'A little to my right I observed the wall was somewhat shattered by some chance shot of ours wh...

'A little to my right I observed the wall was somewhat shattered by some chance shot of ours which had lobbed over the glacis. I got across from the top of one ladder to another, and with every exertion, I reached the top of the wall alone.

My favourite Havildar, which had thrown away his pike and drawn his sword, was endeavouring to ascend with me when he was shot, his blood flew completely over me. I had scarcely got my footing on the wall when a musket shot grazed my arm just above the wrist, a spear at the same instant wounded me in the shoulder, and a grenade (which they were showering upon us) struck me a severe blow on the breast, and hurled me almost breathless back from the wall.'

Lieutenant John Pester at the assault on Sarssney, 24 November 1802.

The outstanding - and unique - Army of India Medal awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel J. Pester, 2nd Bengal Native Infantry; a natural leader from the outset, Pester was at the forefront of some of the most challenging sieges faced by the British in India

During the Second Mahratta War General Lake was quick to recognise Pester's talents, assigning him important staff duties. At the sieges of Allighur and Deig Pester acted as liaison between the General's headquarters and the scene of heaviest fighting, while at the Battle of Delhi he rode at the head of his regiment and had his horse shot from under him

His diary, later published as War and Sport in India 1802-1806, forms a remarkable history of the campaign and is widely quoted in historical reference works

Army of India 1799-1826, 3 clasps, Allighur, Battle of Delhi, Capture of Deig (Lieut. J. Pester. 2nd N.I.), short-hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, good very fine



Provenance:
London Stamp Exchange, September 1987.

John Pester was born at Odcombe, Somerset in 1778, the son of Emanuel and Peggy Pester. In 1800 he entered the East India Company's service as an Ensign in the 2nd Bengal Native Infantry. On 17 July 1801 he was advanced to Lieutenant.

In 1802 Pester's regiment was sent to the Doab, a marshy region at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. The Doab formed the extremity of Company territory in Bengal and its zemindars (land owners) were in open rebellion. They refused to pay taxes and defied the British from their ancient mud forts. The term 'mud fort' is really a misnomer, for mud walls were often reinforced with timber, were easy for a garrison to repair, and proved highly resistant to artillery fire.

The British army sent to pacify the Doab was commanded by General Lake, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. Pester soon became adept at siege warfare, fighting in the British trenches at the mud forts of Sarssney, Bijighur and Kachaura. Lake encouraged his officers to keep diaries of their service, and Pester's description of the assault on Sarssney is especially vivid (see above). Pester led a storming party to Sarssney's walls and fought very bravely, incurring severe wounds. His diary reveals countless 'narrow escapes'.

Following this so-called 'Mud War', the 2nd Native Infantry were put on leave at Bareilly during the early months of 1803. With fellow officers, Pester indulged in tiger shooting and enjoyed all there was to offer. On 12 June the regiment arrived in cantonments at Shikohabad.

The Second Mahratta War, 1803-1805

Throughout the 18th century, a febrile confederacy of rulers from the Mahratta warrior caste held much of central and northern India. The region of Hindustan was presided over by the most powerful, Scindhia of Gwalior. In early 1803, during the Peace of Amiens, Napoleon sent 300 French officers to Scindhia with the aim of creating an 'Army of Hindustan'. These officers landed at Pondicherry in June 1803, and by September they had trained 11 battalions in European methods. General Perron, the most senior, established his headquarters in the ancient city of Koil and became Scindhia's regent. The British Governor-General Richard Wellesley sent General Lake with 10,500 men to counter the Mahratta threat. Deeply concerned by the French presence, he wrote to Lake:

'The effectual demolition of the French state, erected by M. Perron on the banks of the Jumna, [is] the primary object of the campaign'.

Lake's army left Cawnpore on 7 August and headed north-west along the Grand Trunk Road towards Koil. His force was composed almost entirely of Bengal Native Regiments, the only King's Regiments being the 76th Foot and the 8th, 27th and 29th Light Dragoons. Lake's 10,500 fighting men were encumbered by a vast baggage train; Thomas Seaton, one of Lake's aides during the campaign, estimated the camp followers to have numbered 100,000 (From Cadet to Colonel refers). Seaton complained that on a day's march, the advance guard would be in the next day's camp before the end of the train had left the previous camp. Owing to the severe heat, Lake's army would commence a march at 3 a.m. and then bivouac during the hottest time of day.

The 2nd Native Infantry marched from Shikohabad, joining Lake at Etah on 23 August. When war was declared on 26 August, Lake had already crossed into Mahratta territory.

'One of the most extraordinary feats that I have heard of in this country.'

- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, on the capture of Allighur

Protecting Koil was the imposing hill-fortress of Allighur. Allighur comprised circular towers with superb fields of fire, a good glacis, and a moat 32 feet deep and 200 feet wide. Any attacking force had to cross a narrow causeway over the moat, the garrison's 'killing zone'. Allighur had a large garrison with excellent Mahratta cannon, and sufficient provisions for a long siege.

Lake's advance guard neared Koil on 27 August, and saw General Perron's Mahratta army of 20,000 breaking camp just east of the city. Perron formed his army into a defensive line with a deep swamp protecting his front. Lake avoided a frontal assault and instead moved eastwards towards a Mahratta-held village guarding Perron's left flank. Pester takes up the story:

'The General did me the honour to send me repeatedly with orders during the affair, as his staff were all employed. I had my grey horse, Collector, shot through the neck in attacking the village with the advanced guard; he bled a good deal, but my other horses were with the line, in the rear, and I could not dismount him for nearly an hour after he was wounded.'

The village was taken after a sharp skirmish involving the 27th and 29th Light Dragoons, to whom Pester was seconded. Perron's Mahrattas withdrew to avoid being outflanked. As they streamed into Allighur they formed perfect targets for 6-pounder 'galloper guns' accompanying the British cavalry, and fell in their hundreds. The guns of Allighur attempted to respond, but could not find the range. Lake's army seized Koil and captured Perron's headquarters - by now an opulent estate with landscaped gardens known as the Sahib Bagh - before setting up camp south of Allighur. After five days of futile negotiations, Lake resolved to assault the fortress on 4 September. Pester states:

'Four companies of the 76th, with a proportion of men from the native corps, formed the storming party, and a quarter of an hour before day broke the whole advanced in silence and in a most steady becoming manner. I was ordered by the General to accompany the storming party, and to bring immediate information if any support should be required.'

Even with the cover of darkness, the stormers came under a murderous cross-fire as they ran over the causeway and reached the main gate. Attempts to place scaling ladders failed, as the Mahrattas had stationed pikemen atop the ramparts. The 6-pounder gun brought to blast in the...