The History of the Indian Revolt and of the Expeditions to Persia, China and Japan 1856-7-8

‘Head-quarters, Camp Cawnpore, Feb. 10.

‘The troops now in Oude, and those advancing into that province, are formed into divisions and brigades, and staff-officers are attached us follows; the whole being under the personal command of his Excellency the Commander-in-chief.

‘Such appointments as now appear for the first time will take effect from this date.

Artillery Division.

‘Staff. – Major-general Sir A. Wilson, K.C.B., Bengal Artillery, commanding; Major E. B. Johnson, Bengal Artillery, Assistant Adjutant-general; Lieutenant R. Biddulph, Royal Artillery, Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general; Lieutenant-colonel C. Hogge, Bengal Artillery, Director of Artillery in the Ordnance Department; Captain C. H. Barchard, 20th Regiment Native Infantry, Aid-de-camp; Lieutenant H. G. Deedes, 60th Royal Rifles, Extra Aid-de-camp.

‘Brigade of Field-artillery. – Brigadier D. E. Wood, C.B., Royal Horse-artillery; Lieutenant J. S. Frith, Bengal Horse-artillery, Major of Brigade. – E troop Royal Horse-artillery; F Troop Royal Horse-artillery; 1st Troop 1st Brigade Bengal Artillery; 2d Troop 1st Brigade Bengal Artillery; 2d Troop 3d Brigade Bengal Artillery; 3d Troop 3d Brigade Bengal Artillery; 3d Company 14th Battalion Royal Artillery, and No. 20, Light Field-battery; 2d Company 3d Battalion Bengal Artillery, and No. 12 Light Field-battery.

‘Brigade of Siege-artillery. – Brigadier G. R. Barker, C.B., Royal Artillery; Lieutenant A. Bunny, Bengal Horse-artillery, Major of Brigade. – 3d Company 8th Battalion Royal Artillery; 6th Company 11th Battalion Royal Artillery; 5th Company 12th Battalion Royal Artillery; 5th Company 13th Battalion Royal Artillery; 4th Company 1st Battalion Bengal Artillery; 1st Company 5th Battalion Bengal Artillery; 3d Company 5th Battalion Bengal Artillery; Detachment Bengal Artillery recruits.

‘The Naval Brigade will form part of the division under Sir Archdale Wilson, but will be under the immediate command of Captain W. Peel, C.B., Royal Navy, and independent of the Brigade of Siege-artillery.

‘Engineer Brigade. – Brigadier R. Napier, Bengal Engineers, Chief-engineer; Major of Brigade, Lieutenant H. Bingham, Veteran Establishment, Brigade Quartermaster; Lieutenant-colonel H. D. Harness, Royal Engineers, commanding Royal Engineers; Captain A. Taylor, Bengal Engineers, commanding Bengal Engineers. – 4th Company Royal Engineers; 23d Company Royal Engineers; Head-quarters Bengal Sappers and Miners; Punjaub Sappers and Miners; corps of Pioneers.

Cavalry Division.

‘Brigadier-general J. H. Grant, C.B., commanding; Captain W. Hamilton, 9th Lancers, Deputy-assistant-adjutant-general; Lieutenant F. S. Roberts, Bengal Horse-artillery, Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general; Captain the Hon. A. H. A. Anson, her Majesty’s 84th Regiment, Aid-de-camp.

‘1st Brigade. – Brigadier A. Little, her Majesty’s 9th Lancers; Captain H. A. Sarel, her Majesty’s 17th Lancers, Major of Brigade. – Her Majesty’s 9th Lancers; 2d Battalion Military Train; 2d Punjaub Cavalry; Detachment 5th Punjaub Cavalry; Wale’s Horse.

‘2d Brigade. – Brigadier W. Campbell, her Majesty’s 2d Dragoon Guards; Captain H. Forbes, 1st Light Cavalry, Major of Brigade. – Her Majesty’s 2d Dragoon Guards; her Majesty’s 7th (Queen’s Own) Hussars; Volunteer Cavalry; Detachment 1st Punjaub Cavalry; Hodson’s Horse.

