1843
In April, 1843, the regiment proceeded from Edinburgh to Ireland, and was stationed at Belfast until September, when it marched to Enniskillen.
1844
The regiment marched from Enniskillen to Newry in January, 1844, and having been selected to proceed to India, the usual augmentation was made to its numbers. It proceeded to Manchester in July, and embarked at Liverpool for Bengal on the 20th of August under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Shakespear Phillips, arriving at Calcutta on the 30th of December following.
1845
On the 22nd of January, 1845, the regiment proceeded from Chinsurah to Cawnpore, where it arrived on the 19th of March; in October it marched to Agra, and on the 19th of December to Delhi, where it arrived and encamped on the 28th of December, 1845.
1846
During the brief period which elapsed between the 11th and 23rd of December, 1845, the valley of the Sutlej was the scene of active and interesting operations; the frontier of the Punjaub[11] (punj, five, and aub, waters) had been crossed by a numerous and well disciplined Sikh army; and the enemy had been repulsed in two sanguinary battles, at Moodkee on the 18th of December, and at Ferozeshah three days afterwards.
After these successes, it was determined by the Commander-in-Chief in India to rest the main body of the army until strong reinforcements arrived, when a grand attack was to be made on the Sikhs, who had employed the interval in strengthening the position they had taken up on the British side of the river Sutlej, the boundary of the Punjaub from India.
Reinforcements accordingly proceeded to the frontier, and the FIFTY-THIRD was one of the regiments ordered to join the Army of the Sutlej. The regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Shakespear Phillips, marched from Delhi on the 5th of January, 1846, and arrived at Kurnaul on the 10th of that month: two days afterwards the FIFTY-THIRD marched to join the portion of the army detached under the command of Major-General Sir Harry Smith, who was proceeding to the relief of Loodianah (celebrated for its manufacture of imitative Cashmere shawls), which was threatened by a force of twenty thousand Sikhs under the command of Runjoor Singh. The junction was effected on the 21st of January, on which day the regiment suffered severely from the heavy fire of the enemy's artillery on the march to Loodianah, sustaining a loss of thirty-six men killed. Major-General Sir Harry Smith, by a series of skilful movements, avoided a regular engagement, and effected his communication with Loodianah, but not without severe loss. On the 28th of January the Major-General determined to attack the Sikhs under Runjoor Singh in their strong position at Aliwal, and the result was a splendid victory. Runjoor Singh's camp, with all his baggage, ammunition, and stores, fell into the hands of the victors, and the left wing of the Sikh army was thus almost completely disorganised.