The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1900-08-31

British commander of the Victorian
era, his celebrated forced march to
Kandahar constituting one of the fin
est feats of English arms in modern
times.
Lord Frederick S. Roberts was born
In 1882 and was educated at the Royal
Military College at Sandhurst. He was
only 10 years old when he went to In
dia and entered the Bengal artillery as
a lieutenant. Here he labored I'M
known to fame until the Indian mutt
ny, when he was attached to the col
umn which, was sent to attack Delhi,
the forces of the rebellion. The posi-
ton of the small British force before
the capital of the instruction was for
months a perilous one. Fighting was
of daily occurrence the mutineers hav-
ing an inexhaustible supply of ammu-
milton. Roberts came under fire for
the first time in a skirmish when eight
of his party were killed and thirty
wounded. Soon afterward, in another
of the engagements near the walls of
the city, the young lieutenant was hit
by bullet near the spine as he was
helping the drivers keep the horses
quiet while limbering up the guns. A
leather pouch had somehow slipped
behind his back and prevented the bull
let penetrating deeply.
At the Relief of Lucknow.
After the capture of Delhi Roberts
Joined the army of Sir Colin Camp
haIl which odvanoad to tho ra1iaf of
Lucknow. When the relieving army
got close to the rebel lines outside
Lucknow Sir Colin, wishing to let the
British commander, Outram, know of
his progress, wanted a flag raised on
the mess house. Within plain view Of
the mutineers, Lieut.. Roberts climbed
to the top of the building, and, amid
a rain of shot, raised the flag on the
turret nearest to the foe. 1t was shot
away, and he replaced 1t. Again it
was shot away, and he raised it again.
But it was not for this deed that Rob
erts won his Victorian Cross. That
was done at Khodagunge, Jan. 2, 1858.
He saw in the distance two sepOys GO
ing away with a standard. Putting
spurs to his horse he overlook them.
They turned and presented their mus
kets at him, and one of the men pulled
the trigger. 1t snapped, missing fire,
and the sepoy was cut down by Rob-
erts' sword The other mutineer rode
away, and the young lieutenant
brought the standard back to camp.
The same day he rescued a wounded
comrade under almost similar circum-
stances.
In the years that followed the mutt
ny Roberts saw almost continual serv-
ice He was at Umebyla, in the from
tier campaign, in 1868; in 1867 he had
charge of the embarkation of the force
for the Abyssinian campaign. In 1871
and 1872 he was the senior staff Off
Ger in the Lushai campaign, and from
1875 to 1878 he was quartermaster
general. All his promotions were "for
merit"
1t was toward the end Of 1878 that
the great opportunity Of Gen. Roberts
career came to him. The Ameer of
Afghanistan rebelled against the au-
thority of Great Britain, and Roberts
was sent at the head of the army to
subdue him. He carried the enemy's
stronghold at Peiwar Kotal with a
splendid rush at odds of almost 10 to
1. The next year the news of Sir
Louis Cavagnari's murder in Kabul
Mortified all England, and Roberts was
called upon to lead another avenging
force. With 5000 men he cut his way
straight through the hostile land, and
In thirty days placed the British flag
above the citadel of Kabul, after rout-
ing the Afghan army. which outnum-