1st Infantry Division.

‘Major-general Sir J. Outram, G.C.B., Bombay Army, commanding; Captain D. S. Dodgson, 30th Native Infantry, Deputy-assistant-adjutant-general; Lieutenant W. R. Moorsom, her Majesty’s 52d Light Infantry, Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general; Lieutenant F. E. A. Chamier, 34th Native Infantry, Aid-de-camp; Lieutenant Hargood, 1st Madras Fusiliers, Extra Aid-de-camp.

‘1st Brigade. – Brigadier D. Russell, her Majesty’s 84th Regiment. – Her Majesty’s 5th Fusiliers; her Majesty’s 84th Regiment; 1st Madras Fusiliers.

‘2d Brigade. – Brigadier C. Franklyn, her Majesty’s 84th Regiment. – Her Majesty’s 78th Highlanders; her Majesty’s 90th Light Infantry; Regiment of Ferozpore.

2d Infantry Division.

‘Captain R. C. Stewart, her Majesty’s 35th Regiment, Deputy-assistant-adjutant-general; Captain D. C. Shute, Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general.

‘3d Brigade. – Brigadier W. Hamilton, her Majesty’s 78th Highlanders, commanding; Captain G. N. Fendall, her Majesty’s 53d Regiment, Major of Brigade. – Her Majesty’s 34th Regiment; her Majesty’s 38th Regiment; her Majesty’s 53d Regiment.

‘4th Brigade. – Brigadier the Hon. A. Hope, her Majesty’s 93d Highlanders; Captain J. H. Cox, her Majesty’s 75th Regiment, Major of Brigade. – Her Majesty’s 42d Highlanders; her Majesty’s 93d Highlanders; 4th Punjaub Rifles.

3d Infantry Division.

‘Brigadier-general R. Walpole, Rifle Brigade, commanding; Captain C. A. Beerwell, 71st Regiment Native Infantry, Deputy-assistant-adjutant-general; Captain T. A. Carey, 17th Regiment Native Infantry, Deputy-assistant-quarter-master-general.

‘5th Brigade. – Brigadier Douglas, her Majesty’s 79th Highlanders. – Her Majesty’s 23d Fusiliers; her Majesty’s 79th Highlanders; 1st Bengal Fusiliers.

‘6th Brigade. – Brigadier A. H. Horsford, Rifle Brigade. – 2d Battalion Rifle Brigade; 3d Battalion Rifle Brigade; 2d Punjaub Infantry.

‘Captain C. C. Johnson, Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general, will be attached to army head-quarters. Deputy-judge Advocate-general to the Force. – Captain A. C. Robertson, Her Majesty’s 8th (the King’s) Regiment. Field Paymaster. – Captain F. C. Tombs, 18th Regiment Native Infantry. Baggage Master. – Lieutenant J. Morland, 1st Bengal Fusiliers. Provost Marshal. – Captain A. C. Warner, 7th Light Cavalry. Postmaster. – Major C. Apthorp, 41st Native Infantry. Superintending Surgeon. – J. C. Brown, M.B., Bengal Horse-artillery. Field Surgeon. – Surgeon Wilkie. Medical Storekeeper. – Assistant-surgeon Corbyn, M.D.

‘All staff appointments connected with Major-general Sir J. Outram’s force not specified above will hold good until the junction of that force with army head-quarters.

‘All appointments not filled up in the above order are to be temporarily provided for under the orders of officers commanding divisions and brigades.

‘The following is the General Staff of the army advancing into Oude:

‘Commander-in-chief. – His Excellency General Sir Colin Campbell, G.C.B., Her Majesty’s service.

