Chapter 24: Mounted Infantry.
A few days after Plassey, Colonel Clive sent for Charlie.
"Marryat," he said, "I must send you back, with two hundred men, toMadras. The governor there has been writing to me, by every ship whichhas come up the coast, begging me to move down with the bulk of theforce, as soon as affairs are a little settled here. That is out ofthe question. There are innumerable matters to be arranged. MeerJaffier must be sustained. The French under Law must be drivenentirely out of Bengal. The Dutch must be dealt with. Altogether, Ihave need of every moment of my time, and of every man under myorders, for at least two years.
"However, I shall at once raise a Bengal native army, and so releasethe Sepoys of Madras. If there be any special and sore need, I must,of course, denude myself here of troops, to succour Madras; but I hopeit will not come to that. In the meantime, I propose that you shalltake back two hundred of the Madras Europeans. Lawrence will be gladto have you, and your chances of fighting are greater there than theywill be here. Bengal is overawed, and so long as I maintain the forceI now have, it is unlikely in the extreme to rise; whereas battles andsieges, great and small, are the normal condition of Madras."
The next day Charlie, with two hundred European troops, marched downtowards Calcutta. Clive had told him to select any officer he pleasedto accompany him, as second in command; and he chose Peters, who,seeing that there were likely to be far more exciting times in Madrasthan in Bengal at present, was very glad to accompany him. Three daysafter reaching Calcutta, Charlie and his party embarked on board aship, which conveyed them without adventure to Madras.
The authorities were glad, indeed, of the reinforcement; for thecountry was disturbed from end to end. Since the departure of everyavailable man for Calcutta, the Company had been able to afford butlittle aid to Muhammud Ali, and the authority of the latter haddwindled to a mere shadow, in the Carnatic. The Mahrattas madeincursions in all directions. The minor chiefs revolted and refused topay tribute, and many of them entered into alliance with the French.Disorder everywhere reigned in the Carnatic, and Trichinopoli was,again, the one place which Muhammud Ali held.
The evening after landing, Charlie Marryat had a long chat withColonel Lawrence; who, after explaining to him exactly the conditionof affairs in the country, asked him to tell him, frankly, whatcommand he would like to receive.
"I have thought for some time," Charlie said, "that the establishmentof a small force of really efficient cavalry, trained to act asinfantry, also, would be invaluable. The Mahratta horsemen, by theirrapid movements, set our infantry in defiance; and the native horse ofour allies are useless against them. I am convinced that two hundredhorsemen, trained and drilled like our cavalry at home, would ridethrough any number of them. In a country like this, where every pettyrajah has his castle, cavalry alone could, however, do little. Theymust be able to act as infantry, and should have a couple of littlefour-pounders to take about with them. A force like this would do moreto keep order in the Carnatic than one composed of infantry, alone, often times its strength. It could act as a police force, call uponpetty chiefs who refuse to pay their share of the revenue, restoreorder in disturbed places, and permit the peasants to carry on theiragricultural work, upon which the revenue of the Company depends; and,altogether, render valuable services.
"Among the soldiers who came down with me is a sergeant who was at onetime a trooper in an English regiment. He exchanged to come out withthe 39th to India, and has again exchanged into the Company's service.I would make him drill instructor, if you will give him a commissionas ensign. Peters I should like as my second in command; and, if youapprove of the plan, I should be very much obliged if you would gethim his step as captain. He's a good officer, but has not had suchluck as I have."
Colonel Lawrence was very much pleased at the idea, and gave Charliefull authority to carry it out. The work of enlistment at oncecommenced. Hossein made an excellent recruiting sergeant. He went intothe native bazaars; and by telling of the exploits of Charlie at Amburand Suwarndrug, and holding out bright prospects of the plunder whichsuch a force would be likely to obtain, he succeeded in recruiting ahundred and fifty of his co-religionists. In those days, fighting wasa trade in India; and in addition to the restless spirits of the localcommunities, great numbers of the hardy natives of northern India,Afghans, Pathans, and others, were scattered over India, ever ready toenlist in the service of the highest bidder. Among such men as these,Hossein had no difficulty in obtaining a hundred and fifty pickedhorsemen.
Charlie had determined that his force should consist of four troops,each of fifty strong. Of these one would be composed of Europeans, andhe was permitted to take this number from the party he had broughtdown. He had no difficulty in obtaining volunteers, for as soon as thenature of the force was known, the men were eager to engage in it. Tothis troop, the two little field pieces would be committed.
