"A Dangerous, Painful and Generally Unpleasant Time"

Regardless of the circumstances of Mary Rickett's pregnancies, including how much choice she had in the matter, as her descendants, it's important to understand the risks and challenges she faced.  First was simply surviving both the pregnancy and childbirth.  This was a society with no understanding of germ theory and bacterial infections, nor was there any kind of prenatal care, and if there was, Mary would have had a hard time paying for it.  Furthermore Victorian propriety or prudery regarding childbirth meant women had little or no preparation and only learned through experience.   Most births occurred in homes full of unsanitary conditions where medical care was less available especially in a rural setting like Arley Kings or Astley.

Idealized pictures like this masked the realities of Victorian childbirth

One woman in the more "modern" 1890's, remembered "twenty-four hours of intense suffering with an ignorant attendant" whose only contribution was to offer assurances the pain would get worse.  Finally "a kindly neighbor" sent the new mother's apparently equally useless husband for the doctor.  By that point she was so exhausted she couldn't help herself and her baby "was brought into the world with instruments" and without "an anesthetic."  No wonder a modern historian described Victorian childbirth as "a dangerous, painful and generally unpleasant time."

Both Mary and James R. obviously survived the experience, but their problems were far from over.  The next question for Mary was how to support herself and her infant son.  As noted previously we have no idea where Mary was living at the time other than she gave birth in Astley.  Everything is, therefore, conjecture, but it's possible she was living with her Uncle William and Aunt Ann Ricketts (Samuel's brother and sister neither of whom ever married) who lived in Astley at the time.  Or she could have been living with someone else in Astley, helping in the household or doing other odd jobs to provide food and shelter for herself and her infant son.  Another possibility is the workhouse, although in that case the birth would have taken place within the institution.

1851 Census showing siblings Ann (eight up from bottom) and William (seven up) Ricketts

If, on the other hand, William was, in fact, James' father, his time away from his regiment in the late 1850's could have been spent helping provide for his "family."  Between the two of them, they might have been able to manage child care and earn enough money (in addition to William's army pay) for food and shelter.  Mary's ability to find work would also have been hampered by the moral issues around her position as a single mother or "fallen women" in the parlance of the day.  According to one historian, Victorians believed any woman "who indulged in sexual gratification for its own sake rather than for procreation degraded her womanhood."  This may not have mattered as much among the rural poor, but it would have mattered a great deal in finding employment in respectable society and, as we shall see, respectability was one of the Victorian's highest social values.

Although the above is an American Civil War era photo it gives a sense of the physical labor involved in doing laundry

Shortly after the birth of her second child in 1861, Mary's occupation was listed as laundress and at the time of her marriage, a little over a year later, she said she worked as a char or cleaning woman.   Like agricultural laborers, these were among the lowest paid jobs, but occupations where respectability was probably of far less importance. At the time, laundry was very strenuous labor, involving soaking clothing in large tubs, followed by scrubbing on a washboard, boiling in copper tubs, rinsing and hanging to dry with a repeat performance for "colored" items. Both jobs could have offered some flexibility in working hours since the work could have been done outside of regular business hours.  In such a position, Mary could have earned some money and arranged for some kind of child care at an affordable cost.

Victorian charwoman 

In the final analysis as with childbirth, Mary somehow provided for her son and herself, perhaps with William's help and/or the assistance of others.  When she became pregnant with James, Mary faced multiple obstacles and adversity, how much of it was of her own making, we will probably never know.  What is far more important, however, is that faced with adversity, she more than rose to the occasion and met those challenges.  In doing so Mary demonstrated a toughness that would be in even greater demand in 1860 when she realized, she was pregnant for the second time.

