Daphla Hills Detachment 1874

This photo, reproduced in the regimental history, shows men of the 43rd and 44th battalions with other Indian soldiers standing in front of a stockade in the Daphla Hills. The units involved in Brigadier Stafford’s expedition included the 42nd Cuttack Legion, the 43rd Assam Sebundy Corps and the 44th Sylhet LI. All these battalions wore dark green rifle uniforms. But there are soldiers here wearing red tunics with white facings. They must be from another Bengal regiment. The men wearing Gurkha uniforms with Kilmarnock caps are 44th Sylhet LI. Seated at the front are two men wearing Gurkha uniforms but with glengarry caps. These are the 43rd Assam Sebundy Corps. The turbaned soldiers in dark uniforms belong to the three Rifle units. In 1871 the government ordered that the Assam regiments should not recruit any more Brahmans, Rajputs or Mussulmen, only Gurkhas, Nepalese and Garhwalis. So the turbaned Indians of the three Rifle units were the remains of the non-Gurkha element. In December 1872 the 44th was re-armed with the short pattern of the Enfield rifle. These are hard to see in this photo but the red-coated soldiers can be seen to carry the older long-barrelled rifles.