Surrender of Bhurtpore

The Anah Gate, 25 - 26 Dec 1825

The cavalry in Lord Combermere’s besieging force were under the command of Brigadier-General Sleigh on the west side of the fortress. The 16th Lancers’ station contained the HQ of the Cavalry Division, with the 9th BLC camped next to them. To their right were the 8th, 3rd and 10th BLC. On the morning of the 25th Dec, the 9th attacked a large group of enemy cavalry that was attempting to get away from Bhurtpore via the Anah Gate. One squadron under Captain Grant supported Major Whish’s Troop of Horse Artillery. This action was successful, and according to J N Creighton’s ‘Narrative of the Siege’ ‘…completely cleared the walls, causing a terrible slaughter, and sustaining little loss, only one European and one horse killed, and one Lascar wounded.’

Conditions inside Bhurtpore were deteriorating so that their cavalry tried to escape and on the night of 26 Dec 1825 a large mass of them was seen on the edge of the jungle near the Anah Gate. Some managed to get away but the main route out of Bhurtpore was now blocked by the 8th and 9th BLC who had been ordered round to the southwest to fill the gap between Kunjowlee and Jheelra. In their trapped situation the enemy horsemen were bombarded by mortar batteries.

The Deeg Road Incident, 26 Dec 1825

On that date, the 26th, there was an incident involving the 9th BLC and Skinner’s Horse. A squadron of the 9th was sent to reinforce a squadron of Skinner’s near the Bund on the Deeg road. The guides directed them to the wrong party of Skinner’s which was much nearer the fort. The officer commanding the 9th squadron was posting his guards when enemy cavalry came galloping down the road. The officer took a Troop to pursue them as they scattered into the jungle. A man was captured who told them how other escapes had happened, evading the party of Skinner’s near the Bund that should have been reinforced by the 9th. There was an enquiry which cleared the 9th of any blame.

Battle at Kunjowlee, 26 Dec 1825

At 10 pm that same day, shots were heard coming from Goolparah which alerted the cavalry division. Enemy cavalry were attempting to break through at a point near the Bund. They were met by Major Fraser’s post (Skinner’s Horse) who killed 30 and took their cattle. The rest changed direction and headed for Kunjowlee where they were confronted by Captain Chambers and the men of the 9th BLC. They pretended to be a Bengal irregular cavalry unit although this did not help them, as Chambers charged them with indiscipline and tried to arrest them. One of the men then attacked Chambers and wounded him severely on the hand. A fierce fight ensued which took place mostly around the village of Kunjowlee. The 9th were able to kill 40 or 50 and take 107 prisoners, many of whom were wounded. Only two of the enemy escaped. Chambers and Captain Palmer were badly wounded, and Lieut Brooke slightly wounded. One trooper was wounded and two horses killed and 7 wounded.

Regimental Strengh at Bhurtpore

The 9th Bengal Light Cavalry was commanded at Bhurtpore by Captain Robert Chambers. Captain F Palmer and seven lieutenants provided the European officers, as well as Captains Charles Duffin and Charles Grant from the 7th BLC who were attached for duty. The rest of the Europeans in the regiment consisted of surgeon E McDonald, a Riding Master, a Sergeant-Major, and a Quartermaster Sergeant. There were 2 Indian doctors, 7 Subadars, 7 Jemadars, 35 Havildars, 29 Naiks, 8 Trumpeters and 506 Troopers. The regiment began the siege with 592 horses and we know that they lost at least 2 killed and 7 wounded at Kunjowlee. The casualties for the whole siege were 5 men wounded.

Meeanee, 17 Feb 1843

Sir Charles Napier’s army marched into Sind (Scinde) and fought against Baloochi tribesmen led by the Amirs. The 22nd Regiment formed the nucleus of his force. They had already shown their worth in the first action of the campaign at Emaum Ghur. Added to this regiment he had the 25th Bombay NI, the 12th Bombay NI and the 1st Bombay Grenadiers. His cavalry numbered 800 made up of the 9th Bengal Light Cavalry, commanded by Major Philip Story, the Poonah Horse, 250 men under Captain Tait, and the Scinde Horse under Captain Jacob. The 9th BLC were described as ‘men of high caste, stern and proud’. The cavalry were commanded by Colonel William Pattle of the BLC, who was also 2nd in command of the force.