Winder History - A Crossroads, Part II

With a still limited, but somewhat enhanced factual base, it's time to consider/speculate about the major uncertainties of Winder family history during the 1850's and early 1860's.  There is evidence which suggests that by the mid 1850's, Mary Ricketts had left home and was no longer on good terms with her father, Samuel.  Samuel's 1854 marriage to a woman six years his senior after both had been widowed for a number years may have been due to love or at least mutual attraction, but it was not uncommon for poor people in 19th century Britain and America to remarry simply to maintain their households.  Mary's leaving home for whatever reason could have been part of Samuel's motivation for the second marriage.   Whether this is accurate or not, Mary's giving birth to two children some place other than her father's home (especially having one in the workhouse) seems to speak volumes about their relationship or lack thereof.  Finally Samuel himself died in the very same workhouse in April of 1879 at a time when William and Mary very likely could have afforded to take him into their own home in Worcester.

Marriage Certificate of Samuel Ricketts and Ann Wilcox

Whether a family split was attributable to Mary's two illegitimate children is impossible to say, but it brings us to the main question of the father of the two boys.  There are, of course, limited possibilities; William was the father of both James and Arthur, the father of only Arthur or was not the father of either boy.  Another possibility is that William was James' father, but no Arthur's, but that seems to fly in the face of common sense.  The simplest and, therefore, the most likely answer is that William was not the father of either child.  Under this scenario, Mary has two children with a man or men, she couldn't/wouldn't marry, moves to Worcester after leaving the Martley workhouse and meets William, who she then marries.  This would also explain the nine month gap between William's discharge (which meant he was free to marry) and their July, 1862 marriage.

Birth Certificate of James Ricketts (Winder)

While this may be the most likely explanation, it's not a big reach to believe William was Arthur's father.  Arthur was conceived some time in the second quarter of 1860 and William was in Worcester on recruiting duty for all of 1860.  William and Mary could easily have met then and conceived a child, with Mary having no alternative to the workhouse when Williams was recalled to his regiment in Ireland about the time Mary was due to give birth.  We need to bear in mind that army privates like William couldn't marry without permission which was reportedly given less than 10% of the time.  The workhouse has a justifiably bad reputation, but the experience varied from place with some being more than satisfactory.  It's not impossible that the best temporary alternative for Mary and her two small children was to live in the workhouse for part of the eight months William was in Ireland.  This does not, of course, explain the nine month gap between the subsequent discharge and marriage.

Birth Certificate of Arthur Henry Ricketts (Winder)

The most difficult possibility to prove is that William was also James' father and that William and Mary somehow managed without marrying until William had earned his discharge and, more importantly, his pension.  The greatest obstacle is to explain how William and Mary were in the same place in the second quarter of 1856 as they appear to have been over 120 miles apart.  Victorians traveled more than we might think, but there is simply no information about either of them other than the military records and Mary's being in Astley in January of 1857.

Summary of William Winder's service record for the first half of 1856

There is, however, evidence that something out of the ordinary was going on William's life.  First, of all, he spent most of the period from December 1858 to February 1859 on furlough which was most typically granted to deal with family problems or issues.  Then from June of 1859 to December of 1860, William was on recruiting duty in Worcester.  That wouldn't be so unusual except that William was in the Staffordshire regiment which would normally have recruited in that county, not Worcestershire, the home base of William's old regiment, the 29th.  All of this suggests special reasons to be in Worcester.  Finally, although it's a generalization, pre-marital sex was not uncommon for Victorians, but sexual promiscuity was not.  Based on how Mary lived the second half of her life, having two children out of wedlock without marrying seems out character.

Summary of William Winder's service record for 1859-60

The major question for us as James R Winder's descendants is whether William was his biological father.  No matter what, William was clearly James' de facto father from age five on, so William's story is our story as well.  The issue is really whether William's ancestors (who remain unidentified) are our ancestors as well or is the male line unknown and unknowable so many years later.  Logically it seems unlikely William was the biological father, but emotionally I'm not so sure.  All of that 1858-60 activity seems too much of a co-incidence and the almost 30 years of the Winders married years seems like a carry over from what came before.  We need, I think, to continue the story and everyone can draw their own conclusions.

Winder History - A Crossroads, Part I

We now arrive at an important point in Winder family history where the facts are limited, but possibilities are not.  Included among the facts are some things I just recently learned.  For a number of reasons, I think the best approach is to lay out the facts in this post and then speculate in the next one.  Hopefully that will get all the information out so everyone can draw their own conclusions.