A few days after the scheme had been sanctioned, Ensign Anstey was atwork drilling the recruits as cavalry. Charlie and Peters wereinstructed by him, also, in the drill and words of command, and weresoon able to assist. Two months were spent in severe work and, at theend of that time, the little regiment were able to execute all simplecavalry manoeuvres with steadiness and regularity. The natives wereall men who had lived on horseback from their youth, and thereforerequired no teaching to ride.
They were also, at the end of that time, able to act as infantry, withas much regularity as the ordinary Sepoys. When so engaged, fourhorses were held by one man, so that a hundred and fifty men wereavailable for fighting on foot.
The work had been unusually severe, but as the officers did not sparethemselves, and Charlie had promised a present to each man of thetroop, when fit for service, they had worked with alacrity, and hadtaken great interest in learning their new duties. At the end of twomonths, they were inspected by Colonel Lawrence and Governor Pigot,and both expressed their highest gratification and surprise at theirefficiency, and anticipated great benefits would arise from theorganization.
So urgent, indeed, was the necessity that something should be done forthe restoration of order, that Charlie had with difficulty obtainedthe two months necessary to attain the degree of perfection which hedeemed necessary.
The day after the inspection, the troop marched out from Madras.Ensign Anstey commanded the white troop, the other three were led bynative officers. Captain Peters commanded the squadron composed of thewhite troop and one of the others. A Lieutenant Hallowes, whom Petersknew to be a hard working and energetic officer, was, at Charlie'srequest, appointed to the command of the other squadron. He himselfcommanded the whole.
They had been ordered, in the first place, to move to Arcot, which washeld by a garrison of Muhammud Ali. The whole of the country aroundwas greatly disturbed. French intrigues, and the sight of thediminished power of the English, had caused most of the minor chiefsin that neighbourhood to throw off their allegiance. A body ofMahratta horse were ravaging the country districts; and it was againstthese that Charlie determined, in the first place, to act.
He had been permitted to have his own way in the clothing and armingof his force. Each man carried a musket, which had been shortened somesix inches, and hung in slings from the saddle, the muzzle resting ina piece of leather, technically termed a bucket. The ammunition pouchwas slung on the other side of the saddle, and could be fastened in aninstant, by two straps, to the belts which the troopers wore roundtheir waists. The men were dressed in brown, thick cotton cloth,called karkee. Round their black forage caps was wound a long lengthof blue and white cotton cloth, forming a turban, with the endshanging down to protect the back of the neck and spine from the sun.
Having obtained news that the Mahratta horse, two thousand strong,were pillaging at a distance of six miles from the town, Charlie setoff the day following his arrival to meet them. The Mahrattas hadnotice of his coming; but hearing that the force consisted only of twohundred horse, they regarded it with contempt.
When Charlie
first came upon them they were in the open country; and,seeing that they were prepared to attack him, he drew up his littleforce in two lines. The second line he ordered to dismount, to act asinfantry. The two guns were loaded with grape, and the men of thefirst line were drawn up at sufficient intervals to allow aninfantryman to pass between each horse.
With shouts of anticipated triumph, the Mahratta horse swept down. Thefront line of English horsemen had screened the movements of thosebehind, and when the enemy were within fifty yards, Charlie gave theword. The troopers already sat, musket in hand, and between each horsean infantry soldier now stepped forward; while towards each end, theline opened and the two field pieces were advanced.
The Mahratta horsemen were astonished at this sudden manoeuvre; but,pressed by the mass from behind, they still continued their charge.When but fifteen yards from the English line, a stream of fire ranalong this, from end to end. Every musket was emptied into theadvancing force, while the guns on either flank swept them with grape.
The effect was tremendous. Scarcely a man of the front line survivedthe fire, and the whole mass halted, and recoiled in confusion. Beforethey could recover themselves, another volley of shot and grape wasfired into them. Then Charlie's infantry ran back; and the cavalry,closing up, dashed upon the foe, followed half a minute afterwards bythe lately dismounted men of the other two troops; ten white soldiers,alone, remaining to work and guard the guns.
The effect of the charge of these two hundred disciplined horse, uponthe already disorganized mob of Mahratta horsemen, was irresistible;and in a few minutes the Mahrattas were scattered, and in full flightover the plain, pursued by the British cavalry, now broken up intoeight half troops. The rout was complete, and in a very short time thelast Mahratta had fled, leaving behind them three hundred dead uponthe plain.
Greatly gratified with their success; and feeling confident, now, intheir own powers, the British force returned to Arcot.
Charlie now determined to attack the fort of Vellore, which wasregarded as impregnable. The town lay at the foot of some very steepand rugged hills, which were surmounted by three detached forts. Therajah, encouraged by the French, had renounced his allegiance toMuhammud Ali, and had declared himself independent. As, however, itwas certain that he was prepared to give assistance to the French,when they took the field against the English, Charlie determined toattack the place.
