| COLONEL EDWARD CHRISTOPHER CODRINGTON |
 |
 |
 |
 |
1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry
| _____________________________________________________________________________________ |
Edward Christopher Codrington was born the 11th of October, 1837, at Neemuch, India, the
son of Lieutenant Christopher Codrington, of the 49th Bengal Native Infantry, and his wife
Julia Isabella. A member of an old India military family, his grandfather on his mother’s
side was Colonel Mark Carter Webber, Colonel of the 55th Bengal Native Infantry. His
father, a Brevet-Captain in the 49th Bengal Native Infantry was killed in action in during
the 1st Afghan War while commanding the 4th (Gurkha) Infantry at the defense of
Charikar, Kohistan,.
Edward received a classical and mathematical education at Cheltenham College and under
private tutors, probably so-called “crammers” for the HEIC examination. At the
recommendation of his mother, he was nominated a Cadet for the East India Company's
Bengal Infantry for the 1855/6 season by EIC Director Sir James Weir Hogg, Bart.
Edward was certified as qualified for admission to the HEIC service on the 4th of
December, 1855. He passed the Military Committee at East India House on the 12th of
December and embarked for India by the “overland” route on the 4th of January, 1856, and
was commissioned an Ensign the same day.
Ensign Codrington arrived at Calcutta on the 26th of February, 1856. Ordered to do duty
with the 11th Bengal Native Infantry, he joined the regiment at Allahabad on the 28th of
March, 1856. He was subsequently posted to the 57th Bengal Native Infantry in April of
1856 at Ferozepore, a city on the Sutlej River in the Punjab which had the largest arsenal in
Upper India.
On the 10th of May, 1857, the troopers of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry and the sepoys of
the 20th Bengal Native Infantry, which were then stationed at the large military
cantonment at Meerut in Northern India, broke into open revolt against their officers,
starting what was to become the great Indian Mutiny.
son of Lieutenant Christopher Codrington, of the 49th Bengal Native Infantry, and his wife
Julia Isabella. A member of an old India military family, his grandfather on his mother’s
side was Colonel Mark Carter Webber, Colonel of the 55th Bengal Native Infantry. His
father, a Brevet-Captain in the 49th Bengal Native Infantry was killed in action in during
the 1st Afghan War while commanding the 4th (Gurkha) Infantry at the defense of
Charikar, Kohistan,.
Edward received a classical and mathematical education at Cheltenham College and under
private tutors, probably so-called “crammers” for the HEIC examination. At the
recommendation of his mother, he was nominated a Cadet for the East India Company's
Bengal Infantry for the 1855/6 season by EIC Director Sir James Weir Hogg, Bart.
Edward was certified as qualified for admission to the HEIC service on the 4th of
December, 1855. He passed the Military Committee at East India House on the 12th of
December and embarked for India by the “overland” route on the 4th of January, 1856, and
was commissioned an Ensign the same day.
Ensign Codrington arrived at Calcutta on the 26th of February, 1856. Ordered to do duty
with the 11th Bengal Native Infantry, he joined the regiment at Allahabad on the 28th of
March, 1856. He was subsequently posted to the 57th Bengal Native Infantry in April of
1856 at Ferozepore, a city on the Sutlej River in the Punjab which had the largest arsenal in
Upper India.
On the 10th of May, 1857, the troopers of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry and the sepoys of
the 20th Bengal Native Infantry, which were then stationed at the large military
cantonment at Meerut in Northern India, broke into open revolt against their officers,
starting what was to become the great Indian Mutiny.
The mutiny soon spread to most of the other cantonments in the Bengal Presidency. Ferozepore was no different, and three days
later, on the 13th of May, the native troops, lead by the 45th B.N.I., broke into open Mutiny and attempted to seize the large
arsenal but fortunately, H.M. 61st Regiment was able to hold the arsenal against the attack. The sepoys of the 57th BNI, Ensign
Codrington’s regiment, with only a few exceptions, did not participate in the attack on the arsenal.
The following morning a decision was made to blow up the arsenal in order to keep it from falling into the hands of the mutineers.
Ensign Codrington’s regiment, the 57th Bengal Native Infantry, was then paraded and disarmed. Three hundred of the native
troopers immediately deserted and a decision was made on the spot to disband the regiment. The remaining native soldiers of the
regiment were sent home and the number of the regiment was effaced from the Bengal Army List.
His regiment no longer in existence, Ensign Codrington was ordered to assist in superintending the repairs to the fort at
Ferozepore. He was appointed Officiating Deputy Commissary of Ordnance at the Ferozepore Arsenal on the 20th of June,
serving in that capacity until the 19th of September, 1857. No doubt anxious for active duty in the ongoing conflict, Ensign
Codrington was probably quite pleased when in September he was promoted to Lieutenant and ordered to do duty with the newly-
raised 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry, then commonly referred to as Wale’s Horse after its commander (later to be known as the 11th
Bengal Cavalry or Probyn’s Horse).
