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Biographical Note
General Charles James Napier
(10 AUGUST 1782 - 29 AUGUST 1853)
The Napiers were a Scottish family and one of the members in the 16th
century was the mathematician who invented logarithms. In the 18th
century the heiress of the family married one of the Scott family of Thirlstane Castle and her son, Francis, took the name of Napier to
succeed as the fifth Lord Napier. He married twice and left several
children. His son by his first wife gave succession to the barony but by
his second wife he had a son George who became a Colonel. George married Lady Sarah Lennox,
daughter of the second Duke of Richmond and their eldest son was Charles
James Napier. The Dictionary of National Biography however states that Charles
was the eldest of four sons of Colonel the Honourable George Napier and
his second wife, Lady Sarah Bunbury.
Charles Napier was born in Whitehall on 10 August
1782. In 1785 the family moved to Celbridge near Dublin. Charles began
his military career as an ensign in the 33rd Regiment in January 1794
and on the 8 May was promoted to lieutenant in the 89th regiment at
Netley Camp. His father was the assistant quartermaster-general. When
the regiment sailed for Ostend, Charles was moved to the 4th regiment
and sent to a grammar school in Celbridge. In 1799 Charles Napier became
aide-de-camp to Sir James Duff, who commanded the Limerick District.
Over the next few years he was based variously in England and Ireland
and at one stage was aide-de-camp to his cousin, General Henry Edward
Fox, commander in chief of Ireland. Another cousin was the leading Whig
politician, Charles James Fox.
In December 1803, Napier, still only 21, became a
captain in the staff corps. This was a group raised to assist the royal
engineers and quartermaster general. He was based in England at
Chelmsford and Chatham. In October 1804 Charles' father died but his
widow and daughters received a pension from William Pitt, then the Prime
Minister. In 1805 Charles was involved with his corps in the
construction of the Military Canal at Hythe under the command of Sir
John Moore, who was training the 43rd, 52nd and rifle regiments. Two of
Charles' brothers were there - William in the 43rd and George in the
52nd regiment.
With the death of Pitt in 1806, his cousin, Charles
James Fox, leader of the Whigs, became Foreign Secretary. Napier was promoted to Major in a Cape
Colonial Corps but subsequently moved to the 50th regiment at Bognor in
Sussex. This regiment was deployed in Guernsey, Deal, Hythe and Ashford
in Kent during the following two years. In 1808 Charles was ordered to
join the 1st Battalion of the 50th regiment at Lisbon and became the
commander of the battalion. Sir John Moore placed Napier's battalion in
Lord William Bentinck's brigade for the next phase of the Peninsula War.
On 16 January 1809, at the battle of Coruna, Napier led his men and was
wounded five times. He sustained a broken leg from a musket ball, a
sabre cut to the head, a bayonet wound in the back, broken ribs from
gunshot and injuries from being struck by the butt of a musket. Napier
was taken prisoner and was initially reported as dead. However, he was
saved by a French drummer named Guibert and taken to Marshal Soult's quarters where
his injuries were treated. Later, Marshal Ney, freed him on condition
that he did not fight again until exchanged for a French prisoner. This
took place in January 1810.
Napier then obtained permission for leave of absence
from his regiment and joined the Light Brigade as a volunteer. The
brigade was then in Portugal and Napier's two brothers were in it. He
had two horses shot from under him at the battle on the river Coa on 24
July 1810. Napier was then attached to Wellington's staff and at the
battle of Buçaco on 27 September 1810 he was shot in the face, which
broke his jaw and injured an eye. He was sent back to Lisbon and on 6
March 1811 he set out to rejoin his regiment. On the 13th he rode 90
miles in a day on one horse and rejoined the army. The Light Division
was in the vanguard and in constant contact with the French rearguard
under Marshal Ney. On the 14th March Napier met his brothers William and
George, both wounded and being carried to the rear. Charles Napier was
involved in the battle of Fuentes d'Oñoro on 5 May 1811 and the second
siege of Badajoz.
On 27 June 1811, Napier was promoted from Major to
become Lieutenant Colonel of the 102nd regiment which had just returned
to Guernsey from Botany Bay. Lord Liverpool then granted him the
sinecure of governor of the Virgin Islands, which did not require
residence, as a compensation for his wounds, a post he resigned soon
afterwards when pensions for wounds were introduced. In July 1812, after
a few months in Guernsey, Napier sailed with his regiment to Bermuda.
