| CHAPTER I. |
| |
| Boyhood—Enlistment—Will of Peter the Great—Recruits’ Drill—What the Fusiliers were Thirty Years ago—The Young Idea had to be Taught how to Shoot—The Fusiliers Depart for the East—The Writer quickly follows them—Voyage out—Call at Gibraltar and Malta—Landing in Turkey—Its Scenery and People—Marching and Counter-Marching—The Unseen Enemy, Cholera—Embark again for the Crimea, escorted by the Fleets of England and France—An Account of the Services of the Leader of the Crimean Army, Lord Raglan—Also of Sir G. Brown, Sir De Lacy Evans, Sir Colin Campbell, Sir George Cathcart, and the Earl of Cardigan—Population of the British Empire—Remarkable Battles that have been fought on Sundays—Voyage up the Black Sea—The Russian Fleet |
| Pages 1-40 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER II. |
| |
| Disembarkation in the Crimea—First Night in the Enemy’s Country, a night long to be remembered, no shelter—March to the Alma—The Battle—The Fusiliers Leading the Van—Letter from the Heights to my Parents—A Fair Description of that Terrible Fight—March from the Alma—Balaclava easily Taken—We take up our position in front of Sebastopol—First Bombardment—The Battle of Balaclava—Charge of the Light and Heavy Brigades—Poem by Tennyson—Little Inkermann—Trench Work—The Battle of Inkermann, the Soldiers’ Fight—Am Wounded—Description of that Fight—Aspect of the Field after the Fight—My Letter Home—Sent on to Malta—Letter from Her Majesty—Notes on a Norfolk Hero at Inkermann, Sir T. Troubridge—Who first Landed in the Crimea |
| 41-93 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER III. |
| |
| Voyage to Malta—Scenes between Decks—An Insufficiency of Doctors—Landing at Malta—Kind Treatment in Hospital—The Nurses—Fast Recovery—Letter Home—Longing to be at it again—Purchase of Blankets and other Comforts—Another Letter Home—To the Front again—Reception by old Mess-Mates—Sufferings of the Army—Break-down of the Commissariat—Plenty of Stores Rotting in Harbour, but none to be got by the Troops—Make-shifts—Appearance of the Men |
| 94-106 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER IV. |
| |
| More Trench Work—Meeting with Captain Vicars—My Letter of the 15th March,1855—Night Attack in the Trenches—Capt. Vicars’ Death—A few Remarks showing his Noble Character—My Letter Descriptive of the Fight—Storming Rifle Pits—More Trench Duty—Supplementary Letter—The Taking of the Quarries and Circular Trench—Desperate Fighting before Sebastopol, the 7th and 88th Leading—My Letter Home, 8th June—Continued Fighting—First Assault on the Town—Its Bloody Repulse—The Poor Old Light Division Cut to Pieces—The Fusiliers again Led the Way—My Letter of the 18th—Waiting to be Revenged—A Terrible Night—Attack by the Enemy and its Bloody Repulse—My Letter of the 28th June, describing the Fight—Death of Lord Raglan much felt through the Allied Army—The Battle of Tchernaya, 16th August—The Enemy’s Last Throw for Victory Defeated—My Letter Home of the 18th August—Creeping Closer and Closer to the Doomed City—The Last or Terrible Bombardment—A Nasty Blunder, our own people pitching in to us—My Letter Home, 2 a.m., 8th Sept.—P.S. to it announcing my Death—My P.P.S. after I had recovered |
| 107-154 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER V. |
| |
| The Storming of the Town—A Description of the Assault—Capture of the Malakoff and Redan—Am left on the Field Wounded—Our Loss, the French Loss, and the Enemy’s Loss—The Spoil—The Aspect of the Interior of the Town after the Siege—Napoleon’s Opinion as to the Source of England’s Strength—Letter of 14th September, 1855 |
| 155-175 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER VI. |
| |
| Numerical List of Killed And Wounded in the various Regiments forming the Crimean Army—Loss of the Light and Second Divisions—Loss by Neglect, Hardships, and Starvation—List of the Regiments that formed the various Divisions of the Army—After the Siege—Lines on Miss Florence Nightingale—A Peep Behind the Scenes—A Dreadful Explosion in the Camp and its Consequences—Lieut. Hope and the Fusiliers again leading almost to certain death—My Letter of 26th December, 1855, to my Parents.—Concluding Remarks, and Return Home to be nearly Killed with Kindness.—Irish Anecdotes—Records of the Royal Fusiliers—A Sketch of the “Holy Boys”—The Connaught Rangers not to be despised—Letter Home, 27th October, 1854—Lines on the Campaign |
| 176-250 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER VII. |
| |
| India, its Extent and Resources—Its Population—Its Invasion by Alexander—The beginning of the English Empire in India—The East India Company and its Officers—How the Empire was Extended—The Afghan Campaign of 1839-40-41—The Sikh War—Battle of Ferozeshah—The Norfolk Regiment amongst those who Safeguarded England’s honour—Battle of Aliwal—The “Holy Boys” again Leading the way—The Burmese War—Our Sepoy Army and how it was treated—The Mutiny Predicted—The Commencement of the Mutiny in 1857—Comparative Numbers of Native and British Troops—Mungul Pandy, the First Mutineer—Fatal Indecision of our Commanders—The Revolting Scenes at Delhi—List of the People Killed by the Rebels—The Force that first encountered the Mutineers—Rapid Spread of the Mutiny—Nana Sahib’s Proclamation—The Butchery of Women and Children—Delhi Captured and the Mutineers put to the sword, by a Norfolk Man, Sir Archdale Wilson—The Delhi Field Force and its killed and wounded—Vengeance exacted—Disarming Mutinous Regiments—Description of the Scene—Blowing Rebels from the Guns—The 10th (Lincolnshire) Regiment at Benares |
