Long before daylight on the 16th of April 1858 the force was under arms, and moved cautiously a few miles across country, when a halt was called, the baggage collected, and a strong guard told off to protect it; this guard consisted of two guns and detachments from every corps. About 10 o’clock A.M., the whole force cautiously advanced through some thick wood, and came suddenly on a native mud fort, the garrison of which immediately opened fire with guns and musketry. The 42nd was in advance, supported by the 93rd, the 79th being in reserve. The guns were quickly placed in position, and opened a rapid fire on the fort, while the 42nd and two companies of the 93rd and 4th Punjab Rifles were pushed forward close to the walls, under cover of some low banks, and commenced a brisk fire on the garrison. The 42nd occupied the cover in front, the 93rd on the left flank, and the Punjab Rifles on the right flank of the fort. During the whole day things remained in this state; the guns played on the fort without the least effect, and the skirmishers exchanged shots with the garrison, with but little loss to the enemy, while that of the 93rd and the rest of the force was severe and irreparable.
Brigadier the Hon. Adrian Hope, a leader not only admired but beloved by his brigade, and by the 93rd especially, fell while endeavouring to find out the arrangements of the fort, and see if there was any means of entering; not that any order had been given to assault, but it is more than probable that had he lived a few hours longer, an assault would have taken place. For an hour or two the guns played upon the fort, but after the death of Hope nothing was done, and the force outside only continued to get the worst of it. While the other regiments suffered severely in officers and men, the 93rd thus lost their much-beloved brigadier, while 6 men were wounded.
At sunset the force was withdrawn, and to the amazement of all (the enemy firing at the force as it retired), the camp was formed within a mile of the fort. Next morning the fort was empty, the enemy having vacated it during the night, evidently at leisure, for nothing was left except the ashes of their dead and a broken gun-carriage. The force having taken possession of the place, measures were at once taken to destroy it. Originally it had been a square enclosure, but had fallen into decay; it was so open and unprotected by any work behind, that a regiment of cavalry might have ridden in. And before this paltry place was lost the brave Adrian Hope, who had passed unscathed through the fierce fires of Lucknow and Cawnpoor. In the evening his remains were buried with military honours, along with two officers of the 42nd.
On the death of Brigadier Hope, Col. Hay, C.B., of the 93rd assumed command of the Highland Brigade, and Major Middleton that of the 93rd. Next day, April 17th, the force resumed its march, and in three days afterwards, at the village of Allahgunge, the enemy in force were again encountered, attacked, and dispersed, with a very large loss to them, but none to their assailants. Here Bt. Lt.-Col. Ross took command of the 93rd.
The force stayed at Allahgunge for three days, during which it was strongly reinforced, and the Commander-in-Chief himself took command of the entire army. On the 27th of April the largely augmented force moved en route for Bareilly and Shahjehanpoor, where it arrived on the 30th of April. The army moved again next day, and on the 4th of May was joined by another brigade. On the 5th it encountered a rebel army on the plains east of Bareilly, which after an engagement of some hours retired. This was a most trying day, for the heat was tremendous; the 93rd was the only regiment that did not lose men from the effects of the heat, neither had it any casualties during the engagement. On the 7th the city of Bareilly was taken possession of. On that day a wing of the regiment, under Lt.-Col. Ross, was employed to dislodge a body of the enemy which had occupied some buildings in the city. After a struggle of some hours the enemy were all dislodged and killed, the casualties of the 93rd being only 3 men wounded.
The regiment had now a rest of five months, during which it remained at Bareilly, where, however, the men suffered extremely from fever; and there were also a good many cases of sunstroke, a few of which were fatal.
On October 17th, the 93rd marched to Shahjehanpoor to form a brigade along with the 60th Royal Rifles and 66th Ghoorkas; along with this were some guns, cavalry, and regular troops, all under command of Brigadier Colin Troup. Two days after the junction of the regiments the whole column entered Oude, and in the second day’s march encountered a large body of rebels at a village called Poosgawah, in which they had entrenched themselves. From this position they were quickly expelled, and the force breaking up into small columns followed in pursuit. No sooner had the bulk of the force passed through the village than a body of rebel cavalry appeared in the rear, and attacked the baggage as it was struggling through the narrow entrance into the village. The main body of the baggage guard was far in the rear, and the enemy was at first mistaken for the irregulars of the force, until they began to cut up the camp followers. At this moment, the sick of the 93rd, 12 in number, who at Surgeon Munro’s request had been armed the night before, turned out of their dhoolies, and kept up a sharp fire, which held the enemy in check until the arrival of the Mooltanee Cavalry, which had been sent from the front, and which immediately dispersed the enemy’s cavalry. The regiment lost 1 man killed.
The force remained in the vicinity of the village for a few days. At daylight on October 26th it was under arms, and the enemy was found in position at a village called Russellpoor, on the opposite side of a deep nullah, flanked on one side by a large village, and on the other by some rising ground. The guns and the 6th Rifles attacked, the main body of the 93rd being held in reserve; one company, under Captain M’Bean, supported the heavy guns. The enemy were driven from their position and put to flight, with considerable loss to themselves, particularly on the right, where Captain M’Bean’s company was engaged.
Next day the force moved on to Noorungabad, where it remained till Nov. 8, 1858, and where the Royal proclamation was read, transferring the government of India to H.M. the Queen. On the 8th, at midnight, the force got under arms and marched towards Meethoolee, a strong mud fort belonging to one of the Rajahs of Oude, who had refused to surrender. By a circuitous route, the force felt its way towards the fort, upon which it suddenly came about mid-day on the 10th. Firing immediately commenced on both sides, and active preparations were made for an assault next day; but it was found that the enemy had slipped off during the night.
After this the 93rd, until the beginning of February 1859, was constantly employed under General Troup, sometimes united and sometimes detached, hunting the rebels out of their hiding-places, ultimately driving them beyond the Gogra (or Sarúj). Thus ended the work of the Sutherland Highlanders in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny, in which it took, at least, as prominent a part as did any other regiment, and in which it won for itself never-dying fame. Not, however, did it gain its glory cheaply; between Sept. 30, 1857, and Dec. 31, 1859, the 93rd lost in killed, died of disease, wounded, accidents, and missing, 180 men, besides 58 who were invalided to England. The remainder of its history we must run over with the utmost brevity.