The Middlesex Regiment 1755-1966
The 77th in India 1787-1807
The raising of the regiment~Early officers~Equipment
for India~Embarkation for Bombay~Events in India~rise of Hyder Ali~The
First Mysore War~Conquest of the Malabar Coast~Capture of Cochin and Colombo~The
Second Mysore War~Sedassar:The storming of Seringapatam~Reduction of Canara~Firts
assault of Arakeera~Doondia Wao~Assault of Panjalamcoorchy~Colonel Spry
takes Calicarcoil~Second assault of Arakeera~Weel-earned repose~Field service
in the Wynaad~Last years in India.
1787
In the autumn of 1787 it became necessary to provide additional troops
for service in India, and it was therefore ordered that four new regiments
should be raised for that purpose. On October 12th Lieutenant-Colonel James
Marsh was appointed Colonel of the fourth of the new regiments. Ten days
later it was ordered that Colonel Marsh’s Regiment should be quartered
at Dover Castle. And on October 25th it was directed that it should be
known as the 77th Foot. The establishment was fixed at 8 battalion companies.
A grenadier company and a light infantry company. Each company had 4 officers,
3 sergeants, 4 corporals 2 drummers and 71 rank and file. In the grenadiers
and light infantry there were three lieutenants instead of 2 lieutenants
and an ensign. The grenadier companies had also two fifes. There was likewise
an additional company for recruiting, which was stationed at Chatham and
consisted of 4 officers, 8 sergeants, 8 corporals and 30 privates.
The difficulty of raising men for the
new regiments was so great that, in addition to the drafting of supernumerary
recruits from regiments which were being reduced, leave was given to accept
prisoners from gaol, dismissed seamen, and even out-pensioners from Chelsea
Hospital. Nevertheless, by the end of the year the effective strength of
the regiment was 86 non-commissioned officers, 26 drummers and 406 rank
and file, and by March 22nd, 1788, the number had increased to 565.
The first Lieutenant-Colonel was James
Balfour, who was appointed on October 12th from the 6th Foot, in which
he had been commissioned as ensign on March 28th, 1762. The actual command
of the regiment rested with him, and so many of the early officers of the
77th were Scots that it seems probable that Balfour was responsible for
their selection. The senior captain was Bulstrode Whitelocke, who had entered
the army as a boy of fifteen on May 1st, 1776, and was a captain of five
years’ standing in the 17th Foot when he was appointed to the 77yh on November
1st, 1787; he was a younger brother of the unfortunate General John Whitelocke.
Other officers of whom we shall hear of again were James Dunlop, who came
from the old 76th Foot, John Montresor from the old 99th, and William Frederick
Spry of the 64th, who, though only eighteen had already seven years’ service.
Dunlop and Montresor were captains, Spry was the first captain-lieutenant
of the 77th. Nor must we omit to mention amongst their juniors, Lieutenant
Laclan Macquarie and Ensign Archibald Campbell. Out of these seven officers
five rose to the rank of general, and Montesor could not have failed to
attain the like distinction had it not been for his early death. Probably
several of them, like Dunlop and Campbell, obtained their commissions in
the 77th by raising men.
On October 24th, 1787, it was ordered that
the facings of Colonel Marsh’s Regiment should be yellow. Shortly afterwards
it was directed that the troops to serve in India should wear white hats
in that country, cocked and ornamented after the form of those sent to
the Adjutant-General’s office, excepting that there to be no fur on the
brim and that the number of the regiment was to be put on the button. Otherwise
the uniform was of the regular pattern, red waistcoats with white breeches
and black gaiters. The epaulettes of the officers were of silver and their
lapels, etc., plain without lace. But the need for a special equipment
in India was beginning to receive attention. In October 1787 it was directed
that the pouches of the regiments for India should be fitted with wood
instead of tin. A year later Colonel Musgrave made proposals for extensive
changes. He recommended that the men should have small round white hats,
short jackets with linen linings, strong calico waistcoats with sleeves,
and campaign trousers of the same material. Also that halberts should be
abolished, and that the sergeants should have swords, the rank and file
to have long and light arms, with narrow cross-belts and small light pouches
to contain twenty-six rounds of ammunition. Brass drums were to be substituted
for wooden ones. Lord Conwallis curiously noted that the hats should be
black in preference to white and that there was no occasion for their being
sent out small, as they may easily be cut to such shape as the commanding
officer may approve; he recommended that there should be no change in the
arms and accoutrements. However, it was ultimately ordered that the troops
in India should have black hats, at least six inches high in the crown
and four inches wide in the brim, and short jackets, simply faced instead
of lined; the men were to have a money compensation for their cheaper clothing,
including an allowance 9s. 8d. In lieu of breeches, shirt and roller, and
stockings; so Musgrave’s advice for lighter clothing was, in part, adopted.
