XXXIX. 1817. 1 Secret Letter of Jan. 1818; CHAP whole Mahratta confederacy. But the outrages had become so formidable that the Marquess of Hastings felt the absolute necessity of repressing them; and he made such urgent representations on the subject to the Court of Directors, Directors that they authorised the commencement of hosAuber, ii. tilities, being convinced, in their own words, "of the 528; Mal- irrepressible tendency of our Indian power to enlarge its tral India, bounds and augment its preponderance, in spite of the most peremptory injunctions to forbearance from home, and of the most scrupulous obedience to them in the government abroad.” 1 colm's Cen i. 431; Prinsep's Mil. Trans. ii. 21. 46. Fortified with this authority, Lord Hastings comLord Hast- menced operations on the greatest scale, convinced ings' great that he would have, sooner or later in the course of prepara commence war. tions, and the contest, the whole powers of Central India on his ment of the hands, who could bring into the field 130,000 horse, 87,000 foot, and 600 guns. An attack upon the powers of Central India from different quarters was resolved on, and the forces assembled for the purpose were on a scale worthy of the grandeur and power of England. They amounted to 91,000 regular troops, of whom 10,225 were cavalry, with 120 guns, besides 23,000 irregular horse. On the 20th October 1817, the Governor-general himself assumed the command of the grand army at Secundra, near Kalpee, and after crossing the Jumna on a bridge of boats, advanced to a position to the south of Gwalior, where Scindia had established himself in a permanent camp. The intercepted letters XXXIX. 1817. which had been received left no doubt of the accession CHAP. of the great Mahratta chief to the confederacy; he was only waiting for the junction of the Patans under Ameer Khan to commence hostilities. He had not anticipated, however, the vigour and decision of the English commander-in-chief, and found himself unable to withstand alone the formidable force arrayed against him. The consequence was he was obliged to yield. He agreed, 1 Malcolm, as the price of peace, to unite his forces with those of the i. 436; British against the Pindarrees, and as a pledge of his 416; Ann. sincerity, to surrender in the mean time the forts Hindia and Asurghur.1 Martin, Reg. 1817, of 467-469. cesses of ings. Nov. 5. This blow, the deserved reward of foresight in pre- 47. paration and promptitude in action, was decisive of the Farther sucfate of the war. The treaty exacted from Scindia was Lord Hastspeedily followed by the submission of the Patans and Battle of other lesser chiefs who lay next exposed to attack, and Kirkee. were equally incapable of resistance. The Pindarrees, finding themselves thus abandoned, retreated slowly before the advancing host, placing their last hopes on the secret assurance they had received of support from Poonah, the great centre of the Mahratta power. As usual with Asiatics in danger, they sought to gain time. by elusory negotiations. But Lord Hastings was aware of their policy, and not to be deceived by their wiles. In the mean time, the Peishwa, the head of the Mahratta confederacy, after various proceedings indicative of the hostile spirit by which he was actuated, appeared with all his forces in the plain in front of the town of Poonah, and, desirous of averting hostilities, ordered his troops not to fire the first gun. Before the order was received, however, the action had already commenced by a battery of nine guns opening fire on the British on the right. This was immediately followed by a splendid charge of 6000 horse, bearing the swallow-tailed golden pennon of the empire. They were received by Colonel Burr, the intrepid commander of the 7th regiment, who took his post, XXXIX. CHAP. calm and collected, beside the colours, though one ball went through his hat, and another shot his horse dead. 1817. Fortunately, the Mahratta charge was broken by a ditch which ran in front of the British line, and as the horsemen were scrambling out of it they were exposed to so severe a fire from the 7th regiment that they fell back in disorder. The advance of the English, which immediately followed, proved the signal for a general retreat. This battle, which bears the name of KIRKEE, was one of the hardest fought and most glorious that ever occurred in India, for the disproportion of force was immense. The whole force engaged on the side of the 1817, 384; British was 2800, of whom only 800 were Europeans. 