John Bennett Hearsey was born on 21 Jan 1793, at Midnapore, Orrisa, where his father Lt-Col Andrew Wilson Hearsey commanded the 9th Bengal NI. He was sent to England at the age of three to live in Kennington with his grandmother and aunt who showed him no kindness or protection. His father died poor and his mother lived on 80 pounds p a. He was sent to school in Kennington where he was abused by a cruel headmaster. However he became very hardy and fearless as a result. In 1806 he was a cadet and sailed to India on the ‘Sovereign’. He was excited by the sea voyage and had to be prevented from climbing the masts. Having arrived in India he attended the Cadet College at Baraset, from Oct 1807. He diligently learned Urdu despite the efforts of his fellow cadets to discourage him. He qualified in Urdu within 8 months and was commissioned on 14 Sep 1808.
Hearsey first joined the 8th Bengal Native Cavalry at Muttra but soon after transferred to the 6th BNC in Dec 1809. The 6th were later posted to Muttra and it was here that Hearsey was mercilessly provoked by a fellow lieutenant called Brown, a notorious bully and duelist. Hearsey had no choice but to accept his challenge and they fought an illegal duel which ended in Brown being shot through both legs. Both men were severely reprimanded by the CO, Major Houston, but other officers were highly delighted that the bully had been humiliated and wounded.
In 1813, Hearsey was given permission to go on temporary secondment to Gardner’s Horse on the Nepal frontier. He commanded a detachment of this irregular unit in the Gurkha War of 1814. He achieved initial success at Barharwa and Crotsa-Bhonga but some of the men he left at outposts were killed in a Gurkha attack. He returned with a patrol of 40 men and rescued some of the wounded from the area and returned with the bodies of the fallen. General George Wood took over command of the army in Nepal, but Hearsey was not impressed with him. At Pirazee, in Feb 1815, he fought in a desperate battle where he was nearly killed, but escaped with a few wounds and burned clothes. When the campaign ended he returned to the 6th BNC in June 1815. At Keeta in Bundelkhand he was appointed Adjutant after his predecessor had been ‘seized with fever and died raving mad in three days’. He was given the task of raising a fourth squadron to increase the strength of the 6th BNC for service against the Pindari bandits on the Nagpore frontier.
In May 1817 Hearsey was sent with 3 Troops of the 6th BNC to join Colonel Hopetoun Scott’s force of Madras infantry and artillery intended for operations against the Pindaris, but ended up with a confrontation with the Maharatta Bhonsle of Nagpore. The battle of Seetabuldee was fought in November 1817, in which Hearsey distinguished himself despite a bad relationship between himself and Captain Fitzgerald who commanded the 6th BNC. The actions of the cavalry were decisive and the vastly superior numbers of the Bhonsle’s army were defeated. But Hearsey was badly wounded and succumbed to fever so that he needed time to recover. He was not fit enough to take part in the battle of Nagpore on 16 Dec 1817. He suffered pain from the injury for the rest of his life.
He was very active in the Third Maharatta War which culminated in the battle at the fortress of Asseerghur in March 1819. In April 1820 he was Major of Brigade in the force sent to keep order at Hardwar, and witnessed the religious festival in which hundreds of pilgrims were trampled to death as they raced en masse to the Ganges. He was temporarily in command of the 6th BLC in 1824-25 during which period he led the regiment against the Maharatta chief of Parapur. But at the siege of Bhurtpore, he was frustrated by the new CO Lt-Col Becher who caused him to fail in an attempt to capture Raja Durjan Sal. But he led a detachment which was sent to force the surrender of the fortress of Deig.
After the siege of Bhurtpore, Hearsey was offered the command of the 6th Local Horse, taking over from Fitzgerald. This was followed by the command of the 2nd Irregular Cavalry (Gardner’s Horse), a silladar regiment. He took command in Jan 1829 and found the regiment ‘in a state of internal feud, most of the Native officers at deadly emnity with each other, the men badly mounted and worse clothed and armed’. Within a year he had turned it around so that the corps was reformed and saved from disbandment.
On 7 Jan 1832 John Hearsey, at the age of 39, was married, at Nusserabad, to Harriet, daughter of Major Hyder Young Hearsey. Hyder was related to John, a ‘loyal and devoted servant of King George’ though he spent much of his early career in native service and had several disagreements with British officials. He had been the ward of John’s father, and through his influence begun his military career as an ADC to Saadur Ali Khan, the last Nawab Vizier of Oudh, and later entered the Maharatta service under the French adventurer General Perron. John and Hyder became good friends and spent several sick leaves together, shooting big game. Hyder was married to the Khanum Zuhur-ul-Nissa, Princess of Cambay, now John’s mother-in-law. His marriage to Harriet brought them 4 sons and 3 daughters. Sadly Harriet died in 1847.
Hearsey was promoted to major in Nov 1835 and lieutenant-colonel on 28 Dec 1838. He left the 2nd Horse and was appointed CO of the 7th BLC the next year but soon transferred back to the 6th BLC. While travelling down the Ganges to join the regiment at Sultanpore he rescued Henry Havelock and his family whose boat had sunk in the river. In 1841, he went on furlough to England, for the first time in 34 years, but he had to return to India following the disaster in Afghanistan, and accompany the 6th BLC to Ludhiana. When the First Sikh War broke out, the 6th were sent to Scinde to protect that territory, thus missing out on the main battles, which frustrated Hearsey.
