Читать книгу Military Memoirs of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington - Joseph Moyle Sherer - Страница 6

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Military services in the East rarely obtain that notice to which they are justly entitled. The scone in which they are acted is remote; and the laurels of our brave men from India have always lost a something of their freshness before we gaze on them at home. Moreover, it is an effort of the imagination to realize the aspect of Asiatic warfare, and to many readers such efforts are at once painful and vain.

They content themselves considering that the enemies in India are black. They draw some distinction, indeed, between the black of Africa and of Asia; but, so far as bodily power and personal prowess are concerned, it is in favor of the former. The Asiatic is thought an effeminate and silken slave, whose nerves tremble at the report of a cannon, and whose prancing horses are only used for security or flight This is no fancy picture; Englishmen accounted intelligent thus spoke of India fifty short years ago; and to this hour, except among those interested in Indian affairs by the course of their studies, by connexion with the services or commerce of that country, or by that large and active spirit of inquiry which an attachment to the cause of schools and missions has awakened, a like ignorance obtains, and a like apathy in the concerns of India is always manifest

Before the period, however, of which we are about to speak, the attention of England had been a little roused by the talk of bloody and severe combats in the East, in which the superiority of her arms, though triumphantly maintained, had not been undisputed.

It required all the energy of lord Cornwallis, and the utmost efforts of his brave officers and gallant men, to reduce the strength, and humble the pride, of Tippoo, the sultan of Mysore. This prince inherited, from a warlike father, a kingdom, usurped by violence and enlarged by conquest, and with it the cherished spirit of that stem and bitter hatred to the English which Hyder Ali had always manifested in life, and recommended in death. The names of Hyder and Tippoo had sounded on the English ear as those of foemen not to be totally despised; and a vague notion of what Mahometan fierceness, guided by French counsels and French discipline, might effect, caused them to estimate anew, though still imperfectly, both the dangers and the glory of Indian service. The fact is, Tippoo had a trained infantry, a numerous artillery, expert gunners, and an active courageous cavalry. In the discipline and instruction of his infantry and artillery he was aided by adventurers from France. These men were greatly encouraged and richly rewarded.

Although Tippoo was undoubtedly by far the most formidable enemy of England among the native princes, yet neither were the Mahratta chieftains mere leaders of predatory horse. In the army of Scindia, there were seventy-two battalions of foot, under French officers, organized in ten brigades, to which were attached no fewer than four hundred and sixty pieces of cannon. To this force must be added vast numbers of irregular infantry armed only with a matchlock, or with sword and shield, or with the spear. Many thousands of these last were composed of Patans or Rohillas, men of a fierce and desperate courage, robust and hardy, patiently enduring fatigue, and never appalled by fire.

With regard to the Mahratta horse, little if any discipline was ever successfully established among them. The best Mahratta horsemen serve by tenure of land, either personal, or under a chief landholder; others come as volunteers, to be enrolled for pay; or they are the hired riders of the horses of others again, who receive all the pay themselves. The volunteers are numerous, and consist of such individuals, floating loose on the surface of Indian society, as have by any means possessed themselves of a horse and arms; but they are all of the military cast, that is, born, bred, and exercised to the use of arms. India abounds with martial and warlike figures.

These horsemen are not cowards; they fear not death, they fear not the point of the spear or the edge of the sabre. Hence, if prey, or baggage, or vengeance, be their object, they will hover near, they will invite the skirmish, they will challenge the personal encounter, they will ride up even to the very muzzles of your muskets. But to excite them to this, there must be the stimulus of a golden hope, or of a bitter hate; for otherwise, as warfare is their condition of life, they are not eager in action. Above all things they dread the exposure or loss of their horses, which are at once the sources of their subsistence, their titles of service, their treasure, and their pride. It may be readily understood that these men abhor the irksomeness and restraint of all exercise or discipline. They sweep wide provinces by rapid and desolating marches. Terror tells of their coming; tears and famine, silence and blood,- show where they have passed. Whenever they venture as a body to draw up and await a disciplined cavalry, they become an easy conquest They have no good formation; their very crowds encumber them; the fronts presented by regular and well-trained squadrons, and rapidly changed or wheeled at the blast of a trumpet, confound and perplex them; they are scattered like a flock of sheep, and sabred as they fly. In any contest, however, where infantry are thinned by fire, or broken by any accident, or difficulty of ground, these horse, who scramble anywhere, will pour among them with fury, and with lance and sword do terribly the work of death. A large host of them, seen from afar, presents a brilliant appearance: they have turbans and garments of many colors; the horses of the chiefs, and of all such as can afford it, are showily caparisoned; and, in particular, the breastplates glitter with silver: every neck is curved by a standing martingale; and their many neighings come down upon the wind loud and lordly. Their horses are, for the most part, tall, bony, and vicious; the poorest of these Mahrattas, however, are mounted on low lean cattle, and their equipment is of a correspondent meanness. They have, also, some of them, a beautiful kind of pony, handsome and spirited, rising above thirteen hands, and prized even by their chiefs, but not for battle.