‘Military Secretary to Commander-in-chief. – Major A. Alison, her Majesty’s service (wounded). Acting Secretary and Aid-de-camp. – Colonel A. C. Sterling, C.B., her Majesty’s service. Aid-de-camp. – Captain Sir D. Baird, 98th foot. Aid-de-camp. – Lieutenant F. M. Alison, 72d Highlanders. Aid-de-camp. – Captain W. T. Forster, 18th foot. Commandant at head-quarters, and interpreter. – Captain J. Metcalfe, Bengal infantry. Surgeon. – Staff-surgeon J. J. Clifford, M.D., her Majesty’s service. Chief of the Staff. – Major-general W. R. Mansfield, her Majesty’s service. Deputy-assistant Adjutant-general to the Chief of the Staff. – Captain R. J. Hope Johnstone, Bombay infantry. Aid-de-camp to the Chief of the Staff. – Captain C. Mansfield, 33d foot (wounded). Acting Aid-de-camp. – Lieutenant D. Murray, 64th foot. Deputy-adjutant-general of the Army. – Major H. W. Norman, Bengal infantry. Assistant Adjutant-general of the Army. – Captain D. M. Stewart, Bengal infantry. Deputy-adjutant-general, her Majesty’s troops. – Colonel the Hon. W. L. Pakenham, C.B. Assistant-quartermaster-general of the Army. – Captain G. Allgood, Bengal infantry. Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general. – Captain C. C. Johnson, Bengal infantry. Acting quarter-master-general of her Majesty’s Forces. – Captain C. F. Seymour, 84th foot. Judge Advocate-general. – Lieutenant-Colonel K. Young, Bengal infantry. Deputy Judge Advocate-general. – Captain A. C. Robertson, 8th foot. Principal Commissariat Officer. – Captain C. M. Fitzgerald Bengal infantry. Commissary of Ordnance. – Captain W. T. Brown, Bengal artillery. Field Paymaster. – Captain F. C. Tombs, Bengal infantry. Provost Marshal. – Captain A. C. Warner, Bengal cavalry. Baggage Master. – Lieutenant J. Morland, Bengal infantry. Principal Medical Officer, Queen’s Troops. – Dr J. C. Tice. Superintending Surgeon. – Surgeon J. C. Brown, Bengal artillery.’

Mohammedan Rebel Leaders.– Whatever may have been the proximate causes of the Revolt, it is certain that the rebel leaders were found relatively more numerous among the Mohammedans than among the Hindoos. They talked more frequently and fiercely about fighting for the faith; and they dragged into the meshes of a net many Hindoos who would otherwise have remained free from treasonable entanglement. Several native proclamations have been noticed in earlier chapters of this work; and we now present another, illustrative of Mussulman intrigues. It purports to come from Prince Mirza Mahomed Feroze Shah, and was dated the 3d of Rujub 1274, corresponding to the 17th of February 1858:

