HIS EXCELLENCY LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR HARRY GEORGE WAKELYN SMITH, BART., G. C.B., GOVERNOR-GENERAL, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, AND HIGH COMMISSIONER OF THE CAPE OF GOOD-HOPE, &c., &c., &c. 66 "Buenos SIR HARRY SMITH entered the 95th, now Rifle Brigade, in March, 1805. Was Adjutant at the "Siege, Storm, and Capture of Monte Video," and was thanked by the Commander-in-Chief Sir S. Auchmuty, for his intrepidity. Was in the affair of "Coloniodel Sacramento," under Sir Dennis (then Colonel) Pack. Was taken prisoner at Ayres," in the Church of San Domingo, with Gen. Craufurd. Proceeded with the army to Sweden, under Sir John Moore, and with that army to Portugal. Was distinguished in the affair of "Calcavellos," on the retreat to Corunna. In 1809, again embarked for Portugal, with the Light Brigade, under Gen. Craufurd, and reached "Talavera" the morning the enemy retired behind the Alverca, and was sharply engaged skirmishing. Was particularly employed by Gen. Craufurd, in the Light Division, during the French Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, and in the various skirmishes of that period. At the affair of the "Coa". severely wounded, and much commended for his conduct at the moment. Was present in Massena's retreat; in every affair of Posts; "Pombala;" "Redinha;" "Casal Nova;" "Condesoa;" "Foz d'Aruz," where he was appointed Major of Brigade to the 2nd Light Brigade, and served in that capacity, until the end of the war, in the Light Division; "Sabugal;" battle of "Fuentos d'Onoro;" "Siege, Storm, and Capture of Ciudad Rodrigo;" "Siege, Storm, and Capture of Badajos;" battle of "Salamanca;" retreat from Madrid; affair at "San Millan ;" battle of "Vittoria ;" pursuit of the enemy after the battle of "Pamplona;" distinguished in storming the heights of "Vera ;" also, on 'Neville," the storm of the intrenched camp of "Irun;" "Crossing the Bidussoa ;" battles of " "Nive;" affairs near" Bayonne," "Torbes :" battles of "Orthes" and "Toulouse." In 1814 embarked in the Garonne with the troops under Major-General Ross. Appointed Deputy AdjutantGeneral, "Battle of Bladensburg" and capture of "Washington." The bearer of despatches to government, and highly commended by Major-General Ross. Was promoted to the rank of Major. Returned to America with Major-General the Hon. Sir E. Pakenham. As Assistant Adjutant-General "New Orleans," and appointed Military was most actively employed during the various affairs at Secretary to Sir John Lambert, in whose despatches his conduct was particularly brought to notice. Siege and capture of "Fort Boyer." On the conclusion of peace with America, returned to Europe. Was Assistant Quarter-Master-General of the 6th Division in the "Battle of Waterloo," and for his conduct promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and also received the honorary distinction of C.B. During the army of occupation was Major-de-Place of Cambray. Upon the withdrawal of the OLD SERIES.] 2 D [No. 5.-VOL. XXVII, army of occupation, he joined his regiment, and took the command of his company at Thorncliffe ; subsequently marched the regiment to Gosport in 1819, during the radical period in Glasgow and the large manufacturing towns in England. The Rifle Brigade, in October, were all out at target practice, four miles distant from their quarters. The recall was sounded, and in four hours the whole regiment was embarked on board the "Liffy" frigate and "Hind" sloop of war. On the evening of that day the men of war were under weigh for Leith roads; thus showing that the habits of the long and glorious struggles of our country had perpetuated the energies of our soldiers and sailors. The Rifle Brigade, on landing at Leith, immediately marched to Glasgow. He was much employed by Lieutenant-General Sir Thos. Bradford, Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, and the Lord Advocate, in the command of night patrols, and domiciliary visits to the adjacent towns and villages; and, for his activity in this most laborious, harassing, and distressing duty-this "bellum in pace" in aid of the civil power, great judgment and discretion were required; and for his conduct he was appointed Major of Brigade in the western district, which was given, under Sir T. Bradford, to the command of Major-General Sir J. Reynolds. Quiet being in some degree established, the General Officer in command of the western district in Scotland was discontinued, but the Major of Brigade was maintained. He