1788
The 77th embarked in the Downs off Deal between
March 28th and April 10th, 1788, on board the Indiamen Dublin, Northumberland,
Prince William and Winterton. The actual numbers who left England were
21 officers, 61 non-commissioned officers, 542 rank and file, 26 women
and 7 children. A sergeant and 2 privates were in gaol for debt, and a
sergeant and 2 privates had lately deserted, whilst 5 non-commissioned
officers and 5 privates were left sick at Dover.
The destination of the regiment was Bombay,
where it arrived on August 4th and remained rather over two years. The
complement of officers was made up in November 1787 by the appointment
on the nomination of the East India Company of Major Marlborough Parsons
Sterling from the 36th Foot, of Captain Charles Gray from the 52nd, and
of twenty-one officers from various other regiments then serving in India.
Both in 1789 and in 1790 strong drafts were received from home, so that
at the end of the latter year the total of all ranks was 755.
1789-90
Before we can proceed to the war services
of the 77th in India it is necessary to give a brief summary of events
in that country during the thirty years since the victories of Clive at
Plassey (1757) and of Coote at Wandewash (1760) decided that England and
not France should have the mastery there. Thenceforth the struggles of
the English were to be not with European rivals but with native princes.
The chief difficulties of the English governors during the ten years that
followed on the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War were rather political
than military. But the same period witnessed the rise of the most formidable
of our native opponents in the person of Hyder Ali, who in 1766 made himself
the Sultan of Mysore and at once began a successful career of conquest.
In 1780, when the British were involved in war with the Mahrattas, Hyder
Ali seized the opportunity to overrun Madras, relying also on help from
the French. The victories of the English were not decisive, and the peace
which was concluded with Hyder’s son Tippoo in 1784 was clearly unstable.
It was the danger threatened by Tippoo’s aggressive policy that had led
to the raising of the 77th Foot, and it was in the two wars against him
that the regiment was to win it’s first distinction.
In 1788 Lord Cornwallis came out to India
as Governor-General. At the close of the following year an attack by Tippoo
on the Rajah of Travancore, who was an ally of the English, precipitated
war.
1790
The principal campaign of 1790 was undertaken
from the Madras side under General Medows, who invaded Mysore with some
success, but could not prevent the raiding of the Coromandel coast by Tippoo
at the close of the year. The war on the other side, though on a smaller
scale, had happier results. Sir Robert Abercromby, a brother of the more
famous Ralph, then Commander-in-Chief at Bombay, was directed to support
the Rajah of Travancore and invade Mysore from the west. Early in December
Abercromby with a small force which included the 77th landed at Tellicherry
on the Malabar coast, captured Cannamore by a vigorous assault on December
16th, and within a short time made the English masters of the whole province.
1791
On February 22nd, 1791, Abercromby with four European regiments, (
the 73rd, 75th and 77th and one of the company’s regiments), and five battalions
of sepoys prepared to cross the Ghauts to Mysore. The 77th, commanded by
Major Sterling, formed part of the first brigade under its Lieutenant-Colonel
James Balfour. The route lay for sixty miles over a difficult mountainous
country, where the roads had to be made through the thick jungle and the
guns had often to be hauled up the heights with tackle fixed to the trees.
So, in spite of the friendly assistance of the Rajah of Coorg, through
whose country they passed, it was not till May 16th that Abercromby’s force
descended into the plains of Mysore and encamped near Peripatam, some forty
miles from Tippoo’s capital.
Meantime Cornwallis, advancing from the east,
had taken Bangalore by assault on March 21st, and fought an indecisive
engagement before Seringpatam on May 15th. Then, through the badness of
the weather and the loss of animals in his commissariat he was forced to
abandon the campaign, and sent orders for the Bombay Army to return to
Malabar. Abercromby’s Task was difficult. But was accomplished in safety,
though most of the guns had to be destroyed or buried.
