Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, to include the Brian Ritchie Collection (Part II)

The exceptional 6-clasp medal for the Second Mahratta War and the campaign in Nepaul to General John Greenstreet, 15th Bengal Native Infantry

Army of India 1799-1826, 6 clasps, Allighur, Battle of Delhi, Laswarree, Battle of Deig, Capture of Deig, Nepaul (Major J. Greenstreet, Commg. 2nd Bn. 15th N.I.) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, together with a contemporary miniature portrait on ivory, the reverse signed ‘Edwin Cocking May 1850’, two minor edge bruises, otherwise extremely fine and very rare £15000-20000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Brian Ritchie Collection of H.E.I.C. and British India Medals.

View
Collection

In 1804, after Holkar of Indore, the most powerful of the Mahratta princes, combined forces with the Rajah of Bhurtpoor and took the field, Greenstreet was present, on 13 November of that year, as ‘Adjutant and Quartermaster of Brigade’ in Monson’s victory at the Battle of Dieg, in which encounter his horse was shot under him (Calcutta Gazette 6 December 1804). After participation in the capture of the fortress of Dieg on Christmas Day 1804, he took part in the unsuccessful siege of Bhurtpoor from 2 January until 24 February 1805. Following the failure of the third assault on 20 February, Lake harangued his troops and called for volunteers for a fourth and final storm of the breach next day. Such was the loyalty inspired by the fierce old campaigner that every man stepped forward. In the ensuing assault the Sepoys of Greenstreet’s battalion, the 2/15th, were to the fore, driving their bayonets into the walls and using the hilts to climb by. But a shower of logs and stones were rolled down on them, and so narrow was the way up over the ‘ragged bastion’ that musketry fire could be concentrated on the leaders and as one man fell he brought down those below him. There was no hope for the subaltern of the 76th Foot who led the ‘forlorn hope’ that day. He died with the colours of his regiment in his hands. Greenstreet’s battalion ‘lost 180 men killed and wounded out of about 400 in the short space of two hours’.

Advanced to the rank of Captain on 10 January 1805, Greenstreet served as Adjutant and Quartermaster until 1806, and in 1809 was appointed A.D.C. to the Vice-President in Council. Returning from a two year furlough in October 1813, he was promoted to the command of the 2/15th and led it during its service with General Marley’s 4th (Dinapore) Division in the first two campaigns of the Nepalese War. The division arrived on the Nepal frontier in late 1814, and was warned that several small British detachments watching the river passes from the Nepal hills must be reinforced or withdrawn. Unfortunately Marley was not in the mood for anything adventurous and flapped about throwing up field entrenchments to provide himself with a place of safety. On 1 January 1815 the inevitable happened and the Gurkhas swept down and surprised the outposts of Goor-Pershad and Summundpore, the former of which was held by a detachment of the 2/15th, and it became Greenstreet’s unfortunate duty to report its loss:

‘I am sorry to acquaint you, that the post of Persa Ghurrie, commanded by Captain Sibley, was this morning attacked by an overwhelming force of Ghoorkahs, who, I regret to say, carried their point after one hour’s hard fighting, which ended in the repulse of our troops there, the loss of the gun, and every kind of baggage. At break of day, when I was about to march for that post, we heard a heavy firing in that direction, when I pushed on with all possible speed; but within three miles of the place I met a vast number of wounded, and immediately afterwards some officers, who informed me, that any attempt on my part to recover the fortunes of the day must be unavailing, as the enemy’s forces was computed at full ten thousand’ (London Gazette 19 August 1815).

A contemporary, General Sir John Hearsey (see Lot 12), took quite different view, and decades later had this to say: ‘Captain Sibley, who commanded at Goor-Pershad, was killed; Lieutenant Mathison escaped wounded, as did Lieutenant Smith of the 15th Native Infantry and other officers; but numbers of the men were killed. The survivors of the cavalry and artillery, after having fired off the last round of ammunition, made their escape. Those who got away crossed a deep but narrow river which partly surrounded their post, and retired towards the main army. This occurred on the morning of the 1st January 1815, beginning the new year rather badly. A regiment, with some artillery, under the command of Major G., had been ordered from the main army to reinforce the detachment at Goor-Pershad. He was near enough to it to hear the firing of the 6-pounder guns; but instead of hurrying on to support it, halted until the fugitives arrived. Then, if he had advanced, he would have surprised the Goorkhas, recovered our prestige and our guns. But no; he thought discretion the better part of valour, and hurried back to General Marley’s camp, leaving our wounded and dead in the possession of the enemy, and those alive to be taken and murdered in cold blood.’

Notwithstanding Hearsey’s damning indictment, Greenstreet was promoted to the command of the 4th Brigade, Centre Column, in Ochterlony’s conclusive campaign of 1816. In the spring of 1815, Ochterlony successfully engaged the Gurkhas near Simla, and in mid April the Gurkha General Amar Thapa, seeing that his position was untenable, capitulated. By the convention that followed the Gurkhas withdrew east of the Kali river, but later the Gurkha government refused to ratify the peace treaty, and Ochterlony was placed in command of a force of 20,000 men, which Greenstreet accompanied in the direct advance on Khatmandu. After severe actions at Muckwampore, in which Greenstreet was present, and Hariharpur, the Gurkha government sued for peace.

From February to March 1817 Greenstreet commanded the 2/15th during operations in the Allighur district and was present at the siege of Rajah Diah Ram’s fortress of Hathras, which fell somewhat abruptly when a British shell landed in the potentate’s magazine, then containing 48,000 lbs of powder. During the Third Mahratta (Pindarry) War, Greenstreet was appointed to the command of the Bengal Brigade of infantry and served in Brigadier-General Doveton’s force at the Capture of Asseerghur in April 1819, ‘being detached to aid in the operations with fifteen companies of the 15th reg., a squadron of cavalry and train of artillery from the Nagpore field force.’ His ‘eminent services’ at Asseerghur were mentioned by General Doveton in his orders of 10 April (London Gazette 30 August 1820).

At the close of the war Greenstreet transferred to the 2/30th N.I. and following the reorganization of the Army in 1824, was placed on the rolls of the 60th N.I. (late 2/30th) as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant. He retired in 1825 and returned to England where he was promoted to Colonel in June 1829; to Major-General in January 1837; to Lieutenant-General in November 1846; and finally to General on 20 June 1854. General John Greenstreet died, aged 74 years, at Frenchay, near Bristol, on 9 April 1856.

Refs: Hodson Index (NAM); Officers of the Bengal Army 1758-1834; East India Military Calendar; IOL L/MIL/10/2; The Hearseys, Five Generations of an Anglo-Indian Family (Pearse).