In his own words, Lieutenant Codrington’s war services during the Indian Mutiny were as follows:
Services in the Field
“Served in the Campaign of 1857-58-59 in Hindustan with the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry.”
“Present during the occupation of the entrenched position at the “Allum Bagh”, in the vicinity of Lucknow, by the force under Sir
J. Outram from 16 January 1858 to 10 March 1858 - During which (was) present at the following-
Repulse of three separate attacks on 16 January.
Affair of 15 February.
Repulse of night attack on 16 February.
Repulse of attack on 17 February.
Repulse of attack on 21 February.
Repulse of night attack on 25 February.
Affair of the 9th March.
Present with the Brigade under Brigadier General Campbell, forming part of Lord Clyde’s army, at the siege and capture of
Lucknow in March 1858, including the affairs of the 19th and 21st March in the vicinity of the Moosa Bagh –
Present with the Moveable Column under Sir Hope Grant during the subsequent operations in Oudh, including the actions of
“Baree” (13th April 1858) and “Sirsee” (12th May 1858).”
The Alum Bagh was a large building in the outskirts of Lucknow. After evacuating the Residency at Lucknow in November of
1857, Sir Colin Campbell, knowing he could not hold the city against the rebels with the small force he then had, left Sir James
Outram with a force of 4000 men to hold the Alumbagh while Campbell retired to Cawnpore.
Although attacked on almost a daily basis, the force holding the Alumbagh defended it against a major attack on the 25th of
February, 1858, when the rebels made a last ditch effort to seize the position before Sir Colin’s column could return for the
final reduction of the city. The attacking rebel forces included twenty-four regiments of infantry and 1,000 cavalry troopers.
A desperate battle ensued in which the cavalry, including the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry, played a decisive role in the British
victory.
Sir Colin’s column returned to the Alumbagh on the 1st of March 1858, and operations against the city of Lucknow began without
delay. On the 6th of March, the forces under General Outram were ordered to cross the River Gumti and to engage the
defending rebel army on the 9th of March. After intense fighting, Outram’s forces ultimately succeeded in enfilading the enemy’s
works, rendering the rebel’s first line of defense untenable which they quickly abandoned. Wale’s Horse was actively involved in
this engagement, placing Lieutenant Codrington in the thick of the fighting for the final capture of the city of Lucknow.
Lieutenant Codrington continued to serve with the 1st Sikh Cavalry in the various actions the regiment was involved in during the
final capture of the city, including the attack on the Musabagh on the 19th of March, a palace defended by an estimated eight to
nine thousand rebels.
After the fall of Lucknow, the 1st Sikh Cavalry joined Sir Colin Campbell’s forces in attempting to prevent the rebels from
fleeing from the captured city. On the 21st of March, the cavalry force caught up with some of the fleeing rebels. Captain
Wales, the commander of the Regiment, was shot dead and two other officers of the regiment wounded. While the engagement
was ultimately a victory against the rebels, it was a victory won at a high cost. (For some reason, numerous sources incorrectly
report the date of Captain Wales’ death as the 1st of March, 1858.)
The 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry were ordered to serve with the forces under the command of Sir Hope Grant and for more than a
year participated in the campaign to clear Oude and then Rohilkund of rebel forces. Several major battles were fought,
including the action at the village of Baree (or Bari) in which the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry charged an attacking body of rebel
cavalry which was attempting to outflank the column, engaging in desperate hand-to-hand combat with a superior force. With
support finally coming to their aid with the effect of driving off the rebel cavalry, the charge by the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry
alerted Hope Grant’s force to the presence of the main rebel force and ruined the surprise flank attack planned by the rebel
leader, the Fyzabad Moulvi. The disheartened rebels then abandoned their strong defensive position near Baree without the
necessity of the attack which had been planned by Sir Hope Grant. The cavalry charge by the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry thus
had an effect far beyond a relatively small encounter with the rebel cavalry, saving the column from a surprise flank attack and
from having to launch a frontal attack against a heavily fortified rebel position. Lieutenant Codrington’s Statement of Services
places him with the Regiment at the battle of Baree.
Hope Grant’s forces, reinforced by the Nepalese contingent under Maharaja Jung Bahadur, then moved southward to protect the
Cawnpore-Lucknow Road from the rebels. After clearing the area, the column returned to Jellalabad, where in May, the 1st Sikh
Irregular Cavalry was joined by its new commander, the famed cavalry commander Major Dighton Probyn. Lieutenant Codrington
continued to serve with the Regiment throughout the remainder of Sir Hope Grant’s campaign, a campaign which finally devolved
into what can best be described as mopping up operations which coincided with the official end of the Mutiny.
