J8cboes of Tbe )Past

J R Army Med Corps: first published as 10.1136/jramc-57-02-08 on 1 August 1931. Downloaded from 134 J8cboes of tbe )past. EVENTS IN INDIA, 1857-1858. By LIEUTENANT-COLONEL G. A. KEMPTHORNE, D.S.O., Royal Army Medical Oorp8. THE PERSIAN WAR. THE honours, Reshire, Bushire, Koosh-ab, borne on the colours of the Durham Light Infantry, commemorate the part taken by their 2nd Battalion, formerly the Company's 2nd Bombay Europeans, in the Persian War. The remaining British regiments which participated were the 14th Hussars, the 64th (1st North Staffords) and the 78th (2nd Sea forth Highlanders). The exciting cause was the refusal of the Persians to evacuate Herat, and the ,first objective was Bushire in the Persian Gulf, which was occupied- by a force sent from Bombay after some resistance on December 10. Major General .Tames Outram having arrived with more troops, an expedition to the mouth of the Euphrates followed, and a detachment, ascending the river in three steamers, ,defeated the enemy at Ahwaz. There were several Protected by copyright. minor engagements, in some of which a spirited resistance, was offered, bllt our battle casualties were few. The main feature of the campaign was the cold, drenching rain and the mud, which literally tore the boots off the men's feet. That the sick-rate was a low one was much to the credit of Outram, who devoted infinite care to his men's well-being. The depressing _ conditions may have contributed to the suicide of the second ill command and the naval commodore, which occurred within a few days of each other. Surgeon M. 8tovell, of the Company's Service, was superintending surgeon; a field hospital accompanied the force, which had also its full regimental, medical establishmeuta 'and regimental hospitals. 'rhe greater part of the troops returned to India in April, where more serious work awaited them. http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/ THE INDIAN MUTINY. The indiscipline of the native troops of the Bengal army, which for some years had been steadily increasing, culmina.ted on Sunday, May 10, 1857, in a rising of the Indian regiments of the Meerut garrison. Though there were British troops in the station, the mutineers, who were joined by the disorderly element in the bazaar, were. permitted, after sacking and burning the European bungalows in their lines and murdering many of their occupants, to march unmolested to Delhi .. At that station, which was held by an Indian brigade, the regiments joined the sepoys from )\!leerut, on October 2, 2021 by guest. , massacred most of the Europeans in the civil station, and, having shot several of their officers, occupied the city. The survivors escaped to Meerut or Karnal. Outbreaks quickly followed in other stations, where officers and civilians with their wives and families were either murdered, closely besieged, or became fugitives on the countryside. Among the early victims J R Army Med Corps: first published as 10.1136/jramc-57-02-08 on 1 August 1931. Downloaded from G. A. Kempthorne 135 of the Mutiny were a number of officers of the Bengal Medical Department who were either killed outright or lost their lives in trying to reach the nearest British garrison.- rrhe British troops, of which there were nominally 38,000 in the East Indies, were at this time widely dispersed. Some were 'still in F~rsia, three battalions on the Bengal establishment were in Burma, four, with the bulk of the European artillery, were in the Punjab, three in the Simla hills, and one in Oude. There was no scheme drawn up for a general mobilization. The contractors on whom the Army depended for transport and supply were, in the general disturbance, not forthcoming. Medical organization, like that of the Army generally, was on regimental lines, and neither stores nor doolies could be produced off~hand to provide even for the small force which was hurriedly collected round Ambala. The M edical Departments of the three Presidencies were administered by their Medical Boards. The system was already recognized as unsatisfactory, and, six months later, the Boards were replaced by Directorates. Meanwhile, Dr. Edmund Tritton, one of the Calcutta Board, assumed the duties of Superintending Surgeon to the column, assembled under General Anson, the Commander-in-Chief in Bengal. Protected by copyright. The main centres to be dealt with were three: Delhi, Cawnpore, where 150 British soldiers with the civilians of tbe station were besieged in tbeir cantonment, and Lucknow, the capital of Oude, where the 1:32nd, some gunners, and a few loyal native troops held out under Sir Henry Lawrence, the Commissioner. Of these, Delhi, as the centre of the rebellion, and the seat of the former Mogbaldynasty, whose