acted on his own responsibility on all occasions of riot or apprehension of disturbance, reporting to the Commander of the Forces alone in Scotland-a very peculiar position for a Staff Officer to be placed in; and, to his credit, it is recorded that he never had a controversial corresdence, or any disagreement whatever, with the various officers in command of corps during the five years he was thus employed. In 1823, during the royal visit of George IV. to Edinburgh, Sir T. Bradford directed him to proceed to Dalkeith to organize the duties over His Majesty's person and palace, and to receive orders daily from the Lord in Waiting. The procession of His Majesty's landing visit to Holyrood House was given under the conduct of this Officer; and so gratified was His Majesty on the day of leaving Dalkeith Palace, that Colonel Smith was sent for and personally received His Majesty's thanks and marked approbation for the zeal, attention, and exertion displayed. The appointment of Major of Brigade, in the west of Scotland, was discontinued in 1825, and Lieutenant-Colonel Smith prepared to join his regiment at Belfast. He received the marked encomiums of Sir T. Bradford, the Commander of the Forces; and the Lord Provost and Council of Glasgow presented him with the freedom of the city, and the grateful thanks of the inhabitants, for the zeal, temper, and activity with which he had acted, in aid of the Civil Power, for the maintenance of tranquillity on many most violent and riotous ebullitions of the populace. This officer joined his regiment at Belfast, in the beginning of 1826, and was sent to command a detachment of three corps at Downpatrick, until the corps embarked for Nova Scotia. While at Halifax, Lieutenant-Colonel Smith accepted an unattached Majority, on the half-pay; was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Nova Scotia. In 1828 was appointed Deputy Quarter-Master General at Jamaica. On his arrival Lord Keane administered the government, and Lieutenant-Colonel Smith was the senior officer of the troops. In this double position Lord Keane directed his attention to the amelioration of many of the military branches, especially to the barrack accommodation, bedding, &c., all of which were greatly improved; and His Grace the Duke of Wellington expressed his approbation of the measures and the exertion of Colonel Smith. While in this position, one of those awful visitations of yellow fever attacked the troops in Jamaica, and principally out of the detachment of artillery and two newly arrived regiments-the 22nd and 84th, six companies each— swept off 22 officers and 668 soldiers in less than three months. On this melancholy occasion, Lord Keane was highly gratified with the exertions made, by placing the assailed regiments in camp, and by the adoption of every measure tending to counteract the daily fatality. In the autumn of 1828, Lieutenant-Colonel Smith was removed as Deputy Quarter-Master General for Jamaica, and appointed Deputy Quarter-Master General at the Cape. He embarked in two days for England; remained three weeks in his native country, and then sailed for the Cape. He had an important command on the frontier of the Cape of Good Hope, during the Kafir irruption into the colony in 1835-6, and was highly commended for his conduct by the Governor, Sir B. D'Urban. He was also thanked by the inhabitants of the colony at large, and subsequently by the Minister for the Colonies, Lord Glenelg, as deserving the "grateful acknowledgments of Her Majesty's Government, not only for his military services, but for his zealous, humane, and enlightened administration of the civil government of the province placed under his charge." When ordered to take the command of the frontier of the Cape of Good Hope, he rode from Cape Town to Graham Town, a distance of 600 miles, in six days; performing each day's journey at the rate of fourteen miles an hour. In 1840 he was appointed Adjutant-General to Her Majesty's forces in India. In 1843, at the "Battle of Maharajpore," 29th December, near Gwalior. Was Adjutant-General of Her Majesty's army in India, and second in command in the field on that memorable day. Thanked in the public dispatches, and the honorary distinction of Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath conferred upon him for his general services, During these eventful services he was on the Staff of Major-General Sir Sidney Beckwith, K.C.B. Major-General Drummond Major-General Skerritt Lieutenant-General Sir J. Vandeleur, K.C.B. Major-General