Following the end of the Mutiny, when preparations were being made for the issuance of a medal to be issued for service during
the Mutiny, it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that an “Alumbagh” clasp would be authorized for men who served there
under General Outram. Many of the original Mutiny medal rolls complied for different regiments specifically recorded where or
not members of the regiment had been present at the Alumbagh in anticipation of the issuance of such a clasp. However, an
Alumbagh clasp was not to be, and for his services during the Indian Mutiny, Lieutenant Codrington received the Indian Mutiny
medal with the clasp for Lucknow, officially impressed to him as a Lieutenant in the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry. Only 13
European Officers received the Indian Mutiny medal named to the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry.
Following the conclusion of the Mutiny, Lieutenant Codrington was ordered to do duty with the 4th Sikh Infantry, part of the
famed Punjab Irregular Force. He joined that regiment at Abbottabad on the 15th of April, 1859, and on the 22nd of
September was appointed Officiating Adjutant.
In December of 1859, still serving with the 4th Sikh Infantry, Lieutenant Codrington served with the Kurrum Field Force in the
expedition against the Kabul Khel Waziris. The campaign was a punitive expedition mounted in response to the brutal murder of
Captain Meecham of the No.3 Punjab Light Field Battery by an unknown group of Waziris, a Pashtun tribe living on the North
West Frontier. Lieutenant Codrington was present with the 4th Sikh Infantry in the fighting in the range of hills known as the
“Maidani” in which the 4th Sikhs and the Corps of Guides bore the brunt of the heaviest fighting of the campaign. For his
participation in the campaign, Codrington received his second campaign medal, the India General Service Medal 1854-1895, with
clasp for the North West Frontier. (Unfortunately, the location of this medal is unknown.)
On the 28th of February, 1860, Lieutenant Codrington, along with several other officers of the 4th Sikh Infantry, transferred
to the Hazara Goorkha Battalion, another regiment of the Punjab Frontier Force. Lieutenant was admitted to the Bengal Staff
Corps in November of 1861, the same year his regiment was re-designated the 5th Goorkha Regiment. In April of 1862,
Lieutenant Codrington was appointed Adjutant of the Regiment.
From the 19th of October to the 24th of December 1863, Lieutenant Codrington served with 5th Goorkha Regiment in the First
Brigade of the Eusufzai Field Force during the occupation of the Umbeyla Pass. Umbeyla was the fiercest of all the campaigns
which qualified for the IGS 1854 medal and following the conclusion of the hostilities, for a considerable period of time there
was strong sentiment that a separate medal should be issued to those who had taken part in such hard fighting , rather than a
mere clasp,. However, almost six years after the end of the fighting, a clasp to the IGS 1854 medal was issued for the campaign.
In October of 1863, a Field Force under the command of Major-General Sir Neville Chamberlain was sent to destroy a “nest” of
seditious Hindostani religious fanatics on the Northwest Frontier of India. These fanatics had been the subject of several
earlier punitive actions and, having greatly expanded their sphere of influence, had regrouped with their followers at Malka,
where they had begun making raids on neighboring villages and trade caravans traveling through the area.
For Chamberlain’s column to reach the rebellious tribesmen’s stronghold at Malka, it was necessary for it to travel through one
of two main passes through the high mountain range. Major-General Chamberlain choose what he was convinced would be the
quickest route, through the Umbeyla Pass, believing that the Bunerwals (a tribe of the Yusafzais Pathans) living there would
remain neutral, an assumption that was to prove very costly.
The column advanced into the Umbeyla Pass on the 19th of October and almost immediately became bogged down in heavy fighting
with the local tribesmen. It soon became apparent that it was going to be necessary for the column to establish a base camp
within the Pass; however, the geography did not provide any area ideal for a defensive position. Although there was some low,
relatively flat ground in the center of the Pass, it was vulnerable to rifle fire from two rocky peaks approximately 1,000 feet
higher than the camp, one on either side of the Pass. The one on the left was given the name the Eagle’s Nest (or Eagle’s Rest in
some accounts) and the slightly higher one on the right with a pointed summit was dubbed “Crag Piquet”.
The key to controlling the Pass was Crag Piquet, which was to be the site of the fiercest fighting of the entire campaign and a
geographical feature that was to become a household name in England for decades to come. Three times “The Crag” was to change
hands, with heavy casualties being sustained on both sides on each occasion, and with two Victoria Crosses being awarded for
outstanding gallantry by two young British officers on this relatively tiny rocky outcropping.