Napier himself reconnoitred a wall in front of the village of Shikargah on the right of the line. and found the opening to be undefended. He instructed Captain Tew to block that opening with the grenadiers of the 22nd. This group consisted of 80 men.

The infantry advanced on the high sloping bank of the dry river Fullaillee from where Baloochis were firing their matchlocks. As the Irishmen of the 22nd reached the top of the heights they were fired on but without great effect, and were then faced by tribesmen brandishing swords and shields. Colonel Pennefather was cut down and his place taken by Major Poole. Major Teesdale inspired his 25th sepoys by riding into the mass of Balooch and getting himself killed. Major Jackson of the 12th also died in a suicidal dash into the enemy accompanied by two havildars.

Major Clibborne, ‘unendowed by nature with military qualities’ had been ordered to attack the village of Kattree on the left flank but kept his Bombay Grenadiers out of the action. Napier saw the chance of breaking the deadlock on the left where Clibborne’s inaction exposed the army’s weak point. He ordered Colonel Pattle to take the cavalry and charge the enemy flank. The main point of attack was Kattree but the surrounding country was scarred by nullahs and ditches. Major Story led the Bengal Troopers against Balooch infantry to the left while the Scinde Horse attacked the Amirs’ camp and their cavalry, after which they ran along the rear of their line. This unnerved the swordsmen fighting the 22nd Foot on the Fullaillee height. The 9th captured a standard and several pieces of artillery.

The cavalry had left a large mass of the enemy untouched; two or three thousand on the extreme right kept their position and were geared up to counter-attack but the artillery turned on them and they retreated with the rest of the enemy. The battle had been unequal in numbers, 2,000 against more than 30,000. The enemy lost 6,000 and their bodies were heaped in the dry bed of the Fullaillee river. The army lost 6 British officers killed, 14 wounded. 250 NCOs and men were casualties, 60 killed outright. In his Despatch to Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General, Napier wrote, ‘The gallant charge of the Bengal Cavalry was intrepidly led by Lieutenant-Colonel Pattle, second in command, and Major Storey…the brilliant conduct of these two cavalry regiments [the 9th BLC and the Scinde Horse] decided, in my opinion, the crisis of the action.’ The regiment had lost several men including Captain William Cookson killed in action. Captain Auchmuty Tucker suffered severe wounds in five places. Also wounded were Lieutenants Samuel Smith and Henry Plowden. Major Story submitted a list of men in the regiment who had fought bravely, but praised everyone under his command.

Hyderabad, 24 Mar 1843

Napier had about 2,000 men fit for service after Meeanee, and 400 in the fortress of Hyderabad. The enemy, under the leadership of Shere Mohammed numbered about 40,000. The Governor-General mobilised several more battalions, as well as the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry, to reinforce Napier’s army. In addition there was a flotilla of ships on the River Indus. The garrison remained in the fortress, and Napier’s Army was encamped in a fortified position on the Indus, not far from Hyderabad. On the morning of the 24th March, Napier, having been reinforced, was able to muster 5,000 men in front of his camp. Of these 1,100 were cavalry. His artillery consisted of 19 guns of different calibre, 5 of which were horse artillery. Shere Mohamed’s Baloochs had been at Ali-Ka-Tanda and Khooserie but moved to an entrenched position at Dubba, 8 miles north of Hyderabad. The enemy occupied a large area which was made up of high-banked nullahs so it was difficult to see exactly where they were. Napier’s right flank was threatened by concealed Baloochs in a wood. Reconnaissance estimated that there were 5,000 picked men there. The Scinde Horse and the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry were placed to watch the wood. The 9th Bengal Light Cavalry was placed on the left of the line with the Poonah Horse.

Battle of Hyderabad

Major Stack, commanding the cavalry on the right flank, made the mistake of launching an attack too soon, prompted by an apparent retreat of the enemy on that side. His action exposed the right flank of the infantry. Meanwhile the 22nd Regiment was advancing under heavy fire. Their Light Company was severely hit, losing half its men. The 25th Native Infantry supported them and together they threatened the defences of the village of Dubba. Napier ordered the cavalry on the left to attack Dubba, traversing nullahs and coming around the left of the village. They were accompanied by Leslie’s Horse Artillery so that Dubba was cut off and captured by the infantry. The rest of the infantry was inspired by the 22nd and the 25th NI. The 21st sepoys were fired up and keen to avenge their colonel, shouting ‘Innes, Innes!’ as they bayoneted every Balooch they could find.