the Hon. Sir E. Pakenham, K.C.B. Lieutenant-General the Right Hon. Sir. J. Kempt, Lieutenant-General Lord Keane, G.C.B. Lieutenant-General Sir B. D'Urban, G.C.B. Major-General Sir George Napier, K.C.B. The distinguished part taken by Sir Harry Smith in the memorable engagements on the banks of the Sutlej, in the campaign of 1845-6, gained for him the creation of a baronetcy, with the honorary distinction of a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, and the appointment to serve as Major-General on the staff in India. Those glorious struggles against a powerful and well-disciplined, but unprincipled enemy, whose decisive overthrow arrested the progress of invasion on our Indian empire, were hailed in England by a national outbreak of joy, as the despatches of their details arrived in rapid succession; and have for ever enrolled the honoured names of Hardinge, Gough, and Smith on the proud page of our country's history, among the most distinguished promoters of its truest glory, in their having maintained, by their united efforts of indomitable bravery in the field, the stability of our Indian empire, and, by wise counsels and improvement of the advantages gained by the sword, the progress of that great and good work of Christian civilization which ought ever to follow the standard of our victories. BATTLE OF ALIWAL. However distinguished Sir Harry Smith may have been by the value of his sterling services in various parts of the world, and through a period of no less than forty-two years, it was on the field of Aliwal that he displayed those pre-eminent military talents as a commander that will for ever associate his name with the signal victory so gallantly and gloriously obtained on that locality, over a cruel and presumptuous invader; a triumph of heroism and honour over barbarism and treachery, which not only awakens the remembrance of the gallant deeds of our countrymen in modern times, but recalls to our minds the chivalrous days, never to be forgotten, of Cressy, Poictiers, and Agincourt, and only finds its true parallel in the heroic struggle on the classic plains of Marathon. We shall, accordingly, confine the attention of our readers, on the present occasion, to Sir Harry Smith's own despatches of that engagement, and to the public sentiments expressed in Parliament by the Duke of Wellington* as Commander-in-Chief) in the House of Lords, and by Sir Robert Peel (as Prime Minister of Eng(land) in the House of Commons. Copy of a Pencil Express, written on the Field of Battle, by Sir Harry Smith, to the Commander-in-Chief. "Bank of the Sutlej, 28th January. "Hearing the enemy had received a reinforcement yesterday of twelve guns, and 4,000 men last night, I moved my troops at daylight this morning to attack.. I think I have taken every gun he had, and driven him over the river. My guns are now battering him from the opposite bank. He came out to fight me. I expect fifty guns are on the field at least. My loss I hope not great. The cavalry * At the late installation of Prince Albert as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, a circumstance occurred which is too striking to omit. The Duke of Wellington and Sir Harry Smith were standing together on the platform when the Queen, amidst the cheers of the spectators, had taken her departure. Three enthusiastic cheers were then given for "The Duke," and afterwards three for "Sir Harry," and a shout followed that rent the air. His Grace, evidently much gratified at this demonstration of public feeling, instantly took Sir Harry's hands in his, bowed to the multitude as returning thanks for him, and presenting him as one worthy of their applause. Who can wonder that at this moment, overcome by feelings which can alone be understood, the Hero of Aliwal was deeply affected? charged several times, both black and white, like soldiers-and infantry, vied with each other in bravery. To the God of Victory we are all indebted. God bless you, dear Sir Hugh. My Staff a right-Mackeson and Cunningham, of the Political Department, bore heavily on some villages. The enemy required all I could do with such brave fellows to teach him to swim. (Signed) "H. G. SMITH, Major-General.” Major-General Sir Harry Smith, K.C.B., to the Adjutant-General of the Army. "Camp, Field of the Battle of Aliwal, Jan. 30, 1846. "SIR, My despatches to his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, of the 23rd instant [No received by the Secret Committee] will have put his Excellency in possession of