1851 Census Listing for Samuel Ricketts, daughter, Mary and son, James

Samuel is sixth entry from the top of the page 

On census day in April of 1851, Mary Ricketts, age 16, was living in Arley Kings, with her father, Samuel, still a widower, and her younger brother, James, aged 11.  No occupation is listed for Mary, while James is listed as a "scholar," that is attending school of some kind.  The next documented fact is over three years later on November 4, 1854 when Samuel married Ann Wilcox, a widow, six years older than himself.  Both husband and wife were laborers, living in Arley Kings and both made a mark rather than sign their names.  Ann Wilcox was a long time resident of Arley Kings and a widow since at least early 1851.

No record survives as to where Mary was living at the time of the marriage or at any point after the 1851 census.  The next time Mary appears on the public record is upon the birth of her son, James Ricketts (Winder), who was born on January 3, 1857.  Interestingly James was born in Astley (neighboring village to Arley Kings) which is also listed as Mary's residence, fairly strong evidence she was no longer living with her father.  Of course, the father of greater interest at this point is the father of baby James, who was conceived some time in the second quarter of 1856.  According to British military records, William Winder was in Aldershot, some 125 miles from Astley from January 1 to June 30, 1856.

Arthur Henry Ricketts Birth Certificate 

To date no information about Mary and James whereabouts has been found for the next four years.  Very recently, however, I learned that on January 11, 1861, Mary Ricketts gave birth to a second child, another son, Arthur Henry Ricketts.  The child was born in the Union Workhouse in Martley, Worcestershire, 6 1/2 miles from Astley.  The Martley Workhouse was the place of last resort for the poor, sick and elderly for a regional area including Astley so it would have been the logical place for Mary, if she had no where else to go to give birth.

1861 Census for Martley Workhouse - while it's hard to see Mary Ricketts (MR) is the seventh person up from the bottom with sons, James (JR) and Arthur Henry (AHR) right below her

The discovery of the workhouse birth helped resolve a long standing mystery - where Mary and James were on the day of the 1861 census.  To date I had had no success in finding them anywhere, but if Arthur was born in the workhouse on January 11, 1861, there was a reasonable chance they were still there on census day in April.  It turns out the census pages for the Martley Workhouse list only initials, not full names, which explains why a search for either Mary or James didn't find anything.  This made identification in the workhouse census difficult, but when I found MR (aged 24, born in Astley), JR (aged 4, born in Astley) and AHR (three months, born in Martley), it was pretty clear they were our ancestors.  The census lists Mary as a laundress and James as a scholar, although what kind of education he got in the workhouse remains to be seen.

William Winder and Mary Ricketts 1862 marriage certificate 

The final piece of documented evidence (also recently found) is that William Winder and Mary Ricketts were  married on July 3, 1862 at the Angel Street Congregational Chapel in Worcester, a leading non-conformist chapel in Worcester.  Both are listed as living on Hounds Lane in the parish of St. Andrew in Worcester, but no street numbers are provided so it is impossible to know if they were already living together.  William is listed as a pensioner of the 80th regiment while Mary's occupation is charwoman.  As usual William made his mark, but Mary signed her name.  From that point on William became James and Arthur's father-in-fact, but was he the biological father of either or both boys?  Speculations  and conjecture in the next post.

Introducing Mary Ricketts

In January of 1835, when  the teenage William Winder was probably working somewhere in Gloucestershire, Mary Ricketts was born in a small village in Worcestershire, north of  the city of Worcester.  Since 1835 pre-dates mandatory civil registration of births, we don't know the exact birth date, but Mary was baptized on January 18, 1835 at St. Peter's Church in Astley.  It's also not clear whether Mary was born in Astley or the neighboring village of Arley Kings where the family was living in 1841.  It appears that her father's family was in Astley in 1835 and it's certainly possible Mary was born there.