The enemy was now in retreat and the 9th BLC led by Major Story, and the Poonah Horse, by Captain Tait were personally commanded by Napier to pursue the retreating tribesmen, accompanied by Napier himself. In this phase of the battle, Captain Charles Garrett of the 9th was killed as well as others of the regiment. The Scinde Horse under Jacob and Delamain caught sight of Shere Mohamed on his elephant and set off to capture hime. Unfortunately the cavalry were ordered to cut short their pursuit. This order was given by Colonel Pattle second-in-command of the army, and overall command of the cavalry. Although Shere Mohamed had escaped to fight another day, his main military commander, an African leader, Hoche Mohamed Seedee, had been killed. The enemy retreated towards Meerpoor, and Napier’s men marched there to ensure that Shere Mohamed did not reorganise his army. But they found the place unoccupied by the enemy and were able to enter without trouble. Napier established his HQ there and sent a small force on to Omercote to make sure that Shere Mohamed was not gathering his forces. However, Omercote was entered by the detachment, welcomed by the inhabitants. This town,100 miles north of Hyderabad, now safe from Shere Mohamed’s influence, was secured 10 days after the battle of Hyderabad. Shere Mohamed continued to go north with a few followers, but was unable to muster a new army.

Mutiny at Sialkote, 9 July 1857

The 9th Bengal Light Cavalry had been stationed at Sialkote since March 1855, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Lorne Campbell who had been posted to the regiment six months earlier. When news of the mutiny reached the cantonment on 8 July, part of the garrison was sent to Amritsar to join Nicholson's Moveable Column. The left wing of the 9th BLC, together with a European regiment and a regiment of Native Infantry departed from Sialkote leaving the right wing of the 9th BLC and the 46th Native Infantry to remain in the cantonment. This right wing consisted of 9 British officers, two British NCOs, 3 Indian officers, 18 Indian non-commissioned officers, and 220 rank-and-file sowars. The cantonment also housed 916 sepoys and officers of the 46th Bengal Native Infantry. There were no European troops to cope with the mutiny that broke out on the 9th July as there was no suspicion that it was going to happen. An officer of the regiment wrote his eye-witness account in the Annals of the Indian Rebellion:

Fighting Mutineers

‘On the morning of the 9th I was fast asleep in my house at Sealkote, when I was awoke by a woman running and screaming. This was the wife of our sergeant-major, who was followed shortly after by her husband, with a wound in his forehead. He said that he had five or six shots fired at him by our men. By the time I had dressed and got my pistols and sword on, the havildar-major came and said that early that morning the Mussulmans of the 1st Troop began saddling their horses, and as there was no parade ordered he asked them what they were doing, when they told him to mind his own business. I rode to the Brigadier’s [Frederick Brind] and in a short time he came out with [Captain Joseph] Chambers, the joint magistrate. Balmain [Captain John Balmain of the 9th BLC] just then rode up and said that when he went down to the lines the Hindoos told him to go and remain in his house, or he would certainly be killed. We heard too that some of our men had ridden to the 46th Native Infantry lines to raise them, and then we knew it was all up with Sealkote.’

The officer, together with Balmain and Brigadier Brind made a dash for the fort in the city. They were chased by troopers of the 9th who wounded Brind so that he died a few days later. A message was sent to the officer commanding the troop on their way to Amritsar, and the sowars of the 9th BLC's left wing were disarmed. Meanwhile, the mutineers ran riot at Sialkote, destroying officers’ houses and killing any European Christians, although it is reported that women and children were spared. The trouble came mostly from the Moslems who wanted to secure a place for themselves in paradise by killing an infidel. The Hindus were more reluctant to rebel, and Sikhs especially remained loyal to the British. Punjabis had a long history of hatred for Indians who came from the more easterly parts. One of the accounts in the Annals of the Indian Rebellion includes this anecdote:

‘Brigadier Brind’s table servant, a Mohamedan khansamah, a faithful old servant, whose integrity was unquestionable, proved at the 11th hour, that he was a rank Mohamedan, and true to his prophet’s mandate to slay the kaffirs (Europeans) wherever and whenever he could get a safe opportunity. This man was the great hero that led the mutineers at Sealkote.’