First-hand account of ‘Battle of Sitabuldee’

The most vivid and engrossing first-hand account of the ‘Battle of Sitabuldee’ has emerged, courtesy a rare memoir of a British army officer. The book gives a cannon-by-cannon, shot-by-shot description of the battle and the events that led to it. In the book, Sir John Hearsey, who was in-charge of a small force that fought the battle right till the surrender of the Maratha king Appasaheb Bhonsle, narrates a journey with description of city’s topography and how it helped the British army conduct secret recce missions, about strategies that turned the fate of the battle. A digitized version of the book ‘The Hearseys: Five Generations Of An Anglo Indian Family’, is available on archives.org. The book authored by Col Hugh Pearse, was first published by William Blackwood & Sons (Edinburgh and London) in 1905. The battle’s story was narrated by Hearsey to his daughter many years after retirement, report Shishir Arya and Abhishek Choudhari
Enter Nagpur: Telingkeri’s rocky hills, cholera, an insensitive boss
John Hearsey says he picked up troops from Jabalpur (Jubblepore in those days) and headed towards Nagpur. He was joined by Captain Charles Fitzgerald — who is the war hero in the official narrative.
The soldiers were stationed around present day Telangkhedi lake —spelt as Telingkeri — which he calls a place with rocky hills.
Hearsey speaks of the poor conditions of the troops and an insensitive boss. “In spite of my bad health, the colonel insisted on my calling upon him everyday for regimental orders. I was constantly drenched by the rains, besides encountering excessive heat. In August, cholera made its appearance in our camp,” says the accounts.
Finally, they were shifted away, some 4 mile from Kamptee, writes Hearsey. At this place, he mentions of a river — Korile (probably Kanhan) and gardens of the Rajah of Nagpur (Appasaheb Bhonsle).
The troops were placed under shade of a grove here, but a storm blew up the tent. The horses tied to the pegs got freed as the soil got loosened after rains. The beasts went berserk injuring many of the sick. Hearsey says the British also recruited ‘Hindustani’ soldiers whose expenses were to be borne by the King.
The secret recce of British troops
Both sides had positioned their troops at all available strategic positions. For the British, it was clear that the Bhonsle army was stronger in terms of numbers, but exactly how much stronger, was still not clear.
Captain Fitzgerald decided to do a recce and approached Hearsey, as he had done a short recon trip just hours ago. Hearsey led the unit from the residency (old Morris college) through the fields where almost eight-feet high crops stood tall.
To put their route in perspective for readers, Hearsey went from residency to Variety Square till approximately where Panchasheel Square is now located. Here, a handful of British troops were stationed to check any enemy advance towards the residency. The recce group now quietly, under the cover of darkness, made their way around Sitabuldee village towards Sakkardara where the major part of Bhonsle’s troops was stationed.
Hearsey notes that Bhonsle’s troops would make their way from Sakkardara, to today’s Mahal, then walk along the Gandhisagar straight to Sitabuldi. And from here they would move in small groups to strategic positions. This recce played a major role in the British formulating their battle strategy.
Maratha rockets and humour at wartime
Marathas had an arsenal of rockets which left the British soldiers ducking for cover. Even John Hearsey had several close shaves.
These were blades of swords tied to gun powder filled propellants. Two such pieces are on display at the city museum but are identified as swords. In a function held here to mark 200th anniversary of the battle, Brigadier Sunil Gavpande (retd), a member of the Vidarbha Sanshodhan Mandal, took out one of the pieces and explained how it worked.
The residency (Old Morris College) was at that time surrounded with corn fields, says Hearsey’s account. “At about midnight, the enemy sent parties with rockets into the high Indian corn field, from borders of which they sent their rockets into residency compound,” he writes.
Better tactics repulsed the attacks. On the broken grounds, Hearsey placed marksmen who shot down many rocketeers.
There were lighter moments even in midst of war. Hearsey made a bundle of crops and tried to catch some sleep when there was lull in fighting. He felt as if the bedding had been removed. The troops could not stop laughing when he got up. A canon ball had just flew below the bundle.
Human shield, Maratha turban and the Rajput orderly
The British officer also used an Indian soldier under him as human shield, says John Hearsey’s account. “My servant Mirza Omaran Ali Beg had his arm over my head in the act of performing what I asked him to do, when one of the enemy’s rifle men on the banks’ of Nag-nuddee, at no great distance aimed at me.
The bullet went through the wadded cotton jacket of my servant and struck him in the forearm which was immediately over my head. The man looked at me and said Sir, I can do no more,” he writes.
The young Rajput orderly of Hearsey came to his rescue when he was stuck on the head by a Maratha swordsman, he says. The orderly stuck his head but the thick turban worn by all Maratha soldiers acted as a shield. The man had to be finally shot down.
Another Indian Subedar Major Bugwant Singh followed the fleeing enemy soldiers, capturing many swivel-gun camels, writes Hearsey.
The gory side of the battle
Hearsey tells readers the gory side of the battle by describing the one-to-one attacks and fatal injuries. As the battle raged, Hearsey was standing along with his colleagues Captain Elliot, Lieutenant Clark and Dr Nixon. “We were standing opposite to each other talking when the very first cannon shot from the small hill from one of our own (now captured) 9-pounders struck off the heads of Clark and Nixon, splashing Elliot and myself with their brains”.
Hearsey soon found himself face-to-face with a strong Maratha warrior and rode his horse fiercely towards him. “He was armed with a long double-edged sword pointed at the handle, and so formed that both hands could be used in wielding it. The blade was at least four-feet long. I made a mistake in attempting to ride by him and cut him down,” writes Hearsey.
The Maratha warrior managed to inflict grave wounds on Hearsey’s head and neck. Hearsey was saved by a Rajput aide who shot the Maratha warrior.
Not a war hero, no pension
In all official documents from British side, Captain Fitzgerald is hailed as hero of the ‘Battle of Sitabuldee’. But Hearsey has a different story.
Fitzgerald was not convinced of his superior’s orders to charge at the enemy at ‘first favourable opportunity’. Hearsey wrote that the captain thought his troops stood no chance against the enemy’s numerically stronger force. “At this time, he said the only chance of saving our lives was to cut our way through the enemy and endeavour to join a force that was hastening from Hoshangabad under the command of Colonel Gahan to assist,” writes Hearsey about Fitzgerald who was his senior. There are other accounts which say that it was Fitzgerald’s determined charge which won the battle for the British.
Hearsey writes that among Indian troops, both Hindus and Muslims were ready for a do-or-die attempt. “The Mohammedans called out “Deen! Deen!” meaning “our faith! our faith!” and the Hindoos getting dust and throwing it on their heads, thus expressing that they were ready to be sacrificed”.
The writer who compiled Hearsey’s account says he received no pension or gratuity for almost mortal wound which he suffered in the battle.