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==Recruitment and conditions==
According to statistical analysis of the Depot Lists and Embarkation Lists of recruits going to India by FIBIS Chairman, Peter Bailey, six percent of soldiers were consistently recruited as married. One of his ancestors joined the EIC Army at nearly the same time that his daughter was born and was sent to India several weeks later with his wife and new-born baby c mid 1820s. Although the East India Company provided a passage back to Britain for soldiers at the expiration of their term of service it appears that very few elected to return.<ref> Email from Peter Bailey to [[User:Maureene|Maureen Evers]] dated 10 April 2014 </ref> it appears that very few elected to return. Samuel Hickson, who was in India 1777-1785, lists the reasons for this in his Diary as disease, the good provisions made by the Company relating to age and incapacity, the bounty paid on renewal of service and family ties.<ref> "Diary of Samuel Hickson 1777-1785" in Bengal Past and Present, Volume 49, Part 1 1935, pages 28-30 (computer pages 35-37) which is available to read online on the [[Online books#Digital Library of India | Digital Library of India]] website.</ref>
== FIBIS resources ==
*[http://www.search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=class_detail&source_class=221 The First Soldiers of the EIC Army]
*[[FIBIS Journals|FIBIS Journals]] - Available to view '''free by members only''' in the [http://www.search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=606&s_id=103 FIBIS database] website or can be purchased online in the [http://shop.fibis.org/ FIBIS Shop].
**Number 6 (Autumn 2001) ''Monthly Military Musters - Part 1'' by Peter Bailey. Contains information about the women and children classified according to 'European' or 'East Indian', for the same regiment as Part 2.
**Number 7 (Spring 2002) ''Monthly Military Musters - Part 2'' by Peter Bailey. About the officers and soldiers. Contains a copy of the muster taken for ‘A’ or [[2nd Madras (European) Light Infantry| Captain J. Cramer’s Company, Madras European Infantry]] which was stationed at Bangalore on 1st January 1841.
**Number 17 (Spring 2007) ''Looking for Gunner Hurley in India - Part 1'' by Malcolm Hurley Mills and Lawrie Butler.
====Other====
The [[National Army Museum]], London has a card index, mainly in respect of East India Company Army Officers
==The difference between rank in the Regiment and rank in the Army==
All officers held dual rank, that is, rank in their regiment and rank in the Army. Their rank in their regiment dictated what they did on a day-to-day basis. The HEIC regiments did not have the purchase system [for rank in the regiment] but based promotions on seniority within the regiment which was one reason why the timing of an officer's rank within the regiment was important. When an officer held a rank in the Army for a period longer than his rank in his regiment this was probably due to him not having
actually been posted to his regiment for a period when he was first commissioned<ref>Rootsweb India List reply [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2009-08/1251599449 Rank in regiment; rank in army] by
Tim 30 August 2009 (retrieved 14 April 2014)</ref>
Although there was no official purchase system, there was an informal system within the HEIC Army whereby the lower rank officers provided a monetary incentive for a senior officer to retire so that all junior officers could move up a step, but it was not an actual purchase of rank<ref> Rootsweb India List reply [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-12/1259763830 East India Company Army Purchase of Commissions] by Tim B 2 Dec 2009 (retrieved 14 April 2014)</ref>
==Advantages of joining an EIC Army compared with the British Army==
===For a soldier===
The army took responsibility for many civil and social activities in the country, particularly in the vicinity of the cantonments. These
responsibilities were undertaken by Warrant Officers generally acting through Sergeants of differing titles. These were positions of significant importance and standing and the chance to attain them was one of the attractions of joining the Company's army rather than the King's/Queen's army.<ref> Rootsweb India List post [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2000-04/0954667043 Bazaar Sergeant] by Peter Bailey 2 Apr 2000 (retrieved 14 April 2014)</ref> Many NCOs were able to take on other work and attract an extra income. By doing so, they could frequently buy themselves out of their units, could earn more money and qualify for a pension much sooner.<ref>Rootsweb India List post [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/1998-12/0913448812 Prisons] by Tony Fuller 12 Dec 1998 (retrieved 14 April 2014)</ref>
==Wives and children==