Interior of St. Peter's Church, Astley - Mary Ricketts and James Ricketts (Winder) were baptized here.  Carol and I attended a Sunday service at the church during our visit in 2000

Mary was the daughter of Samuel and Mary Ricketts.  Of Mary's mother, we know almost nothing.  No marriage record has been found in local church registers so her maiden name is unknown.  Samuel appears to be the son of Samuel and another Mary Ricketts, born in November of 1809 in the nearby village of Ribbesford.  By 1841 Samuel's father had apparently died, but his mother and some adult children were living in Astley.

Map showing both Arley Kings (center of picture) and Astley (southwest of Arley Kings).  The city of Worcester would be below the bottom of this picture.

According to the 1841 census, Mary, then six, had an eight year old sister named Sarah and a third child, James was born later in 1841 (after the census day).  Samuel was an agricultural laborer and the family couldn't have had an easy life.  Tragedy hit the family in 1849 when Sarah died at age 16, followed less than a month later by mother Mary who was only 40.  Mary, who was only 14 when her mother died, most likely had to take over her mother's responsibilities.  Interestingly on the 1851 census, Mary's brother, James is listed as a scholar and, unlike William Winder, Mary was able to sign her marriage certificate, so although poor, the Ricketts children enjoyed some education.

1841 Census showing Ricketts family (first four lines)

In writing about William Winder's early life, I spent some time on the hard lot of the agricultural laborer, but it's worthwhile to return to the subject to get a sense of the woman's experience in a Victorian agricultural family.  At an average of 11 shillings per week in the 1850's, agricultural laborers were the lowest paid workers in England.  The only exception to this were skilled workers who could actually bargain with farmers for pay rates at annual hiring fairs.  Agreements negotiated at these events were for a full year, while everyone else was hired on a daily basis and paid only for days actually worked.   Weather probably limited days worked during the winter, but at harvest time, everyone, including women and children, worked long days regardless of the weather.  It's safe to guess that Mary worked in the fields at harvest time, helping out in the race against time and weather.

Burial entry for Mary Ricketts (Mary Ricketts's mother) in the parish register of St. Bartholomew's Church, Arley Kings (third from top)

In addition to helping with the harvest, Mary may very well have been called on for other farm tasks, like hoeing, weeding and removing stones.  Women also took care of cows and poultry which could include milking and making butter and cheese which was hard physical work requiring strong arms.  Women worked in long dresses with an apron and cap, for outside work in the summer, a bonnet was added.  The effects of wind and rain were offset to some degree by sacking tied around the waist or across the shoulders.

Female Agricultural Laborers 

To the extent she did agricultural labor, Mary had the advantage of youth, but like other women of the time, she probably suffered from a diet inferior to that of men like her father, who as the primary wage earner, needed the "best" food which was already limited in amount and quality.  Described as "stodgy, monotonous and nutritionally deficient," staples consisted of bread, cheese, potatoes and porridge with little or no meat.  Supposedly old men looking back on childhoods in the 1830's and 1840's remembered feeling "hungry almost all the time," so we can image how women must have felt.

Workers Cottages 

As the "lady" of the house from 1849 through possibly the end of 1854, Mary presumably had the job of cooking what food there was in less than ideal conditions.  Agricultural laborers typically lived in cottages which were too damp, too small and in poor repair.  The downstairs was usually nothing more than one room with a fire place, but no oven so Mary did all the cooking in a pot over the fire.  Typically the cottage had no well, in which case, Mary went to the nearest farm or the village which was additional strenuous work.

Marriage Certificate of Samuel Ricketts and Ann Wilcox 

Assuming Mary had indeed taken on the lead female responsibilities, it's hard to know the impact on her when her father married Ann Wilcox in 1854.  We don't know, for sure, if Mary was still living at home, her father's marriage may have been partially caused by Mary having moved out.  If she was still there, however,  Ann Wilcox's arrival should have at least lightened the workload.  At the same time, it could very well have been a difficult adjustment for a young woman almost at adulthood and used to a certainly level of authority.  No matter what really happened, big changes took place beginning no later than 1856.

