Chapter XIX: The Story of the Lucknow Residency (3)

What was done at Lucknow during October and November must be recorded in a future chapter. While Outram, Havelock, and Inglis were maintaining themselves, by indomitable resolution, in the Residency and the Alum Bagh, Sir Colin Campbell was collecting a force adequate, if not to the actual reconquest of Lucknow, at least to the rescue of all the British of every class residing in that hateful city. Those two concurrent lines of proceeding will be treated in intimate connection, a few pages on.

Note.

_Brigadier Inglis’s Dispatch._—In order that the narrative contained
in the foregoing chapter might not be interrupted by too many
extracts from official documents, little has been said of the report
which Brigadier Inglis drew up of the siege soon after the arrival
of Outram and Havelock. So vividly, however, and in all respects so
worthily, did that report or dispatch portray the trying
difficulties of the position, and the heroic conduct of the
garrison, that it may be well to give a portion of it in this place.

‘The right honourable the governor-general in council will feel that
it would be impossible to crowd within the limits of a dispatch even
the principal events, much less the individual acts of gallantry,
which have marked this protracted struggle. But I can
conscientiously declare my conviction, that few troops have ever
undergone greater hardships, exposed as they have been to a
never-ceasing musketry-fire and cannonade. They have also
experienced the alternate vicissitudes of extreme wet and of intense
heat, and that, too, with very insufficient shelter from either, and
in many places without any shelter at all. In addition to having had
to repel real attacks, they have been exposed night and day to the
hardly less harassing false alarms which the enemy have been
constantly raising. The insurgents have frequently fired very
heavily, sounded the advance, and shouted for several hours
together, though not a man could be seen: with the view, of course,
of harassing our small and exhausted force. In this object they
succeeded, for no part has been strong enough to allow of a portion
only of the garrison being prepared in the event of a false attack
being turned into a real one; all, therefore, had to stand to their
arms and to remain at their posts until the demonstration had
ceased; and such attacks were of almost nightly occurrence. The
whole of the officers and men have been on duty night and day during
the 87 days which the siege had lasted up to the arrival of Sir J.
Outram, G.C.B. In addition to this incessant military duty, the
force has been nightly employed in repairing defences, in moving
guns, in burying dead animals, in conveying ammunition and
commissariat stores from one place to another, and in other
fatigue-duties too numerous and too trivial to enumerate here. I
feel, however, that any words of mine will fail to convey any
adequate idea of what the fatigue and labours have been—labours in
which all ranks and all classes, civilians, officers, and soldiers,
have all borne an equally noble part. All have together descended
into the mine, and have together handled the shovel for the
interment of the putrid bullocks; and all, accoutred with musket and
bayonet, have relieved each other on sentry without regard to the
distinctions of rank, civil or military. Notwithstanding all these
hardships, the garrison has made no less than five sorties, in which
they spiked two of the enemy’s heaviest guns, and blew up several of
the houses from which they had kept up their most harassing fire.
Owing to the extreme paucity of our numbers, each man was taught to
feel that on his own individual efforts alone depended in no small
measure the safety of the entire position. This consciousness
incited every officer, soldier, and man, to defend the post assigned
to him with such desperate tenacity, and to fight for the lives
which Providence had intrusted to his care with such dauntless
determination, that the enemy, despite their constant attacks, their
heavy mines, their overwhelming numbers, and their incessant fire,
could never succeed in gaining one single inch of ground within the
bounds of this straggling position, which was so feebly fortified,
that had they once obtained a footing in any of the outposts the
whole place must inevitably have fallen.

‘If further proof be wanting of the desperate nature of the struggle
which we have, under God’s blessing, so long and so successfully
waged, I would point to the roofless and ruined houses, to the
crumbled walls, to the exploded mines, to the open breaches, to the
shattered and disabled guns and defences, and lastly, to the long
and melancholy list of the brave and devoted officers and men who
have fallen. These silent witnesses bear sad and solemn testimony to
the way in which this feeble position has been defended.