Such are Indian armies; and the reader should possess the picture, to be enabled to follow, with a livelier interest, the services of colonel Wellesley in the East He should be told also that India is a country where the roads are difficult, and sometimes, from the nature of the soil, for whole days and weeks impassable:—that on the plains they are broad tracks; in the mountainous country, narrow and rocky passes, requiring immense labor in the transport of artillery; and that every river, nay, at some seasons, every stream, is a serious obstacle. A few of the large fortresses of the native powers are armed and defended, though imperfectly, yet much after the European manner; but the many are lofty and difficult of access; constructed of solid masonry, with double and winding gateways; having walls of a terrific height, without any ramparts and round towers at the angles. It is quite fearful to stand upon some of the walls our soldiers have mounted in hot blood, and carried by escalade in our Indian wars.

Exposure to sultry suns; long marches; the endurance of fatigue, thirst, and hunger, and the experience of hard fighting, —these things make honorable veterans; and all Englishmen, who served in India from the year 1780 to 1804, had their full share of such hardships, and have large titles to honor.

We have now to relate an interesting struggle, and shall give the stories of the war of Mysore, and that in the Deccan, with a brief, plain fidelity.

When the marquis Wellesley arrived in India to succeed lord Teignmouth in the government of that country, he found the British interests menaced by the secret designs of many enemies. The most formidable and inveterate of these was the sultan Tippoo, ruler of Mysore. He had entered into secret correspondence with the French; had sent ambassadors to the local government in the Isle of France; and, by them, letters to be forwarded to the executive directory in Europe. Both by his envoys and his letters he invited the alliance of the French government, and their aid in officers and men, having projected, as he told them, a war with the English, which he only awaited their assistance to commence: at the same time he declared to them that his object was to drive the English out of India.

It was also known that he had sent accredited agents to the court of Zemaun Shah, king of Cabul and Candahar, prompting him to invade our territories from the north:—moreover, he was suspected of an intrigue with the Mahrattas, whom he was inviting to make common cause against the British.

The state of our alliances in the Deccan was apparently desperate: French influence was paramount at the court of the nizam. The court of the peishwa at Poonah was at the mercy of Scindiah, who lay near with an army, and dictated all its measures. French officers possessed the ear of Scindiah. The rajah of Berar was known to be secretly hostile to the English; and the adventurous chief, Holkar, always ready for war and plunder, would not be slow to join the league.

A proclamation issued by the governor of the Isle of France reached Bengal early in June, 1798. No sooner was this made known, than the Carnatic, alarmed and despondent, began to dread immediate invasion, and a renewal of all those horrors of which she had before tasted the bitterness and misery. The fourth paragraph of this proclamation distinctly stated, that Tippoo only awaited the moment, when the French should come to his assistance, to declare war against the English,—all of whom he ardently desired to expel from India.

The authenticity of this document was at first doubted; but was soon confirmed by good testimony, and by the fact, that a French vessel arrived at Mangalore on the coast of Malabar, and landed one hundred men and several officers for the service of Tippoo, by whom they were instantly received.

The marquis Wellesley immediately decided upon a war; but, until his measures of preparation were complete, he delayed the open declaration. He ordered the armies of Coromandel and Malabar to be immediately assembled; but so bad and inefficient was the state of the former, that this could not, at the moment, be done.

To improve and strengthen our alliance with the nizam was the next object This prince had a corps of fourteen thousand men in his service, commanded by French officers. These officers had acquired an ascendency so considerable at his court, that his nominal alliance was, to us, not only useless but dangerous. Marquis Wellesley boldly and without delay negotiated for the augmentation of the British force at Hyderabad, and for the dismissal of the French officers serving with the nizam. These great objects were most happily attained. By a new treaty, an addition was made to the British subsidiary force of 4400 men. To fulfil these engagements at once, troops, which had been held in secret preparation, were assembled by general Harris with such promptitude, that, although the treaty was only ratified at Fort William on the 18th of September, our troops reached Hyderabad on the 10th of October, and, assisted by the cavalry of the nizam, they surrounded the French force on the 22d, disarmed the sepoys, and arrested the European officers. All this was effected without bloodshed. A mutiny against their officers had broken out in the French camp; a state of things which, of course, prevented any effectual resistance. The body disarmed was about 11,000 men. Captain James Kirkpatrick, the resident, captain John Malcolm, and colonel Roberts, conducted this affair, in their various relations, with great address and uncommon firmness. The zeal and courage of captain Malcolm were, from circumstances, most conspicuous. This master-stroke of policy was hailed by the British at both presidencies as an augury of a good and vigorous administration.