the position of the force under my command, after having formed a junction with the troops at Loodiana, hemmed in by a formidable body of the Sikh army under Runjoor Singh and the Rajah of Ladwa. The enemy strongly entrenched himself around the little fort of Budhowal by breast-works and abattis,' which he precipitately abandoned on the night of the 22nd instant (retiring, as it were, upon the ford of Tulwun), having ordered all the boats which were opposite Philour to that Ghat. This movement he effected during the night, and, by making a considerable detour, placed himself at a distance of ten miles, and consequently out of my reach. I could, therefore, only push forward my cavalry so soon as I had ascertained he had marched during the night, and I occupied immediately his vacated position. It appeared subsequently he had no intention of recrossing the Sutlej, but moved down to the Ghat of Tulwun (being cut off from that of Philour, by the position my force occupied after its relief of Loodiana), for the purpose of protecting the passage of a very considerable reinforcement of twelve guns and 4,000 of the regular, or 'Aieen' troops, called Avitabile's battalion, entrenching himself strongly in a semicircle, his flanks resting on a river, his position covered with from forty to fifty guns (generally of large calibre), howitzers, and mortars. The reinforcement crossed during the night of the 27th instant, and encamped to the right of the main army. Meanwhile, his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, with that foresight and judgment which mark the able general, had reinforced me by a considerable addition to my cavalry, some guns, and the 2nd brigade of my own division, under Brigadier Wheeler, C.B. This reinforcement reached me on the 26th, and I had intended the next morning to move upon the enemy in his entrenchments, but the troops required one day's rest after the long marches Brigadier Wheeler had made. "I have now the honour to lay before you the operations of my united forces on the morning of the eventful 28th January, for his Excellency's information. The body of troops under my command having been increased, it became necessary so to organize and brigade them as to render them manageable in action. The cavalry under the command of Brigadier Cureton, and horse artillery under Major Lawrenson, were put into two brigades; the one under Brigadier MacDowell, C.B., and the other under Brigadier Stedman. The 1st division as it stood, two brigades :-Her Majesty's 53rd and 30th Native Infantry, under Brigadier Wilson, of the latter corps; the 36th Native Infantry, and Nusseree battalion, under Brigadier Godby; and the Shekawattee brigade under Major Forster. The Sirmoor battalion I attached to Brigadier Wheeler's brigade of the 1st division; the 42nd Native Infantry having been left at head quarters. "At daylight on the 28th, my order of advance was-the cavalry in front, in contiguous columns of squadrons of regiments, two troops of horse artillery in the interval of brigades; the infantry in con. tiguous columns of brigades at intervals of deploying distance; artillery in the intervals, followed by two 8-inch howitzers on travelling carriages, brought into the field from the fort of Loodiana, by the indefatigable exertions of Lieutenant-Colonel Lane, Horse Artillery; Brigadier Godby's brigade, which I had marched out from Loodiana the previous evening, on the right; the Shekawattee infantry on the left; the 4th Irregular Cavalry considerably to the right, for the purpose of sweeping the banks of the wet nullah on my right, and preventing any of the enemy's horse attempting an inroad towards Loodiana, or any attempt upon the baggage assembled round the fort of Budhowal. "In this order the troops moved forward towards the enemy, a distance of six miles, the advance conducted by Captain Waugh, 16th Lancers, the Deputy Assistant Quarter-Master of Cavalry, Major Bradford of the 1st Cavalry, and Lieutenant Strachey of the Engineers, who had been jointly employed in the conduct of patrols up to the enemy's position, and for the purpose of reporting upon the facility and point of approach. Previously to the march of the troops it had been intimated to me, by Major Mackeson, that the information by spies led to the belief the enemy would move somewhere at daylight, either on Jugraon, my position of Budhowal, or Loodiana. On a near approach to his outposts, this rumour was confirmed by a spy, who had just left the camp, saying the Sikh army was |