Historical Record of the Twelfth, or the East Suffolk, Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1685, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1847Cannon, Richard
History
Historical Record of the Twelfth, or the East Suffolk, Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1685, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1847
Cannon, Richard
Great Britain. Army -- History; Great Britain. Army. Suffolk Regiment
The little army under Colonel Pater traversed the country in
almost every practicable direction, ascending hills, cutting roads
through almost impenetrable jungle of bamboos, skirmishing with the
warlike inhabitants, and forcing them to submit, in which service
the TWELFTH had several men killed and wounded: the climate, and
extraordinary fatigue undergone by the troops, also occasioned
the loss of many lives from disease. The Wynaad country having
been forced to submit, and the hostile rajah taken prisoner, the
companies of the TWELFTH regiment employed in this service returned
to Seringapatam.
The regiment quitted Seringapatam in the middle of October, 1801,
and proceeded to Trichinopoly, a celebrated city and fortress,
situate on a hill, or rock, three hundred and fifty feet high,
on the south bank of the river Cavery, opposite the island of
Seringam, famous for its magnificent Hindoo temples.
[Sidenote: 1802]
At Trichinopoly the regiment was joined in January, 1802, by the
remains of two companies, which had embarked on board of His
Majesty's ships, at Madras, for Batavia. These companies had
suffered severely from the climate of the island of Java; and of
the five officers and one hundred and twenty-five men who embarked
at Madras, only three officers and sixty-three soldiers returned;
Lieutenants Gordon and Neville and sixty-two men died of fevers,
and other diseases.
[Sidenote: 1803]
[Sidenote: 1804]
Three companies had been stationed under Major John Picton, at
Vellore, in the Carnatic, the residence of the family of the late
Tippoo Sultan, consisting of his brother, twelve sons, eight
daughters, and an immense number of women; and these companies were
afterwards employed against the insurgent sect called the Polygans,
in which several non-commissioned officers and soldiers were
killed and wounded; Lieutenant William Firth was also wounded, and
Lieutenant Parker died of the jungle fever. After the performance
of this service, the three companies joined the regiment at
Trichinopoly, where the TWELFTH were stationed during the years
1803 and 1804.
[Sidenote: 1805]
[Sidenote: 1806]
In August, 1805, the regiment marched to Seringapatam, where a
very fatal fever broke out in 1806, when the TWELFTH removed to an
encampment at some distance from the fortress; but they lost many
officers and soldiers in that and the following year.
[Sidenote: 1807]
In April, 1807, more than half the surviving officers and men were
suffering from disease, when an order arrived for the remainder to
march to the coast of Malabar, and occupy quarters at the port of
Cannanore, where the regiment was stationed upwards of eighteen
months.
[Sidenote: 1808]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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