The old regiments of the Madras native army have suffered under this lack of system. They are much in the same position that Marlborough's regiments occupied until Sir Archibald Alison's Committee gave them relief. They were excluded from any share in the eighteen battle honours awarded for the Afghan and Persian wars, and yet received no recognition of their presence in battles which have been inscribed on the colours of the Madras European regiment—battles which resulted in the overthrow of the Mysorean usurper and the expulsion of the French from India. Surely such battles as these, both in their severity and by their results, may be deemed of sufficient historic interest to warrant their being placed on the colours of the Indian troops which bore their share in the fighting.
At the siege and capture of Pondicherry in 1778 (a battle for which an honour was granted to the Madras Europeans, and which appears on the colours of the Dublins) the Indian regiments of the Madras army lost 19 officers and 646 of other ranks.
At the third capture of the French fortress by General Braithwaite in 1793, for which the Dublins also wear the honour, a strong force of Indian troops was present, and suffered severe loss. The following Madras regiments would become entitled to the missing battle honour, "Pondicherry, 1778-1793":
2nd Q.O. Sappers and Miners.
61st Pioneers.
62nd Punjabis.
63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry.
66th Punjabis.
67th Punjabis.
69th Punjabis.
73rd Carnatic Infantry.
76th Punjabis.
80th Carnatic Infantry.
Another campaign well worthy of recognition is that which led to the capture of Tanjore in 1771. In this the Indian regiments lost 8 officers and 297 men—a far heavier casualty roll than that which earned four battle honours in Persia. The following table shows the regiments that would be entitled to adopt the missing battle honour, "Tanjore, 1771":
Tanjore, 1771.
| Regiments. | Officers. | Men. | ||
| K. | W. | K. | W. | |
| Royal Dublin Fusiliers | 2 | 3 | 27 | 83 |
| 64th Pioneers | - | 3 | 14 | 22 |
| 66th Punjabis | - | 1 | 17 | 49 |
| 67th Punjabis | 1 | - | 29 | 60 |
| 69th Punjabis | - | - | 6 | 21 |
The earlier Indian battles, which were fraught with great results, but which, fortunately, were not attended with any serious losses, such as Arcot, Plassey, Condore, Masulipatam, Badara, and Buxar, are well deserving of perpetual remembrance, for are they not the foundation-stones of our Indian Empire? But there are other battles, no less momentous in their results, and which were attended with far heavier loss of life, which have been left unrecorded. Macleod's defeat of Tippoo Sultan at Paniani, Munro's capture of Negapatam from the Dutch, Stuart's victory at Cuddalore, were more far-reaching in their results, and entailed far harder fighting and far more severe privations, than, let us say, Koosh-ab or Charasia. "Seringapatam" can be read on the colours of the regiments which stormed the fortress under Lord Harris, but the distinction has never been granted to those which carried the place by assault under Lord Cornwallis seven years earlier. "Guzerat" was awarded to the Bengal troops which, under Goddard, marched to the relief of the Bombay army in 1779, but the services of the Bombay column which marched across the continent to the assistance of Lord Lake in the First Mahratta War have never yet been recorded. The 65th (York and Lancaster), 86th (Irish Rifles), 102nd Bombay Grenadiers, 104th Wellesley's Rifles, 105th Mahratta Light Infantry, and 117th Mahrattas, did right good and gallant work in that campaign, for which they have no distinction. In the same war the 22nd (Cheshires) played a conspicuous rôle, but their services in Cuttack, as well as at Bhurtpore, have been forgotten.
"Bourbon" is borne on the colours of the 69th (Welsh) and 86th (Royal Irish Rifles). Surely the honour should also be accorded to the 56th (Essex), which were present at both attacks on the island. If the capture of Bourbon, which was restored to France on the conclusion of peace, is deemed worthy of an honour, the taking of the Mauritius, still a British possession, is no less deserving of one. The regiments which formed General J. Abercromby's force included the 12th (Suffolk), 14th (West Yorks), 22nd (Cheshires), 33rd (West Riding), 56th (Essex), 59th (East Lancashire), 84th (York and Lancaster), 87th and 89th (Royal Irish Fusiliers), and 104th Wellesley's Rifles. From the Mauritius many of these regiments went on to the conquest of Java, for which they received a battle honour. It is true that the subjugation of that island cost us many lives, but it has never been the custom to take into consideration casualties in awarding battle honours. It seems difficult to understand why Bourbon and Java should be deemed worthy of distinction, whilst Mauritius and Ceylon remain unnoticed.