II.

1854-1857.

Embarks for the East--Gallipoli--Scutari--Varna--Sickness and cholera--Crimea--Battle of the Alma--Sebastopol--Balaklava--Battle of Balaclava--The “Thin Red Streak”--Heavy duties--Discomforts --Terrible hurricane--Disease--Kertch--First assault on Sebastopol --Second assault--Evacuation of Sebastopol--Exploit of Lt. M’Bean --Return home--Aldershot--Visited by the Queen--Dover--Presentation of Colours by H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge--Embarkation for China --Destination changed for India--The Indian Mutiny--Lands at Calcutta.

On the 12th of February 1854, orders were received to prepare for embarkation on active service; and as the establishment of the regiment was on the peace footing, it received 170 volunteers from the 42nd and 79th, including a few men from the dépôt battalion. On the 27th of February, when the regiment embarked at Plymouth, it consisted of 1 lieut.-colonel (Ainslie), 2 majors, 8 captains, 9 lieutenants, 7 ensigns, and 6 staff officers, 41 sergeants, 20 drummers, and 850 rank and file. After it had been in the East for a few months, this establishment was considerably increased. After staying at Malta for a few weeks, the regiment, on the 6th of April, sailed for Gallipoli, where it encamped, and where it had the first taste of official mismanagement in the shape of miserably inadequate rations. The 93rd stayed at Gallipoli, part of the time engaged in throwing up entrenchments, till May 6th, when it was removed to Scutari, where it had the misfortune to lose Lieut. M’Nish, who was drowned in a swollen stream.

After a few weeks’ stay at Scutari, the 93rd was sent, on the 13th of June, to Varna, in the neighbourhood of which it remained till it embarked for the Crimea, along with the rest of the allied army, and where, in common with many other regiments, it suffered severely from sickness, cholera here first making its appearance. From this cause the regiment lost, while at Varna, 21 men and 1 officer (Lieut. Turner). From this and other causes, a general depression of spirits prevailed in the brigade; for the 93rd had been joined by the 42nd and 79th. This temporary feeling, however, rapidly disappeared when it became certainly known, towards the end of August, that active operations were about to take place in the Crimea.

When, on the 31st of August, the 93rd was transferred to the transports in which it was to be taken to the Crimea, it numbered 792 officers and men; 102 non-commissioned officers and men, and 20 soldiers’ wives being left behind at Varna, with most of the baggage, under Ensign M’Bean. The landing of the armies at Old Fort, Kalamita Bay, has been already described in connection with the 42nd,[571] as well as what happened until the allied army came face to face with the Russians entrenched on the left bank of the Alma.

We should mention here, that at the time of landing in the Crimea the general health of the regiment was much impaired by the sickness and exposure it had been subjected to while in Bulgaria: on the passage to the Crimea it lost several men from cholera. Its first night in the Crimea gave the 93rd a taste of the hardships and privations which it, like other British regiments, was destined to undergo. It passed the night, a very tempestuous and wet one, without shelter of any kind.

On the 19th of Sept. the allied armies commenced their march towards Sebastopol, over an undulating plain, the English being on the left, the post of danger, as Kinglake so forcibly points out, the French in the centre, and the Turks on the right, close to the sea. As our readers know, the 93rd, along with the 42nd and 79th, formed the Highland brigade, under Sir Colin Campbell, which, with the Guards, constituted the First Division under H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. After bivouacking near the small stream Boolganak, where the first brush with the enemy occurred, the 93rd, with the rest of the army, advanced, about mid-day on the 20th, towards the river Alma, on the left bank of which the Russians had already been descried, entrenched on formidable-looking and strongly-fortified heights. On coming to within a short distance of the river, the English army deployed into line successively of divisions. The First Division thus became the second line, the Light Division forming the first. The Highland brigade formed the extreme left of the allied army, and was thus opposed to the Russian right, the 93rd being in the centre of the brigade, having the 42nd on the right, and the 79th on the left. Full general details of the advance will be found in the history of the 42nd,[572] and here we shall confine ourselves to the work of the 93rd.

