The battles of the British Army : $b being a popular account of all the principal engagements during the last hundred yearsBlackwood, Robert Melvin
History
The battles of the British Army : $b being a popular account of all the principal engagements during the last hundred years
Blackwood, Robert Melvin
Battles -- Great Britain; Great Britain -- History, Military; Great Britain. Army -- History
“This force, consisting of about 110,000 men, is divided into regulars
and irregulars; the former of whom, about 70,000 strong, are drilled
and appointed according to the European system. The cavalry branch of
the disciplined force amounts to nearly 13,000, and the infantry and
artillery to 60,000 more. The irregulars, variously armed and equipped,
are nearly 40,000 strong, of which number upwards of 20,000 are
cavalry, the remainder consisting of infantry and matchlock-men, while
the contingents, which the sirdars or chiefs are obliged to parade on
the requisition of the sovereign, amount to considerably above 30,000
men. The artillery consisted in Runject’s time of 376 guns, and 370
swivels mounted on camels or on light carriages adapted to their size.
There is no distinct corps of artillery as in other services, but there
are 4000 or 5000 men, under a daroga, trained to the duty of gunners,
and these are distributed with the ordnance throughout the regular army.
The costume of the regular infantry is scarlet, with different coloured
facings, to distinguish regiments, as in the British service. The
trousers are of blue linen; the head-dress is a blue turban, with one
end loose, and spread so as to entirely cover the head, back of the
neck, and shoulders; the belts are of black leather; the arms a musket
and bayonet, the manufacture of Lahore. The cavalry wear helmets or
steel caps, round which shawls or scarfs are folded. The _irregulars_,
in their dress and appointments, fully justify the appellation which
their habits and mode of making war obtained for them. Cotton, silk,
or broad cloth tunics of various colours, with the addition of shawls,
cloaks, breastplates, or coats of mail, with turban or helmets, _ad
libitum_, impart to them a motley but picturesque appearance. They are
all badly mounted, and, indeed, little can be said even of the regular
cavalry in this respect. The Punjaub breed of horses is far from good,
and they do not import stock from other countries to improve their own
cattle.
The pay of the sepoys of the regular army of the Punjaub is higher
than that of the same class in the army of the East India Company,
each common soldier receiving ten rupees per mensem. The troops of the
irregulars receive twenty-five rupees each, out of which they provide
their arms and clothing, and feed their horse, putting the government
to no other expense whatever for their services.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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