Sir Hugh Wheeler summoned Hearsey to take charge of the 7th BLC which was in danger of mutiny. Having sorted that problem he was appointed Brigadier of the Irregular Cavalry (2nd, 9th and 12th Regiments) under Lord Gough at Lahore in readiness for the Second Sikh War. He fought at Ramnuggur and witnessed the deaths of Cureton and Will Havelock. At Chillianwallah his brigade protected the baggage from two Sikh attacks. The wagons covered an area of 4 sq miles and had to be moved on the following day, a feat which drew the thanks of Lord Gough. At Goojerat he commanded two brigades on the right of the line and foiled enemy attacks. His cavalry pursued the retreating Sikhs for 17 miles, and captured 9 guns. There was then the prolonged pursuit to the Afghan border, and for his services he was given a brevet of colonel and the CB.
In 1849 he was a brigadier in charge of troops at Wazirabad when a bad situation occurred involving mutinous behaviour in the 32nd NI. Hearsey ordered four sepoys to be arrested and sent into exile. He was appointed Colonel of the 6th BLC on 4 Nov 1852 and promoted to major-general on 28 Nov 1854, and put in command of the Presidency Division at Barrackpore near Calcutta. He remarried in May 1854, to Emma, daughter of Thomas Rumball of Friday Hall, Woodford, Essex. He and Emma had more children, including Charles John Rumball Hearsey who was an officer in the 9th Lancers, killed in the Afghan War of 1879.
On 22 Jan 1857 an officer reported to Major-General Hearsey that men of the 70th NI in the Dum-Dum musketry depot were upset by the rumour that the new Enfield rifle cartridges were greased with cow and pig fat. Hearsey was regarded as the highest authority on the Indian way of thinking, and of Indian soldiers in particular. He reported the concerns to HQ in Calcutta and suggested that the sepoys be allowed to grease their own cartridges with beeswax and oil, as was the custom in light companies throughout the army. This was acted upon promptly but the order for the suggestion was sent to the Adjutant-General at Meerut who failed to take prompt action, saying that the issue of General Orders on this issue would raise doubts amongst the Indian soldiers. But doubt already existed, not only on the new Enfield cartridges but also the old lubricant used for the old rifle and the Brown Bess musket.
Hearsey’s command at Barrackpore included the 2nd Grenadiers, the 34th, 43rd and 70th Native Infantry. On 8 Feb he wrote to Calcutta warning of the mutinous atmosphere which he regarded as a ‘mine ready for explosion’. He also spoke to the paraded men in fluent Hindustani to persuade them that there was no intention of interfering with their religion or caste. Meanwhile the 19th NI refused their cartridges at Berhampore and were ordered back to Barrackpore for punishment.
The ‘explosion’ occurred on the 29th March when Mangal Pande of the 34th NI went on the rampage, apparently under the influence of bhang (hemp) calling on his fellows to resist conversion. The Quarter-Guard, commanded by a Jemadar called Ishwari Pande, made no attempt to stop Mangal Pande. One man rushed to the house of the Adjutant who rode up to the quarter-guard, but Pande shot his horse. The Adjutant, Lt Baugh, and Sgt-Major Hewson tried to arrest Mangal Pande but he wounded Baugh with his tulwar, and Hewson was knocked down by another sepoy. A loyal Muslim sepoy, Shaikh Paltu grabbed Pande, and others beat him with rifle butts. This allowed the two British men to escape but Paltu was pelted with stones.
Colonel S G Wheeler of the 34th was unable to quell the disturbance, and Brigadier Grant tried but failed. Baugh came to Hearsey to report the incident which by that time had developed into a riot in the lines. Hearsey called for his sons who acted as his ADCs, John and Andrew, and Major Ross. They rode towards the source of the trouble and someone shouted “Watch out! His musket is loaded!” at which Hearsey shouted “Damn his musket!” He called to John that if he failed, he was to put the man to death. Pointing his pistol at Ishwari Pande he said, “Listen to me. The first man who refuses to march when I give the word is a dead man. Quick March!” The guard obeyed, at which point Mangal Pande attempted suicide with his musket, but only wounded himself. He was tried and hanged on 8 April and Jemadar Ishwari Pande was hanged on 21 April.
The 19th NI still faced the consequences of their action at Berhampore, but had behaved loyally since then so were merely disarmed and paid off. As they left the parade ground they cheered Hearsey, but the 34th left in a sullen mood. The 2nd Grenadiers and the 70th NI were also disarmed but the 70th volunteered for service in China. Hearsey was praised for his actions which prevented a catastrophic rampage at Barrackpore, as had happened elsewhere in the region of Delhi.
Major-General Hearsey retired to England in 1861 having been advanced to KCB. He was appointed Colonel of the 21st Hussars on 30 Sep 1862 and promoted to lieutenant-general in 1863. He died of bronchitis at Boulogne-sur-Mer on 23 Oct 1865. The portrait of John Hearsey was painted to show him as commandant of the 2nd (Gardners) Horse which he commanded from 1829 to 1839. The striking uniform is a form of alkaluk with a large waist-sash and baggy sleeves. The pose reflects his lifetime of warfare in India and his eager expression shows his enjoyment of danger and fighting. The photo is dated c1861 when he was in England and appointed KCB.