The Soldier's Return

After Goojerat, William Winder spent another five years in India with the 29th, but, as far as we know, he was never in combat again.  For the rest of 1849, the regiment remained in the Punjab at Wazirabad, probably to help discourage any Sikhs with second thoughts about accepting British rule.  After that came two years at Meerut, during which time, William spent three months in the hospital.  Then beginning in 1852, the regiment gradually moved eastward, basically retracing William's journey when he first joined the 29th.

Wazirabad, Punjab

For the first quarter of 1852, the 29th was at Cawnpore before moving to Dinapore (one of William's first stations in India) where it remained through the end of 1853.  As 1854 began William was once again on the move, but this time he was not with the regiment.  William was now in transit to Calcutta, his point of arrival in 1840, for the long ocean voyage to England.  On March 9, 1854, William Winder left India forever, and began a return journey the majority of his peers never made.

Cawnpore, India 

The exact date of William's arrival in England is unknown, but he was granted his "free discharge" (free meaning William was not entitled to a pension) on July 20, 1854, indicating the voyage probably took about four months.  All told William had served almost 15 years in the army, close to 14 of which had been in India.  Why William left India and the army is a mystery as his 1854 discharge papers have not survived.   Perhaps it was because of his health as indicated by his numerous hospital stays, although illness was the common experience of British soldiers in India.  Maybe he simply had had enough of both India and the army and wanted to come home.

Assuming it was fully William's choice, it wasn't the most prudent financial decision since he was about six years short of earning a pension which, as we shall see, was of no small importance.  Most likely William was discharged at the depot in Chatham where he began his military service, leaving the barracks in a cheap suit of civilian clothing, a final "gift" from the government.   Where William went after that is also unknown although it is probably reasonable to believe he returned to Horsley at least briefly.  Coming back after almost 15 years of little or no contact with anyone in Horsley and then just showing up one day without prior warning made for a different kind of reunion than subsequent generations experienced on return from military service.  Another British soldier after a lengthy tenure in India, met his father in the local pub, bought him several rounds of drinks, but wasn't recognized until he said, "Well then father, so you do not know me."

Badge of the 80th Regiment (Staffordshire Volunteers)

Information about William's family is so limited, it is impossible even to speculate about what family members he would have found in Horsley, assuming he actually went there.  Certainly the local economy hadn't improved and may have been worse.  One thing is for sure, whatever William did between July 20, 1854 and May 19, 1855, he didn't find it more attractive than military service.  On the latter date, in Portsmouth, William re-enlisted in the army, this time in the 80th regiment (Staffordshire), receiving in the process a bounty or bonus of 8 pounds (about six months pay).

Portsmouth Harbor

The following year, the 80th was off to South Africa and then to India to help put down the Sepoy Rebellion, but William stayed behind in England.  While it is speculative, an India veteran staying behind with, as we shall see, some unusual assignments suggests he may have re-enlisted under some special terms or conditions (official or unofficial).  The mid 1850's was a period when the British army was badly in need of men because of the Crimean War and the Sepoy Rebellion so it's not impossible the authorities were willing to make special arrangements for a veteran soldier with a good record and, perhaps, health problems.  Using someone like William for depot duty in England could conceivably free up other soldiers for duty overseas.

Aldershot, England 

However it happened, William remained in Portsmouth until the end of 1855 when he moved to Aldershot where new permanent barracks had just been built.  According to muster records, William was there through June 30 of 1856, the crucial period in Winder family history when James Ricketts (Winder) was conceived.  While William's role, if any, is unclear, there is no doubt of the identity of James' mother so we now need to turn our attention to a young woman from Worcestershire, named Mary Ricketts

"Like so many Alexanders"

The darkness which ended the struggle at Chillianwallah was followed by heavy rain that probably caused more than the usual post battle confusion.  One group which didn't lack for employment were the surgeons, who reportedly had a night of "incessant labor."  While William Winder spent the night in the hospital (probably a tent), the treatment of his wound was most likely not too difficult.  As noted previously the greatest risk was not from the wound, but from infection either from the wound itself or germs in a hospital which violated every modern concept of sterilization and hygiene.

