Robinson (Viking 1996). She does not give us the date of the diary entry.
‘Such an awful thing happened here yesterday! Because there are not murders enough done by the heathen, two Christian Englishmen quarrelled, and, in the heat of passion, one of them seized a pistol and shot the other through the body. James buried the murdered man [Eldridge] this morning. He was the riding-master of the 7th Cavalry; so respectable a man that he was to have a commission given him. His murderer [Keogh], the sergeant-major of the same regiment, also bore the highest character, and was liked and respected by everyone who knew him, and the two were bosom friends. It seems the quarrel began with the wives disputing about the drawing up of a curtain; this trivial matter led to words between the two husbands, and in an instant the dreadful deed was done.’
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