As the state of affairs in India required that reinforcements should be immediately despatched to that country, all the men who had been embodied previous to January 1788 were ordered for embarkation, without waiting for the full complement. In consequence of these orders, 400 men, about one-half Highlanders, embarked at Grangemouth, and sailed from Chatham for the East Indies, under the command of Captain William Wallace. The regiment having been completed in autumn, the recruits followed in February 1789, and arrived at Madras in June in perfect health. They joined the first detachment at the cantonments of Poonamallee, and thus united, the corps amounted to 750 men. These were now trained under Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, who had succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes in the command, and who had acquired some experience in the training of soldiers as captain in Fraser’s Highlanders.
Major General Sir Archibald Campbell,
Bart., K.C.B.
From a painting by J. C. Wood.
In connection with the main army under Lord Cornwallis, the Madras army under General Meadows, of which the 74th formed a part, began a series of movements in the spring of 1790. The defence of the passes leading into the Carnatic from Mysore was intrusted to Colonel Kelly, who, besides his own corps, had under him the 74th; but he dying in September, Colonel Maxwell[439] succeeded to the command.
The 74th was put in brigade with the 71st and 72nd Highland regiments. The regiment suffered no loss in the different movements which took place till the storming of Bangalore, on the 21st of March 1791. The whole loss of the British, however, was only 5 men. After the defeat of Tippoo Sahib at Seringapatam, on the 15th of May 1791, the army, in consequence of bad weather and scarcity of provisions, retreated upon Bangalore, reaching that place in July.
The 74th was detached from the army at Nundeedroog on the 21st of October, with three Sepoy battalions and some field artillery, under Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, into the Baramahal country, which this column was ordered to clear of the enemy. They reached the south end of the valley by forced marches, and took the strong fort of Penagurh by escalade on the 31st of October, and after scouring the whole of the Baramahal to the southward, returned towards Caverypooram, and encamped within five miles of the strong fort of Kistnagherry, 50 miles S.E. of Bangalore, on the 7th of November. Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell determined on attacking the lower fort and town immediately, and the column advanced from the camp to the attack in three divisions at ten o’clock on that night; two of these were sent to the right and left to attack the lower fort on the western and eastern sides, while the centre division advanced directly towards the front wall. The divisions approached close to the walls before they were discovered, succeeded in escalading them, and got possession of the gates. The enemy fled to the upper fort without making much resistance, and the original object of the attack was thus gained. But a most gallant attempt was made by Captain Wallace of the 74th, who commanded the right division, to carry the almost inaccessible upper fort also. His division rushed up in pursuit of the fugitives; and notwithstanding the length and steepness of the ascent, his advanced party followed the enemy so closely that they had barely time to shut the gates. Their standard was taken on the steps of the gateway; but as the ladders had not been brought forward in time, it was impossible to escalade before the enemy recovered from their panic.
During two hours, repeated trials were made to get the ladders up, but the enemy hurling down showers of rocks and stones into the road, broke the ladders, and crushed those who carried them. Unluckily, a clear moonlight discovered every movement, and at length, the ladders being all destroyed, and many officers and men disabled in carrying them, Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell found it necessary to order a discontinuance of the assault.
The retreat of the men who had reached the gate, and of the rest of the troops, was conducted with such regularity, that a party which sallied from the fort in pursuit of them was immediately driven back. The pettah, or lower town, was set fire to, and the troops withdrawn to their camp before daylight on the 8th of November.
The following were the casualties in the regiment on this occasion:—Killed, 2 officers, 1 sergeant, 5 rank and file; wounded, 3 officers, 47 non-commissioned officers and men. The officers killed were Lieutenants Forbes and Lamont; those wounded, Captain Wallace, Lieutenants M’Kenzie and Aytone.