Historical Record of the Seventy-Second Regiment, or the Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders: Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1778, and of its subsequent services to 1848Cannon, Richard
History
Historical Record of the Seventy-Second Regiment, or the Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders: Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1778, and of its subsequent services to 1848
Cannon, Richard
Great Britain. Army. Regiment of Foot, 72nd -- History; Great Britain. Army. Seaforth Highlanders -- History
[10] LIEUTENANT CAMPBELL, of the SEVENTY-SECOND foot, appears to
have been delighted with this part of the Mysore: he states in his
journal:--“I have never seen any part of India comparable to the
valley on our right; it is truly beautiful beyond conception! The
hills that bound it form an amphitheatre, covered with wood, except
where a rugged precipice or stupendous rock shows itself, and
waterfalls enrich the scene. The valley is covered with delightful
verdure, and luxuriant crops, interspersed with clumps of the
stateliest trees in the world, bearing a charmingly variegated
foliage; and beneath their shade, small houses, built of cajan-leaf
and bamboo, afford shelter to the cow-herds who tend their flocks
and watch their fields. Numberless villages are strewed in the
valley, and everything bears the mark of peace and plenty. The
inhabitants are protected by us, and as we passed, we saw in every
field the busy husbandmen reaping the fruits of their labour. After
coming to our camp ground, I walked out with Captain Braithwaite,
and we found the untilled land covered with bringals, yams, and
other vegetables, growing spontaneously. On our left hand lie the
Animalli woods, famous for their extent and thickness, and for
the size, variety, and quality of their trees (teak-wood being
in the greatest abundance and perfection); also for the number
of wild animals viz.--elephants, tigers, bears, wolves, and the
wild-boar, with a numerous tribe of the rarest birds--peacocks in
great numbers. Wild elephants are so numerous, that when Tippoo was
here, about four months since, he caught, as we are told, seventy
of them. We are encamped on the ground he occupied; I can trace the
place where, they say, his own tents stood.”
[11] Journal of Lieutenant Ronald Campbell, of the Grenadier
Company Seventy-second regiment, 2 vols, fol. MS.
[12] Journal of Lieutenant R. Campbell.
[13] A drawing of this fortress is given in the Journal of
Lieutenant Campbell of the Seventy-second Highlanders.
[14] Lieutenant Campbell’s Journal.
[15] On the 12th of August, as the Grenadiers and Captain Gordon’s
company of the SEVENTY-SECOND were on duty in the trenches, exposed
to a burning sun, and a severe cannonade from the fortress, Colonel
Campbell, field officer of the trenches, sent his orderly to
Lieutenant Campbell of the Grenadiers, requesting that the piper of
the Grenadiers might be directed to play some _pibrachs_. This was
considered a strange request to be made at so unsuitable a time; it
was, however, immediately complied with: “but we were a good deal
surprised to perceive that the moment the piper began, the fire
from the enemy slackened, and soon after almost entirely ceased.
The French all got upon the works, and seemed more astonished at
hearing the bag-pipe, than we with Colonel Campbell’s request.”
_Lieutenant Campbell’s Journal._
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