1818 1819 Here the four companies, which left head-quarters in May, rejoined the regiment. Leaving Amulneir on the 4th of December, the SIXTYSEVENTH proceeded to Malligaum, where the battalion arrived on the 14th of that month. The SIXTY-SEVENTH marched for Amulneir, with the force under the command of Colonel Huskinson, on the 25th of February, 1819. On the 3rd of March eight companies of the regiment, under Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell,* proceeded to Asseerghur, and joined the force under Brigadier-General Doveton, before the fortress of Asseerghur,† which, on account of its strength, has been designated the "Gibraltar of the East." The fortress of Asseerghur, which had been held by one of Scindiah's refractory chiefs, is situated on a detached hill between the rivers Nerbudda and Tapty: it consists of an upper and lower fort; the upper one is of an irregular form, about 1100 yards from east to west, and about 600 from north to south; it crowns the top of the hill, which is about 750 feet in height; a perpendicular precipice from 80 to 120 feet, surmounted with a low wall full of loopholes, surrounds it, with the exception of one place, which is strongly fortified. Below are two lines of works, the outer one forming the lower fort, which rises directly above the Pettah,‡ and the entrance to which is protected by strong gateways and flanking works. Immense labour and great skill had been employed to render this naturally strong post almost im *Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell died at Asseerghur, on the 5th of April, 1819. Named after its founder Assa, a celebrated Hindu zemindar, or landholder, of the Aheer tribe, which has been corrupted from Assa Aheer, to Asseer. Pettah, the suburbs of a fortified town. pregnable; and at the siege of which the SIXTY-SEVENTH 1819 regiment was present. The Hyderabad division was encamped at Neembolah, about seven miles from Asseerghur, and negotiations having failed, about twelve o'clock on the night of the 17th of March five companies of the Royal Scots (First regiment of foot) with the flank companies of the Thirtieth, SIXTY-SEVENTH, and Madras European regiment, five companies of native infantry, and a detachment of sappers and miners, the whole commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Fraser, of the Royal Scots, and a reserve commanded by Major Dalrymple, of the Thirtieth, assembled at the camp for the attack of the pettah of Asseer; another party was also directed to co-operate in this service from BrigadierGeneral Sir John Malcolm's division. The column commenced its march between one and two o'clock, advancing up the bed of a deep nullah, or small river, nearly dry at the time; the assaulting party arrived unobserved within five hundred yards of the pettah, then rushed upon the gate with the greatest ardour and steadiness, the Royal Scots leading the way. The enemy was surprised, and, after discharging a few rounds of grape, retired. The head of the attacking column forced the gate, and proceeding up the main street, encountered an advanced piquet of the enemy, which retired to the lower fort, firing occasionally at the head of the column. Major Charles MacLeod, of the East India Company's service, Deputy-Quartermaster-General, acted as guide on the occasion; by his direction the leading files of the Royal Scots pursued the enemy close under the walls of the fortress, from whence an incessant fire of artillery and matchlocks was kept up; a few ill-directed rockets were also discharged. 1819 The leading sections of the Royal Scots, which had pursued the enemy up the hill, were joined by one or two files of the Thirtieth and SIXTY-SEVENTH regiments, the whole amounting to about 25 or 30 men. As soon as the enemy saw the small force before which he had so precipitately fled, he immediately rallied, and came shouting down the hill with augmented numbers to attack this small party, but was repulsed by a spirited charge with the bayonet, which, with a few rounds of musketry, obliged him to retreat within the works, some of which were within about fifty yards of this handful of men, leaving the Chief, who was shot in the melée, and several men on the field. The pettah of Asseerghur was thus captured on the morning of the 18th of March, with trifling loss; but on the evening of the following day a desperate sally was made by a part of the garrison on the advanced post of the troops in the pettah, on which occasion LieutenantColonel Fraser, of the Royal Scots, was unfortunately killed, while gallantly rallying the party under his command, and keeping the advance in their position. The enemy was, however, immediately driven back, and compelled to retire into the fort. During the progress of constructing new batteries on elevated and commanding situations, the dragging of ordnance into many of them was performed by the European soldiers, who literally worked like horses; during the whole of the time they were annoyed by a constant fire of matchlocks from the walls of the upper fort (the lower fort had been taken possession of on the 30th of March, by part of Brigadier-General Sir John Malcolm's division), but which was too distant to prevent the execution of this Herculean labour, which was performed with that ardour and cheerfulness so characteristic of British 1819 soldiers, when necessity demands from them any extraordinary exertions. On the 31st of March, part of the Bengal army, consisting of 2200 native troops, with 22 pieces of heavy ordnance, commanded by Brigadier-General Watson, joined the besieging force; and these guns were soon placed in battery, and opened on the fort. The storm of war now raged furiously round Asseerghur, and a breach was soon effected in the outer wall at the only assailable part of the fort; at the same time two batteries were directed against the inner wall. This unremitting fire was continued until the 6th of April, when the garrison forced the Killedar to sue for terms, namely, "liberty "to preserve their arms, and to depart with their personal property." 66 These conditions were refused, and hostilities recommenced; the Killedar, however, accepted the terms offered on the 8th, and agreed to surrender the fort on the morning of the 9th, when the firing ceased; but as he stated that he could not answer for the garrison, the control of which he had lost, preparations were made for renewing operations in case of refusal. The garrison surrendered unconditionally on the 9th of April, and five hundred men of the SIXTY-SEVENTH, under the command of Major Benjafield, with the 7th Madras light cavalry, and the second battalion of the 13th Madras native infantry, took possession of the fortress, on the garrison marching out and laying down their arms on the public parade. The following was the return of ordnance, &c. taken in the fortress of Asseerghur by the troops under the command of Brigadier-General Doveton. Brass and iron ordnance, 128; about 36,000 stone and iron shot, of 1819 different sizes; two hundredweight of gunpowder; 2000 wall-pieces, of different sizes; and about four hundredweight of grape-shot. During the siege the SIXTY-SEVENTH had Lieutenants J. Adair and John Hannah severely wounded; Lieutenant Adair* was twice severely wounded by matchlock balls in the left arm and right side, on the 19th of March, in repulsing the sortie of the garrison of Asseerghur :— one serjeant, one drummer, and eleven rank and file were wounded. Major Owen, who commanded the flank companies of His Majesty's SIXTY-SEVENTH regiment, was particularly mentioned in Orders by Brigadier-General Doveton, who also reported that "the fall of Asseer leaves to the "Brigadier-General only the pleasing task of recording his sense of the merits and exertions of the officers and troops, "and of bringing them to the notice of superior authority, "where they can alone be fully and properly appreciated. "To the means placed at the Brigadier-General's disposal, by the rapid advance of the division under the "personal command of Brigadier-General Sir John “Malcolm, K.C.B., as well as of the troops from the "Nerbudda field force and from Saugur, under the "personal command of Brigadier-General Watson, C.B., "to the science and skill of the engineer and artillery branches, and finally to the distinguished gallantry and 'persevering exertions of the whole of the officers and "troops whom the Brigadier-General has the honor to "command, are principally to be attributed the fall of so stupendous a fortress in eleven days from the opening "of the trenches. 66 66 66 "He requests also that Lieutenant-Colonels Mac "Dowell, Dewar, Ewart (Lieut.-Colonel of the SIXTY * Now major in the regiment. |