The Brigadier also acknowledged the services of other officers belonging to the force under his command, in which number was included Lieutenant and Adjutant Lugard, of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, who acted as Major of Brigade.

The brigade of Brigadier-General Monteath, having thus performed most successfully the service for which it had been detached, now marched to join the main army at Jellalabad, and arriving there took up its old ground. On the 22nd of August the army marched in two divisions, and proceeded without opposition, but suffering intense fatigue from the labour of dragging the artillery and stores over the almost inaccessible paths, until it arrived at Soorkhab, distant four marches from Jellalabad.

On the British leaving Soorkhab, the Affghans showed themselves in force, and the rear-guard, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Bolton, was so hard-pressed by thousands of the irregular troops of the enemy, that Brigadier Monteath thought it necessary to halt the brigade at the entrance of the Jugdulluck pass, to enable it to form a junction with the main column, which it did after suffering considerable loss. The Ghilzees hotly contested the passage of the pass, but after a sharp engagement they were driven off with much slaughter.

In this action Lieut.-Colonel Bolton had his horse shot under him in two places, and Lieutenant Shaw, of the regiment, was wounded.

The next day (9th September) the Affghans were so much dispirited by their defeat, that the division marched to Jugdulluck without further opposition than a little skirmishing with the rear-guard, and Lieutenant Brooke, of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, was wounded.

On the 10th of September, it having been ascertained that Akbar Khan with 20,000 men had established himself in the Khoord Cabool pass, in order to cover the capital and fight a pitched battle with the British, the second division was ordered to join the first by a forced march to Tezeen, where Major-General Pollock was encamped. This junction was effected on the 11th of September, with little loss, although a running fight was kept up the greater part of the way. In fact, the advance to Cabool was a succession of skirmishes, oftentimes by night as well as by day.

The camp was attacked on the night of the 12th of September, but the enemy made no impression, and little loss occurred, although all the piquets of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment were engaged until daybreak.

Shortly after daybreak on the 13th of September the army moved off its ground towards the Tezeen Pass, the advanced guard, commanded by Sir Robert Sale, being composed of three companies of the ninth regiment, three companies of the thirteenth or Prince Albert’s Light Infantry, together with two companies of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, under Captain Baldwin and Lieutenant Greenwood.

After moving carefully along the pass for about two miles, the Affghans were discovered, in great force, occupying strong positions on the heights on either side, while their artillery and cavalry were formed some distance farther on in the pass itself. The action commenced by a heavy fire from the enemy on the advanced guard of the British; and the distance being too great for musketry, from the effect of which also the Affghans were covered by extensive sunghas, or intrenchments formed of large blocks of stone, for the whole length of their position, it was judged necessary for the troops to ascend the heights, and drive them from their posts at the point of the bayonet.

This service was most brilliantly performed on the left heights by the ninth and THIRTY-FIRST regiments, and on the right by the thirteenth light infantry.

The companies ascended the face of the mountain under a most galling fire, from the effects of which many casualties occurred, and not returning a shot until the ledge was gained: a combined volley within ten yards of the enemy, followed by an immediate charge of bayonets, drove him from his defences with great slaughter, and the heights were gained. For this service Captain Baldwin received the brevet rank of Major.

The Affghans’ advanced posts being driven in and pursued as far as the broken and difficult nature of the country would admit, they retired upon their supports, which were, with great judgment, defended by endless sunghas, erected in every position from which a fire could be brought on advancing troops.

The British, having gained the heights, and being reinforced by fresh troops, pushed on, and, storming one intrenchment after another, threw the Affghans into great confusion. The artillery, having been brought up, played upon them with terrific effect, while the British cavalry, having charged and overthrown their horse, posted in the pass, and taken their guns, together with the state tent of Akbar Khan, the fortune of the day at this early period evidently smiled on the British arms; but the warlike mountaineers, who composed the Affghan army, fought with desperate valour to retrieve the day. Attack after attack was made upon the troops occupying the posts from which the enemy had first been driven. Reckless of life, the stern fanatics came on to be shot down from the defences which they had themselves thrown up. In a series of desultory attacks the day declined, and the British, having obtained possession of every height commanding the pass, the remains of the Affghan army made a détour among the hills, falling with great fury upon the British rear-guard, commanded by Colonel Richmond, of the thirty-third regiment of Native Infantry. Here they were so warmly received that their discomfiture was completed, and the day was won. The victorious British encamped for the night in the valley of Khoord (Little) Cabool, a village distant about sixteen miles from Cabool.

