Bengal Horse Artillery

Chronology

• 1800 raised as the Experimental Brigade of Bengal Horse Artillery
• 1809 2nd and 3rd Troops of Bengal Horse Artillery formed
• 1817 first three Native Troops formed
• 1826 reorganisation of Bengal Horse Artillery into Brigades
• 1861 absorbed into the Royal Artillery

• This link briefly mentions the formation in 1800 of an “experimental brigade” Archive.org
• Ian Patterson’s webpage Artillery Regiments says a troop of the Bengal Horse Artillery was first formed in 1800 to accompany the expedition to Egypt later that year. Between 1801 and 1817 the Troop saw active service in Egypt, the Mahratta war, the Gurkha War and finally the Siege of Hathras. After fighting the first Burma war from 1824-26, the Troop found itself involved in the famous retreat from Khabul (1842) during the Afghan campaign. It was during this retreat that all the guns were lost, mainly due to lack of feed for the horses, which rendered them unable to drag the guns of the Battery through the deep snow and rugged mountain passes. One by one the guns were spiked and abandoned. The Captain, two officers and 102 NCO's and men were killed in the retreat, with in one case an entire gun crew perishing rather than desert their charge! It is now part of F Battery (Sphinx) Royal Horse Artillery. This link is about a book called Sketch of the History of 'F' Battery Royal Horse Artillery
• Another battery was formed as 3rd Troop (later renamed 1st Troop) around 1809. It is now part of L(Néry) Battery L (Néry) OCA
• 2nd Troop Bengal Horse Artillery was formed on the 4th of August 1809 in Acra,(Agra?) India, with the majority of the other ranks being British. This fact and that the Battery were all mounted to ensure greater manoeuvrability, was unusual during this period. It is now part of K (Hondeghem) Battery Royal Horse Artillery. From Ian Patterson’s webpage Artillery Regiments
• The Bengal Rocket Troop was raised on 13 September 1816 as a camel mounted unit under the command of Captain (later General) William Samsen Whish. The troop carried a total of 912 six pound rockets, either in buckets on camels, or horse drawn trolleys. It switched back to horses in 1817. It was re-titled 2nd Troop, 2nd Brigade Bengal Horse Artillery in 1826 Wikipedia

Books

• The Bengal Horse Artillery, 1800-1861 : the 'Red Men' - A Nineteenth Century Corps d'Elite by Basil Perronet Hughes 1971. Available at the British Library and Snippet View Google Books which perhaps some readers can access.

• The Second Maratha Campaign, 1804-1805 : Diary of James Young, Officer, Bengal Horse Artillery, and twice sheriff of Calcutta Published 1990 New Delhi. Available at the British Library and Snippet View Google Books which perhaps some readers can access. A more recent edition has been published by Leonaur Press under the title Galloping Guns, described in this link. More details No Preview Google Books

• From Recruit to Staff Sergeant, by Nathaniel Washington Bancroft published 1885, which is reviewed in this Limited View Google Books link. A 1979 reprint of this book is available at the British Library. It includes his experiences in the Sikh Wars of 1845-1846 and 1848-1849 with the Bengal Horse Artillery. This book is published by Leonaur Press under the title Bancroft of the Bengal Horse Artillery, described in this link. More details No Preview Google Books