During the autumn of 1791 Cornwallis made
preparations for a fresh campaign, and in December Abercromby started for
a second time from Malabar. After three weeks of incessant toil a battering
train of fourteen heavy guns was hauled up the Ghauts, and on January 22nd,
1792, the march into Mysore began.
1792
On February 16th Abercromby joined Cornwallis before Seringpatam, ten
days too late to take part in the decisive victory. It was, however, another
month before peace was made and the first Mysore War ended. The conquest
of Malabar and the securing of Coorg, in which the 77th had shared, were
not the least valuable of the results obtained.
The 77th returned to Cannamore in April 1792,
and embarked for Bombay. In October and November it was at Coolabah; and
in December was back at Bombay, where it remained till October 1794, when
it moved to Calicut.
1795
In October 1795 it was at Pandiangurry on the coast of Malabar. Balfour
had become major-general in the previous October, and the major being absent
the command devolved on Whitelocke, who, though still styled captain, had
been promoted major on May 1st, 1794, and lieutenant-colonel on September
1st, 1795.
Although the war with France had begun in
1793 for the defence of Holland, the victories of the French had resulted
in 1795 in the establishment of the Batavian Republic. The British Government,
in agreement with the exiled Stadtholder, the Prince of Orange, then determined
to seize the Dutch colonies and hold them til the end of the war. In August
1795 an expedition was sent from Bengal, which in the course of the autumn
conquered most of the Dutch settlements on the western coast of Ceylon.
The 77th formed part of the reinforcements which were sent from Bombay
at the end of the year, and after capturing Cochin in December, joined
the main army at Negombo early in February 1796.
1796
On February 7th the British force began their march for Colombo, which
was twenty miles to the south. They met with little resistance, and the
capitulation of Colombo on February 15th completed the conquest of the
Dutch possessions in the island.
The 77th left Colombo on March 22nd, and after
spending four months at Calicut removed in August to Cochin where it remained
over two years.
1797
In April 1797 four companies under Major Spry
embarked for Tellicherry to take part in an expedition against the Rajah
of Cotiote under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Dunlop. In the Detachment
Orders on May 13th they were thanked for their steadfastness, zeal and
obedience to orders, whilst special commendation was given to "the conspicuous
intrepidity, coolness and gallantry" with which a party under Lieutenant
Lawrence had dislodged the enemy from a house near the Canote River.
On August 1st, 1797, Whitelocke had leave
for Europe and Dunlop took command.
1798
On February 2nd, 1798, a Field Return showed
that out of 552 men, 397 were 5 ft. 6 ins. in height, 475 were over 25
years of age, and 499 of seven years service or upwards; figures which
point to a good regiment. Their nationalities were given as 335 English,
62 Scotch, 73 Irish and 42 foreign. Of the officers 7 were English, 19
Scotch, 5 Irish (including Major-General Marsh, the Colonel), and 1 foreign.
Though the headquarters were at Cochin, three companies were stationed
during the greater part of 1798 at Calicut, and there was also a detachment
at Quilon. For some years the numbers of the regiment had been gradually
falling, and on January 1st, 1798 the effective strength of the rank and
file was only 451. But in the following February a large draft of 351 men
was received from the 52nd Foot, and by the end of the year the arrival
of recruits from England had bought up the total to 839.
During 1798 Tippoo was actively engaged
in intrigue with the French. The Earl of Mornington, who was then lately
arrived as Governor-General, determined on vigorous action. As in the previous
war, the main army operating from Madras was to be assisted by a force
from Bombay. For this purpose 6000 men under Lieutenant-General James Stuart
were assembled at Cannamore in February 1799.
1799
The European brigade of three regiments was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel
Dunlop of the 77th, whilst Lieutenant-Colonel Montesor, also of the 77th,
had the right brigade of native troops. The 77th itself was commanded by
Major Spry. Major Laclan Macquarie of the 77th was major of brigade to
the King’s troops. Lieutenants Gray and Archibald Campbell were also serving
as brigade majors.