The battle commenced about half-past one P.M. After the Light and Second Divisions had crossed the river, the First Division advanced, the Guards in front, and the three Highland regiments on the left in échelon. The latter, after advancing a short distance under heavy fire, were ordered to lie down in rear of the wall of a vineyard. After remaining there for a few minutes, the order to advance was again given, and was promptly complied with, the Highland regiments, led by their brigadier, the gallant and much-beloved Sir Colin Campbell, pushing through a vineyard into and across the river, the water in many places coming up to the men’s waists. After a momentary delay in reforming, the three regiments advanced up the hill, in échelon, the 42nd leading on the right, the 93rd close behind on the left. The hill was steep, and the fire from the battery in front of the enemy’s battalions very severe. Yet the Highlanders continued to advance for nearly a mile without firing a shot, though numerous gaps in their ranks showed that that of the enemy was doing its work. A short distance above the river, the 93rd passed the 77th regiment, part of the Light Division, halted in line, and thus found itself immediately opposed to the enemy. Having nearly gained the summit of the heights, the regiment opened a brisk fire upon the battalions immediately in its front, accompanied by a hearty Highland cheer as it still advanced. After a hesitating delay of a few minutes the enemy fell back, and commenced their retreat in great confusion, suffering fearfully from the destructive volleys of the newly-tried Minie. The command was then given to halt, a brisk fire being kept up until the enemy had fled out of range; and in less than an hour from this time no vestige of the Russian army remained in sight but the dead and wounded.

The 93rd in this battle lost 1 officer (Lieut. Abercromby), 1 sergeant, and 4 rank and file killed; 2 sergeants and 40 rank and file wounded.

After a halt to bury the dead and look after the wounded, the army continued its march in the direction of Sebastopol, reaching Balaklava on the 26th, where it bivouacked for the night. The 93rd was at first posted before the village of Kadikoi, at the entrance of the gorge leading to Balaklava, partly to protect the position, but principally for the purpose of being employed in fatigue duty. It was only on the 3rd of Oct. that a few tents, barely sufficient to hold the half of the men, were issued to the regiment. On the 6th of the same month the 93rd had to deplore the loss from cholera of Major Robert Murray Banner, an officer universally beloved and respected.

On the 13th of October a large force of the enemy having concentrated in the valleys of Baidar and the Tchernaya, and threatening Balaklava, Sir Colin Campbell was sent down by Lord Raglan to assume command of the troops in Balaklava. He immediately ordered a force of 331 officers and men of the 93rd, under Major Charles Henry Gordon, to proceed to the heights eastward of Balaklava to assist in intrenching and strengthening the position there already occupied by the marines. Below these heights, eastward of Balaklava, and on the western heights, a number of intrenched batteries had been raised, to command the approaches to Balaklava. Each of these was manned by a force of about 250 Turks, and they formed a sort of semicircle, being numbered from the eastward from No. 1 to 6.

About 7 o’clock on the morning of Oct. 25th, a large force of the enemy debouched from the direction of the Tchernaya and Baidar valleys, and attacked the Turkish redoubts with a large body of skirmishers and artillery. The British force, which had been under arms since before daylight, consisted of about 800 marines on the heights, with the detachment of the 93rd under Major Gordon. The main body of the regiment under Lt.-Col. Ainslie, was drawn up in line on a small hill in front of its encampment, covering the approach to Balaklava from the plain, having some Turkish regiments on the right and left; and on the left front the brigades of light and heavy cavalry were drawn up in columns. The action commenced by the Russians concentrating a severe fire of artillery upon No. 1, the eastward redoubt, from which, after a short resistance, the Turks were dislodged, and the redoubt, containing three guns, was captured by the enemy. In obedience to an order previously received in case of such a casualty, Major Gordon with his detachment at once proceeded to join Lt.-Col. Ainslie in the plain, a distance of about two miles. The capture of No. 1 redoubt was speedily followed by that of Nos. 2 and 3, when the Russians commenced a severe fire upon the flying Turks. The 93rd, now joined by the detachment from the heights, was directed to advance, covered by the light company, and throwing forward the left. The enemy then opened upon the regiment with round shot and shell from the redoubts from which they had driven the Turks. This caused some casualties, and the 93rd was ordered by Sir Colin Campbell--who at the moment may be said to have commanded in person--to retire under cover of a small rising ground immediately in the rear, where the regiment remained for a short time lying down under a fire of artillery, till a large body of cavalry appeared on the opposite side of the plain, about 1000 yards in front. The order was then given to the regiment, which was in line, to advance a short distance to the summit of the rising ground in front, and to commence firing upon the cavalry, which were bearing down upon it at a rapidly increasing gallop. To quote the words of Dr Russell, the well-known _Times’_ correspondent, who witnessed the action:--

“The Russians in one grand line charged in towards Balaklava. The ground flies beneath their horses’ feet; gathering speed at every stride, they dash on towards that thin red streak tipped with a line of steel. The Turks fire a volley at 800 yards and miss; as the Russians came within 600 yards, down goes that line of steel in front, and out rings a volley of Minie musketry. The distance is too great, the Russians are not checked, but still sweep onwards through the smoke with the whole force of horse and man, here and there knocked over by the shot of our batteries alone. With breathless suspense every one awaits the bursting of the wave upon the line of Gaelic rock; but ere they came within 200 yards, another deadly volley flashes from the levelled rifle, and carries terror into the Russians. They wheel about, open files right and left, and fly back faster than they came. ‘Brave Highlanders! Well done,’ shout the spectators. But events thicken, the Highlanders and their splendid front are soon forgotten. Men scarcely have a moment to think of this fact, that the 93rd never altered their formation to receive that tide of horsemen. ‘No,’ said Sir Colin Campbell, ‘I did not think it worth while to form them even four deep.’ The ordinary British line, two deep, was quite sufficient to repel the attack of these Muscovite cavaliers.”

