Brave British soldiers and the Victoria Cross / a general account of the regiments and men of the British Army, and stories of the brave deeds which won the prize "for valour"

by Unknown

Towards the end of 1855 it was evident that the Persian Government did not intend to keep faith with England, for in December Prince Sultan Moorad Meerza set out from Tehran in command of an army that was to act against Herat. Whilst our Government was remonstrating with that of Persia on this proceeding, several insults were offered to the British officials at Tehran, and the right of asylum accorded to the residence of the British mission was violated. After various futile attempts to obtain redress, war was at length decided upon, and an expedition was despatched to the Persian Gulf from India.

In January, 1857, the expedition embarked, and reached its destination at the end of the month, and shortly after was landed at Bushire. The Arabian and Persian coasts on either side of the entrance to the Gulf are desolate in the extreme; steep cliffs without any sign of vegetation rise from the water’s edge, whilst inland there seems no sign of a habitation; several barren islands stud the coast on both sides, and are the residence of a few sea-birds only.

The village of Bushire, which was captured with scarcely any opposition, is a place of some importance. It is imperfectly defended by a wall, with towers at intervals to afford a flank defence. The town itself is composed of narrow streets or alleys, whilst the buildings are square and solid-looking. The places of interest in the town are the church, the bazaar, and a reservoir. In the background is a range of mountains which is usually covered with snow.

The troops forming the Persian expedition were very soon actively employed. On the 3rd of February the entire force was assembled and drawn up in order of march. This force consisted of the 64th Regiment, 78th Highlanders, 20th and 26th Regiments of Native Infantry, the 2nd Light Infantry, and 4th Bombay Rifles, 3rd Light Cavalry, some horse artillery, and field batteries—a somewhat diminutive army with which to invade a kingdom, but one which was found efficient enough for the work it was called upon to perform.

During the first two days’ march this little army encountered two of the most disagreeable incidents of a tropical climate. First a gale of wind sprang up, carrying with it a huge cloud of sand, which penetrated not only the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, but seemed actually to force its way into the pores of the skin. When the army halted, and were bivouacked in order of march, a tremendous thunderstorm burst upon them, rain and hail coming down in torrents, when both officers and men were drenched to the skin, for they had no cover such as tents or trees. A piercing cold wind blew upon them, and rendered their condition more trying than can easily be imagined except by those who have experienced similar inconveniences. But many examples have shown that nothing can daunt the courage or decrease the ardour of the British soldier, especially when led, as he was in this instance, by such a man as Outram.

It was known that the Persians were in order of battle at about eight or nine miles from the spot on which the troops had bivouacked on the night of the 4th of February; therefore, before proceeding on the march on the morning of the 5th, the loaded arms were discharged and reloaded, in order to avoid the damaging effects of the night’s rain.

Shortly after mid-day the Persian army was discovered in an intrenched position. A short halt took place, in order to get the regiments into their proper positions, when, to the annoyance of our men, the enemy were seen in full retreat, which they continued at such a pace as to prevent their being overtaken, except by a few of our cavalry who attacked their rear-guard.

Our troops immediately took possession of their intrenched camp, in which were large quantities of ammunition, grain, and camp equipage. The intrenched position was found very weak, and would easily have been taken by our little army, whereas a village near, termed Brás-Joon, had it been but slightly fortified, would have become a most formidable position.

During the 6th and 7th of February the troops were occupied in destroying military stores and searching for hidden guns, treasure, &c. On the night of the 6th an alarm occurred in the camp, and the whole force stood to their arms. Fortunately, the moon shone brilliantly, and thus a probable disaster was avoided, for one of the corps mistook a patrol of the Poonah Horse for a party of the enemy, and skirmished up to it, but fortunately discovered the mistake before a shot was fired.