The French had received large reinforcements, and had already capturedmany forts and strong places, around Pondicherry. They were, however,awaiting the arrival of still larger forces, known to be on the way,before they made a decisive and, as they hoped, final attack upon theEnglish.
The rajah's army consisted of some fifteen hundred infantry, and asmany cavalry. These advanced to meet the English force. Charliefeigned a retreat, as they came on; and retired to a village, somethirty miles distant. The cavalry pursued at full speed, leaving theinfantry behind.
Upon reaching the village, Charlie at once dismounted all his men,lined the inclosures, and received the enemy's cavalry, as theygalloped up, with so heavy a fire that they speedily drew rein. Aftertrying for some time to force the position, they began to fall back;and the English force again mounted, dashed upon them, and completedtheir defeat. The broken horsemen, as they rode across the plain, mettheir infantry advancing; and these, disheartened at the defeat of thecavalry, fell back in great haste; and, abandoning the town, which waswithout fortification, retired at once to the forts commanding it.
Charlie took possession of the town, and spent the next two days inreconnoitering the forts. The largest, and nearest, of these faced theright of the town. It was called Suzarow. The second, on an evensteeper hill, was called Guzarow. The third, which lay some distancebehind this, and was much smaller, was called Mortz Azur.
Charlie determined to attempt, in the first place, to carry Guzarow;as in this, which was considered the most inaccessible, the rajahhimself had taken up his position, having with him all his treasure.Charlie saw that it would be next to impossible, with so small aforce, to carry it by a direct attack, by the road which led to it, asthis was completely covered by its guns. It appeared to him, however,that the rocks upon which it stood were, by no means, inaccessible.
He left twenty men to guard his guns, placed a guard of ten upon theroad leading up to the fort, to prevent the inhabitants from sendingup news of his intentions to the garrison, who had, with that ofSuzarow, kept up a fire from their guns upon the town, since hisarrival there. The moon was not to rise until eleven o'clock, and atnine Charlie marched, with a hundred and seventy men, from the town.Making a considerable detour, he found himself, at half past ten, atthe foot of the rocks, rising almost sheer from the upper part of thehill.
He was well provided with ropes and ladders. The most perfect silencehad been enjoined upon the men and, in the darkness, the march hadbeen unseen by the enemy. While waiting for the moon to rise, thetroopers all wound pieces of cloth, with which they had come provided,round their boots, to prevent these from making a noise, by slippingor stumbling on the rocks.
When the moon rose, the ascent of the rocks began at the point whichCharlie had, after a close inspection through a telescope, judged tobe most accessible. The toil was very severe. One by one, the menclimbed from ledge to ledge, some of the most active hill men, fromnorthern India, leading the way, and aiding their comrades to followthem, by lowering ropes, and placing ladders at the most inaccessiblespots. All this time, they were completely hidden from the observationof the garrison, above.
At last, the leaders of the party stood at the foot of the walls,which rose a few feet from the edge of the cliff. The operation hadbeen performed almost noiselessly. The ammunition pouches had beenleft behind, each man carrying ten rounds in his belt. Every piece ofmetal had been carefully removed from their uniforms, the very buttonshaving been cut off, lest these should strike against the rocks; andthe muskets had been swathed up in thick coverings.
The men, as they gained the upper ridge, spread along at the foot ofthe walls, until the whole body had gathered there. They could hearthe voices of the sentries, thirty feet above them; but these, havingno idea of the vicinity of an enemy, did not look over the edge of thewall. Indeed, the parapets of the Indian fortifications were always sohigh, that it was only from projecting towers that the foot of thewall could be seen.
When the English force were assembled, the ladders, which, likeeverything else, had been muffled, were placed against the walls; and,headed by their officers, the troops ascended. The surprise wascomplete. Not until the leaders of the storming party stood upon theparapet was their presence perceived. The guards discharged theirfirelocks, and fled hastily.
As soon as twenty men were collected on the wall, Charlie took thecommand of these, and hurried forward towards the gate. Hallowes wasto lead the next party along the opposite direction. Peters was toform the rest up, as they gained the wall, and to follow Charlie withfifty more; while Anstey was to hold the remainder in reserve, to beused as circumstances might demand.
The resistance, however, was slight. Taken absolutely by surprise, theenemy rushed out from their sleeping places. They were immediatelyfired upon from the walls. The greater part ran back into shelter,while some of the more determined, gathering together, made for thegate. But of this Charlie had already taken possession, and receivedthem with so vigorous a fire that they speedily fell back.