City of Goojerat about the time of the battle 

Fortunately the rain continued for three more days preventing any resumption of the hostilities.  At some point during this respite, Gough, the British commander, decided not to seek battle again until reinforcements arrived from the successfully concluded siege at Multan.  Gough was also, no doubt, more cautious because of the heavy losses incurred at Chillianwallah.  Shere Singh even sent forays out of the Sikh lines in an attempt to draw the British out into the open, but though he may have been tempted, Gough did not bite.

Map of the Battle of Goojerat - 29th is once again part of Mountain's Brigade

Although the Sikhs were in a strong defensive position, supply problems made it impossible for them to remain there for too long.  Finally almost a month after Chillianwallah, the Sikhs withdrew about 30 miles to a more fertile, but also more open area near the city of Goojerat.  Having received word that the reinforcements from Multan were on their way, Gough ordered the resumption of the pursuit at 4:00 a.m. on February 15th.  By this point William Winder had apparently recovered sufficiently to rejoin his unit.  While William and his mates were undoubtedly not anxious to repeat the experience of Chillianwallah, the British soldiers were reportedly "impatient with the delay."  By now there was probably a universal desire in the ranks to end this campaign and get back to garrison life

Sikh Army at Goojerat

Three days after leaving Chillianwallah, Gough's army met up with the British force from Multan and over the next two days received further reinforcements.  The British army advancing on Goojerat had 24,000 men, twice their strength at Chillianwallah and, more importantly, 96 cannon, 30 more than in the earlier battle.  The awaiting Sikhs, in positions two miles in front of Goojerat, still had far greater manpower with 60,000 troops, but this time had fewer artillery pieces.

Battle of Goojerat

On February 21, 1849, the Army of the Punjab neared Goojerat under a "brilliant blue sky" with the snow capped Himalayas clearly visible behind the Sikh lines.  There was little natural cover for the advancing British army, but for some reason, the Sikh artillery opened fire when the British were four miles away and well out of range.  Apparently having learned from Chillianwallah, Gough ordered a halt at 9:00 a.m. and called for an artillery bombardment, while William Winder and the rest of the infantry lay down to offer the smallest targets possible.  The premature and ineffective Sikh fire helped the British artillery to more easily identify their own targets and after a 2 1/2 hour British bombardment, the Sikh fire began to fade away.

Sikh order captured at Goojerat

As a result when the British army resumed the advance at 11:30 with bayonets and sabres, there was little of the artillery fire which could wreak havoc with a 19th century assault.  Although there was sharp fighting at some points, within an hour the Sikhs had had more than enough and were withdrawing.  Total British casualties were 96 killed and 750 wounded with the 29th's entire brigade suffering only two dead and 10 wounded.  On the 29th's portion of the field, the Sikhs withdrew so quickly that the regiment couldn't even get close enough for bayonet fighting which  was probably a huge relief to William and the others.  By sunset the British were in full possession of the battlefield as regimental bands played "Rule Britannia."

The 29th at Goojerat - the scene is probably exaggerated for effect as the Sikhs retreated before fighting like this could have developed.

The following day a portion of Gough's army (not including the 29th) set off in pursuit of the Sikhs.  Finally on March 14th, the Sikhs surrendered and, taking no chances, the British took over direct rule of the Punjab.  Interestingly the Sikhs then became Britain's "most loyal" Indian subjects even during the 1857 mutiny and remained so through the end of British rule on the subcontinent.

29th's Colors from the 2nd Sikh War

For his service in the 2nd Sikh War, William Winder and his mates were awarded the Punjab Campaign Medal with clasps for Chillianwallah and Goojerat.  They also received the more tangible benefit of six months of "batta" or supplementary pay although they had to wait a year to get it.  No prize money was paid for Goojerat although there were reports of looting at the abandoned Sikh camps so William and his mates may have supplemented their pay "unofficially."

Punjab Campaign Medal with clasps for Chillianwallah and Goojerat - no one knows what happened to William's medal, but there is one on sale on the Internet for about $1500. 

