, 1897-11-20
HE WAS AT LUCKNOW
A CHICAGO cA6MAN WHO WENT TO
THE RELIEF OF HAvELOCk.

as Tells In His Own Way the story
Which Has Often Been Told Before.
One of the Famous Light Brigade"
Though Not At
I. J. McNally, a cab driver with Il
station at the northeast corner of Dear
born and Monroe streets, is one of the
survivors of that regiment of British
soldiers who went to the relief of Luck
now. He is a hardy, rugged, stout built
man, with IL medal of honor on his
breast and a memory of ten years serv-
ice in tho army of Great Britain. The
command with which he served i'll In
dia'was composed in part of that little
band of heroes left from the famous
fight at Balaklava-that immemorial
"Charge Of the Light Brigade" And
he shared with them the splendid hon
or of rescuing from beleaguered Luck
now the English women and children,
and the English officers and men us
well, who had fought for more than life
against the savugery of a sepoy rebel
lion.
II was born i'll Scotland, bit of Irish
parents" said Mr.. McNally. chatting
Of the rough service and the men he had
marched with and fought under in those
days, which resembled so closely the
p~erilous phases of highlands situation
in India today. II was born at Barr
head, and Jan. 2S, 1856, l enlisted at
Lanark i'll the Ninety-second or Gordon
highlanders, and after some months of
drill and garrison duty volunteered Feb.
28, 1857, to the N~inety-third or Suth-
erland ~highlanders, who were stationed
at Dover Heights. There was continual
talk of their going out to the China
war, and l wanted the adventure and
the experience of real soldering.
ut was Dover castle those days, for
the castle still stood there. 1t was one
of England's defenses and had been for
centuries. l am told the castle is all
ruined and gone now.
1--WE embarked at Spithead June Is,
1857, for the China war and sailed
away down the west coast of Africa
After we were ont at sea we spoke Il
vessel from the cape and heard of the
Indian mutiny, but of COURSE our duty
was to go on to China, where we had
been ordered. 1t was pretty hard
lines for us. We wanted TO get up
into India, where they needed lis,
and at cape of Good Hope a lighter
vessel from England overlook us and
countermandcd our orders. We were
sent from there with all haste to Cal
cutta and landed Sept. 30, 1857. Think
Of that! More than three months get
ting to the mutiny!
"There We're no railroads, and we
started right out and marched up coun-
try as far as Cawnpur, $50 miles. 1t
was a hard, hard march, but we made
as good time as British soldiers ever did
anywhere. At Cawnpur we We're joined
by General Hope Grant and Sir Colin
Campbell, who had beer waiting for re-
endorsements 10 they could hurry Oh
Lucknow.
"Then we went OH and reached the
besieged city Nov. Is, lS57-over 700
miles in less than 90 days. We had but
1000 men even then, and there We're
go, 900 native soldiers. armed as we
were armed, for they had been part Of
the British army, but they were not
commanded so well, and they did not
have SO much to fight for.
at was quick work-all with the
bayonet. They could not stand the
rushes. We forced u way to the cit
adel, and the third day we took out the
women and children and what was left
Of the garrison. Then we retired i'll the
night. They could not realize we had
done SO much, and they could not be-
lieve we would Withdraw, but we were
not strong enough to hold the place
aud selected a position Of Il own at
Alumbaugh, three miles away. If they
had known we were going to slip away
they could have mnsscd their forces,
leaving the city uncovered, and hemmed
us in, but we were away and ready for
them before they knew it.
There Havelock died of d~ysentery
three days after the relief. He would
have been dead IA week before we came,
but he didn't dare to die. He had II de-
fend those womcn and children.
II was wounded at the Lucknow
fight, but it did not amount to much. l
staid on duty all the time. The bullet
was cAtIdStCu anu l EoS aAouS. 4>o,
there il no pension. You get q pension
after 81 years service in the British
army, or after being positively disabled.
l was only ten years i'll the service.
After that I came to America-to Chi
cago. I have had money and am getting
on all right yet. Medal? Yes, 1 wear
the medal. That regiment is the only
one that wears its medal III its colors.
That is because it fought at Balaklava
and at Lucknow too. Many a time the
other fellows told me of the fight with
the Russians, but l did not see it. l
was not in the command at the time"
The Indian instruction broke out on
the night of May 30, 1857. Sir Henry
Lawrence had fortified the residency and
garrisoned it with $50 British troops.
July ! the place was besieged. July 4
Sir Henry died from a wound. Three
times the gallant little army beat back
the assaults Of the multitudinous enc
my. July 22 Hayelock captured Alum
baugh, and four days later reached the
residency. But he, with the others, was
at once penned up there. Then came
Colin Campbell's long waited, almost
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