The following May he was given command of a brigade to take part in a
campaign of the War of 1812 against the United States under Sir Thomas
Sydney Beckwith. The brigade went to Hampton Roads and seized Craney
Island and the town of Little Hampton. Later that year Napier was
involved in minor actions on the coast of Carolina and then went with
his regiment to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Napier then transferred from the 102nd back to the
50th regiment but on his return to England in September 1813 the war was
nearly over. He was placed on reserve on half pay in December 1814 and so he
joined the military college at Farnham with his brother William. In
March 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba and re-gathered his forces. Napier
went as a volunteer and took part in the storm of Cambrai and the entry
of Paris. He received a gold medal for his services at Coruna, and a
silver war medal with two clasps for Buçaco and Fuentes d'Oñoro. Later
he was a made a Commander of the Order of the Bath. When returning to
England from Ostend, his ship sank in the harbour and Napier narrowly
escaped. He devoted the next two years to studying military and
political history, agriculture, construction and political economy.
In 1819 he was sent to the Ionian Islands. At this
period much of Greece was under the Ottoman Empire. Napier had the
position of resident in Cephalonia, an office created by the high
commissioner and in this role he was active in the field of public works
and road building. He was also involved in military advice to the Greek
government and the Greek committee in London and was interested in
supporting their cause against the Turks. In 1825 he was promoted to
full colonel. He returned to England for a time when his mother died in
1826 and April of 1827 he married. Napier and his wife went to
Cephalonia until 1830, but returned because of her health. In 1833 he
was affected by the cholera epidemic and later that year his wife died.
He moved then to Caen in Normandy and concentrated on the education of
his daughters. In 1835 he married for a second time and settle in Bath.
He had already written a book on his government of Cephalonia but now he
wrote a dialogue on the Poor Laws, a book on military law and edited a
book Lights and Shadows of Military Life, from the French of
Count Alfred de Vigny and Elzèar Blase. In addition he wrote a
historical romance which was never published.
In January 1837 he was promoted to the rank of major
general and early the following year moved to Milford Haven. In July
1838 he was made KCB. His next major appointment was to the command of
the eleven counties of the Northern District of England at a time of
civil unrest caused by the Chartists. At the time the Chartists were
seen as dangerous revolutionaries by the government and ruling classes
but their aims now seem to be justifiable and fair - they wanted
universal suffrage, an end to property qualifications to stand for
parliament, paid MPs so that ordinary working men could stand. Napier
was sympathetic to these political views but had the task of maintaining
order at a time when there was no police force and the magistrates had
to call on the military in the event of serious disturbances.
India
In October 1841, Napier sailed for India to take
command at Poona. The Governor-general was Lord Ellenborough, who asked
Napier to assess the military position. Napier recommended the relief of
Jalalabad and a two pronged attack on Kabul from Peshawar and from
Kandahar. In September 1842 Napier was given command of the region of
Upper and Lower Sindh and sailed for Karachi. Shortly after arrival,
Napier was wounded in the leg by an explosion. When he recovered he
proceeded up the Indus to Hyderabad and Sakhar to take command of the
military forces. Here he found a complex political situation with three
sets of rulers in Upper Sindh, Lower Sindh and Mirpur. Britain had a
treaty allowing them to be stationed in Shikarpur, Bakhar and Karachi.
However, setbacks in what is now Afghanistan had weakened British
prestige in the area and the local rulers were looking for
opportunities to exploit the situation. Local leaders complained of
tolls being levied by the British and it was then discovered that there
were secret talks with adjacent tribes to attack British forces.
Napier moved to Shikarpur and on 15 December British
troops moved to occupy Rohri. At the turn of the year he decided to
seize the fortress of the amirs at Imamghar, which lay in desert country
east of Sindh. Troops travelled by camel and horse but when they arrived
on 12 January the fortress had been evacuated. Napier rested his men for
three days then blew up the fortress, and headed for Pir Abu Bakar on
the Indus. This was a point where he could threaten both Hyderabad and
Khairpur. Napier had authority from the Governor-general to force a new
treaty on the amirs of both provinces. Attempts at negotiations were
made in January but Napier sent Captain James Outram (later General Sir
James Outram) , the chief political officer of the area, to Hyderabad
while he moved south to Nowshera. Outram believed a peaceful outcome was
possible but Napier received reports of a force of 25,000 men gathered
near Hyderabad, 10,000 Khandesh tribesmen were moving along the left
bank of the Indus, a further 7,000 were near Khunhera and 10,000 under
Shir Muhammed were advancing from Mirpur. Outram met the local leaders
on 12 February 1843 and all signed a new treaty except one. However, the
situation on the streets deteriorated rapidly and the residency was
attacked on 15 February. Outram was forced to fight his way back to the
river to rejoin the transport boats to enable him to rejoin the army.
