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 SIR HENRY LAWRENCE

CHAPTER I

The Burma War and Early Experiences

As stated in the Biographical Sketch, Henry Lawrence arrived in India as a subaltern of the Bengal Artillery in February, 1823. During his first year spent at the headquarters of his regiment his leisure time was mostly passed in study, in reading historical and military works, and in playing chess. In March of the following year Lord Amherst declared war with Burma; and in that war, especially in its early stages, he learnt lessons and gained experience which, with his thoughtful and practical bent of mind, proved invaluable in the most critical parts of his subsequent career.

A subaltern of only a year's standing, he was placed, on May 24, 1824, in command of a battery of six guns in Calcutta, with orders to prepare to move to Chittagong, where General Morrison's division of the army, under Sir Archibald Campbell, was to be formed. On May 31, he writes: —