BROADFOOT, William.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Career of Major George Broadfoot, C.B. First edition. Broadfoot (1807-1845) "flashed brightly across the history of British India for the short period of five years. This work of letters, diary entries, and semi-official memoranda establish the vigorous role he played in the latter stages of the First Afghan War through his intrepid defence of Jalalabad in 1842" (Riddick).Broadfoot's distinguished service in Afghanistan caught the eye of the governor-general, Lord Ellenborough, and he was made commissioner at Tenasserim in Burma, but his health suffered in the climate, and he requested a transfer. In 1844 Sir Henry Hardinge, the new governor-general, appointed him his agent for the North-West Frontier, "an important position when war with the Sikhs seemed likely. He reported on the Punjab situation, negotiated with the Sikhs and, when war seemed imminent, gathered supplies for the army. In December 1845 the Sikhs invaded British territory. Broadfoot served on Hardinge's staff and was at the battles of Mudki and Ferozeshah. At the latter, on 21 December, he was killed, shot through the heart". Hardinge's despatches described him glowingly: "as brave as he was able in every branch of the political and military service", sentiments which would seem to suggest that Riddick's glib assessment of him as "a clever climber" is inapt at the very least.

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