Battle of Meanee
On 6 February, Napier moved towards Sakarand,
arriving on the 11th and then on to Sindhabad and by the 16th reached
Matari. An enemy force of 22,000 was then about ten miles from him near
Meanee. Napier had 2,800 men. Of these, 400 were in charge of baggage
and 200 were sent to Outram to set fire to forests on the enemy flank.
Of the 2,200 remaining about 500 were European. The two forces met at
about 9 o'clock on the morning of 17 February. Napier drew up all the
baggage train and animals in the rear and set up firing positions for
the armed camp followers together with the support of 250 members of the
Poona Horse and four companies of artillery. On his right he drew up his
artillery of 12 guns followed by the 22nd Queen's Regiment and on his
left were the 25th, 12th and 1st native regiments. These were drawn up
not in line but in echelon to allow for manoeuvre. On the left flank
were the 9th Bengal Cavalry and the Sindh Horse. The amirs had placed
their forces on the outside of a bend in the river Falaili and a stone
wall enclosing a wooded area hid about 6,000 Baluchis. The amirs forces
had 18 guns.
Napier moved forward and seeing an opening in the
wall on his right he sent Captain Tew with a company from the 22nd
Queen's Regiment block it and thus prevent the egress of the Baluchis.
Tew was killed but the force of 80 men held the breach in the wall. The
main British force advanced under heavy fire, and then charged up toward
the bank of the river Falaili only to discover that there were thousands
of enemy troops in the dried up river bed beyond. The troops were then
occupied for about two hours near the brink of the bank. They went
forward to fire into the enemy in the river bed and returned to reload.
The Baluchis made several charges but were pushed back and when the
British guns blasted holes in their line it was continually replenished
from behind. At length Napier ordered the cavalry on his left to advance
against the enemy's right. They charged through the enemy guns, over the
bank of the river and behind the main enemy force As the Baluchis turned
to witness the threat, the British infantry charged pushing them
backwards and there was hand to hand fighting but the battle was won.
The British forces lost 20 officers and 250 men and the Baluchis had
6,000 killed or wounded. Hyderabad surrendered.
During the course of this battle, Napier, who was by
now 60, had a close escape. One of the Baluchi chiefs marked him out for
attack and approached with sword and shield. Napier had damaged his
right hand and shifting his reins to his injured hand he prepared to
defend himself with his sword. He was about to engage the enemy when
Lieutenant Marston sprang forward to intervene. A fierce fight ensured
in the midst of the smoke and dust and just when the Baluchi chief
seemed about to deliver a fatal blow, he received a bayonet in his
exposed side. Napier was unable to find out which soldier was
responsible for saving the situation.
Battle of Hyderabad
Shir Muhammed of Mirpur was not involved in the
battle but was a few miles away with a further 10,000 men. He returned
to Mirpur and gathered a force of totaling 25,000. Napier now facing
intense heat had to garrison Hyderabad with 500 men. He called for
reinforcements along the Indus from Sakhar and these included regiments
of Bengal Cavalry, native infantry and horse artillery. Major Slack with
a brigade of 1500 and five guns moved south to join Napier on 22 March.
Napier made a fortification near the Indus and secured the defence of
his river steamers. On 23 March the reinforcements from Sakhar and
Bombay arrived. Shir Muhammed called on Napier to surrender but on the
24th Napier answered with an attack on Dubba, 8 miles from Hyderabad,
where Shir Muhammed had 26,000 men and 15 guns with their right defended
by a river and a line of infantry stretching two miles to a wood. The
cavalry was on the left away from the river.
Napier had 5000 men, of which 1100 were cavalry. He
had a total of 19 guns with five from the horse artillery. He attacked
along the line of the river with the horse artillery supported by two
regiments of cavalry. The infantry line was made up of the 22nd Queens
and four native regiments and on the right the 3rd cavalry and Sindh
horse. The enemy front line was attacked from the side by the horse
artillery but when the British infantry moved forward they discovered a
second entrenched line of enemy. After a hard battle, in which Napier
led the charge the field was his. Napier lost 270 men and 5000 of the
enemy were killed. Napier himself had a narrow escape when an enemy
magazine blew up killing several people around him. Napier set off to
Mirpu in pursuit of Shir Muhammed only to find that he had fled to
Omerkot. On 4 April the Sindh horse and camel battery reached Omerkot,
but their quarry had fled. On 14 June Major John Jacob caught up with
Shir Muhammed again and defeated him, forcing his escape across the
Indus.