In this action Lieutenant Pollard received a severe contusion from a large block of stone while attempting to take a standard. Major Skinner, of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, highly distinguished himself with the force which was detached under his command, and which proceeded, in the afternoon of the 12th of September, across the hills towards the valley of Khoord Cabool by a route different from that of the main army. On the march, Major Skinner came suddenly in presence of a greatly superior number of Affghans. Notwithstanding that the country was difficult and imperfectly known, by a series of skilful manœuvres he extricated his troops from the perilous situation in which they were placed, and defeated the Affghans, who exceeded five times his force, with great slaughter, on the 13th of September.

So complete was the defeat of the Affghan army on the 13th of September, that Akbar Khan escaped from the field accompanied only by a solitary horseman.

The enemy acknowledged to have lost fifty-three chiefs and persons of consequence, and 700 men. The casualties on the part of the British amounted to 185.

Major-General Pollock, in his despatch dated 14th of September, again acknowledged the services of Lieut.-Colonel Bolton and Major Skinner, of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment.

No impediments now existed to the advance of the British on the city of Cabool. On the 15th of September the army arrived at Cabool, and encamped on the race-course. On the following day the place was occupied and the standard of England hoisted on the highest pinnacle of the battlements of the Bala Hissar (Upper Fort), on which occasion the flank companies of the THIRTY-FIRST formed part of the guard which garrisoned the citadel. The British colours were hoisted daily as long as the army remained at Cabool.

All the objects of the campaign having been gained, and the rescue of the prisoners effected,—among whom were several officers and ladies (Lady Sale, the partner of the gallant defender of Jellalabad being among the number), also three serjeants, three drummers, and thirty rank and file of Her Majesty’s forty-fourth regiment,—the Anglo-Indian army commenced its march towards Hindoostan on the 12th of October, after having destroyed the grand bazaar of Cabool, named the Chahar Chuttah, where the remains of the British Envoy had been exposed to public insult by the infuriated Affghans.

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment was again constantly engaged in desultory skirmishes with the Ghilzees and Afreedee tribes which infested the passes.

At the Jugdulluck Pass the Affghans again made head, and a severe action occurred on the 18th of October, in which the THIRTY-FIRST regiment sustained some loss, but the Ghilzees were put to flight with great slaughter. Lieutenant Thomas Pender, of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, received a severe wound near Seh Baba, from the effects of which he died on the 18th of November.

Major-General McCaskill, in his despatch dated 20th of October, 1842, recording the attacks on his division by the predatory tribes of the mountains between Tezeen and Gundamuck, stated that,

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment arrived at Jellalabad on the 23rd of October, and, after destroying the fortifications, proceeded thence on the 27th to Peshawur, where it arrived in the beginning of November.

The campaign having now been brought to a close, the THIRTY-FIRST reached Ferozepore on the 19th of December, having been in the field for eleven months during this arduous campaign.

On arrival at Ferozepore the THIRTY-FIRST regiment joined the “Army of Reserve,” which had been assembled on the frontier, and where the Governor-General, Lord Ellenborough, and General Sir Jasper Nicolls, the commander-in-chief in India, had proceeded to receive the army of Affghanistan.

For his services connected with the command of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, Lieut.-Colonel Bolton was made a Companion of the Bath, and appointed aide-de-camp to the Queen, with the rank of colonel.

In testimony of the services of the THIRTY-FIRST during the campaign in Affghanistan, Her Majesty was graciously pleased to authorize the regiment to bear the word “Cabool, 1842,” on the regimental colour and appointments.

On the breaking up of the army at Ferozepore, the THIRTY-FIRST, commanded by Colonel Bolton, was ordered to Umballa, a place about 170 miles to the south, and which had never been previously occupied by troops. Here the regiment arrived on the 27th of January, 1843, and, cantonments having been marked out, barracks were commenced for the men, and ground allotted for the erection of bungalows for the officers.

