BUCKLE'S MEMOIR OF THE BENGAL ARTILLERY. *

Tin history of a regiment or a corps has generally the same de- feat as that of a military order : its exploits form only a part of warlike events, as a single regiment can rarely be engaged alone, or if it is the incident sinks from history to anecdote. The facts connected with the formation of a regiment are indeed often cu- rious, and fugitive literature or tradition may supply racy stories of old officers or of singularities among the men. These, however, are gossip, not history. The regimental devotee, possessed with

the dignity of the corps, and not skilled in literary art, may perhaps think them beneath his notice; at the same time he may be too prone to regard muster-rolls and other statistics connected with military truth as all in all important; which they are as a military record, though not as a popular narrative.

The first years of the Bengal Artillery, like other things of pro- gressive growth and bit-by-bit creation, is lost in obscurity, fur-

ther increased by the destruction of its original records, if any existed, at the capture of Calcutta in 1756. It does not, how- ever, appear to have been formed earlier than 1749 ; and then it consisted of one company, whose captain, with the forty-five artillerymen then in garrison, perished in the Black Hole. Clive on his arrival quickly organized such a force of ar- tillery as his means permitted ; and this arm was present in all his actions, taking the largest share in the battle of Plassy. In some sense, therefore, the Bengal Artillery, as a force for service in the field in contradistinction to mere fort-duty, may claim to owe its origin to the great founder of our Anglo-Indian empire. From that time, although enlarged, it partook more or less of the same makeshift character which distinguished the military force of the Company till the Marquis Wellesley reorganized it on a regular footing before his departure from India. As in the early days of the Company's infantry, men dressed as they liked and armed themselves as they could, (ranks of Sepoys, if not of Euro- peans, being armed with the spear,) so the European artillery was raised and officered from crews of ships, the privates from jack- tars and their commanders from the inferior officers. The science of the corps was furnished by occasional cadets from Woolwich Academy, granted at the solicitation of the Company ; or by men of education from the other arms, who would study their profession ; and in the case of Horsford, by a runaway youth, who amongst other qualifications had mastered Greek. Gentlemen by standing and students by profession were not likely to estimate the meta- morphosed seamen very highly. Colonel Pearse, a Woolwich stu- dent, and the first who placed the corps on a scientific footing, thus wrote of the Bengal Artillery circa 1770., " When I first came into command of the corps, I was astonished at the ignorance of all who composed it. It was a common practice to make any midshipman who was discontented with the India ships an officer of artillery, from a strange idea that a knowledge of navigation would perfect an officer of that corps in the knowledge of artillery. They were almost all of this class, and their ideas consonant to the elegant military education which they had received. But, thank God ! I have got rid of them all but seven.'

"The strange idea above referred to appears to have affected the Home Government at a still earlier period, as, on the first formation of artillery companies, 'such assistance as the fleet could spare' was given. To this idea are we indebted for many terms which have hung about the corps till the present day : our tindals, lascars, serangs, cossibs, all came from the naval nomenclature, and their etymology would most probably be found in the Portuguese dialect, which has retained its influence on shipboard ; from the same fountain of English (not) undefiled' must have been drawn the bankshall,' a name by which our gun-sheds are known throughout the re- giment, but a term of considerable mystification to the uninitiated."

Their machinery seems to have been as bad as the manners and ideas.

"Colonel Pearse complains that 'the fuzees burnt from nineteen to forty- eight seconds, though of the same nature ; the portfires were continually- going out ; the tubes would not burn ; the powder was infamous; the car- tridges were made conical, and when necessary to prime with loose powder, a great quantity was required to fill the vacant cavity round the cartridge ; the carriages flew to pieces with common firing in a week.' The contractor who furnished the carriages, and the laboratory in which the fuzees were made, appear to have been beyond his control : I have no more to do with it than his Holiness at Rome,' are his words. The iron guns were all very indif- ferent: 'two 12-pounders burst on the ramparts in 1770, in firing the morning and evening gun, and one 12-pounder on a rejoicing day, in firing salutes.'"