Lieutenant Codrington was present with the 5th Goorkhas during the entire bloody episode in the Umbeyla Pass. The 5th Goorkha
Regiment played an important part during the October and November, but it was on the 20th of November, after the Crag had
been retaken by the tribesman for the third and final time that the 5th Goorkha Regiment would be engaged in its toughest
fighting of the campaign. The regimental history picks up the story:
“…On November 20th, the Crag piquet was lost for the third time, and the entire regiment played a prominent part in its
recapture. It had been held by 200 men, half of them provided by the 101st Royal Bengal Fusiliers. Beginning their effort at 9 a.
m. and continuing until 3 p.m. the tribesmen had assailed the piquet, but in vain. Then, as the result, apparently, of some
deplorable misunderstanding, the north side of the Crag was left without defenders, and despite the utmost endeavours of the
rest of the garrison the enemy gained possession. From its position in relation to the new camp it had assumed even greater
importance than before. General Chambelain at once ordered up the 71st Highland Light Infantry and the 5th Gurkhas, arranged
for artillery covering fire, added the 5th Punjab Infantry to the strength of the attacking column, and himself lead the way
towards the hill.
Major Campbell was wounded while the Regiment was formed up preparatory to advancing, and Captain Close being on piquet
duty elsewhere, it fell to Lieutenant Codrington to command on this occasion. The Highlanders took the direct line, the 5th
Gurkhas and 5th Punjab Infantry moved round the exposed flank, and the enemy were routed. The General himself was wounded
during the advance, but remained with the attackers until the summit was won. The casualties in the Regiment numbered three
killed and nine wounded.”
Having retaken the Crag, it was determined to continue the advance against the tribesmen. The regimental history continues:
General Garvock therefore decided on a general advance, choosing as successive objectives the village of Lalu beyond the conical
hill, Ambela Village near the head of the Chamla Valley on the left bank of the stream, and the pass into Buner. Reinforcements
had continued to arrive from India, with the result that after leaving a garrison of three thousand for the camp he was still in a
position to dispose of a force of nearly five thousand for his offensive. These he divided into two columns, the right under
Colonel Turner, the left under Colonel Wilde. The Regiment formed part of the left column, and with it played a very
distinguished part.
On the morning of December 15th the advance began. Turner’s column moved off in the direction of Lalu, but, its further
progress checked by large bodies of the enemy to its left front in occupation of the conical hill which had been the scene of the
action of October 25th, it secured the ridges to the south and east of that feature and awaited the arrival of the left column.
The Regiment leading, Wilde’s force prepared to attack the enemy’s formidable position. When it arrived on the alignment of the
right column a general assault was launched, both columns advancing with great dash and sending the enemy flying into the valley
beyond. The conical hill itself and the ground to the west of it fell to Wilde’s men. There they consolidated, what time Turner
went forward and destroyed Lalu. On the left the enemy came again, giving the Regiment more than one fine chance of showing
its qualities of speed and initiative. Three times the 5th Gurkhas charged, inflicting heavy loss on the enemy and giving him no
opportunity to remove his dead and wounded. So swift and unexpected was the Regiment’s action on one of these occasions that
they captured one of the tribesmen’s jealously guarded standards…”
Lieutenant Codrington was mentioned “for forwardness in action on the 15th of December” in the despatch of Lt-Colonel A.
Wilde. His name was also brought to notice of the Punjab Government by the Commander-in-Chief for services at the Umbeyla
Pass. For his services during the campaign, Lieutenant Codrington received the Umbeyla clasp, his second, to his India General
Service Medal.
Lieutenant Codrington was appointed Officiating Second-in-Command of the 5th Goorkha Regiment in December of 1863, and a
Wing Officer on the 22nd of February, 1864. He was appointed Officiating Staff Officer, Punjab Frontier Force, on the 13th
of October 1865, until March of 1866. Codrington was promoted in Captain on the 4th of January 1868.
In 1868, Captain Codrington served with 5th Goorkha Regiment in the Agrore Valley (Hazara) in the force under Colonel
Rothney. He commanded four companies of the Regiment in the affair of the 12th of August, 1868, when the enemy were driven
out of the valley.
Captain Codrington also served with 5th Goorkha Regiment in the 1st Brigade Hazara Field Force under Major General A. T.
Wilde, C.B., C.S.I., during the operations on the Black Mountain in October 1868. He commanded the Regiment in this campaign
from the 8th until the 20th of October.
Captain Codrington served as Staff Officer to a detachment of troops in Agrore from the 30th of September, 1869, to January,
1870. He officiated as Second-in-Command of the Regiment from the 19th of November, 1869, till the 5th of February, 1872.
Captain Codrington was ordered to do duty with, and appointed Second-in-Command of, the 2nd Punjab Infantry on the 8th of
July, 1872. He was promoted Major on the 4th of January, 1876.