‘Be it known to all the Hindoo and Mohammedan inhabitants of India that to rule over a country is one of the greatest blessings from Heaven, and it is denied to a tyrant or an oppressor. Within the last few years the British commenced to oppress the people in India under different pleas, and contrived to eradicate Hindooism and Mohammedanism, and to make all the people embrace Christianity. The Almighty Power observing this, diverted the hearts of the people to a different course, and now every one has turned to annihilate the English, and they have nearly done so. Through avarice and ambition, the British have shewn some resistance, though in vain. Through Divine mercy, that will in a short time be reduced to nothing. Let this also be known to all the Hindoos and Mussulmans, that the English bear the bitterest enmity towards them. Should they again become predominant in this country – which, God forbid – they will destroy religion, property, and even the life of every one. A brief sketch of the views and intentions of the Supreme Court and Parliament is hereby given, in order to warn the people that they should get rid of habits of negligence, and strive in unity to destroy the infidels. When the Indian troops mutinied to save their religion, and killed all infidels in several places, the wise men of England were of opinion that had the British authorities in India kept the following things in view, the mutiny would never have broken out: 1. They should have destroyed the race of the former kings and nobles. 2. They should have burnt all books of every other religion. 3. They should not have left even a biswa of ground to any of the native rulers. 4. They should have intermarried among the natives, so that after a short time all would have become one race. 5. They should not have taught the use of artillery to the natives. 6. They should not have left arms among the natives. 7. They should not have employed any native until he consented to eat and drink with Europeans. 8. The mosques and Hindoo temples should not have been allowed to stand. 9. Neither Moulvies nor Brahmins should have been allowed to preach. 10. The several cases brought into the courts should have been decided according to English laws. 11. English priests should have performed all nuptial ceremonies of the natives according to their English customs. 12. All prescriptions of the Hindoo and Mussulman physicians should have been prohibited, and English medicines furnished instead. 13. Neither Hindoo nor Mussulman fakeers should have been allowed to convert people without the permission of English missionaries. 14. European doctors only should have been allowed to assist native women in childbed. – But the authorities did not take means to introduce these measures. On the contrary, they encouraged the people: so much so, that they at last broke out. Had the authorities kept in view the maxims above alluded to, the natives would have remained quiet for thousands of years. These are now the real intentions of the English; but all of us must conjointly exert ourselves for the protection of our lives, property, and religion, and to root out the English from this country. Thus we shall, indeed, through Divine mercy, gain a great victory over them. I (the prince) now draw a brief sketch of my travels, and I hope the people will pay attention to what I say. Before the destruction of the English, I went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and on my return I observed that the English were in a bad and hazardous position. I therefore offered thanks to God, because it is in my nature to follow the principles of my religion and to promulgate justice. I persuaded many at Delhi to raise a religious war; I then hastened towards Gwalior, where the majority of the military officers promised to kill the English and take up my cause. A small portion of the Gwalior army accompanied me. I had not the least intention to announce war before I had everything in order; but the army became very enthusiastic, and commenced fighting with the enemy (the English). Though our army was then but a handful, and that of the enemy very large in numbers, still we fought manfully; and, though apparently we were defeated, in reality we were victorious over our enemy, for we killed 1000 of them. Since then I have been collecting as well as exhorting the people. I have exerted myself in procuring ammunition up to this day, now four months since the commencement. Thank God, an army of 150,000 old and new men are now bound by a solemn oath to embrace my cause. I have collected considerable treasury and munitions of war in many places, and in a short time I shall clear the country of all infidels. Since the real purpose of this war is to save religion, let every Hindoo and Mussulman render assistance to the utmost. Those that are old should offer their prayers. The rich, but old, should assist our sacred warriors with money. Those in perfect health, as well as young, should attend in person. But all those who are in the service of either Mirza Birjish Kadur Bahadoor in Lucknow and of Khan Bahadoor Khan at Bareilly should not venture out to join us, for these rulers are themselves using their best endeavours to clear the country of all infidels. All who join us should do so solely with a view of promulgating their religion, not with that of worldly avarice. Thus victory will certainly smile upon us; then distinguished posts will be conferred on the people at large. The delay in defeating the English has been caused by people killing innocent children and women without any permission whatever from the leaders, whose commands were not obeyed. Let us all avoid such practices, and then proclaim a sacred war. Lastly, the great and small in this campaign will be equal, for we are waging a religious war. I (the prince) do now proclaim a sacred war, and exhort all, according to the tenets of their religion, to exert themselves. The rest I leave to God. We shall certainly conquer the English, consequently I invite the people again to my assistance. – Printed at Bareilly, by Shaick Nisar Ally, under the supervision of Moulvie Mahomed Kootoob Shah.’

CHAPTER XXV.

FINAL CONQUEST OF LUCKNOW: MARCH

The month at length arrived which was to witness the great siege of Lucknow, the capture of that important city, and the commencement of a re-establishment of British influence in Oude. The city which, excepting a small portion near and around the Residency, had been wholly in the hands of the rebels since the beginning of July, was to revert to the Company’s possession in March, by a series of military operations which it is the purpose of this chapter to trace.

