Edward Knight's Family
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Cecil Rice continued.
... took the town with no difficulty at all. A few of our men were killed, and some of other Regiments. Lieutenant Cameron of the 72nd got a V.C. for a taking a house occupied by rebels, and losing some fingers of his right hand from a sword cut. The Colonel of my Regiment was made a Brigadier General and given a 'flying' field force with the purpose of pursuing Tantia Topee and Maim Singh – we marched for months after them all over the country, into Bengal and Madras Residencies, and crossed five of the largest rivers in India. And at last made a march described by Sir Richard Shakespeare as 'unparalleled in the annals of war', which was nonsense – but we marched for ten successive nights, thirty-two miles a night, having but little time to sleep by day; and at last ran into Tantia's camp at Choda-oodeypore at daylight on the eleventh morning – but owing to the folly of the officer commanding the advance guard, Tantia got away and we lost him and all the Gwalior jewels, which he had on an elephant. I was Staff Officer to the Brigadier, and for this very lazy campaign was promoted to Major 'for distinguished service in the field.'
The Regiment returned home in 1865, and in 1870 Lieut-Colonel Rice retired; having served with the 72nd for 22 years, and commanded it for two years, during the illness of the Colonel.
He was awarded to the Crimean War medal with bar, the Turkish medal for the Crimea – and the Indian Mutiny medal with bar.
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