On the 5th of May the THIRTY-FIRST sustained a severe loss by the death of Major and Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Skinner, a zealous and talented officer, whose services are frequently alluded to in the historical record of the regiment.[27]

In May, 1843, the regiment was ordered to Khytul, and formed part of a force under Major-General Fast, which was sent to reduce the city and state of Khytul to British subjection. The force arrived at Khytul after about a week’s march, and the enemy, after a slight show of resistance, evacuated the city, which was occupied by the British troops. All the objects of the expedition having been fulfilled, the regiment returned to its cantonments at Umballa. All, however, remained under canvas, exposed to most intense heat, until July, 1843, when the men were housed, and a few of the officers got shelter. In October, 1843, an outbreak occurred at Lahore, and the Maharajah, Shere Singh, was shot at a review by his brother-in-law, Ajeet Singh; after this event the youthful Dhuleep Singh, a reputed son of the late Runjeet Singh, was placed on the throne.

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment was in consequence ordered to the frontier, and marched for Ferozepore on the 16th of November, where it arrived on the 1st of December, 1843, and remained as a corps of observation.

The THIRTY-FIRST, commanded by Colonel Bolton, C.B., continued at Ferozepore, where the regiment was joined by ninety-three recruits from England. On the 16th of January, 1844, the regiment was inspected, and elicited great praise from Major-General Hunter of the Company’s Service, and again on the 16th of February, by Major-General Sir Robert Dick, K.C.B., who expressed great praise as well of the soldierlike and gallant bearing as of the high state of discipline of the regiment.

The weather becoming extremely hot, the regiment marched from Ferozepore on the 19th of April, 1844, en route to Umballa, where it arrived on the 2nd of May.

On the 30th of December, 1844, his Excellency General Sir Hugh Gough, Bart., Commander-in-Chief in India, inspected the THIRTY-FIRST, in review order, on which occasion he expressed himself highly satisfied with the soldierlike appearance of the regiment.

On the 12th of March, 1845, a detachment of recruits and volunteers, consisting of one major, one captain, three lieutenants, two ensigns, one assistant-surgeon, with four hundred and seventy-one rank and file, joined the regiment from the lower provinces, under the command of Major Spence.

Many men continued to die from the effects of the Cabool campaign, but the station in itself proved healthy until July, when it was visited by cholera in a most fearful manner. On the 26th of July the regiment was ordered into camp, about two miles from the barracks, at a few hours’ notice, with orders for one officer per company, as well as the medical officers, constantly to remain in camp under Major Spence, where they continued until the 5th of August. In one month the regiment lost by cholera eighty-nine men, women, and children.

After the death of Maha Shere Singh, the Punjaub was in a state of anarchy; the juvenile sovereign, Dhuleep Singh, under the tutelage of his mother and uncle, was unable to control the turbulent Sikh chieftains, and open hostility soon manifested itself against the British Government in India.

In the beginning of December, 1845, the inclination of the Sikh Sirdars to invade the British territories appeared to increase, and about the 11th of that month, with a large army and a well-appointed artillery, they actually crossed the Sutlej, the boundary river which separates the Punjaub from the British dominions.[28]

The Commander-in-Chief in India, General Sir Hugh Gough, sent immediate orders for the Umballa division of the army, which had lately been considerably increased in strength, to be pushed on towards the invaded frontier.

Previous to its march, this force had been formed into divisions and brigades. The first brigade of the first division was composed of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, and two regiments of Native infantry, viz., the twenty-fourth and forty-seventh regiments. The first division was commanded by Major-General Sir Henry Smith; Colonel Bolton, C.B., of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, was appointed Brigadier to command the first brigade. Lieut.-Colonel Byrne, the next senior officer, assumed the command of the regiment. Captain Garvock was appointed Brigade-Major to the first brigade, and Captain Lugard, Assistant-Adjutant-General to the first division.

It being of the utmost importance to aid the division of the army in the defence of Ferozepore, a fort on the left bank of the Sutlej, where the British Government had large magazines containing munitions of war, a park of artillery, military stores, and equipments for the field army, which protected the frontier, it was necessary to push on the Umballa division, with all possible speed, by rapid and forced marches, towards the point near which the Sikhs, after having crossed the Sutlej, were assembled in large force, emboldened by numbers, and their army composed of well-disciplined troops, with a numerous and well-appointed artillery. This army had been instructed and trained in European tactics and discipline by French and Italian officers; it was confident in its own strength and in the powerful aid of its formidable artillery.

