Captain Henry Craigie was born in 1830. He was a talented and popular officer in the 3rd BLC. He spoke the native language fluently and knew how to get the best out of the Indian Troopers under his command. In May 1857, he begged the CO Carmichael-Smyth to cancel the ill-fated firing parade of the skirmishers, but was unsuccessful and it resulted in the imprisonment of 85 men and subsequently sparked the Mutiny on 10 May 1857. When the unfortunate men were humiliated at a shameful parade on 9 May, where they were clapped in irons, they cursed Carmichael-Smyth but called out to Captain Craigie that they hoped he ‘would be a Prince and a Lord’.
However, he was less popular as the CO of the 19th Hussars, 20 years later, where he was the cause of the only case of mutiny in the home army during the 19th century. The Curragh disturbance of 8 Sep 1877 came about because Colonel Craigie was giving the regiment a great many more parades than the other regiments in the camp. He retired 16 months later on 15 Mar 1879 and was made honorary Major-General. He died in 1885.
Henry Cadogan Craigie entered the Bengal Army on 20 Aug 1848 as a cornet in the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry. He served in the Second Sikh War and fought at Goojerat. He was promoted to lieutenant on 11 Sep 1851, and captain on 23 Nov 1856. In the Mutiny he raised and commanded a regiment of Irregular Horse from May 1857 to January 1858. He joined the 1st Bengal European Cavalry in 1858 which became the 19th Hussars in 1861, and was promoted to major on 23 April 1863, made brevet Lieutenant-Colonel and 2nd in command of the 19th Hussars on 29 May 1873. He was Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 19th from 11 July 1877.
