| Major C. Wittit, Commandant. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company. | Battalion. | Captains. | Captain-Lieutenants. | Lieutenants. |
| 1 | 3 | Tomkyns | Feade | Richards. |
| 2 | Dowell | M. Brown. W. Hopper. | ||
The force reached the banks of the Caine, near Tiroha, on the 23rd September, and on the 10th October crossed, and, after a long march over a rough country, came in sight of Shumsheer Bahadur’s troops. A distant cannonade was all that occurred, the enemy made off as fast as he could, and the force proceeded against Culpee, which surrendered on the 4th December, as soon as a battery opened against it.
Its next move was to Gwalior, where the whole or a portion joined Colonel White, with whose detachment were Captain Green, Lieutenants Hay, Morris, Swiney, and Pollock. Batteries were opened, and on the 5th February, 1804, Gwalior had once again fallen into our possession.
The following General Order was issued on its capture: “The Commander-in-Chief is particularly happy to notice the valuable services of the artillery employed at Gwalior; and the great effect produced by the fire of the batteries under circumstances peculiarly unfavourable reflects the highest credit on the abilities of Captain Green, and on the officers and men under his command.”
The detachments under Major-General Deare, of the artillery, and Lieutenant-Colonel Broughton, at Mirzapoor and Sumbulpoor, were equally successful, though not so brilliantly employed; their exertions frustrated the Mahrattas’ hopes of plundering Mirzapoor and Benares.
The Balasore force met with complete success; they had chiefly, however, to contend against the difficulty of moving guns through a swampy, heavy country; the different towns surrendered with but little opposition. The fort of Barabutty alone required batteries to be erected against it; they were ready on the 13th October, and the defences being taken off, and the enemy’s guns silenced, the storming party advanced, accompanied by some artillerymen, under Lieutenant G. Faithfull, with a 6–pounder, for the purpose of blowing open the gate. In passing the bridge, the party was exposed for 40 minutes to a heavy fire of musketry ere the gate could be forced, it was so blocked up with masses of stone: these removed, the attack was soon successful. Lieutenant Faithfull was wounded, though not dangerously, and his conduct, as well as that of Captain-Lieutenant Hetzler, was praised in General Orders by the Governor-General:—“He trusts that Lieutenant Faithfull, of the artillery, will be speedily restored to the public service, in which his courage and resolution has already been distinguished.
“The Governor-General expresses his sense of the conduct of Captain Hetzler, of the Bengal artillery.”
To bring up the events of the campaign in all quarters, we must here turn briefly to the force in Guzerat, with which was the 5th company 3rd battalion. This force marched on the 21st August; at Bargood they met with but a feeble resistance on the 24th, and on the 26th a battery of two 18–pounders was completed against the fort of Baroach, and opened. By the 29th a breach was made, but the storm was delayed till 3 P.M., in hopes of profiting by the assistance of the Fury gun-vessel (on board which was a detail of Bengal artillery), and an armed boat, which were hourly expected, but which were prevented by the shallowness of the water; the storming party therefore advanced at the given signal (two 6–pounders fired in quick succession), and overcoming a vigorous resistance, gained possession of the fort.
With this company Captain-Lieutenant Dunn and Lieutenant Drummond appear to have been.
The main army, with the Commander-in-Chief, remained encamped near Biana until the 9th February, when they moved in the direction of Jeypoor, to which town a detachment under Colonel Monson was sent from Dowsah on the 18th April; on the 10th May, a second detachment, under Colonel Don, was sent against Tonk Rampoorah from Nurwalee; and on the 18th May, the main army broke up, and retraced its steps towards Agra, suffering much from the extreme heat of the weather ere it reached its destination in June.