Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Burnett "Joe" Lumsden (12 November 1821 – 12 August 1896) was a British military officer active in the British Raj.
Biography Background Lumsden was born aboard the East India Company's ship Rose in the Bay of Bengal. He spent the first six years of his life in Bengal, where his father Colonel Thomas Lumsden was serving as an Artillery officer. His father Thomas entered the Bengal Army in 1808 and served in the Anglo-Nepalese War, Third Anglo-Maratha War and First Anglo-Burmese War achieving distinction.Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir); Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.3 His first cousin once removed was the orientalist Matthew Lumsden. He had six brothers, three of whom emigrated to Canada, whilst his younger brother Peter followed his path to India.
He was sent to Scotland at age six, where he was cared for by his grandmother in Aberdeenshire.
Early career At the age of 16, he was nominated by John Shepherd, a fellow Aberdeenshire man and a Director of the East India Company for a direct cadetship in India.Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir); Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.5 He travelled to India in 1838 commissioned into the 59th Bengal Native Infantry. During the First Anglo-Afghan War he was appointed as interpreter and quartermaster to the 33rd Bengal Native Infantry, marching to Peshawar with the army of George Pollock.Charles Allen, Soldier Sahibs: The Men Who Made the North-West Frontier, Hachette UK, 21 June 2012 He was present at the forcing of the Khyber Pass in 1842. During the war he would become close friends with two fellow officers who would also achieve distinction John Nicholson and Neville Bowles Chamberlain.
Following the war he returned to base in Ferozepur, having earned a campaign medal and six months extra pay. In early 1843, he rejoined the 59th Bengal Native Infantry stationed in Ludhiana, indulging in his passion for shikar with hunting expeditions throughout the Punjab. During this time he explored the region, learning near perfect Punjabi and growing accustomed to local customs and traditions.
The Punjab During the First Anglo-Sikh War, Lumsden served as a commander of a company in his regiment. At the Battle of Sobraon he was part of the storming division on Hugh Gough's left flank. During the escape of the Sikh cavalry, Lumsden was shot in the foot which left him with a slight but permanent limp for the rest of his life.
At the conclusion of the war, Lumsden was hand-picked by Sir Henry Lawrence to become one of his assistants, a band of chosen men who would become known as Henry Lawrence's "Young Men". A number of these assistants had been brought to Lawrence's attention on the battlefield at Sobraon, including John Nicholson, William Hodson and Herbert Edwardes. Lawrence had been a friend of Thomas Lumsden, serving with him as an artillery officers earlier in his career. Lumsden later claimed that what first brought him to the attention of Lawrence was an incident a year or two previously, when he and a subaltern had been held prisoner by a gang of robbers following a shooting expedition on the banks of the Sutlej. A servant smuggled them a pencil and paper allowing them to call for help; help coming in the form of a cavalry led by Lawrence that same evening.
Lumsden's first posting was to Kangra in 1846, where he served out the summer. He was thereafter summoned to Lahore. Whilst in Lahore, he became privy to the politics of the Lahore Durbar, at the time dominated by the Maharani Jind Kaur and her lover Lal Singh. Noting how everyone of the Sirdars made no secret of their dislike for Lal Singh, he concluded that they were anxiously awaiting the time when the British would withdraw, and Lal Singh would consolidate power. In response to the political instability, like many fellow offers, but in contrast to his superior, Lawrence, Lumsden favoured the annexation of the Punjab.
The sale of Kashmir to Gulab Singh had created considerable unrest amongst Kashmiri locals. In late 1846, Lumsden accompanied an expedition led by Lawrence to dispose the incumbent governor Imam ud-Din, who had the backing of Lal Singh and support the new rule of Gulab Singh. On his return to Lahore, Lumsden was given a mission to command a force of Sikh infantry to reconnoitre the hills of Hazara. Despite initial concerns of leading men he had formerly seen as the enemy, and noting their fondness for opium, he would remark of his Sikh sepoys that "they were first rate men, ready for any work, always in the best of humours, fond of their officers, and just as obedient to orders as our own troops, and not giving one quarter the trouble as the latter do." Lumsden's mission was a success and he received the thanks of the government, and what he prized more, the approbation of Lawrence.