As Colonel Pearse appears to have possessed the military failing of grumbling, it is possible that matters are not mitigated in his hands; but there is no doubt that the officers of the Company's marine were indifferent enough in education and manners; nor, indeed, were officers of the King's troops very striking speci- mens of scholars or gentlemen, according to the wits of the last century. With the terms and roughness of the sea the artillery- officers seem to have brought much of the sailor's rapidity and readiness of resource. The Bengal Artillery of the olden time oc- casionally accomplished things which a martinet in our day would pronounce impracticable. Incidental glimpses of the personnel of the Bengal Artillery

dining the latter half of the last century will be found in Captain Buckle's volume, as well as curious particulars of its interior eco- nomy and of the manners of the Anglo-Indians. The volume also contains a very full account in the form of annals of the services of the corps, which, though done in too technical or regimental a spirit, carries the reader over exploits whose names have interest for such as are read in Anglo-Indian history. Still the interest is mainly that of association; for the description of battles and cam- • Memoir of the Services of the Bengal Artillery, from the Formation of the Corps to the present time • with some Account of its internal Organization. By the late Captain E. Buckle;Assistant Adjutant-General. Bengal Artillery, Edited by J. W. RAP, late Lieutenant Bengal Artillery. Published by Allen and Co.

paigns is imperfect, the actions of the Artillery being chiefly nar- rated.

The anecdotes given in the Memoir raise a desire for more, as they are characteristic of the men and the Company. Here is a sample of the Hercules of the Bengal Artillery.

" Major-General Duff was a man of a powerful frame of body ; anecdotes of his strength are told to the present day. On one occasion a leopard sprang suddenly upon him; but, seizing the animal by the throat, they rolled over and over, the General never relinquishing his grasp until the animal was fairly powerless, when he was easily put an end to. On another occasion, finding a sentry asleep over the park, he took a six-pounder off its carriage and carried it under his arm, (' doorbien ke mooafik,' as an old native officer, at that time his orderly, described it,) 'like a telescope.' "

This is an instance of resolution and endurance under pain, from the notice of Colonel Montague.

" About the year 1781 he was promoted to the command of a company. He was sent to join General Goddard, who was employed to demolish various forts in the Rohilla country, several of which were defended with the moat obstinate bravery. In attacking one of them he was wounded by an arrow while attempting to force the gates, which, entering just below the eye, penetrated obliquely through part of the jaw, and almost reached the oppo- site cheek. Without a moment's hesitation, he broke the arrow off close to the iron barb, and continued at the head of his corps till the object of the attack was accomplished. The barb remained in his face several days, and was at length extracted with great skill by Dr. Brinch Harwood."

The following sketch of costumes and customs carries us back to the days of Warren Hastings.

" At this time the head-quarters of the regiment were quartered in Fort William, moving out during the cold months to a practice-ground at Sul- keah, nearly opposite the Western mouth of the Circular Canal : the powder- works were between the canal and Cossipoor. The dress of the regiment consisted of a blue coat, faced with scarlet, and cut away in the fashion of the time ; white cloth waistcoat and breeches, with buckles at the knees ; and gaiters, or half-spatterdashes, as they were called ; red leathern belt, with swivels ; black silk stock ; bug' gloves, and regimental hat, supposed to be a plain cocked, in the fashion of George the Second's time. The hair was worn greased, powdered, and tied in a queue, false hair being substituted when the natural was not long enough.

" The hours for parades, and in fact for everything, were early ; parades were before gunfire in the cold season ; dinners were in the middle of the day, not only in private houses, but on public occasions ; and invitations were given on a scale of hospitality only practicable in a small society. The orderly-book was the common channel of invitation used by the Governor- General and officer commanding the garrison. Many such entries as the following will be found in The Honourable the Governor-General re- quests to be favoured with the company of officers and gentlemen belonging to the army now in the garrison of Fort William and the Chitpoor canton- ment and the Presidency, on Monday next to dinner, at the Court-house, and in the evening to a ball and supper. The Governor-General requests that gentlemen will not bring any servants to dinner, nor their hookahs to the ball at night.'

" Or, Lieutenant-Colonel Wilding presents his compliments to all the officers in Fort William, staff of the garrison, and surgeons, and requests their company to breakfast, and dinner at half-past two o'clock.' "

The narrative of Captain Buckle comes down to the final termina- tion of the Affghan war, and is not only a posthumous but an un- revised work. Mr. Kaye, who has undertaken the editorship, has continued the history through the Gwalior compaign and the two Sikh wars, so as to complete the Memoir to the present time.