On February 21st the Bombay army set out from
Cannanore, and for the third time the 77th crossed the Ghauts by the pass
of Poudicherrim to the neighbourhood of Peripatam. On March 1st the
77th, a little under 600 strong, was encamped at Verajunderpett. The nature
of the country, which was everywhere covered with thick jungle, compelled
Stuart to place his army in several divisions, and Montresor’s Brigade
was some miles in advance on the hill of Sedaseer. On the morning of March
5th a reconnoitring party at Sedasser detected a large encampment to be
forming under the fort of Peritapam, where a green tent seemed to be betoken
the presence of the Sultan. Early on the next morning the enemy advanced
through the jungle with such secrecy and expedition that they attacked
Montresor’s position in rear and front almost at the same instant. Directly
Stuart received the intelligence he started with the two flank companies
of the 75th and the whole of the 77th. At about half-past two they came
in sight of the enemy on the west of Sedaseer, and after a smart
fire of musketry for nearly half-an-hour completely routed them. By twenty
minutes past three the attack on the front of Sedaseer was also abandoned,
and Tippoo’s troops retreated in all directions. Montresor, though hard
pressed, had held his position with great gallantry, and was highly commended
by General Stuart, who also praised the spirited conduct of Dunlop and
his brigade.
Tippoo had thought to crush Stuart’s force before the arrival of the
main British Army under General Harris, which consisted of 26,000 European
and native troops, besides the Hyderabad contingent of 16,000 under Colonel
Arthur Wellesley, Harris, after many difficulties, but without much fighting,
arrived before Seringapatam on April 5th. Without delay he opened communication
with Stuart, who, late in the afternoon of the 14th, arrived in the camp.
The provisioning of the army in Mysore was
difficult. Harris therefore determined to push the siege with the utmost
vigour, and selected the north-west angle of the fort for his assault.
On the 16th Stuart’s Division was sent across the Cavery, where it was
posted with its right on the river and its left on the ruins of the Eadgah
Redoubt. A few days later Stuart seized the village of Agrar over against
the fort, whilst on the south of the river the British pushed forward to
the Little Cavery. Batteries were erected at both points, and on the south
side parallels were carried forward by dint of some hard fighting, till
on May 2nd the bombardment of the western face of the north-west angle
began. Early in the cannonade a magazine of rockets in the fort was exploded,
and by the evening of the second day the breach was declared practicable.
General Baird, who had volunteered to
command the assault, formed his troops in two columns, the left under Lieutenant-Colonel
Dunlop included the flank companies of the 77th, the right was under Colonel
Sherbrooke. Each column was led by a sergeant and twelve volunteers, followed
by twenty-five men under a subaltern; Lieutenant Lawrence, senior of his
rank in the 77th was chosen for this service on the left. All through the
morning of May 4th the bombardment of the breach continued, till at one
o’clock Baird drew his sword, with the words, "Men are you ready?", "Yes"
was the answer. "Then forward, my lads," and both parties started for the
breach.
From the trench to the breach was a quarter
of a mile, and the rocky river-bed with water in places waist-deep had
to be crossed, whilst under the fort lay a broad ditch. The stormers were
met by a fierce fire from the enemy, and when Lieutenant Lawrence reached
the top of the glacis he found that the forlorn hope "had formed and commenced
to fire instead of rushing in". Lawrence, though already wounded, "ran
from right to left hurrahing them on, and was at last compelled to run
through the files to the front calling out, ‘Now is the time for the breach.’
" Then they dashed across the ditch and swarmed up the slope so impetuously
that in spite of the delay on the glacis, the British colours were planted
on the summit of the breach within six minutes from the commencement of
the attack. Lawrence fell with a second wound whilst climbing the breach,
and in the fight on the top Dunlop was disabled by a sword-cut. When the
breach was carried Dunlop’s column turned the left and Sherbrooke’s
to the right. The former quickly cleared the north-west bastion, and then
made their way eastward along the northern rampart. Here at a distance
of some three hundred yards their advance was checked by a traverse, which
was defended by a large body of the enemy under Tippoo himself. When, however,
fresh troops had come up, the traverse was carried with a gallantry which
swept the terrified Mysoreans in headlong panic towards the nearest gate.
There in the press of the fight Tippoo was slain unrecognised. Then as
the left column pushed on they raised a mighty shout, when they came in
sight of Sherbrooke’s troops and knew that Seringpatam was won. Yet for
two hours the carnage continued, and it was reckoned the ten thousand of
the enemy perished in the assault.
The total losses of the British in the Siege
of Seringpatam were 300 killed, 1042 wounded and 122 missing. The 77th
had 10 killed 51 wounded and 1 missing. Captain Owen, who commanded one
of the companies, was killed in the breach. Dunlop’s corps was specially
praised by General Harris for the spirit which it had shown. His own regiment
had well earned its first battle honours.