Another attack by the Russians was gallantly repulsed by the heavy cavalry, and about 10 o’clock A.M. the Guards, along with the 42nd and 79th Highlanders, came up under H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. It was about this time that the heroic but disastrous charge of the light cavalry under Lord Cardigan took place, after which the First and Fourth Divisions advanced, the enemy retiring and concentrating on Nos. 1 and 3 redoubts. At nightfall the First and Fourth Divisions returned to their position before Sebastopol, the 42nd and 79th remaining behind at Balaklava. In this engagement the 93rd had only 2 privates wounded. The Russian force was estimated at about 18 battalions of infantry, with from 30 to 40 guns, and a large body of cavalry.

Sir Colin Campbell in his despatch drew Lord Raglan’s special attention to the gallantry and eagerness of the 93rd under Lt.-Col. Ainslie, and Lord Raglan in his despatch to the Duke of Newcastle spoke in high terms of the conduct of “that distinguished regiment.”

After this the 93rd, along with the rest of the Highland brigade, had heavy duties to perform in intrenching the position at Balaklava; and now that the weather began to break, and the clothes of the men were in tatters, and the accommodation afforded by the tents miserably insufficient, their condition was wretched indeed. The climax came on the 14th of Nov., when the ever-memorable hurricane swept almost every kind of shelter off the face of the ground, and tore the tents to rags, leaving the poor soldiers completely exposed to its violence. All this, combined with the wretched and insufficient food, soon told sadly on the health of the soldiers. It was only in the spring of 1855 that anything was done to remedy this state of matters. With the erection of huts, and the arrival of good weather, the health of the regiment began to improve. Meantime, from Oct. 1854 to March 1855, nearly the whole regiment must have, at one time or other, been on the sick list, and nearly 100 died from disease. Among the latter was Lt. Kirby, who arrived in the Crimea on Dec. 2nd, and died on Feb. 15th following. We may also mention here the deaths of Lt. James Wemyss, of cholera, on June 13, and that of Lt. Ball, of fever, on June 18.

It is unnecessary to enter into the details of the siege of Sebastopol, in which the 93rd, like all the other regiments in the Crimea, had to do its share of harassing and dangerous duty. The regiment took part in the expedition by the Straits of Yenikale to Kertch in the end of May and beginning of June, returning to Balaklava on the 14th of the latter month. In the first assault on Sebastopol on June 18th, 1855, the 93rd, with the rest of its division under Sir Colin Campbell, held a position close to the Woronzoff Road, in rear of the 21 gun battery, ready to act as circumstances might require. This attack, as is known, was unsuccessful; and from the 18th of June to the 22nd of August, the duties in the trenches of the right attack were entirely performed by the First, Second, and Light Divisions alternately, and during this period the 93rd sustained a loss of 6 killed and 57 wounded, several of the latter dying of their wounds. On the night of the 6th of August Bt.-Major J. Anstruther M’Gowan of the 93rd was unfortunately severely wounded and taken prisoner, while visiting some sentries posted in front of the advanced trench right attack. It was a considerable time after his capture that it was ascertained that Major M’Gowan had died of his wounds on August 14th at Simpheropol.

Lt.-Col. Ainslie was compelled twice to proceed on sick leave; first on the 28th of June, when Major Ewart assumed command of the regiment, and again on August 17th, when Lt.-Col. Leith Hay occupied his place. We may state here that Lt.-Col. Ainslie did not return to the regiment, retiring on Jan. 25th, 1856, when he was succeeded by Lt.-Col. Leith Hay.

On the 8th of Sept. the second grand assault upon Sebastopol took place, and early in the morning of that day the whole of the Highland brigade marched from Kamara to their old encampment on the heights before Sebastopol, where the knapsacks were deposited. The brigade then proceeded at once to the trenches of the right attack, remaining in support during the attack, in which, however, the Highlanders took no part. The assault on the Redan having again failed, the Highland brigade was pushed on to occupy the advanced trenches of the right attack, remaining there during the night, ready to repel any sortie that might be made. On the 9th it was the intention again to assault the Redan, the four Highland regiments to form the storming party; but on the night of the 8th the Russians evacuated the south side of Sebastopol, and the brigade in consequence returned to Kamara on the evening of the 9th.