Corps of Guides In 1847, Lumsden was nominated to raise a Corps of Guides, enthusiastically regarding it as the finest appointment in the country.Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir); Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.34 Lawrence intended the corps as 'trustworthy men who could at a moment's notice act as guides to troops in the field, collect intelligence beyond as well as within the border.' At the same time he was to carry on his duties in the Punjab, and assist John Lawrence, brother of Henry, in Peshawar.
With his subaltern William Hodson, he pioneered the use of a drab-coloured uniform for field service that came to known as khaki.Dictionary of Indian Biography Lord Napier subsequently referred to the Guides as "the only properly dressed light troops in India".Adrian Greenwood, Victoria’s Scottish Lion: The Life of Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde, 2015, The History Press To enhance the regiment's prestige, Lumsden adopted selective recruitment, initially recruiting mainly from the local Pathan tribes of the Yusufzai, Khatak and Muhammadzai. So successful was the Corps that within months of its formation, there was a waiting list for enlistment. Lumsden would build up his force into what became the most famous unit of the British Indian Army, inspiring a degree of devotion bordering on idolatry.
In 1848, whilst Lawrence was on leave in Britain, Lumsden and his Guides were summoned to Lahore. They were tasked to unravel a conspiracy believed to have been organised by the Sikhs to sow discontent amongst certain members of the Bengal Native Infantry and Irregular Cavalry stationed in Lahore.Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir); Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.45 Lumsden with the aid of Muhammad Pir Buksh succeeded in obtaining papers proving the conspiracy and linking it with Maharani Jind Kaur, who he was then charged with escorting from Sheikhupura to Ferozepur.
Later that year, the Second Anglo-Sikh War broke out. Lumsden was sent to support Herbert Edwardes in the Siege of Multan, where his Guides would go on to achieve considerable distinction.Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir); Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.53 He would later assist General Hugh Wheeler in operations at the heights of Dullah and see action at the Battle of Gujrat. Following the war, he noted his disappointment that all of Lawrence's assistants, despite their achievements in service, were being overlooked for key political postings at the expense of more junior civilians.Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir); Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.60 Nonetheless he was rewarded by Lawrence with a pay rise, the chance to remain in Peshawar and at the head of his beloved Guides, whose strength was now raised to four hundred horse and six hundred foot.
Lumsden initially based his regimental headquarters in a ruin outside of Peshawar, known as the Burj, which had been built in the seventeenth century by a wazir of the Mughal Empire.Lionel J. Trotter, A Leader of Light Horse: Life of Hodson of Hodson's Horse, p. 51. In 1851, Lumsden relocated the headquarters to Mardan and the Guides became part of the Punjab Irregular Force.
North West Frontier In the years after the annexation of the Punjab, Lumsden was largely concerned with affairs of the border tribes. In 1849, he assisted in an expedition against the Baizai, who had been refusing to pay tribute to the British. The next year, he replaced John Lawrence as the political agent in Peshawar whilst Lawrence recuperated from fever in Shimla. Later that year he was part of a force moving against Afridi tribesmen who had attacked engineers building a road through the Kohat Pass killing twelve and wounding eight.William Wright, Warriors of the Queen: Fighting Generals of the Victorian Age. 2014, The History Press Lumsden had favoured friendly relations with the hill tribes, especially the Afridis, as he feared military occupation would be prohibitively costly in terms of lives and treasure and his views were cordially endorsed by the new military commander in Peshawar, Sir Colin Campbell. Their views however gave way to the orders of the Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, who demanded an iron handed response.
Throughout the summer of 1851, Mohmand tribesmen harassed the borders of British control. Lord Dalhousie advised that punishment should be as severe as was consistent with humanity, however such retaliation was opposed by both Lumsden and Campbell. They were able to convince Dalhousie to attempt measures of prevention rather than retaliation, however as the skirmishes continued, Dalhousie grew more incensed, and ordered military intervention. Campbell launched an expedition with Lumsden at his side, noting that "Lumsden's views, those of common sense, are the most prudent and best....Punish those of the leading men who have shown enmity or have done injury to those who are bound to protect but leave the cultivators of the soil upon the land unmolested". As operations became drawn out, criticism grew. On 5 January 1852, Dalhousie sacked Lumsden as Commissioner in Peshawar replacing him with Frederick Mackeson.
Later life In 1852, Lumsden departed Peshawar and took leave in Britain after fifteen years continuous service in India. On 1 March 1853 he was promoted to captain and on 6 February 1854 was made a brevet Major for services in the last Sikh war. He returned to India in 1855 and resumed command of the Guides.