The Bombay Army marched from Seringpatam on
May 13th for the Malabar Coast. There the 77th formed part of the force
under Colonel Sartorius which took possession of the province of Canara.
This was done without any other difficulty than that afforded by a fortress
on the precipitous rock of Jamalabad. Quartermaster John Powell, in the
record of his services, relates that he was present at the "assault
and capture of Jamalabad in September 1799 under Colonel Sartorius, East
India Company Service, as acting sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant
to the four flank companies of the 75th and 77th regiments detached for
the above service under Major Spry of the 77th regiment."
1800
In the spring of 1800 the 77th returned
to Mysore, where there was still much work to be done. Kistnapah Naik,
the Rajah of Bullam, had seized the Soobramy Pass, which led from Canara
to Mysore, and on April 1st defeated a force of sepoys. Colonel Montresor,
with the flank companies of the 77th and other troops, was sent to take
the command, and after a sharp fight captured the Rajah’s stockade at Arakeera
on April 30th. Wellesley wrote that Montresor had given the Rajah a beating
which would make him "believe it is not easy to keep our troops out of
any place they are ordered to enter."
A far more formidable enemy was Doondia Wao,
a freebooter who had been confined by Tippoo at Seringapatam, but escaped
when the town was stormed, and amidst the general confusion established
himself in the district of Bednore in the north-west of Mysore. As early
as July 1799 he had become so mischievous that a force had to be sent to
drive him out. But by the following spring he was again at the head of
a band of robbers, said to number 40,000 men, in the neighbourhood of Dharwa,
and grandiloquently styled himself King of the Two Worlds. In May
Colonel Arthur Wellesley received his first independent command to hunt
down Doondia Wao.
Weelesley assembled his force at Chitaldroog
in the north of Mysore early in June. He had under him the 25th light Dragoons
and the 73rd and 77th Foot, besides a strong body of native troops. The
77th was commanded by Captain Malcolm Macpherson; Whitelocke and Dunlop
were both on leave in Europe, whilst Montresor had been lately promoted
to the 86th, and Spry was in command of a brigade. Advancing by Hurryhur
the British force stormed the fort of Ranee Bednore on June 27th, reached
Savonore on July 12th, and two days later after a long march carried Koondgul
by escalade. But the elusive Doondia avoided an engagement, and Wellesley
had to return to Savonore. The weather was bad, and the loss of cattle
made the commissariat a difficulty, so that Wellesley could only advance
slowly. However, on July 26th he captured a strong fort at Dummul, after
an assault in which Captain Macpherson led one of the attacking parties.
Then, by a rapid march of twenty-six miles on July 30th a large force of
the enemy was surprised at Manoli on the Malpurba River, and routed with
the loss of all their baggage and six guns .The guns had already been got
across the river, and their capture was due to the gallantry of Lieutenants
Fitchett and Jackson of the 73rd and 77th regiments, who with some of their
men swam the river and bought away a boat from under the fort of Manoli.
During August the British, advancing in two
columns, drove Doondia eastwards down the valley of the Malpurba ; but
on the 25th the wily freebooter managed to escape across the river. Wellesley
then determined to pursue Doondia with one column, whilst he headed him
off with another. The second column was under Colonel Stevenson, who on
September 9th got ahead of Doondia at Conagul, where, on the following
morning, Wellesley came upon the robbers with four regiments of cavalry,
scattered them in all directions and slew their leader
1801
At the beginning of 1801 the 77th was in Cotiote,
where it was employed in harassing skirmishes with the rebels in
thickly wooded hill country. Similar service followed in Wynaad, in the
course of which Quartermaster Powell relates that he was severely wounded,
whilst serving with a reconnoitring party under Major Spry. Thence in April
they received orders to proceed to Palamcotah to take part in the Polygar
War.
In the previous February the Polygars
of Madura and Tinnevelly in the extreme south of India broke out in rebellion
at Panjalamcoorchy. A strong force under Major Macaulay suffered a serious
repulse in an attempt to storm that place on March 30th, and had then to
await reinforcements. On May 21st Colonel Agnew arrived with the 77th Foot,
some native troops and six pieces of heavy artillery. After two days bombardment,
on May 24th, two companies of the 74th, two of the 77th, and five of sepoy
grenadiers were sent to the assault. It was only after half-an-hour’s fighting
that they could gain a footing in the breach, and it was not until all
its defenders had been killed with hand-grenades that the main body of
the enemy gave way. In this stubborn fight the 77th lost two officers and
51 men.
