General Wauchope

by F.S.A. Scot. William Baird

The Nile Expedition

As it was, the British soldier—'capable of going anywhere and doing anything'—had for the nonce to convert himself into a boatman; and that he had much to learn in this capacity may be gathered from one of the jokes familiar to the expeditionary force, to the effect that one day a man at the helm, on receiving the order 'put your helm down,' immediately proceeded to place the tiller in the bottom of the boat, and innocently awaited further orders! The boats provided were about thirty feet long, seven feet beam, and with a draught of two and a half feet. As the boats were destined each to be self-supporting, they had, when finally loaded, supplies of ammunition, ordnance, and commissariat stores for fourteen men for one hundred days. But it was not unusual for the boats to be carrying practically one hundred and twenty days' rations and other stores, and reserve ammunition for fourteen men, with a crew of eight men in each boat. Great caution and skill were necessary in an expedition so full of novelty and danger, and if accidents did happen, it is no matter of surprise, considering that it was through an almost entirely unknown country and among hostile tribes their course lay. With a falling river, too, the dangers and difficulties were increased, for boats were frequently striking sunken rocks, and springing leaks, which necessitated their being hauled up on the river bank, unloaded of their tons of stores, and then repaired by the soldiers themselves, for there was no one else to do it. In some places there was barely room for a loaded camel to pass between the perpendicular rocks; in others, where the path was wider, the rocks had been prepared for defence by loop-holed stone sconces. There was no order or regularity in the formation of the rocks. 'They seemed,' said one eye-witness, 'to have been upheaved in a mass, in some great volcanic convulsion, and to have fallen one upon another in every direction.'

Throughout this remarkable voyage Colonel Wauchope's early naval experience stood him in good stead. Having the command of the E company of the Black Watch he had charge of sixteen boats, with ten men in each. He divided the company into two parts so that each section might have free scope, and collisions be avoided; and, thanks to his ever watchful eye and naval skill, the soldiers in the boats speedily became expert sailors. From the Rev. Mr. Mactaggart, who accompanied the expedition at the special desire of Colonel Wauchope, and was in his company, we give the following narrative. 'According to Lord Wolseley's orders, each boat was to have been provided with one or two Canadian steersmen, but in some way it was found impossible to get this, and after two days' delay we succeeded in getting away with one Canadian in every second boat—eight men instead of thirty-two; much therefore depended on Wauchope himself. Before starting on several occasions, I remember he had all of us assembled on the river-side, and gave out minute instructions theoretically and practically how to enter the boat, how to sit on the bench, how to handle the oar, and how to splice a rope. His instructions were always much needed and most excellent. Then as to loading and unloading, he would demonstrate how this could most easily be done, and with least danger. He was careful to emphasise his caution as to managing the boats in the strong eddies and currents of the stream, and above all to avoid racing or endeavouring to get ahead of each other. With a vein of humour in his voice, and yet meant as a serious joke, he would say—"Mind you, my men, no Derby racing!" On one occasion, in pulling the boats over a strong current, two boats' crews were necessary to get one at a time over it, but through some hitch one of these with its contents would have been irretrievably lost but for his opportune energy and pluck. The men, exhausted with the heavy strain upon them, slackened the rope, and in a moment the boat had turned and was being carried back. Wauchope at once seized the rope, and held on to it tenaciously, though drawn in among the rocks at the edge of the rapid, and had his hands very much lacerated for his pains.'

Fighting the Cataracts

Many incidents—some amusing and some serious enough—occurred in these daily battles with the river; but Wauchope was ever in the thick of it if a difficulty occurred; and while as commander he was prompt in giving his orders, he was never above giving his men a helping hand when needed. 'It was during our toilsome ascent of the third and fourth cataracts,' says another comrade of the expedition, 'a staff officer was detailed in charge of different districts up the banks, whose duty it was to guide and instruct the boats in their passage up the rapids, or, as the men put it, "to worry and irritate the troops." On one occasion Colonel Wauchope's boat was in trouble, and the staff officer was shouting any amount of advice gratis from the bank. Thinking apparently that enough notice was not being taken of his instructions, he called out, "You No. 2 boat there, do you know who I am? I am Colonel Primrose of the Guards." This immediately drew the following answer from a wild-looking, red-headed, and half-naked worker in the boat, "And do you know who I am, sir? I am Colonel Wauchope of the Black Watch, so honours are easy!"' Though otherwise kind to a fault, in the matter of discipline he was firm as a rock in adhering strictly to orders. Indeed at this juncture he was invaluable to the regiment, for he acted at the same time both as president of the canteen and mess; and as one of his brother officers informs us, 'it was only through his continual forethought that we were able to obtain supplies for our daily wants.' 'A favourite dinner on the Nile,' says one of his men, 'which was looked upon as a great luxury, was one pound of bacon per man, in place of the usual tinned meat, as by dint of self-denial a bit of it might be saved for breakfast next morning. This was served out by the captain, and great was the consternation one day in the drum-major's boat when the cook fell overboard with the boat's rations in his hand. The man was secured, but the bacon went to the crocodiles. The matter being reported to Colonel Wauchope, it was hoped the rations might be replaced. But not having seen the accident, he was obdurate. The ration had been issued and could not be replaced, so the unfortunate boat's crew worked hard all that day on biscuit and tea only. Evening came, and tea was being made when word was passed along the bank that the drum-major was wanted by Colonel Wauchope. Hope sprang up that he had relented at the eleventh hour; but no such luck. To his honour be it said, however, he divided his own pound of bacon with the drum-major that night, and it was his all, for officers and men fared alike at that time.' Still they knew their commander, and no grumble was heard. Though he might be strict, they all felt he had their interest at heart.

