The regiment arrived at Calcutta on the 27th of January 1847; and on the 7th of February, the head-quarters, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Wright, consisting of seven officers, seven serjeants, five corporals, six drummers, and one hundred and eleven privates, embarked in the “Tudor,” and landed at Gravesend on the 9th of June following, losing one serjeant, one corporal, and three privates, during the passage.
The remainder of the regiment, consisting of ten serjeants, nine corporals, eight drummers, and one hundred and forty-five privates, with six officers, under the command of Captain Wilbraham, embarked in the “Pekin” on the 23rd of February, and arrived in England on the 13th of July 1847, losing only one man during the voyage.
On the departure of the Thirty-ninth, with other corps, from India, the Right Honorable Lord Gough, Commander-in-Chief in that country, issued the following complimentary orders:—
“Head-Quarters,
“Camp Seharunpore,
“9th February 1847.
“GENERAL ORDER.
“The Right Honorable the Commander-in-Chief in India avails himself of the opportunity which the approaching departure from India of those distinguished regiments, the Ninth, Thirty-ninth, and Sixty-second foot affords, of recording the high sense he entertains of their respective merits, and the admiration with which he has witnessed their uniform good conduct in quarters, and their gallantry in the field.
“Each regiment bears on its colours the names of many hard-fought battles in the “Peninsula,” and each regiment will carry home the record of victories achieved in the wars of this country, nobly gained by their indomitable bravery under his Lordship’s immediate command.
“The Ninth regiment has completed a service abroad of upwards of fourteen years. In 1842 it formed part of the force under Major-General Sir George Pollock in the second campaign of ‘Affghanistan,’ and subsequently had the good fortune to partake in the memorable battles of the Sutlej. The despatches of the former period have testified to its gallantry, its noble bearing, and high spirit under extreme sickness and privation; and upon the latter, Lord Gough has recently in orders and by his despatches, expressed his sense of its valuable services.
“The Thirty-ninth regiment, ‘Primus in Indis,’ having obtained imperishable renown in the earlier wars in India, bearing upon its colours the record of its gallantry at ‘Plassey,’ quitted this country in 1758; and after a lapse of seventy-four years, during which it reaped a rich harvest of glory in the ‘Peninsula,’ again returned to India, and has again profited by the opportunities, which a long service in this country has afforded, of adding fresh lustre to its fame. The victory of ‘Maharajpore’ is already recorded on its colours, and nobly did it earn that badge. The distinguished conduct of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 29th of December 1843, could not be surpassed for bravery and determination.
“The Sixty-second regiment gallantly aided in the defence of Ferozepore, when that station was invested by an overwhelming force; and when called into action in the late brilliant campaign, it evinced that indomitable bravery and obedience to orders, for which the British army is justly renowned.