IN THE INDIAN MUTINY

New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 6, 1 March 1900, Page 35

IN THE INDIAN MUTINY

Immediately on being paid off from the "Leopard," Hill joined H.M.S. "Shannon," a 51-gun frigate, under Sir Wm. Peel. The " Shannon " went out to China, taking Lord Elgin from Singapore to Hongkong. While lying at Hongkong (1857) a mail-boat came in with the news that the Indian Mutiny had broken out. "So we went back in a hurry to Calcutta," says Hill, " with Lord Elgin and a force of 400 marines on board, and we soon got up country into the thick of the lighting. The whole of our crew, 560 men, were landed, except two or three left on board to mind her at Calcutta, and we took ten of our 68-pounder guns with vs — they're at Lucknow now. Our Naval Brigade went up the Granges by steamer to Allahabad. We left our heavy guns there to come up later on, and then went on the march for Delhi and Cawnpore. We took ten 32---pounders cross-country with us from tin: river, and it wasn't very long before we were letting drive at the rebels. My company was under Lieutenant Salmon — he got the V.C. then, and he's Admiral now. We marched up to Cawnpcre, with the \)'Svd and Oord Regiments, and got there after the massacre was over. We were on the march for Delhi, but it had already been relieved, so we marched on to Lucknow with our guns, under Sir Colin Campbell." Then came some terribly hard Hghting, in which the Naval Brigade fought nobly. Hill and his comrades, dragging their guns over the arid plains, under the burning tropical sun, fought through hordes of bloodmad Sepoys, and took a grim revenge at Lucknow and Cawnpore for the atrocities committed by the rebels. " There was no quarter given there," says " Rowley ;" "it was a case of kill them all." At the famous relief of Lucknow, Hill and his fellow-sailors marched, war-stained and gory, into that City of Death, amidst the booming of cannon and the shrill skirling of the Highlanders' bagpipes. But we will let Hill tell it in his own terse way : "We had some days' hard fighting at Lucknow — by Jove wo had ! We

fought our way into the Residency, and got the people out — three thousand were killed, and there were thousands of Sepoys around us. Tho noise of the fighting was awful. Then we went away on the march to Cawnpore. Tliere were thirty thousand Gwaliors there, and we went at them. We took the town from them, heat them out, and drove them about fifteen mi It's. 1 was in two othor engagements, and then we went back to Lucknow to take it. This time; we had our GN-pounders with us from the 'Shannon.' I was at the taking of Lueknow, and then the ' Shannon's ' crew did duly for some months in different parts of India— all that was left of us." Hill was wounded at the Relief of hucknow. He received a wound in the right thigh; and then, as he and his comrades forming the crew of one of the H'2-pouiider.s were limbering up the gun, a shot smashed the handspike, and Hill received a blow in the back as the result, which, says he, " knocked me silly." The captain of the msuntop, who was at the handspike; with Mill, was killed. When the shot hit it, one end of the handspike struck him in the stomach, indicting mortal injuries.