In 1838, when Lord Auckland, Governor General of India, decided on the fatal experiment of dethroning Amir Dost Muhammad and restoring Shah Shuja as sovereign of Kabul, part of the army was a contingent called, “Shah Shuja’s own troops”. According to the History of the Bengal Artillery by Francis Stubbs, Capt William Anderson who was the elder of the two was assigned to raise two troops of Native Horse Artillery at Delhi and Meerut for this contingent. However, another source states that William had transferred from the infantry to the cavalry and was 2iC of the 2nd (Gardener’s) Local horse until 1838 when he was promoted and raised the 2nd Irregular Cavalry, Shah Shuja’s Contingent, referred to as ‘Anderson’s Horse’. Whatever be fact, he distinguished himself in the advance from Kandahar to Kabul and during a Grand Durbar held by Shah Shuja after gaining the throne, William and others were awarded a new order of chivalry, that of the Dur-i-Durani i.e. Pearl of the Durani Empire.
painted by French artist Casimir Carbonnier
Prior to the departure of the main army back to India via Kandahar, the Ghilzais were giving trouble and Major General Nott sent for William to ask him if he could march the following morning. William replied that the artillery was always ready and left with a regiment of foot, 300 horsemen and four guns. Two days later, they encountered a force of 2,500 men near Tazi. The Ghilzais charged twice but were repulsed and routed by two detachments that fell upon them from the flanks as they retreated.
John Anderson returned to India with General Nott’s army but William remained with the garrison at Kabul where his family joined him during the summer of 1841. However, in a very ill-considered move from the strong citadel of the Bala Hissar to a cantonment outside Kabul, General Elphinstone’s troops were badly exposed and ultimately came under attack when the Afghans rose in revolt. Two great actions were fought on 10 and 13 November 1841 when the troops sallied out from the cantonment and in both, the guns of the Shah Shuja/s Artillery under William saved the day.
In early 1842, Elphinstone was compelled to withdraw from Kabul with 4,500 military personnel and 12,000 family and local supporters. However, two days after the retreat started on 6 January 1842, William’s eldest daughter went missing and his wife and children, along with others, were given as hostages. Four days later, under orders from Elphinstone, Anderson gave himself to the protection of Muhammad Akbar Khan. They remained prisoners until their release eight months later.
Lady Sale recalls in her journal entry of 24 December that when the subject arose of giving married men and their families as hostages to the Afghans, Capt Anderson was quoted as saying he would rather put a pistol to his wife’s head and shoot her. However, becoming hostages saved their lives because the column was annihilated at Gandamak
When preparations for the retreat were being discussed as early as December 1841, Lady Sale recalls in her journal entry of 24 December that when the subject arose of giving married men and their families as hostages to the Afghans, Capt Anderson was quoted as saying he would rather put a pistol to his wife’s head and shoot her. However, becoming hostages saved their lives because the column was annihilated at Gandamak. It was regarded as the worst British military disaster until the fall of Singapore exactly a century later. Anderson was promoted major in 1853 and served as 2iC of the Jodhpur Legion which mutinied in 1857. He was made a Companion of the Bath, retired a Lt Colonel and died at Mount Abu, in Rajputana, on the 21st August 1858, aged 55 years.
There is no evidence that his younger brother John Anderson accompanied the Army of Retribution when it retook Kabul, however, during the First Anglo-Sikh War of December 1845 to March 1846, he served in the 2nd Brigade of Horse Artillery in the savagely fought battle of Sobraon. When the British decided to lay siege to Multan following the murder of two of their officers, John was in command of a troop of horse artillery in the army that assembled at Ferozepur under General Whish. He distinguished himself in one of the preliminary actions by Brig Markham’s brigade to secure a canal near the Multan Fort and was mentioned in dispatches. During the assault on the citadel, he commanded the 4th Troop Horse Artillery of the 3rd Brigade consisting of 4 guns.
This Battle of the Guns forced the Sikhs to abandon much of their artillery and the British infantry advanced. There was desperate hand-to-hand fighting for the small fortified villages of Burra Kalra and Chota Kalra
After the fall of Multan, the army of General Whish moved north to join up with the forces of General Gough for the last battle of Second Anglo-Sikh War at Gujrat. It was advancing 30 km per day on the average but to hasten the linkup and reinforce General Gough’s artillery, Captain Anderson’s troop of horse artillery accomplished a march of 96 km in 48 hours, chiefly at a trot, crossed at Ramnagar. Little did he know that he was rushing to his death.
After the alarming casualties in infantry at Chillianwala which resulted in the orders for his dismissal, on the advice of many, General Gough finally decided to employ his 100 guns in a decisive role. On the day of battle when the Sikh artillery opened fire against the advancing troops of the Company, Gough’s heavy artillery engaged them in a three-hour duel. Anderson’s 4th Troop, 3rd Brigade horse-artillery, and Mackenzie’s troop were under Major Garbett, on the right. General Whish observed, “Both troops (Anderson’s and Mackenzie’s) began a spirited cannonade, and continued it for about three hours, at the rate of forty rounds per gun per hour, until the enemy’s guns in our front were silenced.”
This Battle of the Guns forced the Sikhs to abandon much of their artillery and the British infantry advanced. There was desperate hand-to-hand fighting for the small fortified villages of Burra Kalra and Chota Kalra. However, the British guns were being advanced in successive bounds and the Sikhs broke. The Bengal Horse Artillery and British and Indian cavalry took up a ruthless and merciless pursuit, which turned the Sikh retreat into a rout, but sadly Capt John Anderson could not savor the fruits of the victory. He was killed during this final stage of the battle when the troops were advancing towards the village of Karla which was strongly held by the Sikhs. His and the other artillery troops came under heavy musketry fire and suffered severe casualties, including two officers - Lt Day, of No. 10 horse field-battery and Capt Anderson. The artillery loss was greater than that of any other branch in proportion to its numbers with 111 killed and wounded.
A total of 6 officers died that day and were buried in a small cemetery whose images were sent to me by Barrister Badar, who practices in Gujrat and is a keen local historian. The only legible name is of Capt Anderson who died at the age of 42. Fortunately, I found a record of the inscriptions of all the graves and the one on Anderson’s grave states: “Beneath this tomb lie the remains of Captain John Anderson of the Bengal Artillery killed in action, on the 21st of February 1849. No man was more esteemed by the officers and men of his Regiment then he who sleeps in a soldier’s grave dug on the field of battle in the hour of victory.”
The History of the Bengal Cavalry reinforces this sentiment by recording that, “No officer who fell that day was more generally lamented”. There is also a record of a tablet erected in St. Stephen’s Church, Dum-Dum, which states, “To the memory of Captain JOHN ANDERSON of the Bengal Artillery. Killed in action at Gozerat on the 21st February 1849. Erected by his brother, Major W. Anderson, CB”.
Author’s Note. The reader may like know that with the support of the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia (BACSA), the author is in the process of restoring the cemetery in Gujrat as well as some on the battlefield of Chillianwala. Interestingly, on the Internet I found images of a small cemetery at Rasulnagar (previous name Ramnagar) on the banks of the River Chenab which was the scene of the first battle of the Second Anglo Sikh War. It was restored by the Royal Hussars with the support of BACSA in 2000.