‘During the early part of these vicissitudes, we were left without
any information whatever regarding the posture of affairs outside.
An occasional spy did indeed come in with the object of inducing our
sepoys and servants to desert; but the intelligence derived from
such sources was, of course, entirely untrustworthy. We sent our
messengers, daily calling for aid, and asking for information, none
of whom ever returned until the 26th day of the siege; when a
pensioner named Ungud came back with a letter from General
Havelock’s camp, informing us that they were advancing with a force
sufficient to bear down all opposition, and would be with us in five
or six days. A messenger was immediately despatched, requesting that
on the evening of their arrival on the outskirts of the city two
rockets might be sent up, in order that we might take the necessary
measures for assisting them while forcing their way in. The sixth
day, however, expired, and they came not; but for many evenings
after, officers and men watched for the ascension of the expected
rockets, with hopes such as make the heart sick. We knew not then,
nor did we learn until the 29th of August—or 35 days later—that the
relieving force, after having fought most nobly to effect our
deliverance, had been obliged to fall back for reinforcements; and
this was the last communication we received until two days before
the arrival of Sir James Outram, on the 25th of September.

‘Besides heavy visitations of cholera and small-pox, we have also
had to contend against a sickness which has almost universally
pervaded the garrison. Commencing with a very painful eruption, it
has merged into a low fever, combined with diarrhœa; and although
few or no men have actually died from its effects, it leaves behind
a weakness and lassitude which, in the absence of all material
sustenance, save coarse beef, and still coarser flour, none have
been able entirely to get over. The mortality among the women and
children, and especially among the latter, from these diseases and
from other causes, has been perhaps the most painful characteristic
of the siege. The want of native servants has also been a source of
much privation. Owing to the suddenness with which we were besieged,
many of these people, who might perhaps have otherwise proved
faithful to their employers, but who were outside the defences at
the time, were altogether excluded. Very many more deserted, and
several families were consequently left without the services of a
single domestic. Several ladies have had to tend their children, and
even to wash their own clothes, as well as to cook their scanty
meals, entirely unaided. Combined with the absence of servants, the
want of proper accommodation has probably been the cause of much of
the disease with which we have been afflicted.

‘I cannot refrain from bringing to the prominent notice of his
lordship in council the patient endurance and the Christian
resignation which have been evinced by the women of this garrison.
They have animated us by their example. Many, alas! have been made
widows and their children fatherless in this cruel struggle. But all
such seem resigned to the will of Providence; and many—among whom
may be mentioned the honoured names of Birch, of Polehampton, of
Barbor, and of Gall—have, after the example of Miss Nightingale,
constituted themselves the tender and solicitous nurses of the
wounded and dying soldiers in the hospital.’

[After enumerating the officers and civilians who had wrought
untiringly in the good cause, Brigadier Inglis did ample justice to
the humbler combatants.]

‘Lastly, I have the pleasure of bringing the splendid behaviour of
the soldiers—namely, the men of her Majesty’s 32d foot, the small
detachment of her Majesty’s 84th foot, the European and native
artillery, the 13th, 48th, and 71st regiments of native infantry,
and the Sikhs of the respective corps—to the notice of the
government of India. The losses sustained by her Majesty’s 32d,
which is now barely 300 strong, by her Majesty’s 84th, and by the
European artillery, shew at least that they knew how to die in the
cause of their countrymen. Their conduct under the fire, the
exposure, and the privations which they have had to undergo, has
been throughout most admirable and praiseworthy.

‘As another instance of the desperate character of our defence, and
the difficulties we have had to contend with, I may mention that the
number of our artillerymen was so reduced, that on the occasion of
an attack, the gunners, aided as they were by men of her Majesty’s
32d foot, and by volunteers of all classes, had to run from one
battery to another wherever the fire of the enemy was hottest, there
not being nearly enough men to serve half the number of guns at the
same time. In short, at last the number of European gunners was only
24, while we had, including mortars, no less than 30 guns in
position.

