The loss of the Royal Scots on this occasion was Lieutenant Donald M'Leod, 1 serjeant, and 7 rank and file, killed; Lieutenants John M'Gregor and Charles Campbell, 4 serjeants, 1 drummer, and 27 rank and file, wounded. In commemoration of the valour evinced by these two companies the battalion obtained the royal permission to bear the word "Maheidpoor" on its colours.
1818
2nd Batt.
Arrangements having been made for the pursuit of Holkur, the troops advanced on the 28th of December, and on the 30th formed a junction with part of the Bombay army, under the command of Major-General Sir William Keir Grant, at Taul. Advancing from thence on the following day, the troops encamped in the beginning of January, 1818, at Mundesoor, and soon afterwards, Holkur's government having been brought to submission, the presence of the 1st division of the army of the Deccan being no longer necessary in this part of India, it marched southward. On the 22nd of January it crossed the Seeprah river, on the 24th it reached Oojain, where it halted until the 28th. On the 30th it was at Indoor; on the 13th of February it recrossed the Nerbuddah, and proceeding in the direction of the Taptee, encamped on the left bank of that river on the 27th, in the vicinity of Talnere, a town and fortress belonging to Holkur, formerly the capital of the sultans of the Adil Shahy dynasty, in the fifteenth century, which, it had been agreed, should be delivered up to the British government, but which, unexpectedly, opened a fire upon the advanced part of the division. A summons was sent to the Killedar, who commanded the garrison, warning him of the consequences of resistance; and, no answer being returned, a battery was brought to bear on the fort, which silenced the enemy's fire in a few hours, but not before several casualties had occurred from the well-directed fire of matchlocks from the walls. On a further examination of the fort, one of the outer gates was discovered to be in a ruinous state; and the flank companies of the Royal Scots and of the Madras European regiment, were placed under the orders of Major Gordon, of the Royal Scots, for the attack of the gate. The garrison offered to capitulate; and an unconditional surrender was demanded without delay; but, the evening being advanced, it was suspected the enemy would attempt to escape during the approaching darkness, and the storming party advanced up to the gate. A passage for single files between the walls and the frame of the outer gate was discovered, and no opposition being offered, the storming party and pioneers entered: they subsequently passed the second gate, and at the third were met by the Killedar and some natives. Lieut.-Colonel Conway, the Adjutant General to the army, with Lieut.-Colonel M'Gregor Murray, had entered with the storming party, and they passed through the third and fourth gates; but at the fifth and last gate they were stopped, though the wicket was opened. A hurried conversation about terms of surrender now took place; and Colonel Murray, concluding that there was an urgent necessity for establishing such a footing as would secure eventual success should the enemy hold out, entered by the wicket with Major Gordon and three grenadiers of the Royal Scots, but refrained from drawing his sword, to show he had no intention of breaking off the parley. Five persons only had passed the wicket when the enemy fell upon them, and in a moment laid them all dead, excepting Colonel Murray, who fell towards the wicket covered with wounds. The enemy attempted to close the wicket, but were prevented by a grenadier, private Sweeny, of the Royal Scots, who thrust his musket into the aperture: Lieut.-Colonel M'Intosh and Captain M'Craith forced the wicket open, and it was held in this state while the captain was with one hand dragging Colonel Murray through, and with the other warding off blows with his sword. A fire was then poured in through the wicket, which cleared the gateway sufficiently for the grenadiers of the Royal Scots, under Captain M'Gregor, who formed the head of the storming party, to enter, and the fort was carried by assault, but at the expense of the captain's life. The garrison was put to the sword, and the Killedar was hanged on the same evening. The Royal Scots had Major Gordon, Captain P. M'Gregor, and 3 private men killed; Lieutenant John M'Gregor (brother to the captain),[132] and 3 rank and file, wounded. The conduct of the Royal Scots on this occasion was spoken of, in general orders, in terms of commendation; and the intrepidity and courage of Major Gordon and Captain M'Gregor were especially noticed.