417; Duff's Their loss amounted to 186 killed and 57 wounded. Mahrattas, The Mahratta force was 18,000 horse and 8000 foot, and they lost 500 men in the affair.1 1 Prinsep, i. 107, 111; Ann. Reg. Martin, iii. 429. This glorious victory was soon followed by the surrender of Poonah, which capitulated on 17th Novemthe Peish-ber, the Peishwa, with all his forces, retreating up the 48. Second check of wa. Nov. 26. Jan. 1, 1818. Ghauts into the hill-country. Thither he was immediately followed by General Smith at the head of a considerable British force, who tried in vain to bring him to action. On the 1st of January 1818, a detachment under Captain Staunton, consisting of one battalion of sepoys, 400 irregular horse, and 2 guns, fell in accidentally with the whole force of the Peishwa, 25,900 strong. Though the disparity was so prodigious, the British commander was not discouraged, but, boldly pushing forward, took possession of a small edifice which had originally been a temple, where he prepared to maintain himself to the last extremity. The Peishwa immediately invested the little body of heroes with all his forces, and, deeming victory secure, ascended a neighbouring height with the Rajah of Sattara, in order to witness the surrender of the British. The contest seemed hopeless, but capitulation was never once thought of in that heroic band. "See," said Captain Staunton, pointing to the XXXIX. 1817. headless trunk of Lieutenant Chisholm, which was lying CHAP beside a gun, "the mercy of the Mahrattas." The troops, though worn to death with fatigue, and fainting from thirst, declared to a man they would rather die than fall into the hands of such implacable foes. Happily, towards evening a supply of water was received, and the defence was kept up with such vigour that the post was maintained till dark. The firing gradually ceased; and in the morning, when the British were preparing to renew it, the enemy was descried moving off in the direction Duff's of Poonah, in consequence of the rumoured advance of iii. 429-434; General Smith. The battalion engaged lost 153 men, 417, 418. the cavalry 96, in this glorious combat.1 1 Mahrattas, Martin, successes of Immediately after this success, Sattara was invested by 49. General Smith, and it capitulated on the following day. Farther From thence a proclamation was issued, taking formal the British. possession of the Peishwa's territories in the name of the British Government, with the exception of a small portion which was to be restored to the Rajah of Sattara. After this advantage, General Smith again started in pursuit of the enemy; and he came up with a body of 9000 horse, with whom a fierce conflict immediately ensued. Such was the skill with which the Mahratta cavalry were handled, that the British were thrown into some confusion; and the consequences might have been very serious, had not, in the mêlée, Gokla, their renowned leader, been slain. The Mahrattas, when on the verge of victory, deprived of their leader, fell into confusion, and fled, leaving their baggage-camels and elephants to the unexpected victors. In this action the British loss was only 19, and 200 of the enemy were found dead upon the field. After this success the Rajah of Sattara, who had been in the Peishwa's camp, fell into the hands of the victors, and was taken under the protection of the Company, and General Smith resumed his pursuit of the Mahratta horse. It was attended, however, with great hardships; for the enemy retreated with extra XXXIX. CHAP. ordinary rapidity, and many of the British, toiling after them over waterless plains under a burning sun, were 1817. struck dead by coup-de-soleil. The sufferings of the 1 Prinsep, enemy, however, were not less severe, and at length i. 107-111; the Peishwa, worn out with a desultory warfare, from 245-250; which he had no prospect of retrieving his fortunes, surrendered, and became a pensioner of the British Government.1 Wilson, ix. Martin, 419. 50. the cholera in Lord army. While these brilliant operations were breaking the Ravages of strength of the Mahrattas, the troops engaged against the Pindarrees were afflicted with a visitation of Providence Hastings' far more terrible than the sword of man. After the signature of the treaty of alliance with Scindia, on 5th November 1817, the CHOLERA, then for the first time known in British history, broke out with the utmost violence in Lord Hastings' army, and from the very outset committed the most dreadful ravages. The year had been one of scarcity, the grain was of inferior quality, and the situation of the British cantonment low and unhealthy. Everything was thus prepared for the ravages of the epidemic, which soon set in with terrible severity. For ten days the camp was nothing but an hospital; in one week 764 soldiers and 8000 camp-followers perished. At length the troops were removed to higher and more airy cantonments, and upon this the malady ceased-a memorable fact for the instruction of future times. As was afterwards often experienced, the ravages of the pestilence were greatest among the lowest portion of the people; only 148 Europeans perished in November, but above 10,000 natives fell victims to the malady. When 107-111; it spread to Calcutta, it destroyed 200 a-day for a long time, chiefly among the worst fed and most destitute of the people.2 2 Wilson, ix. 253; Prinsep, i. Martin, 419. Notwithstanding this misfortune, which abated in three weeks, the advance of Lord Hastings upon Gwalior effectually prevented any co-operation between the Mahrattas and Pindarrees; and the latter, pursued by an over |