Following the outbreak of the 2nd Afghan War, Major Codrington served with the 2nd Punjab Infantry in the 1st Brigade under
General F. S. Roberts. The 1st Brigade crossed the Kuram River into Afghanistan on the 21st of November, 1878. The 2nd
Punjab Infantry served in Afghanistan from November, 1878, until April of 1879, including the attack on the Peiwar Kotal on the
1st of December, 1878, and the subsequent picquet of the Peiwar Kotal over the extremely harsh Afghan winter. The Regiment
was ultimately ordered back to India by the Medical Committee in April of 1879, mainly due to the effect of the Afghan winter
on the men of the regiment. For his services in the Afghan campaign, Major Codrington received the 2nd Afghan War medal with
clasp for the Peiwar Kotal. (The location of this medal is also unknown.)
Edward Codrington was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel on the 4th of January, 1882. He was furloughed to England on medical
certificate for one year in March of 1883, and while still in England, on the 1st of April, 1883, Codrington was appointed
Commandant of the 2nd Punjab Infantry. However, he was never to return to India and he retired on the 4th of January,
1885. As was customary, Codrington was promoted full Colonel the same day.
Colonel Edward Christian Codrington died on the 1st of July, 1888, at Exmouth, England. He was fifty years old. Colonel
Codrington’s early death was probably in no small part due to his decades of arduous campaigning in the Indian sub-continent.
His complete medal entitlement consisted of the Indian Mutiny medal with clasp for Lucknow, the India General Service medal
with clasps for Umbeyla and the North West Frontier, and the 2nd Afghan War medal with clasp for Peiwar Kotal.
India Office Records: L/MIL/10/85 no. 195 & 94 no.125, Bengal Services; L/MIL/9/236 no. 47, Cadet Papers.
Government of India, General Order 76, 29 January 1864.
E.L. Maxwell, A History of the XI King Edward’s Own Lancers, (1914).
later, on the 13th of May, the native troops, lead by the 45th B.N.I., broke into open Mutiny and attempted to seize the large
arsenal but fortunately, H.M. 61st Regiment was able to hold the arsenal against the attack. The sepoys of the 57th BNI, Ensign
Codrington’s regiment, with only a few exceptions, did not participate in the attack on the arsenal.
The following morning a decision was made to blow up the arsenal in order to keep it from falling into the hands of the mutineers.
Ensign Codrington’s regiment, the 57th Bengal Native Infantry, was then paraded and disarmed. Three hundred of the native
troopers immediately deserted and a decision was made on the spot to disband the regiment. The remaining native soldiers of the
regiment were sent home and the number of the regiment was effaced from the Bengal Army List.
His regiment no longer in existence, Ensign Codrington was ordered to assist in superintending the repairs to the fort at
Ferozepore. He was appointed Officiating Deputy Commissary of Ordnance at the Ferozepore Arsenal on the 20th of June,
serving in that capacity until the 19th of September, 1857. No doubt anxious for active duty in the ongoing conflict, Ensign
Codrington was probably quite pleased when in September he was promoted to Lieutenant and ordered to do duty with the newly-
raised 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry, then commonly referred to as Wale’s Horse after its commander (later to be known as the 11th
Bengal Cavalry or Probyn’s Horse).
In his own words, Lieutenant Codrington’s war services during the Indian Mutiny were as follows:
Services in the Field
“Served in the Campaign of 1857-58-59 in Hindustan with the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry.”
“Present during the occupation of the entrenched position at the “Allum Bagh”, in the vicinity of Lucknow, by the force under Sir
J. Outram from 16 January 1858 to 10 March 1858 - During which (was) present at the following-
Repulse of three separate attacks on 16 January.
Affair of 15 February.
Repulse of night attack on 16 February.
Repulse of attack on 17 February.
Repulse of attack on 21 February.
Repulse of night attack on 25 February.
Affair of the 9th March.
Present with the Brigade under Brigadier General Campbell, forming part of Lord Clyde’s army, at the siege and capture of
Lucknow in March 1858, including the affairs of the 19th and 21st March in the vicinity of the Moosa Bagh –
Present with the Moveable Column under Sir Hope Grant during the subsequent operations in Oudh, including the actions of
“Baree” (13th April 1858) and “Sirsee” (12th May 1858).”
The Alum Bagh was a large building in the outskirts of Lucknow. After evacuating the Residency at Lucknow in November of
1857, Sir Colin Campbell, knowing he could not hold the city against the rebels with the small force he then had, left Sir James
Outram with a force of 4000 men to hold the Alumbagh while Campbell retired to Cawnpore.
Although attacked on almost a daily basis, the force holding the Alumbagh defended it against a major attack on the 25th of
February, 1858, when the rebels made a last ditch effort to seize the position before Sir Colin’s column could return for the
final reduction of the city. The attacking rebel forces included twenty-four regiments of infantry and 1,000 cavalry troopers.