When the whole circuit of the walls was in his possession, Charlietook a hundred of his men, and descended into the fort. Each building,as he reached it, was searched; and the garrison it contained made tocome out, and lay down their arms, and were then allowed to departthrough the gate.
Upon reaching the rajah's quarters, he at once came out andsurrendered himself. Two guns were discharged, to inform the littlebody in the town of the complete success of the movement; and theguard on the road then fell back, and joined the party with the guns.
Thus, without losing a man, the fort of Guzarow, regarded by thenatives
as being impregnable, was carried. Fifteen lacs of rupees werefound in the treasury. Of these, in accordance with the rules of theservice, half was set aside for the Company, the remainder became theproperty of the force. Of this half fell to the officers, inproportion to their rank, and the rest was divided among the men. Theshare of each trooper amounted to nearly two hundred pounds.
Knowing how demoralizing the possession of such a sum would be,Charlie assembled his force next morning. He pointed out to them that,as the greater part of the plunder was in silver, it would beimpossible for them to carry it on their persons. He advised them,then, to allow the whole sum to remain in the treasury, to beforwarded under an escort to Madras; each soldier to receive an order,for the amount of his share, upon the treasury there. This was agreedto, unanimously, and Charlie then turned his attention to the otherforts.
The guns of Guzarow were turned against these, and a bombardmentcommenced. Suzarow, which extended partly down the slope, was muchexposed to the fire from Guzarow; and although no damage could be doneto the walls at so great a distance, the garrison, suffering from thefire, and intimidated by the fall of Guzarow, lost heart. Largenumbers deserted, and the governor, in the course of two days, thoughtit prudent to obey the orders which the rajah had, upon being madecaptive, sent to him to surrender. The next day the governor of MortzAzur followed his example; and Vellore, and its three strong forts,were thus in the possession of the English.
At Vellore, Charlie nearly lost one of his faithful followers. Earlyin the morning, Hossein came into Charlie's room.
"Sahib," he said, "something is the matter with Tim."
"What is the matter?" Charlie said, sitting up in his bed.
"I do not know, sahib. When I went to him, he did not move. He waswide awake, and his eyes are staring. When I went beside him, he shookhis head a little, and said, 'S-s-s-h.' He seems quite rigid, and isas pale as death."
Charlie leaped out, and hurried to Tim. The latter was lying on theground, in the next room. He had carried off three or four cushions,from the rajah's divan, and had thrown these down, and had spread arug over him. He lay on his back, exactly as Hossein had described.
As Charlie hurried up, Tim again gave vent to the warning "S-s-s-h."
"What is the matter, Tim? What is the matter, my poor fellow?"
Tim made a slight motion, with his head, for his master to bendtowards him. Charlie leant over him, and he whispered:
"There is a sarpent in bed with me."
"Are you quite sure, Tim?"
"He woke me with his cold touch," Tim whispered. "I felt him crawlingagainst my foot, and now he is laying against my leg."
Charlie drew back for a minute, and consulted with Hossein.
"Lie quite still, Tim," he said, "and don't be afraid. We will try tokill him, without his touching you; but even if he should bite you,with help ready at hand, there will be no danger."
Charlie now procured two knives; the one a sharp surgical knife, froma case which he had brought; the other he placed in a charcoal fire,which one of the men speedily fanned, until the blade had attained awhite heat. Charlie had decided that, if the snake bit Tim, he wouldinstantly make a deep cut through the line of the puncture of thefangs, cutting down as low as these could penetrate, and immediatelycauterize it, by placing the hot knife in the gash so made. Six menwere called in, with orders to seize Tim on the instant, and hold hisleg firm, to enable the operation to be performed. Two others were tooccupy themselves with the snake. These were armed with sticks.
Hossein now approached the bed, from which, hitherto, they had allkept well aloof. The snake, Tim said, lay against his leg, between theknee and the ankle, and the spot was marked by a slight elevation ofthe rug.
Hossein drew his tulwar, examined the edge to see that nothing hadblunted its razor-like keenness, and then took his stand at the footof the bed. Twice he raised his weapon; and then let it fall, with adrawing motion. The keen blade cut through the rug, as if it had beenpasteboard; and, at the same instant, Tim sprang from the other sideof the bed, and fainted in the arms of the men. Hossein threw off therug, and there, severed in pieces, lay the writhing body of a hugecobra.
Tim soon recovered, under the administration of water sprinkled in hisface, and brandy poured down his throat. But he was some time, ere hethoroughly recovered from the effects of the trying ordeal throughwhich he had passed. Many of the buildings in the fort were in a verybad condition, and Charlie had several of the most dilapidateddestroyed, finding in their walls several colonies of cobras, whichwere all killed by the troops.