Lieutenant-Colonel Don’s force arrived before Rampoor on the 14th May, and to avoid exciting the enemy’s suspicions and inducing him to block up the gateways really intended to be attacked, took up its position on the opposite side of the fort. At two A.M. on the next morning, the storming party advanced, headed by a 12–pounder, to blow the gates open, and followed by another, to keep in check a body of the enemy’s cavalry; while Captain Raban, with one 12–pounder and four 6–pounders, took up a position from which he was enabled to fire upon any point of the works which the enemy might man to meet the attack; a picquet of the enemy was driven in, the first gate was blown in by the gun, the second was found open, and the third and fourth were also blown in; the storming party entered, and the town was taken possession of.
Thanks were given to Captain Raban and every officer and soldier of the detachment; the 2nd company 1st battalion, or a portion of it, was employed on this duty.
Hitherto the operations of the army had been perfectly successful, but we have now to recount two failures, in both of which, but particularly in that in Bundelcund, the artillery suffered heavily.
The Bundelcund force, under Lieutenant-Colonel Fawcett, had been protecting that province from Holkar’s incursions, and was encamped in May, 1804, near Kooch. A detachment of seven companies of native infantry, under Captain N. Smith, and fifty European artillery, from the 1st and 2nd companies 3rd battalion, under Captain-Lieutenant Feade and Lieutenant Morris, were sent against a small fort, named Baillah, in the neighbourhood. The guns having opened on the 21st May, the killidar offered to surrender on the following morning if the firing was directed to cease; his offer was accepted, but availing himself of the respite, he immediately despatched intelligence to Ameer Khan, who was in the vicinity, and requested him to fall on the detachment, which he did the next morning with 8,000 cavalry, and cut up two companies of the infantry, and the whole of the artillery,[[58]] with their officers, and took possession of the guns,[[59]] except one, which, with the remaining five companies, made good their retreat to Lieutenant-Colonel Fawcett’s head-quarters. This officer, alarmed at the reports he received, and unequal to the emergency in which he was placed, immediately retreated to Betwah; which movement caused much annoyance to the Commander-in-Chief, as it opened Bundelcund to Holkar, and left him undistracted to turn his whole force against Colonel Monson’s detachment in Rajasthan. Lord Lake would have ordered the command of this force to have been previously made over to “Lieutenant-Colonel Wittit, of the artillery, a most excellent officer; but for his ill-health;” this was very indifferent; so much so, indeed, that he died on the 27th May. In him the regiment lost a most valuable officer; as a subaltern he had served with his company in Lord Cornwallis’s campaigns on the coast, and was considered by Sir John Horsford one of the most superior officers in the regiment.
Colonel Martindell, after some changes, was appointed to the command of the force, and in June succeeded in capturing Mahobar, and defeating the Ram Rajah and Nagahs, and with this the campaign closed.
We must now follow Colonel Monson’s force, with which was the 2nd company 2nd battalion of artillery, commanded by Captain Hutchinson and Lieutenant Winbolt, in its unfortunate retreat. Advancing, after the capture of Hinglaizgurh to the Mokundra Pass, with the object of co-operating with Colonel Murray’s force from Guzerat, on the 7th July Colonel Monson received intelligence of Holkar’s having crossed the Chumbul, and moved to meet him; but almost immediately learning that Colonel Murray had fallen back on the Myhie, he retired to the pass on the 8th, beating off the attacks of the enemy. Fearful, however, of the enemy getting behind him, he commenced his retreat on Kotah. On the 12th he was again attacked, and again beat Holkar off; he pushed on for the Janee Nuddee, but the rain falling heavily, he did not reach the ghat till the morning of the 13th, and then finding the rivulet not fordable, he was obliged to halt till the 15th; the state of the roads was such that the guns sunk deep in the mud, several were abandoned, and most of the ammunition destroyed. On the 17th the Chumbul was reached; the Europeans were passed over on elephants, and sent on to Rampoorah, while the main body crossed over in detachments wherever fords could be found. On the 24th there was another severe contest with the enemy, and it was not until the 27th that the last battalion, with Colonel Monson, reached Rampoorah; but here this unhappy detachment found no rest,—want of provisions forced them to push on, and after leaving a garrison under Captain Hutchinson, of the artillery, they again moved (they were however reinforced by two battalions, four guns, and some irregular cavalry, under Major Frith) to the Bunass. On the 22nd August they reached its banks, and found it so swollen that the largest elephants could scarcely pass; three boats only could be found, and in them the treasure was sent across. On the 23rd the enemy appeared in force, and on the 24th, the river having run off a little, the baggage was got over, Monson covering the retreat by an attack on the enemy, which was at first successful, but the enemy rallying, forced him back, with the loss of his last gun; the baggage was abandoned, and, harassed by the enemy’s cavalry, the broken army reached Koosialgurh during the night; from hence they moved in a square to the Biana Pass, where they hoped for some respite; but Holkar, bringing his guns to bear, forced them to continue their flight, and parties of broken and disordered fugitives were all of Monson’s army that arrived at Agra.