‘With respect to the native troops, I am of opinion that their
loyalty has never been surpassed. They were indifferently fed and
worse housed. They were exposed, especially the 13th regiment, under
the gallant Lieutenant Aitken, to a most galling fire of round-shot
and musketry, which materially decreased their numbers. They were so
near the enemy that conversation could be carried on between them;
and every effort, persuasion, promise, and threat, was alternately
resorted to in vain to seduce them from their allegiance to the
handful of Europeans, who, in all probability, would have been
sacrificed by their desertion.’

-----

Footnote 94:

Chap. vi., pp. 82-96. Chap. x., pp. 163-165. Chap, xv., pp. 247-263.

Footnote 95:

General staff, 9
Brigade staff, 5
Artillery, 9
Engineers, 3
H.M. 32d foot, 22
H.M. 84th foot, 2
7th Bengal native cavalry, 13
13th Bengal native infantry, 10
41st Bengal native infantry, 11
48th Bengal native infantry, 14
71st Bengal native infantry, 11
Oude brigade, 26
Various officers, 9
Civil service, 9
Surgeons, 2
Chaplains, 2
Ladies, 69
Ladies, children of, 68
Other women, 171
Other women, children of, 196
Uncovenanted servants, 125
Martinière school, 8
———
794

Another account gave the number 865, including about 50 native
children in the Martinière school.

Footnote 96:

_Personal Narrative of the Siege of Lucknow, from its Commencement to
its Relief._ By L. E. Ruutz Rees, one or the Survivors.

_A Lady’s Diary of the Siege of Lucknow, written for the Perusal of
Friends at Home._

_A Personal Journal of the Siege of Lucknow._ By Captain R. P.
Anderson, 25th Regiment N. I., commanding an outpost.

_The Defence of Lucknow: a Diary recording the Daily Events during the
Siege of the European Residency._ By a Staff-officer.

Footnote 97:

In a former chapter (p. 84), a brief notice is given of Claude
Martine, a French adventurer who rose to great wealth and influence at
Lucknow, and who lived in a fantastic palace called Constantia,
southeastward of the city. His name will, however, be more favourably
held in remembrance as the founder of a college, named by him the
Martinière, for Eurasian or half-caste children. This college was
situated near the eastern extremity of the city; but when the troubles
began, the principals and the children removed to a building hastily
set apart for them within the Residency enclosure. The authoress of
the _Lady’s Diary_, whose husband was connected as a pastor with the
Martinière, thus speaks of this transfer: ‘The Martinière is
abandoned, and I suppose we shall lose all our remaining property,
which we have been obliged to leave to its fate, as nothing more can
be brought in here. We got our small remnant of clothes; but
furniture, harp, books, carriage-horses, &c., are left at the
Martinière. The poor boys are all stowed away in a hot close native
building, and it will be a wonder if they don’t get ill.’

Footnote 98:

The wood-cut at p. 93 represents a part of the Residency in this
limited sense of the term; the view at p. 82 will convey some notion
of the appearance of the city of Lucknow as seen from the terrace-roof
of this building. The plan on next page will give an idea of the
Residency before siege; and in the next Part will be given a plan of
the Residency under siege, shewing the relation which the enemies’
guns bore to those of the besieged.

Footnote 99:

Mr Rees relates a strange anecdote in connection with this retreat
from the Muchee Bhowan to the Residency: ‘We saved all but one man,
who, having been intoxicated, and concealed in some corner, could not
be found when the muster-roll was called. The French say, _Il y a un
Dieu pour les ivrognes_; and the truth of the proverb was never better
exemplified than in this man’s case. He had been thrown into the air,
had returned unhurt to mother-earth, continued his drunken sleep
again, had awaked next morning, found the fort to his surprise a mass
of deserted ruins, and quietly walked back to the Residency without
being molested by a soul; and even bringing with him a pair of
bullocks attached to a cart of ammunition. It is very probable that
the débris of these extensive buildings must have seriously injured
the adjacent houses and many of the rebel army—thus giving the
fortunate man the means of escaping.