representative the rebels bad made their nominal leader, was considered of supreme importance. DELHI. General Anson, who was in Simla when he received the news of the events at Meerut, ordered the 75tb (1st Gordons) from Kasauli to Ambala, http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/ where there were already the 9th La,ncers and some of the Bengal Horse Artillery. The Sirmur Batta,lion of Gurkhas waR sent to join the Carabiniers and 60th at Meerut. The 1st Bengal Fusiliers (Munsters) were also brought up, arriving on elephants, with neither tents nor luggage. He himself arrived at Ambala on May 15, and led out the troops, including in the column the 60th Native Infantry. This corps was a few days later dis carded as disloyal. On the following day he reached Karnal; where he died of cholera, introduced by the regiments marching down from the hills. Sir Henry Barnard then took command, and, marching on the 27th, reacbed on October 2, 2021 by guest. Alipur on June 7, where .he was joined by the Meerut troops and Hodson's 1 These included Dr. Christie, 3rd Cavalry, Meerut, May 10; Surgeon Smith; of the Invalid Establishment, May 10; Assistant Surgeon A. Dopping (54th N.I.), Delhi, May 11; H. H. Bowling, Shahjehan,pur ; J. M. Hay, Civil Surgeon, and G. Hansbrow, Superintendent of the gaol at Bareilly, both hung after.a form of trial, May 31; IN. B.McEgan and wife (12th N.I.), Jhansi, June 8; Superintendent Surgeon K. W. Kirke, Gwalior, June 14. J R Army Med Corps: first published as 10.1136/jramc-57-02-08 on 1 August 1931. Downloaded from 136 Events in India, 1857-1858 Horse under Brigadier Archdale Wilson. Here also there arrived a light siege train and the Sirmur Gurkhas, bringing the number of fighting men up to about 15,500, with 22 field guns. The Gurkha was a far less familiar figure on the plains of India than he has since become. Writing of another detachment, their medical officer expressed a poor opinion of their probable value in the field. "They suffer much from the heat, as much as we do. They march with umbrellas and often with fans. They have no notion of keeping together, and are the dirtiest set I ever saw in my life. They eat ravenously and their food is uncooked, or nearly so. ' fJ.'hey take no care or notice of their sick." There had been many casualties from the heat, The British marched in their shirt sleeves with a white cover and curtain over their forage caps, Protected by copyright. l.( n f iZ .b "- L oJaba (if; http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/ Haidarabad o which afforded but poor protection from the sun. On June 8 Barnard engaged the mutineers in a strong position at Badli-ki-Serai; and drove them into Delhi at' a cost of 182 casualties. The force then occupied the ruined cantonment on the Ridge. fJ.'here was no question of a siege. The city was seven miles in circumference, and for the next two months the . small body of troops was fully engaged in holding its own against constant on October 2, 2021 by guest. attacks. In the sweltering heat the men had no other shelter than their bell tents, but two or three bungalows which had escaped destruction were available for the worst of the sick and wounded. Speaking of the medical arrangements, Lord Roberts, in " Forty One Years in India," wrote: "The Delhi Force was fortunate in its medical officers. Some of the best in the J R Army Med Corps: first published as 10.1136/jramc-57-02-08 on 1 August 1931. Downloaded from G. A. Kempthorne ·137' Army were attached to it, and all ~hat was possible to be done for the sick and wounded was done, but the poor fellows had a bad time of it. Those who could bear the journey were sent away to Meerut and Ambala,'but, even so, with the relief thus afforded, the hospitals were terribly over crowded. Anresthetics were freely used, but antiseptics were practically unknown, consequently many of the wounded died, and few amputation cases survived." Barrack construction in the plains was at the time sWl in its infancy. The Indian troops built their own lines; the regimental hospitals were mainly thatched barrack huts with a mud floor hardened with cow dung, For some years, however, so-called sanatoria had existed at various places in the hills, such as Kasauli and Landour, and to these some of the more transportable cases found their way. Station hospitals there were none. On June 27 the rains broke, and there was a great access of cholera cases. On July 5 Sir Henry Barnard was attacked, and died within a few hours. The flies swarmed. Roberts, as a D.Q.M.G., was responsible for camp conservancy, and the disposal of the bodies of dead transport animals he found an almost impossible task.

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