The marquis now came to Fort St. George to advance the preparations for war by his presence. As soon as all things were ready, he addressed a remonstrance to Tippoo Sultan on his late conduct. This not being replied to, he directed the advance of the army on the 3d of February. On the 13th there came a short, unsatisfactory letter from Tippoo; his reply to which lord Wellesley dated on the 22d, affixing the same date to a declaration of war, which was made in the name of the English and their allies.

It has been argued by some that this war was forced upon Tippoo, and that lord Wellesley was not justified in these measures. The fact is, it was not war that was forced upon Tippoo, but the time of commencing it War was already in his heart He never would, he never could, have rested in amity with us. His attitude of peace was treacherous; it was but the couching of the tiger preparatory to its spring. As the hunters go forth from an Indian village to destroy the terror of their herds, seeking him in his own lair, so the British, that her trembling subjects in the Carnatic might sleep in security, marched to assault this dangerous and dreaded enemy in his own capital.

The preparations for this campaign were made upon a large scale, and manifested the intention of the government to destroy the power of Mysore. As little as possible was left to what is called the fortune of war. It is a sound principle in war, that by taking the field strong, campaigns are rendered short as well as decisive. There is always, therefore, in the end, a saving of treasure, and of what is a million times more valuable, of human life:—a principle, by the way, to which in Europe English ministers have rarely if ever attended. The army of the Carnatic, including the subsidiary force from Hyderabad, and three thousand of the nizam’s own infantry, amounted to thirty thousand combatants. Six thousand native horse belonging to the nizam, and not included in the above statement, marched with this army. This cavalry was led by Meer Allum, a general of the nizam’s. The charge of colonel Wellesley in this force was considerable: he commanded all the infantry of the nizam, to which his own corps, the 33d, had been attached; and he made this campaign at the head of eleven battalions.

The assembled force encamped upon the frontier of Tippoo’s territories on the 4th of March: the day following, general Harris dispatched lord Wellesley’s letter to the sultan, declared war, and commenced hostilities. His advanced corps of infantry marched upon some hill forts in front: they surrendered without resistance, or were abandoned a3 the troops approached them.

When the army of the Carnatic passed the eastern frontier of Mysore, that of the western coast, amounting to 6400 men, was also marching upon Seringapatam. This last force had been assembled at Cannanore under general Stuart, and was destined to combine its operations with those of general Harris.

Tippoo’s first movement was easterly, as if to oppose the advance of Harris; but he suddenly broke up from his encampment at Seringapatam, and taking with him the flower of his infantry, marched swiftly upon the division coming from Cannanore. He encamped near them on the 5th. Some of the tents were observed by general Stuart; but from the nature of the country, which is full of jungle, or tall thick underwood, that officer could not ascertain his numbers; neither was he aware that the sultan himself was present in the camp. The disposition of Stuart’s force was as follows:—Three native battalions, under colonel Montresor, were posted in advance at Seedaseer. After the appearance of the enemy on the 5th, they were reinforced by another battalion. The rest of the troops, with the park and provisions, were encamped at Seeds, poor and Ahmootenar; the first were eight miles, the latter twelve, in rear of this position. The country here is covered with wood, and favorable for concealed movements. Between the hours of nine and ten on the forenoon of the 6th, the enemy, having penetrated the jungle with great secrecy, came suddenly upon the brigade of Montresor, and attacked him in front and rear, at the same moment, with fierce impetuosity.

The assailed battalions, though pressed by superior numbers, behaved with all steadiness, and defended themselves with resolute bravery. It was five hours before general Stuart could arrive to their support; and even then, that division of the enemy, which was in the rear of Montresor, still for half an hour resisted his advance; but at last they gave way, and retired on all sides in confusion. The sultan had more than 11,000 men in action at Seedaseer, and lost about 1500. The brave brigade of Montresor lost only 140 men. This action is worthy of remark, as on both sides the combatants were natives of Hindostan. The sultan remained in his camp at Periapatam till the 11th, without molesting Montresor or Stuart again, and then marched once more upon the army of the Carnatic. On the 14th of March this army encamped in sight of Bangalore. Four thousand of the enemy’s best cavalry came forward to reconnoitre it, and after receiving a few shot from the field-pieces of the advanced guard, drew off quietly. From the neighborhood of Bangalore, before which fortress he made no delay, three roads lead to Seringapatam: general Harris took the southern, by Kaunkaunhully. The march was tedious in the extreme: his army was five days in accomplishing the same distance traversed by lord Cornwallis with a battering train, eight years before, in two. The equipments, provisions, and stores were not more than sufficient, nor were they, for an Indian army, more cumbrous than usual; but they required large means of transport; and though there was carriage enough to meet the want on the returns, yet was there at the moment some disappointment as to the quantity of bullocks, still more as to their quality, and rate of marching. The evil originated with the native contractors, who, finding themselves, by some new regulations, abridged of their customary and fraudulent gains, impeded the movements in a manner which no prudence could foresee, and no exertion, no anger, no punishment could avail to rectify. The provoking immobility of feature, and the stubborn purpose, which a native of that class exhibits, when gain or revenge is his object, can alone be conceived by those who have witnessed it The impatient and active spirits on the staff of that army were continually engaged in fruitless endeavors to move these sullen contractors. That this vexatious experience, and the insight it gave him into the native character, and commissariat arrangements, were not lost upon colonel Wellesley, his rapid and unimpeded marches in the Deccan, at a subsequent period, abundantly testify; and it is remarkable that the British army has never had a general so minutely attentive to the commissariat department, to his means of transport, his depôts and supplies, as this great commander.