The extraordinary events in that city have been too frequently dwelt on in past chapters to render any lengthened notice here necessary. The reader will only have to bear in mind that Lawrence maintained the Residency intact until his death early in July; that Inglis continued the defence until September; that Outram and Havelock held the same position until November; and that from thence to March the city was wholly in the hands of the enemy – the Alum Bagh alone being held by Outram. Concerning the buildings and general arrangement of Lucknow, it may be useful here to freshen the recollection by a few descriptive details. The city lies on the right bank of the river Goomtee, which there runs nearly from northwest to southeast. All the buildings on the opposite or left bank of the river are merely suburban. After winding round the buildings called the Martinière and the Dil Koosha, the river changes its course towards the south. The southeastern extremity of the city is bounded by a canal, which enters the Goomtee near the Martinière. There is no defined boundary on the southwest, west, or northwest, the urban giving way to the rural in the same gradual way as in most English towns. Between the crowded or commercial part of the city, and the river, extends – or extended at the time of the Revolt (for it will be convenient to adopt the past tense in this description) – a long series of palaces and gardens, occupying collectively an immense area, and known by the several names of the Taree Kothee, Fureed Buksh, Pyne Bagh, Chuttur Munzil, Kaiser Bagh, Shah Munzil, Motee Mehal, Shah Nujeef, Secunder Bagh, &c. Still further in the same line, were the buildings once famous as the Residency, the Muchee Bhowan, the great Emanbarra, and the Moosa Bagh. In short, for a distance of at least five miles, there was a string of royal or governmental buildings along the right bank of the river, forming a belt between it and the poorer or denser streets of the city. There was a stone bridge beyond the Muchee Bhowan, an iron bridge near the Residency, and – in peaceful times – a bridge of boats near the Motee Mehal. As to the general aspect of the city, when seen from a distance, writers have been at a loss for similes applicable to it, owing chiefly to the vast space over which the buildings are dotted. ‘If,’ in the quaint words of one writer, ‘Clapham were overrun by a Mohammedan conqueror, who stuck up domes, cupolas, and minarets on half the meeting-houses and mansions; and if that pleasant suburb, when all the trees are green, were spread for eighteen or twenty miles over a dead level surface – the aspect it would present might in some degree give one a notion of Lucknow.’

The city, in the interval between November and March, had been fortified by the rebels in great strength. Although not enclosed like Delhi by a fortified wall, its many square miles of area, full of narrow streets and high houses, and occupied by an enormous military force in addition to the ordinary population, constituted a formidable stronghold in itself. But the rebels did not neglect the usual precautions of defensive warfare. Rightly judging that the English commander would avoid a hand-to-hand contest in the streets, and would direct his attack towards the southeastern suburb, they spared no labour in strengthening that side of the city. In considering their plan of fortification, they treated the courts and buildings of the Kaiser Bagh as a sort of citadel, and interposed a triple series of obstacles between it and the besiegers. First, exterior of the three, was a line of defence extending from the river to a building known as Banks’s house, once occupied by Major Banks; the canal formed the wet ditch of this line, and within the canal was a rampart or elevated earthwork. The second defence consisted of an earthwork beginning at the river-side near the Motee Mehal, the Mess-house, and the Emanbarra. The third or interior defence was the principal rampart of the Kaiser Bagh itself. All these lines consisted of well-constructed earthen parapets or ridges, fronted by wide and deep ditches, and strengthened at intervals by bastions. Not relying wholly on these formidable lines, the enemy had loopholed and fortified almost every house and enclosure, constructed strong counter-guards in front of the gateways, and placed isolated bastions, stockades, and traverses across the principal streets. The three lines of defence all abutted at one end on the river Goomtee, and at the other on the great street or road called the Huzrutgunje; which street was among the principal of those loopholed and bastioned. It was estimated that the enemy defended their works with nearly 100 guns and mortars. The insurgent troops were variously computed at 40,000 to 80,000 in number; the estimate could not be a precise one, because it was impossible to determine how many peasants from the country or desperate characters from the city joined the regular sepoys. There is, however, reason to believe that, at the beginning of March, the city contained 30,000 revolted sepoys, 50,000 volunteers and armed retainers of chieftains, and an ordinary city population of no less than 300,000 souls. It was a terrible thought that a city should be bombarded containing so large a number of living beings; but, as one of the stern necessities of the war, it was imperative. The chieftains of Oude, and the revolted sepoys of the Company’s army, were there in great number; and until they were subdued, nothing could be effected towards the pacification of this part of India.

