Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Origin of the Regiment in the Reign of King James VI. of Scotland, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1846Cannon, Richard
History
Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Origin of the Regiment in the Reign of King James VI. of Scotland, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1846
Cannon, Richard
Great Britain. Army -- History; Great Britain. Army. Regiment of Foot, 1st (Royal Scots)
The division was engaged in operations against Peishwah Bajee Rao (one
of the Mahratta confederacy), who, with an army of cavalry said to
amount to 20,000 men, studiously avoided a conflict with the British
field force, and sought to accomplish his object by sudden marches and
surprises. Information having been received of an intended attack of
this chief on the cantonments of Jaulnah, the Hyderabad division, with
which were three companies of the ROYAL SCOTS, commanded by Captain
Wetherall (the other two companies remaining at Fooltaumba), proceeded
seventy-two miles in two forced marches, and before the remaining
thirty miles were accomplished, the Peishwah had proceeded in another
direction. After a short halt, the division continued the pursuit of
the flying enemy, encountering many difficulties while traversing parts
of the country which had never before witnessed the presence of a
British army, and using the most indefatigable exertions, it frequently
occurring that the troops occupied the ground which Bajee Rao had
left on the preceding day. After a circuitous route, having performed
forty-one marches in forty days, at the hottest period of the year,
during which time the division had only two halts, the troops returned
for supplies to Jaulnah, where they encamped on the 11th of May. In
this difficult service the European soldiers had not evinced any want
of physical power; they had performed their marches cheerfully, and
their only complaint was not being able to overtake the flying enemy.
After a halt of two days, the division again resumed the chase of its
flying foe, and continued the pursuit until the Peishwah surrendered
himself to the British government, when it returned to Jaulnah.
Meanwhile the two companies of the ROYAL SCOTS left at Fooltaumba,
under the command of Lieutenant Bland, had marched with a body of
troops, under Lieut.-Colonel M'Dowall, of the East India Company's
service, into the Candeish country, and had captured the fort of
_Unkye_, situated on the summit of the Candeish Ghats, also the forts
of _Rajdeir_ and _Inderye_, in which service the two companies had a
few private men wounded. They were next engaged in the reduction of the
strong hill-fort of _Trimbuck_, situated near the source of the river
Godavery, which surrendered on the 25th of April; their loss on this
occasion was 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, and 8 private men, wounded. The
conduct of the ROYAL SCOTS in this service was spoken of in terms of
commendation in detachment orders. The capture of Trimbuck was followed
by the surrender of seventeen other forts.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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