Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV The Northern Operations To The Relief Of Lucknow ' When will you be ready to start 1' said Lord Panmure to Sir Colin Campbell, as he offered him the chief command in India in succession to General Anson. ' To-morrow,' replied the war-worn veteran ; and on the morrow accordingly (July l2th, 1857), he left London, saying that he would get his outfit in Calcutta. Thus started the new Commander-in-Chief at the age of sixty-five, with all the readiness and ardour of a young soldier. Colin Macliver, better known as Colin Campbell, was born at Glasgow on the 2oth of October, 1792. Entering the army in 1808 as Colin Campbell, which name he took from his mother's family, he served with distinction in the Peninsular War and with the Walcheren expedition. He led a forlorn hope at the storming of San Sebastian, and was greatly distinguished in his earlier, as in his later career, for personal gallantry. ' I hereby certify,' says an official memorandum signed by Lord Lynedoch,' that Captain Colin Campbell, then Lieutenant of the 9th Foot, under my command, behaved with the utmost gallantry andintrepidity at the storming of the convent-redoubt in advance of San Sebastian, and afterwards at the assault of that fortress, on both which occasions he was severely wounded; also in the action near Irun, at the forcing of the enemy from their strong position on the Bidasoa, on the 7th of October, 1813.' In order to take part in the last-named fight, young Campbell had left hospital, his wounds still unhealed, without leave ; for which breach of discipline he was severely reprimanded, being given to understand that the offence would have met with a heavier punishment but for his conduct in the field. Some years later, when Sir Charles Napier presented new colours to the 98th Regimen... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.