It was evidently the object of the enemy to prevent the junction of the Umballa division with the Ferozepore field force, to cut off the latter division, and to capture the fort and magazines of Ferozepore, before the Umballa division could arrive at the scene of action. The enemy hoped also to have a rich booty in the plunder of the large town of Ferozepore. The Sikhs knew and calculated the distance the Umballa troops had to march before they could reach the vicinity of Ferozepore, one hundred and fifty miles, and the nature of the country through which they had to march; but they did not calculate on the energy, patient endurance of hardships, and privation, which the British soldier would cheerfully undergo, when he knew, that his brave and heroic Commander-in-Chief was leading him in person against the foe, who had dared to invade the British possessions.

On the 10th of December the THIRTY-FIRST received the order to march, and the morning of the 12th saw the regiment leave Umballa, mustering 30 officers and 844 men.

After long and harassing marches of twenty-five to thirty miles a day, the severe nature of which it is impossible to describe, the regiment arrived at the village of Moodkee about two o’clock in the afternoon of the 18th of December, having on that day performed a march of not less than twenty-five miles: some idea may be formed of the sufferings which the men endured from fatigue on this eventful day, when it is known that at the last halt, about two miles from Moodkee, scarcely fifty men were left with the colours; and for miles to the rear they might be seen staggering forward through the soft sand in an exhausted state from want of water and rest.

The soldiers were in the act of pitching their tents, and had eaten nothing, when the alarm was given that the enemy was close upon them in force. The THIRTY-FIRST rushed to arms, and forming the right of the first brigade of the first division, under Major-General Sir Henry Smith, formed in quarter-distance column, left in front, advanced two or three miles, deployed on the grenadier company, and so continued the line formed by the regiments on their right.

The THIRTY-FIRST were now on ploughed land in front of a thick jungle of thorny bushes, and moving forward under a heavy fire of round and grape-shot, entered the jungle, through which it was impossible to move in anything like a correct line, and beyond which the Sikhs were formed. It was here that the gallant Colonel Bolton received his death-wound;—his last emphatic words to the men were, “Steady, THIRTY-FIRST, and fire low,”—when man and horse came down together; but he did not allow himself to be removed from the field until the action was over. The regiment now found itself in front of a battery of fourteen or fifteen guns. By this time the men were falling quickly under severe discharges of grape from the guns, a few yards only distant, which were also protected by a battalion of infantry, from which withering volleys were sent into the ranks of the THIRTY-FIRST, who, however, returned it with interest, and the intrepid valour of the men bore down all opposition. One continued fire from the regiment laid low nearly the whole of the enemy’s artillery-men opposed to its part of the line, while the bayonet disposed of such of the remainder of the foe as had not time to save themselves by flight. The opposition of the Sikhs was desperate; but nothing could resist the bravery of the British troops, who drove them from one position after another with great slaughter: all their advanced guns remained in the hands of the British.

It was not till an hour and a half after sunset that this hand to hand conflict was over, when the rolling of musketry gradually died away, and the British found themselves undisputed masters of the field. Soon after the commencement of the action, Lieut.-Colonel Byrne being severely wounded, the command of the regiment devolved upon Major Spence, the senior major.

The regiment, being much broken and scattered over the field in pursuit of the enemy, was re-formed in quarter-distance column, and marched back to within about a mile of Moodkee, where it bivouacked on the sand until daylight, and then returned to camp.

In this short but hard-fought action the regiment suffered severely. Of 30 officers and 814 men, who went into action, 9 officers and 155 rank and file were killed or wounded.

The following officers were killed or wounded in the action at Moodkee:—

In this action Lieutenant Bolton, of the twenty-first Fusiliers, acted as aide-de-camp to his father Brigadier Bolton.

The army was commanded in the action by General Sir Hugh Gough, the Commander-in-Chief, aided by the counsel and military experience of the Governor-General, Sir Henry Hardinge. The following extract is taken from the despatch of the Commander-in-Chief, dated 19th of December, 1845:—

It appears from the list of killed and wounded, that the first or Major-General Sir Henry Smith’s division bore the brunt of the action at Moodkee, as the casualties in that division out-numbered those of the other two infantry divisions united, as will be seen by the following published list:—

The army of the Sikhs amounted, it is said, to upwards of 32,000 men of all arms. The British force did not amount to more than one-third of that number.