It may not be out of place here to notice a few of the individuals who, during the interregnum in Oude, assumed sovereign or governing power. The newly set up king was a boy of eight or ten years old, a son of the deposed king living at that time under surveillance at Calcutta. As a boy, he was a puppet in the hands of others. The prime mover in all the intrigues was his mother, the Begum Huzrut Mehal, who professed to be regent during his minority, and to be assisted by a council of state. She was a woman of much energy of character, and conducted public affairs in an apartment of the Kaiser Bagh. Morally she was tainted in full measure with oriental vices. Like Catherine of Russia she raised one of her paramours, Mummoo Khan, to the office of chief judge, and did not scruple openly to acknowledge her relations towards him. “While executing the Begum’s commands in all that related to the management of the newly formed government, he enriched himself at the expense of the people generally. The chief minister was one Shirreff-u-Dowlah, and the generalissimo Hissamut-u-Dowlah; but Mummoo Khan, held up by courtly favour, had sources of power superior to both. Another notability was a Moulvie or Mussulman fanatic who, though professing allegiance to the boy-king of Oude, was suspected of aiming at the throne himself. Most of the officers of the government purchased their places by large gifts to the Begum or her favourite, knowing that they would obtain an ample return during the anarchy of the period. The eunuchs of the royal palaces held, nominally if not really, military commands. The whole city of Lucknow, it is quite evident, was a hideous mass of intrigue, in which the various members of the royal family sought how best they could obtain power and wealth at the expense of the bulk of the people; while their ministers and officers were parasitical just so far as might be subservient to their own interests. The trading classes generally had very little reason to rejoice at the temporary cessation of the British ‘raj.’ The Begum and the Moulvie leader were regarded as the chief instruments in the opposition to the British. Every measure was resorted to that could raise the fanaticism of the native population. The English, and especially their Sikh allies, were represented as systematically murdering all who fell into their hands. On one occasion, shortly before the arrival of Sir Colin, the Begum rode through the streets of the city on an elephant, as one might imagine our Elizabeth appearing before her troops at Tilbury; and she used all her arts to induce the several chieftains to make her cause theirs.

These preliminaries settled, the narrative may be proceeded with. How the troops under the commander-in-chief approached Lucknow in February, and what were the components of the army of Oude, in generals and soldiers, the last chapter shewed.

When, on the 1st of March, Sir Colin Campbell was within a few miles of Lucknow, in his camp at Buntara, he fully considered all the information obtainable up to that time concerning the defences of the city. One result of the inquiry, was to convince him that a necessity would arise for operating from both sides of the Goomtee river, whenever the actual assault should take place.130 This would be necessary, or at least desirable, because such a course would enable him to enfilade (that is, attack laterally or at the extremities) many of the enemy’s newly constructed works; and because he would thus be able to cut off the enemy from their external sources of supply. It is true that he could not hope wholly to surround a city which, with its fortified suburbs, had a circuit of little less than twenty miles; still he would make an important approach towards that condition by cannonading from both sides of the river. One of his earliest preparations, therefore, had relation to the means of crossing the river; and to this end his engineers were busily engaged in fitting casks so that they might be placed across the river as a floating-bridge. The former bridge of boats, opposite some of the palaces, had been removed by the insurgents; while the iron and stone bridges were well watched by them.