As we have seen Nolan was impressed by the Indian irregular cavalry in British employ. His praise in unequivocal, my emphasis.
"whilst, at the same time, brilliant proofs
were given of the superiority of the irregulars, armed with sharp swords, and
having a proper command over their horses." Below, we see "a proper command over their horses". Fancy stuff from Skinners Horse. I have no doubt at all that such acrobatics took place. Note too, they fire from the saddle just as the Gorchurra did.
Nolan contrasts their performance with that of the Regulars.
“The same contrast is presented by our native irregular and our native regular cavalry in India. The first, acting on usage and instinct, and armed and mounted in their own Oriental way, are nearly always effective in the battle, or the skirmish, or the recognisance; the second, cramped by our rules and regulations, and, as it were, de-naturalised, are rarely of any service whatever. For a long series of years, the only native cavalry we kept in India was the irregular.”
“These corps were formed before our infantry sepoys, and many and most important were the services they rendered to us. They were always active — always rapid. The names of some of the most distinguished leaders of this brilliant light cavalry are still revered in India. If their corps had been Europeanised, and turned into regulars, assuredly we never should have heard of them as heroes.”
“Nothing during that campaign was more gallant and determined than the behaviour of the Scinde horse, whereas the distinction the regulars attained was such that it is best passed over in silence. Yet the only difference between the men composing the two arms lay in their organisation.”
“My attention was drawn particularly to the fight by the doctor's report of the killed and wounded, most of whom had suffered by the sword, and in the column of remarks such entries as the following were numerous: —
" Arm cut off from the shoulder.
" Head severed.
" Both hands cut off (apparently at one blow) above the wrists, in holding up the arms to protect the head.
" Leg cut off above the knee," &c. &c.”
“I was astonished. Were these men giants, to lop off limbs thus wholesale? or was this result to be attributed (as I was told) to the sharp edge of the native blade and the peculiar way of drawing it?
“I became anxious to see these horsemen of the Nizam, to examine their wonderful blades, and learn the knack of lopping off men's limbs."
You will notice that we have met these types of injury before inflicted at the hands of the Gorchurra. We will meet them again when we look at the performance of the British regular cavalry.
To drive home his point, if I may be forgiven a martial metaphor, Nolan secured an interview with one of the victorious troopers. The emphasis below is mine.
"Opportunity soon offered, for the Commander-in-Chief went to Hyderabad on a tour of inspection, on which I accompanied him. After passing the Kistna River, a squadron of these very horsemen joined the camp as part of the escort.”
“And now fancy my astonishment!
The sword-blades they had were chiefly old dragoon blades cast from our service. The men had mounted them after their own fashion. The hilt and handle, both of metal, small in the grip, rather flat, not round like ours where the edge seldom falls true ; they all had an edge like a razor from heel to point, were worn in wooden scabbards, a short single sling held them to the waist-belt, from which a strap passed through the hilt to a button in front, to keep the sword steady and prevent it flying out of the scabbard.
The swords are never drawn except in action.
An old trooper of the Nizam's told me the old broad English blades were in great favour with them when mounted and kept as above described: but as we wore them, they were good for nothing in their hands.”
I said, " How do you strike with your swords to cut off men's limbs?"
" Strike hard, sir!" said the old trooper.
" Yes, of course; but how do you teach the men to use their swords in that particular way? [drawing it.)
“ We never teach them any- way, sir : a sharp sword will cut in any one's hand."
To continue further would be to labour Nolan's point about the effectiveness of Indian irregular cavalry. He has set out his case with examples well known to his audience.
His task was not over, he must also speak of the performance of the British regular cavalry. That needed careful handling if Nolan's reform project was to bear fruit. We will see what he had to say in the next installment.