To return. General Harris encamped at Kaunkaunhully on the 21st. The sultan offered no opposition to these movements; he even retired from the strong heights on the eastern banks of the Maddoor river, without disputing the passage. On the 27th, however, general Harris found the enemy halted, and drawn up on the high ground beyond Malavelly. They fired upon the army, and manifested an intention to prevent their encamping. A disposition was, therefore, made to compel them to fight or retire. The 33d regiment, and the troops of the nizam, under colonel Wellesley, formed and advanced upon the left, supported by the regular cavalry under general Floyd. The right moved forward under the more immediate direction of general Harris. The pickets of the army were for a time considerably annoyed by the rockets of the enemy, and their cannonade ; but as soon as the formations were completed, their fire was answered by such field-pieces as could be brought up; the line advanced; the affair became general along the whole front, and they were driven from the field. In this engagement some of the sultan’s troops manifested great courage. Two thousand of the best trained of his turbaned infantry advanced firmly upon the British 33d, and came within sixty paces before delivering their fire. The 33d, led by colonel Wellesley, charged these Cushoons, and overthrew them with the bayonet. The horses of general Floyd were soon amidst their broken ranks, and they fell fast before the sabres of his men, whose red horse-hair plumes shook over them fierce and pitiless.

General Harris crossed the Cauvery at Sosilay, where there is an easy ford : this movement was unexpected by the sultan, and was effected without loss or interruption. On the 2d of April, Tippoo reconnoitred the British for some hours while taking up their ground from a hill in their front, and on the 4th he had again a full view of the whole line as it passed along the high grounds about four miles from his capital.

On the 5th of April the army finally took up its position before Seringapatam for the siege. The camp was formed opposite the west face of the fort, at the distance of 3500 yards& The right was on commanding ground,—the left flank was doubly secured by an aqueduct and the river Cauvery. This aqueduct served in many places, in its winding course, as a strong intrenchment, and several deep and difficult ravines in the rear of the encampment gave it protection from any sudden irruptions of the enemy’s enterprising horse. This pleasant camp was strong, secure, and abundantly supplied with fine water; in addition to these advantages, there were in the lines five large topes: the feathery cocoa, and the tall and slender areca, and thick clusters of the graceful bamboo, adorned them. But the advantage here was not their beauty or their shade: they furnished those materials for carrying on the works which have generally to be fetched with much labor, and, if an enemy be strong in cavalry, with much interruption, from a distance.

The position, however, was found to be in part exposed to some little annoyance from the enemy’s advanced posts, especially from their rocket-men. An attack was directed upon two of these posts the same night, under colonels Wellesley and Shaw: it failed; colonel Shaw, indeed, got possession of a ruined village, and, sheltered by the cover of its walls, was enabled to hold it throughout the night. The column of colonel Wellesley, when it entered the tope on which it was directed, was suddenly assailed by a hot fire of musketry and rockets: it was thrown into confusion and withdrawn. Such is the frequent fete of a night-attack, in which, if the assailants do not actually surprise the foe, and create a panic, however brave the men, however able the leader, without a certain and confident knowledge of the ground, and light enough to distinguish both it and their opponents, they are moving they know not where, and fighting they know not what. The uncertain footing of a mere walk in the dark upon strange ground belongs to every man’s experience. The following day general Harris made fuller dispositions with a view to drive in the whole line of the enemy’s outposts. He directed three simultaneous attacks on their right flank, their left, and their centre, and these attacks were to be made under cover of guns previously posted; moreover, the attacking columns were stronger. Colonel Wellesley again commanded the attack upon the Sultan-pettah tope, and it was carried with skill and resolution.

The attacks of colonel Wallace on the right, and colonel Shaw on the left, were alike successful. These assaults secured a connected line of posts within 1800 yards of the fort, extending two miles in length, from the river on the left to the village of Sultanpet on the right