“J. H. Webb,
“Secretary to the Government.”
Besides the important engagements in which the 74th took part during its long stay in India, there were many smaller conflicts and arduous services which devolved upon the regiment, but of which no record has been preserved. Some details illustrative of these services are contained in Cannon’s history of the 74th, communicated by officers who served with it in India, and afterwards throughout the Peninsular War. Captain Cargill, who served in the regiment, writes as follows:—
“The 74th lives in my recollection under two aspects, and during two distinct epochs.
“The first is the history and character of the regiment, from its formation to its return as a skeleton from India; and the second is that of the regiment as it now exists, from its being embarked for the Peninsula in January 1810.
“So far as field service is concerned, it has been the good fortune of the corps to serve during both periods, on the more conspicuous occasions, under the great captain of the age; under him also, during the latter period, it received the impress of that character which attaches to most regiments that were placed in the same circumstances, which arose from the regulations introduced by His Royal Highness the Duke of York, and the practical application of them by a master mind in the great school of the Peninsular War. Uniformity was thus given; and the 74th, like every other corps that has had the same training, must acknowledge the hand under which its present character was mainly impressed. But it was not so with the 74th in India. At that time every regiment had its distinctive character and system broadly marked, and this was generally found to have arisen from the materials of which it had been originally composed, and the tact of the officer by whom it had been embodied and trained. The 74th, in these respects, had been fortunate, and the tone and discipline introduced by the late Sir Archibald Campbell, together with the chivalrous spirit and noble emulation imbibed by the corps in these earlier days of Eastern conquest, had impressed upon the officers the most correct perception of their duties, not only as regards internal economy and the gradation of military rank, but also as regards the Government under which they served. It was, perhaps, the most perfect that could well exist. It was participated in by the men, and certainly characterised the regiment in a strong degree.
“It was an established principle in the old 74th, that whatever was required of the soldier should be strikingly set before him by his officers, and hence the most minute point of ordinary duty was regarded by the latter as a matter in which his honour was implicated. The duty of the officer of the day was most rigidly attended to, the officer on duty remaining in full uniform, and without parting with his sword even in the hottest weather, and under all circumstances, and frequently going the rounds of the cantonments during the night. An exchange of duty was almost never heard of, and the same system was carried into every duty and department, with the most advantageous effect upon the spirit and habits of the men.
“Intemperance was an evil habit fostered by climate and the great facility of indulgence; but it was a point of honour among the men never to indulge when near an enemy, and I often heard it observed, that this rule was never known to be broken, even under the protracted operations of a siege. On such occasions the officers had no trouble with it, the principle being upheld by the men themselves.
“On one occasion, while the 74th was in garrison at Madras, and had received a route to march up the country, there was a mutiny among the Company’s artillery at the Mount. The evening before the regiment set out it was reported that they had some kind of leaning towards the mutineers; the whole corps felt most indignant at the calumny, but no notice was taken of it by the commanding officer. In the morning, however, he marched early, and made direct for the Mount, where he unfurled the colours, and marched through the cantonments with fixed bayonets. By a forced march he reached his proper destination before midnight, and before dismissing the men, he read them a short but pithy despatch, which he sent off to the Government, stating the indignation of every man of the corps at the libellous rumour, and that he had taken the liberty of gratifying his men by showing to the mutineers those colours which were ever faithfully devoted to the service of the Government. The circumstance had also a happy effect upon the mutineers who had heard the report, but the stern aspect of the regiment dispelled the illusion, and they submitted to their officers.”
The losses sustained by the regiment in officers and men, on many occasions, of which no account has been kept, were very great, particularly during the last six years of its Indian service.
That gallant veteran, Quarter-master Grant, who had been in the regiment from the time it was raised, fought at Assaye, and returned with it to England, used to say that he had seen nearly three different sets of officers during the period, the greater part of whom had fallen in battle or died of wounds, the regiment having been always very healthy.