Events at Lucknow

This article is part of the events in the Indian Mutiny

Summary

Lucknow was one of the major centres of the Indian Mutiny. Sir Henry Lawrence became Chief Commissioner of the Province of Oudh (Awadh) on March 20th 1857. The garrison at the time consisted of HM 32nd Regiment of Foot, the 7th Native Cavalry, the 13th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, the 48th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry and the 71st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, with Indian soldiers outnumbering Europeans 10 to 1. Unrest was evident in the city for several months and when the mutiny reached the province, Lawrence fortified the Residency at Lucknow and took the British inhabitants into the compound. The rebellion broke out on the 30th May and a 87 day siege of the Residency ensued, with Lawrence killed in the first few days.

Forces led by Sir Henry Havelock (see Havelock's Campaign and Sir James Outram reached Lucknow in September (the First Lucknow Relief). After taking the Alambagh, this became the headquarters for subsequent actions at Lucknow. Under heavy assault from the rebels, they were unable to evacuate the Residency as intended and instead bolstered the garrison there, a second siege ensuing for six weeks. The Second Lucknow Relief came in November when Sir Colin Campbell reached Lucknow. On the 16th November, 2000 rebel sepoys besieged at the Secundrabagh villa were massacred when the 93rd Highlanders and the 4th Punjabi Infantry took the estate. Campbell managed to evacuate the besieged Europeans at the Residency, but Havelock died before he was able to leave the city. Outram stayed and defended Lucknow until the following March, when Campbell retook the city. During this action Major Hodson (Commander of Hodson's Horse) was killed and buried in the grounds of La Martiniere College.

Related articles

For details of actions during this period see the following articles

1 May 1857	Mutiny at Lucknow
30 June 1857	Battle of Chinhut
1 July 1857	Start of the First Siege of Lucknow
23 September 1857	Battle of Alambagh
25 September 1857	First Lucknow Relief
12 November 1857	Battle of Alambagh
14 November 1857	Actions at Dilkusha and Martiniere
16 November 1857	Battle of Secundra Bagh
17 November 1857	Second Lucknow Relief
27 Nov 1857-10 Mar 1858	Defence of Alambagh
22 December 1857	Battle of Gailee by Lucknow
9 March 1858	Battle of La Martinière
11 March 1858	Battle of Begum Kothi
14 March 1858	Battle of Imambara
19 March 1858	Battle of Moosa Bagh
21 March 1858	Recapture of Lucknow

Biographies

Entries in the Dictionary of Indian Biography 1906:
Colin Campbell (1792-1863)
Henry Havelock (1795-1857)
John Inglis (1814-1862)
Henry Lawrence (1806-1857)
Edward Lugard (1810-1898)
Nana Sahib (1820?-1859?)
James Neill (1810-1857)
James Outram (1803-1863)
Tantya Tope (1819-1859)

External Links

Indian Mutiny 1857-58 www.britishempire.co.uk
Siege of Lucknow Wikipedia

Historical books on-line

List of inscriptions on Christian tombs and tablets of historical interest in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh by E A H Blunt ICS 1911 Chronology of events and names on monuments of European casualties archive.org

Recommended Reading

Saul David, Indian Mutiny: 1857 (London: Viking, 2002), ISBN 0670911372 ; (Penguin, 2003), ISBN 0141005548