Through his service at Chillianwallah and Goojerat, William  had been part of the final defeat of Britain's most formidable foe on the sub continent, in a part of India where Alexander the Great's army had also fought battles.  The more literary minded in the Army of the Punjab may have felt themselves best described in Shakespeare's words as soldiers who, 

"Like so many Alexanders, have in these parts from morn till even fought,

And sheath'd their swords for lack of argument."

Chillianwallah - Day of Battle

On January 9, 1849, the 29th broke camp and joined the pursuit of the Sikh forces.  Three days later on January 12th, the regiment was within 14 miles of the Sikh army which had its back to the Jhellum River and its front covered by "a thick belt of jungle,"(the map in the last post gives a general sense of the locations).  By now William and his fellow soldiers must have known a battle was imminent.  As far as we know, William had never been in combat before and it's impossible to know what emotions he was experiencing.  Certainly from the day of his enlistment, he must have  understood that sooner or later, this day would come.

During the American Civil War, a soldier's initial combat experience was called "going to the see the elephant." It's a wonderful expression which vividly captures the uniqueness of the moment.  The same analogy doesn't work in William Winder's case because elephants were nothing new to him. Regardless of the imagery, however, it promised to be an unforgettable experience, assuming he lived long enough to reflect on it.

Map of the Chillianwallah battlefield, William was in Mountain's brigade slightly to the right of center

The next day, January 13th, the regiment resumed the march at 7:00 a.m., moving through jungle described in typical British understatement as "no inconsiderable impediment."  By mid afternoon they reached the village of Chillianwallah, about eight miles from the Sikh positions.  Because the British always had smaller numbers than any opponent in India, their preferred strategy was to attack as quickly as possible.  Given the time of day, however, Gough decided to make camp and attack in the morning.  Probably well aware of the British preference for the offensive, Sere Sing tried to lure them into a premature attack by moving his army and artillery forward and opening fire on the British.  In response, a decision much criticized after the fact, Gough changed his mind and ordered an assault.

British Assault at Chillianwallah

William Winder was most likely helping make camp when the regimental drummer began beating a call to arms.  William and his mates fell into formation, probably a column of fours to facilitate quicker movement through the rugged terrain.  As the regiment and the rest of the army advanced, an hour long British bombardment tried to soften up the Sikh resistance.  All told the British army had 12000 men which meant they were outnumbered 3 to 1, not quite Agincourt, but certainly not the best odds.  In addition the Sikhs were on the defensive where they could put their artillery skills to best advantage.

Dressed in red coats and blue pants with shako hats, the 29th most likely stayed four abreast until they were about a mile from the Sikh positions.  At that point drum beats ordered the men to move into a line for the impending charge.  If the British core strategy of attack first was straightforward, their means of implementing the strategy was equally direct.  Since their Brown Bess rifles had an effective range of only about 200 yards, William and his mates would launch a bayonet charge with the goal of "persuading [the] opponent to seek an urgent appointment elsewhere."

View of the Chillianwallah battlefield from behind the British lines - the Himalaya Mountains are in the background

For the attackers, the challenge was getting close enough to the Sikhs to carry out their plan.  During the attack the rate of march was controlled by a drumbeat designed to set a pace neither too slow (to get out of the danger zone as quickly as possible) nor too fast (to prevent sapping their energy for the final charge).  At Chillianwallah the advance was made more difficult by the "thick thorny and dense jungle" which not only slowed them down, but made it all but impossible to maintain their line.  To make matters worse, the trees were full of sharpshooters, not only firing on the 29th, but also signaling the  regiment's location to the Sikh artillery.

Chillianwallah Monument about 1853

As William and the 29th came within range, the Sikh artillery opened up with the first of three deadly forms of fire.  First came shrapnel, cast iron balls containing powder and musket balls which exploded above their heads raining "a hail of death" on William and the others.  Typically the Sikhs could fire 19 different rounds of shrapnel before the British got within 700 yards of their lines. The shrapnel bombardment was usually followed by multiple volleys of round shot, iron cannonballs fired at a flat trajectory which bounced along the ground taking out anything in its path, including soldiers.  The dense jungle may have limited the use or at least the effectiveness of round shot, but that small blessing ended when the 29th finally broke out of the jungle some 300-500 yards from the Sikh positions.

