Tempo:
— CHAP. VI
THE SIKH ARMY
— 156
tried strength, his great native courage would show 1822. him more formidable than a follower of Sindhia or by^aiHolkar, and readily lead him to face a battery of well- coim. i805; .erved guns.^ Thie peculiar arm of the contending and by
nations of the last century passed into a proverb, and ochteriony, the phrase, the Maratha spear, the Afghan sword, the ^^i^Sikh matchlock, and the English cannon, is still of charactercommon repetition; nor does it gratify the pride of the Jstic arms present masters of India to hear their success attributed °^ different rather to the number and excellence of their artillery, ctudinr'the than to that dauntless courage and firm array which English, have enabled the humble footmen to win most of those The general distant victories which add glory to the English name, importance Nevertheless it has always been the object of rival given to powers to obtain a numerous artillery; the battalions artillery by of De Boigne would never separate themselves from ^^^ mdians. their cannon, and the presence of that' formidable arm quencr'of is yet, perhaps, essential to the full confidence of the the victoBritish Sepoy.ries of the Ranjit Singh said that, in 1805, he went to see the English. order of Lord Lake's army," and it is known that in Ranjit singh 1809 he admired and praised the discipline of Mr. labours to Metcalfe's small escort, who repulsed the sudden onset 'J'^''^^''^^ ^ discipline; Sir D. Ochteriony to Government, 1st Dec. 1810. feeling is well known to all who have had any experience of Indian troops. gunner is a prouder man than a musketeer: when battalions are mutinous, they will not allow strangers to approach their guns, and the best-dispositioned regiments will scarcely leave them in the rear to go into action unencumbered, an instance of which happened in Perron's warfare with George Thomas. (Major Smith, Regular Corps in 1
- This
A
Indian Employ, p. 24.) The ranks of the British Army are indeed filled with Rajputs and Pathans so called, and alsQ with Brahmans; but nearly all are from the provinces of tne Upper Ganges, the inhabitants of which have become greatly modified in character by complete conquest and mixture with strangers; and, while they retain some of the distinguishing marks of their races, they are, as soldiers, the merest mercenaries, and do not possess the ardent and restless feeling, or that spirit of clanship, which characterize the more genuine descendants of Kshattriyas and Afghans. The remarks in the text thus refer especially to the Pathans of Rohilkhand and Hariana and similar scattered colonies, and to the yeomanry and little proprietors of Rajputana. [Much of this is of course incorrect and refers to the pre-Mutiny conditions of the Army. With the exception of a few mountain batteries the artillery is now entirely in the hands of British troops. -The Brahman element in the Army has also been greatly reduced. At the present, time 63 per cent, of the efficient fighting forces of the Indian Army came from the Punjab. Ed.] Moorcroft, Travels, i. 102. [The fact of this visit having been made is also borne out by a passage in the Diary of li. Sohan Lai. The latter was Court Vakil to Ranjit Singh. Ed I •^
THE SIKH ARMY
— 156
tried strength, his great native courage would show 1822. him more formidable than a follower of Sindhia or by^aiHolkar, and readily lead him to face a battery of well- coim. i805; .erved guns.^ Thie peculiar arm of the contending and by
nations of the last century passed into a proverb, and ochteriony, the phrase, the Maratha spear, the Afghan sword, the ^^i^Sikh matchlock, and the English cannon, is still of charactercommon repetition; nor does it gratify the pride of the Jstic arms present masters of India to hear their success attributed °^ different rather to the number and excellence of their artillery, ctudinr'the than to that dauntless courage and firm array which English, have enabled the humble footmen to win most of those The general distant victories which add glory to the English name, importance Nevertheless it has always been the object of rival given to powers to obtain a numerous artillery; the battalions artillery by of De Boigne would never separate themselves from ^^^ mdians. their cannon, and the presence of that' formidable arm quencr'of is yet, perhaps, essential to the full confidence of the the victoBritish Sepoy.ries of the Ranjit Singh said that, in 1805, he went to see the English. order of Lord Lake's army," and it is known that in Ranjit singh 1809 he admired and praised the discipline of Mr. labours to Metcalfe's small escort, who repulsed the sudden onset 'J'^''^^''^^ ^ discipline; Sir D. Ochteriony to Government, 1st Dec. 1810. feeling is well known to all who have had any experience of Indian troops. gunner is a prouder man than a musketeer: when battalions are mutinous, they will not allow strangers to approach their guns, and the best-dispositioned regiments will scarcely leave them in the rear to go into action unencumbered, an instance of which happened in Perron's warfare with George Thomas. (Major Smith, Regular Corps in 1
- This
A
Indian Employ, p. 24.) The ranks of the British Army are indeed filled with Rajputs and Pathans so called, and alsQ with Brahmans; but nearly all are from the provinces of tne Upper Ganges, the inhabitants of which have become greatly modified in character by complete conquest and mixture with strangers; and, while they retain some of the distinguishing marks of their races, they are, as soldiers, the merest mercenaries, and do not possess the ardent and restless feeling, or that spirit of clanship, which characterize the more genuine descendants of Kshattriyas and Afghans. The remarks in the text thus refer especially to the Pathans of Rohilkhand and Hariana and similar scattered colonies, and to the yeomanry and little proprietors of Rajputana. [Much of this is of course incorrect and refers to the pre-Mutiny conditions of the Army. With the exception of a few mountain batteries the artillery is now entirely in the hands of British troops. -The Brahman element in the Army has also been greatly reduced. At the present, time 63 per cent, of the efficient fighting forces of the Indian Army came from the Punjab. Ed.] Moorcroft, Travels, i. 102. [The fact of this visit having been made is also borne out by a passage in the Diary of li. Sohan Lai. The latter was Court Vakil to Ranjit Singh. Ed I •^
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