Historical Record of the Sixty-first, or the South Gloucestershire Regiment of Foot: Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1758, and of its subsequent services to 1844.Cannon, Richard
History
Historical Record of the Sixty-first, or the South Gloucestershire Regiment of Foot: Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1758, and of its subsequent services to 1844.
Cannon, Richard
Great Britain. Army. Regiment of Foot, 61st (South Gloucestershire) -- History; Great Britain. Army. Regiment of Foot, 61st -- History
one surgeon, the water and camels as above stated, I continued my
route, and after two hours’ march had the satisfaction to come in
sight of the lights of Legattah camp. So fatiguing was this forced
march, that I was frequently in danger of falling from my horse
from sleep. An officer of the Tenth Regiment fell from an ass he
rode, and hurt himself considerably. I got in just before the dawn
of day, _all of us exceedingly exhausted_; and it was not until
three P.M. that the captain with the rear-guard and stragglers
came up; this made it impossible for me to leave the camp until
the evening following,--the poor fellows who dropped in during the
day, panting and fainting, were incapable of further exertions. The
thermometer in my tent was here at 114°.
At Legattah we found a large detachment of Sepoys, under Captain
Mahony, of the Seventh Bombay Regiment: he behaved to us in the
most attentive and liberal manner. We were supplied with every
necessary by this officer; and he fulfilled the duties of his
post, not to the strict letter of his orders, but to the fullest
extent of every humane and hospitable construction of them. The
ensuing march to Buramba was to be a very long one; and I found
it necessary to make it in two, as follows: at six P.M. of the
26th, we left Legattah, and continued our route for six hours
and a half by my watch, when I ordered the detachment to halt,
caused the treasure camels to be unloaded, and directed the rest
with the tents, baggage, sick, &c., to proceed on Buramba. I then
ordered the detachment to be served with plenty of water, when we
all lay down and enjoyed three hours’ most refreshing sleep. A
little before day the drums beat, the treasure was reloaded, and we
proceeded, and arrived at Buramba at six A.M. of the 27th. Here we
first saw verdure: this agreeable prospect opened to us immediately
upon the dawn of day, and infused spirit into everybody. This
village seemed to us a little paradise, and, like sailors arrived
at a shore of plenty and ease, after the perils of shipwreck,
distress, and want, was looked upon by all as a blessed haven.
At noon I despatched an officer with a report to General Baird,
Commander-in-Chief of the Indian army, who was at Kenè on the Nile,
of my having reached Buramba without the loss of a single man; and
at two o’clock A.M. on the 28th, I marched (having previously at
midnight sent on the tents and baggage). Shortly after daylight
we passed two miserable Arab villages; we then found ourselves in
_cultivated ground_, and were eagerly looking out for the glorious
Nile, whose direction we could easily trace from the date-trees and
vegetation apparent upon its banks, although we could not see that
noble river; shortly afterwards we got sight of Kenè, and a mile
or two from it were met by General Baird and his suite. He ordered
me to proceed to the banks of the Nile, and at seven o’clock we
encamped about a quarter of a mile westward of the town of Kenè,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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