After the capture of Panjalamcoorchy Agnew sent a force
to occupy Tuticorin, and himself marched north to Trippawannum. Thence,
after sending his artillery to Madura, he made a difficult march with constant
fighting in a network of jungle and watercourses to Ramnad on the coast.
There on June 14th, news of a fresh outbreak in the north recalled him
to Madura. On July 22nd he started on another difficult march through Ookoor
to Sherewele or Serruvial. Five miles south of Sherewele, but separated
from it by some of the densest jungle in the Carnatic, lay the rebels’
chief stronghold in the fort of Caliarcoil, or Kauliar Kovil. Two thousand
men were collected to cut a road through the forest, but after a month
of incessant toil and constant fighting the British were still a mile from
the fort. The woodcutters had grown weary and the troops were decimated
by dysentery, so on September 2nd Agnew gave up the attempt and returned
to Ookoor.
At the end of the month Agnew learnt of a
hitherto unknown path. Which branched off the road cut through the jungle.
On the night of September 30th Lieutenant-Colonel Spry, with the 77th and
a battalion of sepoys was sent off by this path. On the following
morning Agnew himself started by a more northerly road through Mootoor,
whilst Colonel Innes with a third column operated from Sholapooram.
The plan was crowned with success, Innes alone met with serious resistance,
and Spry captured Caliarcoil early in the morning of October 1st.
It was some months before the rebellion in
Madura was completely suppressed. But the 77th, which had suffered severely
was sent back almost at once to Trichinopoly. Spry reported that the regiment
needed rest, and was not fit for further service. Nevertheless, Wellesley,
much against his will, found himself compelled to use it for an expedition
against the same Rajah of Bullam whom Montresor had defeated two years
before. Wellesley marched from Seringapatam on January 5th. 1802 and eleven
days later Spry, under his orders, took Arakeera by assault.
1802
It was then proposed to send the 77th to Goa,
where it was likely that there would soon be need for their services. Wellesley
strongly dissented : "It is better that the 77th should remain at Mangalore.
They went into the field in the beginning of 1799, and I may say that they
have been in camp ever since and have been more harassed than any regiment
in the service." He added that the regiment had not more than 350 men
fit for duty, and the rest was absolutely necessary. Wellesley’s opinion
prevailed, and at the beginning of February the regiment went down to Mangalore.
This bought the serious war service of the 77th in India to a close. It
had, indeed, well earned its rest, and the double battle honours of
"MYSORE" and "SERINGAPATM" now bourne on the colours of the
Middlesex Regiment.
1802-3
At Mangalore the 77th remained under
Spry’s command until July 1803. Whitelocke, though back in India, was otherwise
employed in charge of the station at Chitadroog. From November 1802 to
June 1803 a large part of the regiment was employed in an arduous campaign
in Cotiote and the Wynaad, as part of a force operating under the command
of Colonel Montresor, (now of the 80th Foot). The rebel Nairs were finally
driven into the mountains and their villages destroyed.
1803-5
In July 1803 the 77th had orders to join the
army which was being assembled under Colonel Wellesley. But they were finally
sent to garrison Goa and so missed taking part in the campaign of Assaye.
In May 1805, when Whitelocke had resumed the command, the regiment returned
to Bombay. The only other fact to be recorded is the death in 1804 of the
first Colonel, General Marsh, who was succeeded by General Albermarle Bertie.
1803-5
At Bombay the 77th remained until February
1807, when it was preparing to return to England. During the previous month
370 men had been drafted off as volunteers to other regiments, and only
15 officers, 39 non-commissioned officers, 14 drummers and 108 privates
embarked on board the Earl of St. Vincent at the end of the month. Fourteen
men were left behind at Bombay waiting an opportunity to embark. Even thus
the ship was so crowded that on reaching Point de Galle in Ceylon on March
25th, another twenty had to be put ashore and sent back to Bombay. The
voyage home took over six months, and when the regiment landed in England
on September 14th, 1807, it had been absent nearly twenty years. A London
paper of the time thus records its return-
" With the last India Fleet came home the precious remains of that
fine corps, the 77th Regiment. Upwards of nineteen years ago they went
out to India a young regiment, but they greatly distinguished themselves
there, there being hardly an affair of consequence in which this very fine
regiment was not engaged."
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