It was on this day that the officer whose exploit we this month illustrate gained the Victoria Cross. An officer, who also gained the Cross on the same day, had led a portion of his company against a two-gun battery and spiked the guns; thus the most advanced position of the troops was secure from artillery fire. It was of great importance that the skirmishers on the opposite side of the river should be made acquainted with this success, and Lieutenant Thomas Adair Butler, 1st Bengal Fusiliers, swam across the Goomtee, climbed the parapet, and remained for some time exposed to a heavy fire of musketry. He, however, gave the information that he wished, and was prominently mentioned by Major-General Outram in general orders. For this act of coolness and bravery he was allotted the Victoria Cross: an honour well deserved. There are many men who, in the heat and excitement of action, will take a prominent lead, and will then perform more than they would be disposed to do in moments of calmness; but when a man swims across a broad river in the face of an enemy, and remains by himself exposed to a severe fire, he must indeed possess those characteristics entitling him to be called brave.
Sir Colin Campbell was well acquainted with the peculiar style of fighting preferred by the mutineers. If behind stone walls, earthworks, or in buildings, the rebel sepoys would remain under fire all day. If, however, they were brought into close contact with cold steel, their courage deserted them, and they made the best use of their legs. In his orders for the attack on the Martinière, he particularly insisted on the application of cold steel. “The men employed in the attack will use nothing but the bayonet. They are absolutely forbidden to fire a shot till the position is won.” The description of the Highlanders’ advance is thus graphically given by Dr. Russell:—“Our guns were now thundering away, mortars, howitzers, and 24-pounders, at the pits, huts, and Martinière, from which the enemy kept up an incessant fusillade of the weakest sort, the only thing remarkable about it being its pertinacity. The time wore on, and at last the Highlanders and Sikhs came marching from their camp, and drew up behind the Dilkoosha. The enemy had remained steady in their trenches under the fire of six mortars and ten heavy guns and howitzers. But the instant they caught sight of our bayonets, and that the lines of the Sikhs and Highlanders came in view, we observed them, by twos and threes and groups, and at last in masses, running and marching at the double, as fast as they could clear out of the works, and moving to the rear, or stealing off under cover of their parapets. We saw the Highlanders, with skirmishers thrown out in front, advancing rapidly, without a sound in their ranks, towards the Martinière, while the Sikhs, on their flank, agile as panthers, ran at full speed towards the trenches, from which the enemy, firing a few hurried shots from their muskets, were flying so fast that not a man was left inside by the time our troops were within two hundred yards of the Martinière. In less than ten minutes we saw Highland bonnets among the trees in the park, and the Sikhs rushing through the vines in the rear, looking in vain for an enemy.”
By the 19th of March the entire city was in our possession, being thus gained after sixteen days’ fighting, counting from the first advance of Sir Colin from the Alum Bagh. Taking all things into consideration, the heat of the climate, the number of the enemy, and the fact of his fighting from behind stone walls or earthworks, this advance on and capture of Lucknow is a most marvellous achievement, especially when we consider the small loss that our troops suffered.
Every private English soldier in India at that time was worth a considerable sum, for his loss could not be easily replaced, and thus a wise and prudent general had to spare his men as much as possible, and to calculate previous to a battle whether even success could afford to be purchased by the loss of a given number of men.
When Lucknow was entered by our troops a scene was witnessed that baffles all description. The wealth of India has ever been known as immense, and much of this had been collected in Lucknow. The palaces of princes and private houses of rich natives were alike open to view, the owners having left them in the greatest haste upon the arrival of the English conquerors. Soldiers, whose spare pay amounted to scarcely more than a few pence per day, were able to lay hands upon gold and silver ornaments, watches, and jewels enough to buy a king’s ransom. In one instance a box, which was being carelessly handled by some men, was stated by those well informed to contain jewels to the value of one hundred thousand pounds. Unfortunately, this fell into the hands of some one unknown, who shortly disappeared with the box, and neither was afterwards heard of. Camel and elephant loads of rich brocades were carried away from the city, whilst wealth of every kind was scattered about in wild confusion.
Not only in India and England, but in all Christian countries, the defence and capture of Lucknow caused great excitement and interest. The massacre of upwards of eight hundred men, women, and children at Cawnpore had sent a thrill of horror throughout Europe at such cruelty and disregard of life, and as our forces in India were comparatively few, it did not seem improbable that the brave defenders of Lucknow might meet a similar fate. Thus the encounters during the first two weeks of March, 1858, will be remembered by all; and those who on these occasions gained the Victoria Cross, must feel and be known as men who risked their lives in a great and glorious cause, not only for the honour of their name and country, but for the triumph of Christianity and mercy over cruelty and vice.
CHAPTER XX.
DR. HOME AND DR. BRADSHAW AND THE VICTORIA CROSS.