The rough work of fighting the cataracts was telling sorely upon uniforms and shoes, some of the men being actually in rags. They had proceeded as far as Ambu-Kui, and the necessity for having new boots was so pressing, Wauchope set out two or three miles inland to where there was a bazaar and bought for his men all the boots and shoes he could get. The old dervish from whom he purchased them assured him with all seriousness of their excellence, saying, 'Well now, oh ye faithful, if you buy them you can go straight to Paradise'—a recommendation of his goods which the colonel enjoyed immensely.

Battle of Kirbekan

Struggling on from day to day in their toilsome up-river journey, one hope animated every breast, that the gallant general holding his own with defection and treachery among his native troops in Khartoum, and a fanatical horde of Arabs under the Mahdi outside its walls, would be able to hold out until the arrival of the British force on its way to relieve him. General Gordon was in a most critical position. The enemy being numerous, and ever increasing, hemmed him in on all sides, while famine was pressing him even more seriously within. It was a long road, and bravely Lord Wolseley encouraged his troops to renewed exertions. In the first week of January 1885 the leading companies of the 42nd Highlanders arrived at Korti, and on the 13th January the headquarters rowed into Hamdab with fifty-four boats. By the 20th the whole regiment was once more together at Hamdab, and with the South Staffordshire, the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, the 1st Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders, one squadron of the 19th Hussars, an Egyptian Camel Corps, and a section of the Engineers and Bluejackets, formed the Nile River Column, under Major-General Earle. Making a further advance, the difficult Edermih Cataract was surmounted on the 25th January, and the Kab-el-Abd Cataract two days after. But it was only by the daring skill of the Canadian voyageurs and the constant toil of the whole force that the boats were got successfully over, for now the currents of the river were getting more difficult to face. At the fourth or Bird Cataract they began to feel the enemy in stronger force, and at Kirbekan, some seven miles further on, the ground overlooking the Nile was found to be fortified with every determination to resist the passage of the boats. The troops were accordingly formed for battle, and the British line under General Earle advanced upon the entrenchments. Finding it impossible, however, to dislodge the Arabs by musketry fire alone, orders were given for the Black Watch to carry the position by the bayonet. The regiment responded gallantly to the order. The pipers struck up, and with a cheer the Black Watch rushed forward with a steadiness and valour that were irresistible, and which called forth the enthusiastic admiration of the general. From the loop-holed walls of the enemy the rifle puffs shot out continuously, but, undaunted by danger, the 42nd scaled the rocks, and at the point of the bayonet drove them from their shelter.

Colonel Bayly of the 42nd, who commanded the left-half battalion, has favoured us with the following account of Wauchope's intrepid daring in this action. 'Kirbekan,' he says, 'was one of the last fights at which I was present with him. He was in command of a company of my half battalion in the attack on the Arabs' position, a high, precipitous rocky range rising from the river's bank. We were fully engaged, when Wauchope, asking my leave, descended the precipitous bank of the river, then in full flood. Returning in a few minutes, he said he could take the company over the rocks, and with perhaps a little wading he could turn the flank of the kopje held by the enemy. This he did, and rolled the enemy up to their final stand, a roughly built stone shanty, where General Earle (who was in command) and Colonel Coveny met their deaths. And here Wauchope himself was badly wounded.' Meanwhile the cavalry had captured the enemy's camp, and the Staffordshire regiment had gallantly stormed the last remaining ridge. The battle of Kirbekan was won on the 11th February.

Wauchope was assisted down from among the high rocks by his friends Captain Stewart and Mr. Mactaggart, the chaplain, and had his wound attended to by Dr. Harvey and Dr. Flood. They found his shoulder very much shattered, and were of opinion that his arm would have to be amputated. He himself was apparently not conscious that he was dangerously wounded, and endeavoured to treat the matter lightly. Having persuaded the doctors to delay the operation till next day, we are told he seemed after a little to be more concerned about the condition of his brother officer, Lord Alexander Kennedy, who had also been severely wounded in the action, than about himself. After further consultation, to the great relief of Wauchope, it was determined to give him a chance of saving his arm. The wound was carefully and successfully dressed. This disablement, however, reduced him from the position of an active leader in the expedition to that of a mere spectator. He was quite laid aside for a time, and compelled to remain in one of the boats floating on the Nile—no pleasant experience for one of his active temperament.