In the meantime, the 2nd division of the army of the Deccan, with which the eight battalion companies of the Royal Scots were serving, had been withdrawn from Nagpore, and proceeded (22nd January) towards Ellichpoor. In the early part of February, detachments from the division captured the two strong hill-forts of Gawelghur and Narnullah. The division was afterwards encamped at Ootran; in March it proceeded to Copergaum, and on the 17th of that month encamped on the left bank of that noble river the Godavery, near Fooltaumba; at the same time the 1st division was encamped on the opposite bank of the river. Here the 2nd division resumed its former designation of the Hyderabad division. Two flank and three battalion companies of the Royal Scots were directed to proceed to Hyderabad; and the remaining five companies continued in the field with the force under Brigadier-General Doveton. These companies were commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, and on his appointment to the command of a brigade, by Captain Joseph Wetherall,[133] the next officer in seniority.
The division was engaged in operations against Peishwah Bajee Rao (one of the Mahratta confederacy), who, with an army of cavalry said to amount to 20,000 men, studiously avoided a conflict with the British field force, and sought to accomplish his object by sudden marches and surprises. Information having been received of an intended attack of this chief on the cantonments of Jaulnah, the Hyderabad division, with which were three companies of the Royal Scots, commanded by Captain Wetherall (the other two companies remaining at Fooltaumba), proceeded seventy-two miles in two forced marches, and before the remaining thirty miles were accomplished, the Peishwah had proceeded in another direction. After a short halt, the division continued the pursuit of the flying enemy, encountering many difficulties while traversing parts of the country which had never before witnessed the presence of a British army, and using the most indefatigable exertions, it frequently occurring that the troops occupied the ground which Bajee Rao had left on the preceding day. After a circuitous route, having performed forty-one marches in forty days, at the hottest period of the year, during which time the division had only two halts, the troops returned for supplies to Jaulnah, where they encamped on the 11th of May. In this difficult service the European soldiers had not evinced any want of physical power; they had performed their marches cheerfully, and their only complaint was not being able to overtake the flying enemy. After a halt of two days, the division again resumed the chase of its flying foe, and continued the pursuit until the Peishwah surrendered himself to the British government, when it returned to Jaulnah.
Meanwhile the two companies of the Royal Scots left at Fooltaumba, under the command of Lieutenant Bland, had marched with a body of troops, under Lieut.-Colonel M'Dowall, of the East India Company's service, into the Candeish country, and had captured the fort of Unkye, situated on the summit of the Candeish Ghats, also the forts of Rajdeir and Inderye, in which service the two companies had a few private men wounded. They were next engaged in the reduction of the strong hill-fort of Trimbuck, situated near the source of the river Godavery, which surrendered on the 25th of April; their loss on this occasion was 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, and 8 private men, wounded. The conduct of the Royal Scots in this service was spoken of in terms of commendation in detachment orders. The capture of Trimbuck was followed by the surrender of seventeen other forts.
After this service the detachment proceeded to the strong fort of Malleygaum, situated on the river Moassum, and defended by a party of the Arabs, who surrendered to Brigadier-General Doveton at Nagpore. This place was defended by two lines of works, with very high walls, the inner one of superior masonry and surrounded by a ditch 25 feet deep and 16 feet wide. On the 18th of May a sortie of the garrison was repulsed; and on the 19th two batteries opened their fire. A breach having been effected, an attempt was made to carry the fort by storm: 2 officers and 50 rank and file of the Royal Scots, commanded by Lieutenant Bland, formed part of the principal storming party against the breach, and Lieutenant Orrock and 25 rank and file part of a column destined to make an attack on another point; but success was found impracticable, and the storming party was withdrawn. Another point of attack was afterwards selected, and new batteries raised. Two of the enemy's magazines having been blown up, the garrison surrendered, and the British flag was hoisted on the walls of Malleygaum, on the morning of the 13th of June. The Royal Scots lost in this siege 5 rank and file killed; Ensign Thomas, 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, and 11 rank and file, wounded.
1819