A desperate battle ensued in which the cavalry, including the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry, played a decisive role in the British
victory.
Sir Colin’s column returned to the Alumbagh on the 1st of March 1858, and operations against the city of Lucknow began without
delay. On the 6th of March, the forces under General Outram were ordered to cross the River Gumti and to engage the
defending rebel army on the 9th of March. After intense fighting, Outram’s forces ultimately succeeded in enfilading the enemy’s
works, rendering the rebel’s first line of defense untenable which they quickly abandoned. Wale’s Horse was actively involved in
this engagement, placing Lieutenant Codrington in the thick of the fighting for the final capture of the city of Lucknow.
Lieutenant Codrington continued to serve with the 1st Sikh Cavalry in the various actions the regiment was involved in during the
final capture of the city, including the attack on the Musabagh on the 19th of March, a palace defended by an estimated eight to
nine thousand rebels.
After the fall of Lucknow, the 1st Sikh Cavalry joined Sir Colin Campbell’s forces in attempting to prevent the rebels from
fleeing from the captured city. On the 21st of March, the cavalry force caught up with some of the fleeing rebels. Captain
Wales, the commander of the Regiment, was shot dead and two other officers of the regiment wounded. While the engagement
was ultimately a victory against the rebels, it was a victory won at a high cost. (For some reason, numerous sources incorrectly
report the date of Captain Wales’ death as the 1st of March, 1858.)
The 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry were ordered to serve with the forces under the command of Sir Hope Grant and for more than a
year participated in the campaign to clear Oude and then Rohilkund of rebel forces. Several major battles were fought,
including the action at the village of Baree (or Bari) in which the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry charged an attacking body of rebel
cavalry which was attempting to outflank the column, engaging in desperate hand-to-hand combat with a superior force. With
support finally coming to their aid with the effect of driving off the rebel cavalry, the charge by the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry
alerted Hope Grant’s force to the presence of the main rebel force and ruined the surprise flank attack planned by the rebel
leader, the Fyzabad Moulvi. The disheartened rebels then abandoned their strong defensive position near Baree without the
necessity of the attack which had been planned by Sir Hope Grant. The cavalry charge by the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry thus
had an effect far beyond a relatively small encounter with the rebel cavalry, saving the column from a surprise flank attack and
from having to launch a frontal attack against a heavily fortified rebel position. Lieutenant Codrington’s Statement of Services
places him with the Regiment at the battle of Baree.
Hope Grant’s forces, reinforced by the Nepalese contingent under Maharaja Jung Bahadur, then moved southward to protect the
Cawnpore-Lucknow Road from the rebels. After clearing the area, the column returned to Jellalabad, where in May, the 1st Sikh
Irregular Cavalry was joined by its new commander, the famed cavalry commander Major Dighton Probyn. Lieutenant Codrington
continued to serve with the Regiment throughout the remainder of Sir Hope Grant’s campaign, a campaign which finally devolved
into what can best be described as mopping up operations which coincided with the official end of the Mutiny.
Following the end of the Mutiny, when preparations were being made for the issuance of a medal to be issued for service during
the Mutiny, it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that an “Alumbagh” clasp would be authorized for men who served there
under General Outram. Many of the original Mutiny medal rolls complied for different regiments specifically recorded where or
not members of the regiment had been present at the Alumbagh in anticipation of the issuance of such a clasp. However, an
Alumbagh clasp was not to be, and for his services during the Indian Mutiny, Lieutenant Codrington received the Indian Mutiny
medal with the clasp for Lucknow, officially impressed to him as a Lieutenant in the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry. Only 13
European Officers received the Indian Mutiny medal named to the 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry.
Following the conclusion of the Mutiny, Lieutenant Codrington was ordered to do duty with the 4th Sikh Infantry, part of the
famed Punjab Irregular Force. He joined that regiment at Abbottabad on the 15th of April, 1859, and on the 22nd of
September was appointed Officiating Adjutant.
In December of 1859, still serving with the 4th Sikh Infantry, Lieutenant Codrington served with the Kurrum Field Force in the
expedition against the Kabul Khel Waziris. The campaign was a punitive expedition mounted in response to the brutal murder of
Captain Meecham of the No.3 Punjab Light Field Battery by an unknown group of Waziris, a Pashtun tribe living on the North
West Frontier. Lieutenant Codrington was present with the 4th Sikh Infantry in the fighting in the range of hills known as the
“Maidani” in which the 4th Sikhs and the Corps of Guides bore the brunt of the heaviest fighting of the campaign. For his
participation in the campaign, Codrington received his second campaign medal, the India General Service Medal 1854-1895, with
clasp for the North West Frontier. (Unfortunately, the location of this medal is unknown.)
