Orders, Decorations and Medals

A rare and important early Indian C.B. group of three awarded to General William Pattle, Bengal Cavalry, Commanding the Cavalry and overall 2nd in Command to Sir Charles Napier during the conquest of Scinde

The Most Honourable Order of The Bath, C.B. (Military) breast badge in 22 carat gold and enamels, date letter obscure but other marks consistent with period of award, complete with wide swivel-ring suspension and gold ribbon buckle; Army of India 1799-1826, 3 clasps, Allighur, Laswarree, Capture of Deig (Lieut. Wm. Pattle, 1st Cavy.) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming; Meeanee Hyderabad 1843 (Lieutenant Colonel W. Pattle, 9th Regt. Bengal Light Cavalry) naming finely engraved in running script, fitted with original steel clip and a magnificent privately made gold scroll suspension, with two clasps inscribed ‘Laswarrie’ and ‘Hydrabad’, all contained in a contemporary fitted leather case by Hunt & Roskell, late Storr & Mortimer, Jewellers to The Queen and Royal Family, this important group has not previously been offered for sale, visually impressive and in near mint condition (3) £9000-12000

William Pattle was born in London on 28 July 1783, son of Thomas Pattle, Bengal Civil Service. He was appointed a Cadet in 1798 and arrived in India on 9 December 1800, as a Cornet in the Bengal Infantry. In April 1801, he transferred to the 1st Native Cavalry, no doubt to be alongside his elder brother, Lieutenant Henry John Pattle, who was unfortunately killed by a wall falling on him during a hurricane in February 1803. During 1803 he took part in the operations in Jumna Doab (The Mud War), including Sasni, Bijaigarh, and Kachaura. In August of the same year Pattle’s regiment formed part of General Lake’s Grand Army in the Doab at the commencement of operations against the Mahratta chiefs. On 29th August, he took part in the insignificant cavalry skirmish at Coel, before Allighur, which ended in the retreat of the Mahratta cavalry under Fleury, a Frenchman, who thereupon made a raid on Shekoabad, in British territory. On the 3rd September, Lake determined to seize by storm the fort of Allighur, which was held by a garrison of several thousand men. The storming parties, after a fruitless attempt to escalade the walls and after blowing in no less than three gates, succeeded in forcing an entrance to the fort and, once inside, the British troops cleared it out and killed some 2000 Mahrattas. That night Lake received news of the raid on Shekoabad by the Mahratta cavalry under Fleury, and immediately despatched the 3rd Cavalry Brigade (29th L.D., 1st and 4th Bengal L.C.) to repel the incursion and relieve Shekoabad. Thereafter Pattle participated in the defeat of the Mahratta forces under General Louis Bourquien at Delhi on the 11th September, and the storming of the heights at Agra on 18th October. On 1st November, Lake’s army overtook the Mahrattas and defeated them in the desperately fought encounter at Laswaree - ‘as fierce a fight as ever was fought by men’ as Fortescue called it, ‘as dramatic as Assye and even more decisive’. In December the army marched to the siege and capture of Deig. On the 13th, the place was invested and at midnight, 23rd-24th December, the breach was successfully stormed and the citadel captured. Four days later Lake marched on Bhurtpoor where a protracted siege ensued. No less than four assaults were made against the fortress in January and February 1805, but all were uniformly unsuccessful. Lake was, however, undeterred and the Rajah of Bhurtpoor seeing that it would be merely a matter of time, made overtures of peace, which were accepted. For his part in the Mahratta war Pattle received, nearly 50 years later, the Army of India Medal with three clasps for Allighur, Laswarree and the Capture of Deig. As the medal was only issued to officers and men still alive in 1851, this combination of clasps was issued to only eight claimants, of whom three were officers.

At the conclusion of hostilities Pattle was promoted to Lieutenant, 11 March 1805, and served as Adjutant of his regiment from 1806 until January 1810, when he took part in the operations in Bundelkhund against Gopal Singh, and the action at Bichaund. He was on furlough from 1811 until August 1815; promoted to Captain in June 1816, and served in the 3rd Mahratta War 1817-19. Between 1827 and 1838, Pattle took three periods of leave, variously of between 12 and 18 months duration, in the Cape of Good Hope. He became Major in June 1826, Lieutenant Colonel in April 1833, and Brigadier 2nd class, commanding the 1st Cavalry Brigade of the Army of Reserve for Afghanistan, June to October 1842. He took command of the troops at Sukkur in November 1842, but was not destined to see action during the war in Afghanistan then raging.

Since the outbreak of hostilities in Afghanistan in 1839, the relations of the British with the Amirs of Scinde had not been good, and the unhappy state of affairs culminated in a treacherous attack on the British Residency at Hyderabad on 15th February 1843. Two days later, the force under Sir Charles Napier, with Pattle commanding the cavalry and Napier’s 2nd in overall command, encountered the enemy on the banks of the Fulaili Nullah, near Meeanee, about six miles from Hyderabad. After a desperate fight against a foe five times their number, the enemy were defeated with immense slaughter. During the battle Napier sent orders to the cavalry to force the right of the enemy’s line, this order being gallantly executed by the 9th light cavalry, who captured a standard and several pieces of artillery, and the Sinde Horse. As Napier reported in his subsequent despatch, ‘The gallant charge of the Bengal cavalry was intrepidly led by Lieutenant-Colonel Pattle, second in command, and Major Storey...the brilliant conduct of these two cavalry regiments decided, in my opinion, the crisis of the action..’ (Despatch to Lord Ellenborough, dated 18 February 1843).

Hyderabad was entered on 20th February and the Scinde annexed on 12th March; but one Sirdar, Mir Sher Mohammed, still remained in the field with 20,000 men at Dubba, some 4 miles from Hyderabad. Having been reinforced Napier marched to the attack, and found the Baluchis posted behind a nullah. A preliminary shelling from the artillery, followed by an advance of the infantry, compelled the enemy to give ground; and the turning of both flanks by the cavalry turned the retreat into an utter rout. In his final despatch Napier reported, ‘To Lieutenant-Colonel Pattle, as second in command, I am indebted for his zealous activity and readiness to execute any duties confided to his charge.’ (Despatch to Lord Ellenborough, dated 24 March 1843). Pattle was promoted to Colonel in January 1844, and on 4th July the Queen was pleased to appoint him a Companion of the Bath. In addition to this honour, Pattle received the silver campaign medal for Meeanee and Hyderabad. Yet to see any tangible form of recognition of his services in Lake’s campaign 40 years earlier, Pattle commissioned a special gold suspension for his medal, with two bars to commemorate the battles of Laswarree and Hyderabad. He was promoted to Major General in June 1854, Lieutenant General in July 1856, and to full General on 9th October 1863. In addition he was appointed Aide de Camp to Queen Victoria and was Colonel of the 4th Light Cavalry 1849-58, of the 3rd European Light Cavalry 1858-62, and of H.M. 19th Hussars from 30 September 1862. General Pattle died at Dawlish on 9 February 1865.