Thus terminated the battle of Moodkee, the first action in which the Sikhs measured their strength with British troops in the field.

The following extracts are taken from an account of the battle of Moodkee:—

After describing the preliminary movements of the cavalry and artillery, the narrator proceeds:—

The following officers were present with the regiment at the battle of Moodkee on the 18th of December:—

It being expected that the Sikhs, notwithstanding their defeat on the previous evening, would make a second attack, the troops were ordered under arms early on the following morning, the 19th, and remained so till evening, when, no enemy appearing, they returned to their tents.

It having been subsequently ascertained, by scouts, that the enemy was strongly entrenched in great numbers round the village of Ferozeshah, the Commander-in-Chief determined to effect a junction with the troops at Ferozepore, and with the combined force to drive the Sikhs from their position. Accordingly at daylight on the 21st of December the army was formed in separate columns of attack, and marched in order of battle in the supposed direction of the enemy. Having proceeded about five miles, it was ascertained that the Sikhs had retired to their entrenched camp at Ferozeshah, about twelve miles from Moodkee.

The troops then fell into columns of route, and after a very fatiguing and circuitous march, rendered more so from no water being procurable on the road, they arrived about three o’clock P.M. in the neighbourhood of the enemy’s position, having, on the march, effected the desired junction with the division under Major-General Sir John Littler, consisting of five thousand men and twenty-one guns, which had moved from Ferozepore on the morning of the 21st of December: about a quarter of an hour was allowed for rest, and the plan of battle was then immediately arranged. The first division formed the reserve, and was drawn up in line, the THIRTY-FIRST being about the centre: here they remained about twenty minutes, during which time the round shot were passing through the ranks, killing and wounding several men.

The order was now given to advance to the support of the troops, who were hotly engaged and hard-pressed; the reserve moved forward in excellent order, though darkness was coming on, and very shortly became engaged and exposed to a heavy fire. The two lines were shortly reduced to one, the shattered remains of the reserve scarcely filling up the gaps formed in the first line by the deadly fire of the enemy, who nobly fought, and fell every man in his place; thus those two lines, which had so shortly before presented the regularity of a field-day, were now but one, standing surrounded by their dead and dying comrades, and the brave fellows of other European regiments could scarcely understand how they came to be fighting in the ranks of the THIRTY-FIRST. After a long and desperate contest, the Sikhs were driven from their guns, but not without severe loss on the part of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, both in officers and men. Lieut. and Adjutant Bernard was killed on the spot, and Major Baldwin and Lieut. Pollard were mortally wounded; Lieut. Pilkington was struck by two shots, one passing through each ankle; and the horse of Major Spence was shot under him. On the death of Lieutenant and Adjutant Bernard, Lieutenant Robertson was appointed Adjutant, which appointment he held until the nomination of Lieutenant Bolton was received from the Horse Guards, he having been applied for by his father, Colonel Bolton, previously to the campaign. The camp of the Sikhs being now on fire in several places, mines and magazines exploding with terrific violence at short intervals, the enemy’s fire being silenced,—and their guns standing undefended,—the order was given to fall back a short distance and re-form, which was accordingly done; the troops bivouacked during the night in front of the Sikh camp, within reach of shot from their guns, which, having been left unspiked, were quickly reopened upon the exhausted troops, whose sufferings on that fearful night, from thirst and intense cold, will never be forgotten by those who endured them.

Towards morning the troops were formed in one line facing the enemy; the THIRTY-FIRST happened to be on the right of the whole. At the break of day, the British artillery opened on the enemy, who returned their fire, and after a short cannonading the infantry advanced to the attack: the THIRTY-FIRST moved steadily towards a battery of seven guns on the enemy’s extreme left, which kept up a continued fire of grape; it was, however, carried by the bayonet without a single check, and almost without a shot being fired by the assailants, though the loss of the THIRTY-FIRST was severe. Having killed all the enemy’s artillery-men who remained at their guns, the regiment, led by its brave commander, Major Spence, passed through the battery, and advanced steadily in an excellent line for about 300 yards, when it halted. The Governor-General and the Commander-in-Chief passed down the ranks amidst the cheers of the men; the line saluted them, dropping the regimental colours; and private William Ash, a grenadier, stood in front of his company displaying a colour taken from the enemy in the battery before mentioned.