On the 28th of February, 1860, Lieutenant Codrington, along with several other officers of the 4th Sikh Infantry, transferred
to the Hazara Goorkha Battalion, another regiment of the Punjab Frontier Force. Lieutenant was admitted to the Bengal Staff
Corps in November of 1861, the same year his regiment was re-designated the 5th Goorkha Regiment. In April of 1862,
Lieutenant Codrington was appointed Adjutant of the Regiment.
From the 19th of October to the 24th of December 1863, Lieutenant Codrington served with 5th Goorkha Regiment in the First
Brigade of the Eusufzai Field Force during the occupation of the Umbeyla Pass. Umbeyla was the fiercest of all the campaigns
which qualified for the IGS 1854 medal and following the conclusion of the hostilities, for a considerable period of time there
was strong sentiment that a separate medal should be issued to those who had taken part in such hard fighting , rather than a
mere clasp,. However, almost six years after the end of the fighting, a clasp to the IGS 1854 medal was issued for the campaign.
In October of 1863, a Field Force under the command of Major-General Sir Neville Chamberlain was sent to destroy a “nest” of
seditious Hindostani religious fanatics on the Northwest Frontier of India. These fanatics had been the subject of several
earlier punitive actions and, having greatly expanded their sphere of influence, had regrouped with their followers at Malka,
where they had begun making raids on neighboring villages and trade caravans traveling through the area.
For Chamberlain’s column to reach the rebellious tribesmen’s stronghold at Malka, it was necessary for it to travel through one
of two main passes through the high mountain range. Major-General Chamberlain choose what he was convinced would be the
quickest route, through the Umbeyla Pass, believing that the Bunerwals (a tribe of the Yusafzais Pathans) living there would
remain neutral, an assumption that was to prove very costly.
The column advanced into the Umbeyla Pass on the 19th of October and almost immediately became bogged down in heavy fighting
with the local tribesmen. It soon became apparent that it was going to be necessary for the column to establish a base camp
within the Pass; however, the geography did not provide any area ideal for a defensive position. Although there was some low,
relatively flat ground in the center of the Pass, it was vulnerable to rifle fire from two rocky peaks approximately 1,000 feet
higher than the camp, one on either side of the Pass. The one on the left was given the name the Eagle’s Nest (or Eagle’s Rest in
some accounts) and the slightly higher one on the right with a pointed summit was dubbed “Crag Piquet”.
The key to controlling the Pass was Crag Piquet, which was to be the site of the fiercest fighting of the entire campaign and a
geographical feature that was to become a household name in England for decades to come. Three times “The Crag” was to change
hands, with heavy casualties being sustained on both sides on each occasion, and with two Victoria Crosses being awarded for
outstanding gallantry by two young British officers on this relatively tiny rocky outcropping.
Lieutenant Codrington was present with the 5th Goorkhas during the entire bloody episode in the Umbeyla Pass. The 5th Goorkha
Regiment played an important part during the October and November, but it was on the 20th of November, after the Crag had
been retaken by the tribesman for the third and final time that the 5th Goorkha Regiment would be engaged in its toughest
fighting of the campaign. The regimental history picks up the story:
“…On November 20th, the Crag piquet was lost for the third time, and the entire regiment played a prominent part in its
recapture. It had been held by 200 men, half of them provided by the 101st Royal Bengal Fusiliers. Beginning their effort at 9 a.
m. and continuing until 3 p.m. the tribesmen had assailed the piquet, but in vain. Then, as the result, apparently, of some
deplorable misunderstanding, the north side of the Crag was left without defenders, and despite the utmost endeavours of the
rest of the garrison the enemy gained possession. From its position in relation to the new camp it had assumed even greater
importance than before. General Chambelain at once ordered up the 71st Highland Light Infantry and the 5th Gurkhas, arranged
for artillery covering fire, added the 5th Punjab Infantry to the strength of the attacking column, and himself lead the way
towards the hill.
Major Campbell was wounded while the Regiment was formed up preparatory to advancing, and Captain Close being on piquet
duty elsewhere, it fell to Lieutenant Codrington to command on this occasion. The Highlanders took the direct line, the 5th
Gurkhas and 5th Punjab Infantry moved round the exposed flank, and the enemy were routed. The General himself was wounded
during the advance, but remained with the attackers until the summit was won. The casualties in the Regiment numbered three
killed and nine wounded.”
Having retaken the Crag, it was determined to continue the advance against the tribesmen. The regimental history continues:
General Garvock therefore decided on a general advance, choosing as successive objectives the village of Lalu beyond the conical
hill, Ambela Village near the head of the Chamla Valley on the left bank of the stream, and the pass into Buner. Reinforcements
had continued to arrive from India, with the result that after leaving a garrison of three thousand for the camp he was still in a
position to dispose of a force of nearly five thousand for his offensive. These he divided into two columns, the right under
Colonel Turner, the left under Colonel Wilde. The Regiment formed part of the left column, and with it played a very
distinguished part.