A circumstance connected with the evacuation of Sebastopol should be mentioned. About midnight on the 8th, the Russian fire having previously ceased, and everything appearing unusually quiet, Lt. W. M’Bean, the adjutant of the 93rd, left the advanced trench and approaching the Redan, was struck with the idea that it was deserted by the Russians. He accordingly gallantly volunteered to enter it, which he did with a party of 10 volunteers of the light company, under Lt. Fenwick, and a like number of the 72nd, under Capt. Rice; they found no one in the Redan but the dead and wounded left after the assault. The party, however, had a narrow escape, as an explosion took place in the Redan shortly after.

The loss of the 93rd on the 8th of Sept. was 2 rank and file killed and 7 wounded.

During the winter of 1855-56, the regiment was employed in erecting huts, making roads, draining camps, and latterly in brigade drill and target practice with the Enfield rifle, which had been issued to the regiment in Sept. 1855; the health of the battalion was very good.

During its stay in the Crimea, 158 non-commissioned officers and privates were invalided to England; 11 officers and 323 non-commissioned officers and privates were either killed in action or died of wounds or disease; and 92 non-commissioned officers and privates were wounded.

The 93rd left the Crimea on June 16th, 1856, and arrived at Portsmouth on July 15th, proceeding to Aldershot on the same day. Next day the regiment was inspected by The Queen, who walked down the line accompanied by Prince Albert and a numerous staff, minutely noticing everything, and asking many questions regarding the welfare of the corps. Again, on the 18th, Her Majesty, attended by the Princess Royal, visited the huts of the regiment, several of which she was pleased to enter; she also tasted the rations prepared for the dinners of the men.

As the next episode in the history of the Sutherland Highlanders is the most important in its career, as they had, in the Indian Mutiny, an opportunity of showing what mettle they were made of, such as they never had since their embodiment, we feel bound to give it considerable prominence, and must therefore pass briefly over events both before and after.

On the 23rd of July the regiment left Aldershot for Dover, where shortly after it was joined by the depôts from Malta (under Bt. Lt.-Col. Gordon), and from Dundee, under Captain Middleton. On Jan. 31st, 1857, orders were received for the 93rd to hold itself in readiness for immediate embarkation for India, on which occasion it received 201 volunteers from the 42nd, 72nd, 79th, and 92nd. On the 6th of March, however, orders were received that the 93rd hold itself in immediate readiness for embarkation for China, and a few days after, Lt.-Col. the Hon. Adrian Hope was brought in from half-pay as second lieutenant-colonel.

[Illustration: Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. Adrian Hope.

From a photograph.]

On the 22nd May, H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge was graciously pleased to present new colours to the 93rd, in lieu of the now tattered ensigns that, twenty-three years before, had been presented at Canterbury by the Duke of Wellington. After the usual ceremony, H.R.H. made an appropriate address, in which he expressed his confidence that, should the services of the 93rd be required, it would guard the new colours with the same zealous feeling of honour and nobleness of conduct as it displayed in the late campaign.

By the 25th of May all the service companies were collected at Portsmouth, one depôt company being left behind at Dover, under Captain Brown. On the 1st of June, Nos. 3, 7, and 8 companies, under Lt.-Col. Hope, proceeded to Plymouth, and embarked on board H.M.’s ship “Belleisle” for China, sailing on the 3rd of June.

On the 4th of June the remaining service companies, under Lt.-Col. Leith Hay, proceeded to the Clarence dockyard, Gosport, where, drawn up in line, they received Her Majesty on her landing from the Isle of Wight. After a royal salute, Her Majesty was pleased to walk down the whole line, minutely inspecting every man. The regiment then marched in slow and quick time past the Queen, who expressed to Lt.-Col. Leith Hay how much pleased she was with its appearance.

On the 16th of June, the grenadiers, Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 6, and light companies, with part of No. 5, embarked on board the s.s. “Mauritius,” and sailed the following morning for China, under Lt.-Col. Leith Hay. The remainder of No. 5 company followed with the next transport. The strength of the regiment on embarkation for China was 52 officers and 1069 non-commissioned officers and men. The “Mauritius” entered Simon’s Bay, Cape of Good Hope, where she found the “Belleisle” at anchor. Here Lt.-Col. Hope conveyed to the detachment on board the “Mauritius” the startling intelligence of the mutiny of the Bengal Native Army, and that orders had been received for the 93rd to proceed with all possible despatch to Calcutta, instead of China. The “Mauritius” anchored in the Hooghly, opposite Fort William, on the 20th of Sept. 1857, the anniversary of the battle of the Alma, and the 93rd was welcomed by its old brigadier, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief, Sir Colin Campbell. The detachment under Lt.-Col. Adrian Hope did not arrive until the 26th.