Lt.-Col. Gordon, after repeatedly urging it upon those in authority, at length gained permission to commence the reconstruction and elevation of the whole surface-level of the wide projecting quay which formed the parade of the battalion; also to raise, drain, and level the roadways of the streets, in which the barracks of the battalion were situated. These useful works were commenced on the 18th of December, and ten days later, Lt.-Col. Gordon went home to take command of the six dépôt companies, when the command of the service companies devolved on Major W. T. L. Patterson, who had recently been promoted from captain.
The 91st embarked in two divisions on the 28th of Feb. 1857 for the Ionian Islands, where it was stationed for the next eighteen months, detachments being located in Corfu, Vido, Zante, and latterly, Cephalonia. Here, also, the regiment was employed in the construction of useful works. Among these was an approach from the esplanade at Argostoli, in Cephalonia, in the shape of steps upon a large scale, formed from the materials of a useless five-gun battery, which work was described by the Resident of Cephalonia as a “great public improvement,” and, with his authority, obtained the appellation of “The Argyll Steps.”
Lt.-Col. Bertie Gordon arrived at Corfu in April 1857, and assumed command of the regiment, Colonel Campbell having obtained leave of absence in the previous March.
In taking leave of the headquarters companies on the 17th of August, they having been ordered from Corfu to the Southern Islands, Major-General Sir George Buller, C.B., told them “he had selected the 91st for the service of the Southern Islands, partly because it was a more formed regiment, a finer body of men, and better drilled than the others.”
The 91st, having received orders to proceed to India by the overland route, embarked at Corfu, and sailed on the 5th of Sept. 1858, arriving at Alexandria on the 8th; but it seems to have remained on board H.M.S. “Perseverance” until the 18th. On that day headquarters, with 5½ companies, disembarked at 1.30 P.M., and at once entered railway carriages prepared for their conveyance, and proceeded towards Suez. The left wing disembarked on the following day. Partly by railway, and partly on donkeys, the two wings were conveyed to Suez, where they embarked on board two vessels, which arrived at Bombay on the 7th and 9th of October respectively. Both detachments were reunited at Poonah on the 11th.
On Oct. 28th Colonel Campbell, C.B., having been appointed to the command of a brigade at Toogoo, in Burmah, Major Patterson assumed command of the regiment.
On Nov. 3rd the 91st commenced its march to Kamptee, where it did not arrive till the 11th of the following month. On its march, while at Jafferabad, on Nov. 20th, an order was received by telegraph from the Commander-in-Chief of the Madras army to leave a wing at Jaulnah. The left wing, under command of Major Savage, accordingly returned to that place, and did not arrive at headquarters until the 25th of Feb. 1859. It had been employed during the latter part of January and the beginning of February in operations against insurgent Rohillas, to the south of Jaulnah, and had made long marches, without, however, being engaged with the enemy.
On the 7th of March Lt.-Colonel Bertie Gordon arrived from England and assumed the command, and on the 9th a small detachment, under Lieut. Gurney, proceeded to Chindwarrah, a village about 84 miles north of Kamptee. On the same day No. 5 company, under Captain Battiscombe, marched as part of a field-force directed on Mooltye and Baitool. On the 27th Major Patterson joined and took command of the field-force, which remained out till the 18th of April. A similar field-force was sent out on April 22nd for a short time to the same districts.[555]
It was about this time that Colonel Bertie Gordon inaugurated his new system of promotion in the non-commissioned ranks of the regiment. Competitive examinations of lance and full corporals, under a strictly organised system, were the basis of this plan. During the period extending from Sept. 1860 to Jan. 1861, seventy corporals and lance-corporals were examined, twenty-five of whom obtained promotion out of their regular turn, owing to their position on the merit roll.
The 91st remained in India till the year 1868, and we can note only in the briefest possible manner the principal occurrences in connection with the regiment during that period.