| 251-300 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER VIII. |
| |
| The Task before Sir Colin Campbell—Disaster at Arrah—Relief by Major Eyre—Attempted Surprise at Agra—Short, sharp work—The Mutiny in Oude—Relief of Lucknow by Sir Colin Campbell—The Fighting—Withdrawal of the Garrison—Return to Cawnpore—General Windham in Difficulties—Nana Sahib Defeated—Lucknow again Invested, and again Relieved—Sikhs and Ghoorkas Fighting on our side—Death of Captain Hodson—Flying Columns Formed—Our Loss in following the Mutineers—The Proclamation of Pardon—Disarming the Native Troops—The Mutineers at Meean-Meer—Jack Ketch and his Victims—The Outbreak on the Frontier in 1858—The 7th Royal Fusiliers at Peshawur—Native Thieves—A Forced March—Encounter with the Enemy—A Truce—Hostilities Resumed—Bravery of the Ghoorkas—The Fusiliers Return to Ferozepore—March to Saugor (Central India)—Ravages of Cholera—Personal Opinion as to the Natives of India—The Ways, Manners and Customs of the People—Taking the Census—The Steps taken to Prevent another Mutiny—Letters from India |
| 301-379 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER IX. |
| |
| List of Battles Fought by Land between 1704 and 1882, showing Date when each was Fought, the Number we Lost, the supposed Number of the Enemy’s Loss, the Regiments that Fought them, and a few Remarks upon some of them—First Action of the 15th Hussars—A Gallant Regiment of Tailors—Singular Description of a Deserter, from London Gazette, 1689—An Account of the Rise of the late Duke of Wellington—Loss of each Regiment on the Field of Waterloo—Some of the Duke’s Letters about the Field of Waterloo—Napoleon and the French Press—The British Amazon |
| 380-416 |
| |
| CHAPTER X. |
| |
| Curious Modes of Recruiting in the “Good Old Days”—Pig Killing—The Late Duke of Kent—Examples of Brevity—Act of Self Devotion—The Piper of the 74th Highlanders at Badajoz—It is better to leave “Well” Alone—Hard up! Hard up!—Remarkable Wounds and Hairbreadth Escapes—Introduction of Bayonets into our Army, and the use our people have made of them since 1672 up to the late go-in in Egypt, at Tel-el-Kebir—Desperate Defence of Colours—Heroic Stands by Small Armies against overwhelming Odds—The 52nd Regiment—Suffolk Regiments—England not a Military Nation? |
| 417-452 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER XI. |
| |
| The Great Book—Mysteries of Providence—The Gift of a Bible and what it led to—The Secrets of the Sacred Shrine—Opinions of a Native Hindoo Priest |
| 453-464 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER XII. |
| |
| General Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B.—Stories of his Boyhood—Joins the Army—His Military Career—Promotion a long time in coming—His Merits gradually being Recognised—Employed in various important affairs—The Christian Commander and his Regiment of “Saints”—His Advance to the Capture of Cawnpore—The Horrible Atrocities that were committed by the Mutineers—The Heavy Losses of the Avenging Army—The Relief of Lucknow—The Closing Scene—“See how a Christian can Die”—His Death-bed Advice to his Son—Reflections—The Lessons to be Learned from the Life of such a Christian Hero—The Loss to the Country—Lines “In Memoriam” |
| 465-486 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER XIII. |
| |
| Captain Hedley Vicars, a Loving Son and a Faithful Soldier of the Cross—His Early Life—Joins the Army, and devotes himself to his chosen profession—His eyes opened to Truths of the Gospel—Prayerful Conduct—In the Crimea—Killed in a Night Attack on the Trenches—The Feeling of the Men composing Light Division—Letters to his Mother—Last Letter—In Memoriam—Letter to Lord Rayleigh announcing his Death—Letter from a Brother Officer—Testimony of Private Soldiers to his worth—The Lessons of his Life |
| 487-501 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER XIV. |
| |
| The Black Watch—The British Army, 1889 |
| 502-535 |
| |
| |
| CHAPTER XV. |
| |
| The Cost of War—The Bloody Fields of Eylan and Friedland—The Great Northern Confederation—Nelson and the Russian Emperor—Battle of Trafalgar—British Victories in Spain—Napoleon’s disastrous Russian Campaign—Prussia Powerless and Bankrupt—Good reason for German Vindictiveness—Battles of Lutzen & Bautzen—England assists Austria—The terrible Battle of Dresden—German Triumph at Kutczback—Battles of Gross Beeren, Dennewitz, and Leipsic—Napoleon beaten and sent to Elba—The Cost of War in France alone—Flight from Elba—Quatre Bras, Wavre, and Ligny—Battle of Waterloo—The Total Loss of the Allies in this short Campaign—The Total French Loss—Concluding Remarks |
| 536-585 |