British Monument at Chillianwallah giving a sense of the landscape

With the red coats of the 29th now in plain view, the Sikh gunners opened up with canister (sometimes known as grape), large tins filled with iron balls.  In crossing that last distance,  William and his mates would have been subjected to 10 different rounds of this deadly fire. Each volley released a lethal barrage of flying metal, the closer to the Sikh lines, the denser the killing zone.  This was bad enough, but unfortunately the two native regiments on each flank hadn't maintained the pace so the 29th came out of the jungle alone, allowing the Sikh gunners to concentrate their fire solely on them.

Recognizing the center of the British line was at risk, the commander of the 29th ordered a charge. William now faced the ultimate test of a soldier.  Studies have shown that at this point adrenal and other substances create a "flight or fight" reaction.  The first impulse is to flee, but if resisted, the soldier becomes almost oblivious to the danger.  Based on what follows, it seems clear William successfully passed the test.  Although the British soldiers had marched seven miles just to get to the battlefield and then struggled through another mile of difficult terrain under constant artillery fire, they broke out of the jungle with a shout of "pride and triumph," fired a tremendous volley and launched their bayonet charge.

Text of the British monument at Chillianwallah

No longer able to use their artillery, an "immense line of [Sikh] infantry" unleashed the "infernal clatter of musketry" when the 29th was only 300 yards away.  Most likely it was at this point that William was hit in the left side with a musket ball.  Immediately after firing the Sikhs threw away their muskets and drew their dreaded tulwar swords.  The defenders used these weapons with deadly effect, putting about 60 men out of action with sword wounds alone, but they could not withstand the force of the 29th's charge and fell back, leaving the 29th in possession of the field and a dozen pieces of artillery.  However the 29th was in an exposed position and lost some of the captured artillery while beating back Sikh counter attacks.  Finally the Sikhs withdrew into their defensive lines and darkness ended the day's fighting.

British Cavalry charge at Chillianwallah

All told the 29th lost 33 killed and 200 wounded, a 28% casualty rate.  Among the wounded was William Winder.  Assuming the experience was similar to that of an American Civil War soldier, William's first sensation was not pain, but numbness like being hit with a club or hammer.  Pain, however, was not far behind followed by thirst exacerbated by being already dehydrated from the day's exertions.  To make things even more unpleasant, musket balls, unlike modern bullets which are sterilized by the heat produced by traveling at high speeds, almost always carried dirt, skin and clothing into the wound causing more pain and bleeding, almost always leading to infection.

24th Regiment at Chillianwallah 

The good news for William (and for us), is that the musket ball hadn't hit him slightly to the right as wounds to the abdomen were almost always fatal.  In spite of his wound, William most likely walked off the battlefield under his own power which was a good thing as neither side was in the habit of taking prisoners.  His destination was a hospital which was almost as dangerous as the battlefield.  Although anesthesia had been discovered, germ theory was unknown and the risk of death from infection was high.  William was listed as being in the hospital for the rest of January so his wound appears to be more than a scratch and left a scar he carried for the rest of his life.

Sikh cannon captured at Chillianwallah

After the Sikh retreat, the British army was too exhausted for pursuit and withdrew to Chillianwallah for water.  Heavy rain began at 8:00 that night and prevented the resumption of hostilities the next day, with both sides claiming victory.  The British suffered heavy losses, another regiment, the 24th lost 214 killed and another 266 wounded, casualty rates comparable to the first day on the Somme in World War I, the bloodiest day in British history. Total British casualties were about 2300 and when word of the losses and Gough's  "head-on" attack on a strong position reached England, there was tremendous outrage beginning with Queen Victoria herself.  Charles Napier was appointed to replace Gough with the 79 year old Duke of Wellington telling him, "If you don't go, I must."  But putting such a change into effect was no easy matter and before Napier reached India, William Winder and the 29th had fought a final battle against the Sikhs.