Thus, Sindh was annexed to British India - a
controversial move at the time as some had believed that a negotiated
settlement might be possible in which Britain controlled the area
through its local rulers rather than by defeating them. Napier became
governor of Sindh and was able to exercise the interest and skill in
administration that he had shown in Greece. He received the submission
of local chiefs and set about organizing a police force, courts and
civil administration. He promoted the idea of developing Karachi as a
major port. One of the novel features that Napier introduced into his
despatches was the mention of private soldiers for acts of gallantry.
His interest in the welfare of his men, both British and native
regiments, made him popular with the troops. On 24 May 1844 he organized
a durbar at Hyderabad, attended by 3000 Sindhian Baluchi chiefs and
20,000 men to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. Napier was made a
G.C.B., and on 21 November 1843 was given the colonelcy of the 22nd
regiment. His military achievements at what became known as the battles
of Meanee and Hyderabad, his gift for civil administration and his
writing were all highly commended by the Duke of Wellington and by
Robert Peel, the Prime Minister.
In late 1844, Napier moved against the tribesmen
under Beja Khan Dumki, who had been raiding Sindh from the north. Sakhar
became his base just before Christmas but there was an outbreak of
disease that killed many of the 78th highlanders. The tribesmen expected
this to delay Napier but he advanced with forced marches to surprise
them and captured thousands of cattle, and much grain, forcing the enemy
into the hills. He then waited at the passes for his guns to arrive and
advanced in January. He captured Pulaji, Shahpur and Ooch and drove Beja
Khan to take refuge at Traki, a rocky outcrop with vertical sides 600
feet high and only two openings. However, Napier captured Beja Khan on 9
March and then returned to Sindh.
On 13 December 1845, the first Sikh war began. By 6
February Napier assembled a force of 15,000 men and 86 guns at Rohri.
The battle of Ferzeshah was fought during February and the
Governor-general, Hardinge, who had replaced Lord Ellenborough, ordered
Napier to move his forces on Bhawalpur and to come in person to his
headquarters in Lahore. He reached there on 3 March to find that a
battle had been fought at Sobraon and the war was over. He returned to
Karachi where an outbreak of cholera killed 7000. Among the casualties
were 800 soldiers including Napiers nephew John Napier. On 9 November
1846 Napier was promoted to Lieutenant-General. The following October he
returned to Europe.
Napier's final visit to India
Napier lived in Cheltenham and occupied himself
writing pamphlets on administration in the Indian Army. However, by 1849
there were further problems in India and the East India Company and
the Duke of Wellington to recommend a general to take command.
Wellington put forward Napier as his nomination but it was rejected and
instead Sir William Maynard Gomm was despatched from Mauritius in the
Indian Ocean. By the end of February there was news of the battle of
Chillianwallah and there was agitation for Charles Napier to be sent. He
reached Calcutta on 6 May to assume command but by then the war was over
and Napier gave due credit to Lord Gough for the successful conclusion.
Napier had agreed to go as General only if given a
seat on the governing body of the East India company but in due course
he was in disagreement with the Governor-general Lord Dalhousie over a
contentious issue relating to service conditions for the native
soldiers. Napier resigned and left Simla on 16 November 1850 reaching
England in March 1851. He had been suffering from a serious liver
condition since 1846 but was a pall-bearer at the funeral of the Duke of
Wellington at St. Paul's Cathedral on 18 November 1852. Napier died at
Oatlands on the morning of 29 August 1853, with the colours of the 22nd
regiment borne at Meanee hung above his bed. He was buried in the
churchyard of the garrison chapel at Portsmouth. Some 60,000 people
turned out for the occasion.
The monument to Napier in Trafalgar Square shows him
bearing a scroll, symbolic of the administration of Sindh and in his
right hand is a sword held to his breast. On the pedestal is the
inscription "Charles James Napier, General, born MDCCLXXXII; died
MDCCCCLIII. Erected by public subscription from all classes, civil and
military, the most numerous subscribers being private soldiers".
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