In crossing the Bunass on the 24th Lieutenant Winbolt, of the artillery, was drowned. He was an officer of high promise, and one who stood high in the opinion of Sir J. Horsford, in whose company he had served on the coast in the campaigns of 1790–1–2.
To check Holkar, the army was called out again; the horse artillery and other troops from Cawnpoor marched on Agra on the 3rd September, and towards the end of the month the camp was formed between Agra and Secundra. Holkar was too wary to be led into a general action, and moving northwards with his main body, he was followed by Lord Lake, who reached Delhi and relieved the siege on the 15th October. Holkar moved towards Parriput, and crossed the Jumna into the Upper Dooab; Lake (with the horse artillery, cavalry, and reserve brigade, under Colonel Don) crossed near Delhi on the 31st, and leaving all private wheel-carriages and all baggage that could possibly be spared, pushed on, determined to give Holkar no rest. This rapid movement relieved Colonel Burn, who, with some nujeebs, was shut up in the ruined fort of Shamlee by Holkar. Following closely, Lord Lake came in sight of him near Meerut, but he fled with all speed, by the route of Hassur to Futteygurh. On the 16th, Lake was within sixty miles of Futteygurh, and starting again at night, he made great exertions to come up with him. Just as he mounted his horse, news came of the decisive victory gained by Major-General Fraser over the Mahrattas at Deig, an inspiriting omen to his own troops. At dawn on the 17th, they reached the skirts of the enemy’s camp; the horses were at their picquets, the men sleeping beside them, when their sleep was either broken or rendered final by discharges of grape poured in upon them from the horse-artillery guns; the dragoons charged, and the enemy took to flight,—Holkar among the first. The blowing up of a tumbril had first alarmed him, but he was persuaded it was the morning gun being fired at Futteygurh; but the firing continuing, the cry of “Lord Lake’s army” arose, and a general flight followed; some took refuge in trees, and might have escaped, but from their indiscretion in firing on our troops, who, thus taught in what direction to look, soon brought them down with their pistols. The pursuit continued for upwards of 10 miles, which, added to the previous march of 58, made a total of 68 miles in 24 hours, and when it is recollected that this had been preceded by 350 miles in a fortnight, it may be considered one of the most surprising feats on record, and speaking more powerfully to the state of efficiency of the regiments so employed, than words can do.
The services of the horse artillery were acknowledged by Lord Lake; in writing to the Governor-General, he says: “I have great satisfaction in reporting to your lordship the very meritorious conduct of Captain Brown and the corps of horse artillery under his command, who, by the rapidity of their movements, were able to do great execution. Captain Brown’s great attention in the management of his corps, and his zeal and activity when called into action, have on every occasion merited my best acknowledgments.” And in the General Order, November 18th, he returned his thanks “to Captain Brown, and officers and men of the horse artillery, for their highly meritorious and intrepid behaviour in the engagement of yesterday.”
The officers with the horse artillery were Captain C. Brown, Lieutenants H. Starke and J. Young. The wounded were 1 European, 1 Indian, and 4 horses; the killed 1 lascar and 7 horses.