Footnote 100:

The authoress of the _Lady’s Diary_ gives an affecting account of the
hour that succeeded the wounding of Sir Henry Lawrence. She, with her
husband, was at that time in the house of Dr Fayrer, a surgeon who had
more than once urged upon Sir Henry the paramount duty of cherishing
his own life as one valuable to others even if slighted by himself.
‘He was brought over to this house immediately. —— prayed with him,
and administered the Holy Communion to him. He was quite sensible,
though his agony was extreme. He spoke for nearly an hour, quite
calmly, expressing his last wishes with regard to his children. He
sent affectionate messages to them and to each of his brothers and
sisters. He particularly mentioned the Lawrence Asylum, and entreated
that government might be urged to give it support. He bade farewell to
all the gentlemen who were standing round his bed, and said a few
words of advice and kindness to each.... There was not a dry eye
there; every one was so deeply affected and grieved at the loss of
such a man.’

It may here be stated that the Queen afterwards bestowed a baronetcy
on Sir Henry’s eldest son, Alexander Lawrence; to whom also the East
India Company voted a pension of £1000 per annum.

Footnote 101:

The _Jersey Times_ of December 10, 1857, contained what professed to
be an extract of a letter from M. de Bannerol, a French physician in
the service of Mussur Rajah, dated October 8, and published in _Le
Pays_ (Paris paper), giving an account of the feelings of the
Christian women shut up within Lucknow just before their relief. It
went on to state how Jessie Brown, a corporal’s wife, cheered the
party in the depth of their terrors and despair, by starting up and
declaring that, amidst the roar of the artillery, she caught the faint
sound of the _slogan_ of the approaching Highlanders, particularly
that of the Macgregor, ‘the grandest of them a’!’ The soldiers
intermitted firing to listen, but could hear nothing of the kind, and
despair once more settled down upon the party. After a little
interval, Jessie broke out once more with words of hope, referring to
the sound of the Highland bagpipes, which the party at length
acknowledged they heard; and then by one impulse, all fell on their
knees, ‘and nothing was heard but the bursting sob and the voice of
prayer.’ The tale has made so great an impression on the public mind,
that we feel much reluctance in expressing our belief that it is
either wholly a fiction, or only based slightly in fact. What excited
our distrust from the first was the allusion to the slogans or
war-cries of the respective clans—things which have had no practical
existence for centuries, and which would manifestly be inappropriate
in regiments composed of a miscellany of clansmen, not to speak of the
large admixture of Lowlanders. We are assured that the story is looked
upon in the best-informed quarters as purely a tale of the
imagination.

Footnote 102:

See chap. xv., p. 263.

Footnote 103:

Sir Henry Lawrence; Major Banks; Lieutenant-colonel Case, Captains
Steevens, Mansfield, Radcliffe, and M’Cabe, 32d foot; Captain Francis,
13th N. I.; Lieutenants Shepherd and Archer, 7th native cavalry;
Captain Hughes, 57th N. I.; Major Anderson and Captain Fulton,
engineers; Captain Simons, artillery.

Footnote 104:

Colonel Master and Captain Boileau, 7th N.C.; Major Apthorp and
Captain Sanders, 41st N.I.; Captain Germon and Lieutenants Aitken and
Loughnan, 13th N.I.; Captain Anderson, 25th N.I.; Lieutenant Graydon,
44th N.I.; Lieutenant Longmore, 71st N.I.; Mr Schilling, principal of
the Martinière College.

MR COLVIN, Lieutenant-governor of Northwest Provinces.
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