On the morning of December 15th the advance began. Turner’s column moved off in the direction of Lalu, but, its further
progress checked by large bodies of the enemy to its left front in occupation of the conical hill which had been the scene of the
action of October 25th, it secured the ridges to the south and east of that feature and awaited the arrival of the left column.
The Regiment leading, Wilde’s force prepared to attack the enemy’s formidable position. When it arrived on the alignment of the
right column a general assault was launched, both columns advancing with great dash and sending the enemy flying into the valley
beyond. The conical hill itself and the ground to the west of it fell to Wilde’s men. There they consolidated, what time Turner
went forward and destroyed Lalu. On the left the enemy came again, giving the Regiment more than one fine chance of showing
its qualities of speed and initiative. Three times the 5th Gurkhas charged, inflicting heavy loss on the enemy and giving him no
opportunity to remove his dead and wounded. So swift and unexpected was the Regiment’s action on one of these occasions that
they captured one of the tribesmen’s jealously guarded standards…”
Lieutenant Codrington was mentioned “for forwardness in action on the 15th of December” in the despatch of Lt-Colonel A.
Wilde. His name was also brought to notice of the Punjab Government by the Commander-in-Chief for services at the Umbeyla
Pass. For his services during the campaign, Lieutenant Codrington received the Umbeyla clasp, his second, to his India General
Service Medal.
Lieutenant Codrington was appointed Officiating Second-in-Command of the 5th Goorkha Regiment in December of 1863, and a
Wing Officer on the 22nd of February, 1864. He was appointed Officiating Staff Officer, Punjab Frontier Force, on the 13th
of October 1865, until March of 1866. Codrington was promoted in Captain on the 4th of January 1868.
In 1868, Captain Codrington served with 5th Goorkha Regiment in the Agrore Valley (Hazara) in the force under Colonel
Rothney. He commanded four companies of the Regiment in the affair of the 12th of August, 1868, when the enemy were driven
out of the valley.
Captain Codrington also served with 5th Goorkha Regiment in the 1st Brigade Hazara Field Force under Major General A. T.
Wilde, C.B., C.S.I., during the operations on the Black Mountain in October 1868. He commanded the Regiment in this campaign
from the 8th until the 20th of October.
Captain Codrington served as Staff Officer to a detachment of troops in Agrore from the 30th of September, 1869, to January,
1870. He officiated as Second-in-Command of the Regiment from the 19th of November, 1869, till the 5th of February, 1872.
Captain Codrington was ordered to do duty with, and appointed Second-in-Command of, the 2nd Punjab Infantry on the 8th of
July, 1872. He was promoted Major on the 4th of January, 1876.
Following the outbreak of the 2nd Afghan War, Major Codrington served with the 2nd Punjab Infantry in the 1st Brigade under
General F. S. Roberts. The 1st Brigade crossed the Kuram River into Afghanistan on the 21st of November, 1878. The 2nd
Punjab Infantry served in Afghanistan from November, 1878, until April of 1879, including the attack on the Peiwar Kotal on the
1st of December, 1878, and the subsequent picquet of the Peiwar Kotal over the extremely harsh Afghan winter. The Regiment
was ultimately ordered back to India by the Medical Committee in April of 1879, mainly due to the effect of the Afghan winter
on the men of the regiment. For his services in the Afghan campaign, Major Codrington received the 2nd Afghan War medal with
clasp for the Peiwar Kotal. (The location of this medal is also unknown.)
Edward Codrington was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel on the 4th of January, 1882. He was furloughed to England on medical
certificate for one year in March of 1883, and while still in England, on the 1st of April, 1883, Codrington was appointed
Commandant of the 2nd Punjab Infantry. However, he was never to return to India and he retired on the 4th of January,
1885. As was customary, Codrington was promoted full Colonel the same day.
Colonel Edward Christian Codrington died on the 1st of July, 1888, at Exmouth, England. He was fifty years old. Colonel
Codrington’s early death was probably in no small part due to his decades of arduous campaigning in the Indian sub-continent.
His complete medal entitlement consisted of the Indian Mutiny medal with clasp for Lucknow, the India General Service medal
with clasps for Umbeyla and the North West Frontier, and the 2nd Afghan War medal with clasp for Peiwar Kotal.
India Office Records: L/MIL/10/85 no. 195 & 94 no.125, Bengal Services; L/MIL/9/236 no. 47, Cadet Papers.
Government of India, General Order 76, 29 January 1864.
E.L. Maxwell, A History of the XI King Edward’s Own Lancers, (1914).
