2nd Sikh War

2nd Sikh War
1848-49
Chronological list of Wars and Campaigns
Location: Punjab
Combatants:
East India Company	Sikh Empire
Result: British victory. Punjab annexed
Medals: Punjab Medal Clasps: Mooltan, Chilianwala, Goojerat
Links:
Category: 2nd Sikh War

	See our interactive map of 2nd Sikh War locations and routes on Google Maps

Also known as the 2nd Anglo-Sikh War or the Punjab Campaign.

Summary

The British Resident in Lahore sent officers to Multan to compel the local viceroy to pay increased taxes. The officers were murdered and this encouraged an uprising of rebellious troops against the Sikh Government. After some initial actions the British sent a substantial force under Sir Hugh Gough. Major battles atChillianwala and Gujerat led to the surrender of the Sikhs. The British annexed the Punjab and Raja Duleep Singh went into exile.

Army of the Punjab

Order of Battle at Ramnuggur
Commander in Chief: Maj-Gen Sir Hugh Gough

Cavalry Division
Brigadier-General Charles Cureton

• 1st Brigade: Brigadier Michael White

• HM 3rd Light Dragoons
• HM 14th Light Dragoons
• 5th Bengal Light Cavalry
• 8th Bengal Light Cavalry

• 2nd Brigade: Brigadier Pope

• HM 9th Lancers
• HM 14th Light Dragoons
• 1st Bengal Light Cavalry
• 6th Bengal Light Cavalry
  

1st Infantry Division
Lt-Gen Sir Walter Gilbert

• 1st Brigade: Brigadier Mountain

• HM 29th Foot
• 30th Bengal Native Infantry
• 56th Bengal Native Infantry

• 2nd Brigade: Brigadier Godby

• 2nd European Light Infantry
• 31st Bengal Native Infantry
• 70th Bengal Native Infantry

2nd Infantry Division
General Thackwell

• 1st Brigade: Brigadier Pennycuick

• HM 24th Foot
• 25th Bengal Native Infantry
• 45th Bengal Native Infantry

• 2nd Brigade: Brigadier Hoggan

• HM 61st Foot
• 6th Bengal Native Infantry
• 36th Bengal Native Infantry

• 3rd Brigade: Brigadier Nicholas Penny

• 15th Bengal Native Infantry
• 20th Bengal Native Infantry
• 69th Bengal Native Infantry
  

Artillery

• 6 horse batteries: Lane, Christie, Huish, Warner, Duncan and Fordyce.
• 3 field batteries: Dawes, Kenleside and Austin.
• 2 heavy batteries.

FIBIS resources

• "General Gilbert and the surrender of the Sikh Army" by Sarah Bilton FIBIS Journal Number 27 (Spring 2012), pages 14-22. For details of how to access this article see FIBIS Journals

Medals

Also see Medals and Medal Rolls

• Punjab Medal Wikipedia

External Links

Sikh Wars Heritage History
2nd Sikh War 1848-49 Wikipedia
2nd Anglo-Sikh War Sikhiwiki
Chronology Google Books

Historical books online

• Narrative of the Second Sikh War, in 1848-49 with a detailed account of the Battles of Ramnugger, the Passage of the Chenab, Chillianwallah, Goojerat, etc. by Edward Joseph Thackwell, late Aide-de-Camp to General Thackwell 2nd edition, revised with additions 1851 Google Books. Archive.org 1st edition 1851
• The Military Memoirs of Lieut.-General Sir Joseph Thackwell arranged from Diaries and Correspondence by Colonel H C Wylly 1908 Archive.org
• The Sikh War : a narrative by "An Old Dragoon" page 179 The British soldier: an Anecdotal History of the British Army, Volume 1‬ by Joachim Hayward Stocqueler 1856‬ Google Books
• Commentaries on the Punjab Campaign, 1848-49. Including some additions to the history of the Second Sikh War, from original sources by J H Lawrence-Archer 1878 Archive.org
• The Sikhs and the Sikh Wars: The Rise, Conquest, and Annexation of the Punjab State by Charles Gough , Arthur Donald Innes 1897 Archive.org
• The First and Second Sikh Wars Compiled for the General Staff, India by Lieutenant Colonel R G Burton 94th Russell’s Infantry 1911 Archive.org, mirror from Digital Library of India. 2nd digital file, Archive.org
• Annals of India for the year 1848: An outline of the principal events which have occurred in the British dominions in India from 1. Jan. 1848 to the end of the second Seikh War in March 1849 by George Buist 1849 Google Books
• General Gilbert's Raid to the Khyber. A Personal Narrative by R. W. Bingham, Late Quarter Master Serjeant 30th Regt. N. I. 1850 Google Books
• A Year on the Punjab Frontier in 1848-49 by Herbert B. Edwardes 1851 Google Books Volume 1, Volume 2
• Leaves from the journal of a subaltern during the campaign in the Punjaub Sept.1848 to March 1849 by Daniel Augustus Sandford, Ensign, 2nd Bengal (European) Light Infantry 1849 Google Books
• Extracts from letters to Mrs. Bamfield from her husband, during the second Seikh war ... also, the subsequent letters of her son 1854 Google Books. The author was Major Daniel Bamfield of the Bengal Army and his son Albert, both possibly of the 56th Bengal Native Infantry.
• Brigadier Mountain’s letters: Page 246 Memoirs and letters of the late Colonel Armine S.H. Mountain, C. B. : aide-de-camp to the Queen and Adjutant-General of Her Majesty's forces in India. 1857 Google Books. He was in charge of 3 regiments, 29th Queen’s and 13th and 30th N I.
• Cavalry Experiences and Leaves from My Journal by Colonel H A Ouvry 1892 Archive.org. The author arrived in India in late 1846 to join the 3rd Light Dragoons, and subsequently took part in the 2nd Sikh War, from page 38.
• Part 2: The Second Sikh War, 1848-49 — The Indian Mutiny, 1857 from "Memoir of Major-General Sir Henry Marion Durand, K.C.S.I., C.B., R.E." by Lieutenant C.R, Low, (late) Indian Navy, page 374 Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal, 1871 Part 1 Google Books
• "Medical History of the 1st Bombay European Regiment (Fusiliers) during its Service in the Punjaub in 1848,1849, and 1850" by FS Arnott MD Surgeon of the Regiment, page 1 Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society of Bombay Volume X 1849-1850 Google Books
• Barracks and Battlefields in India; or, The experiences of a soldier of the 10th Foot (North Lincoln) in the Sikh Wars and Sepoy Mutiny, edited by the Rev Caesar Caine 1891 Archive.org. 1971 reprint edition Archive.org, mirror from Digital Library of India. The soldier was Thomas Malcolm, born 1827.
• "The Second Sikh War" page 61 General Sir Alex Taylor G.C.B., R.E.: his Times, his Friends, and his Work, Volume I by A. Cameron Taylor, his daughter, 1913. (Volume II) Archive.org.
• Soldier Sahibs : the men who made the North-West Frontier by Charles Allen 2001, first published 2000. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• Gujrat District page 111 A list of inscriptions on Christian tombs or monuments in the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir and Afghanistan possessing historical or archaeological interest Part 1 by Miles Irving (1910) HathiTrust Digital Library. Inscriptions of some of those who died in battle.
• Through the Sikh war: a tale of the conquest of the Punjaub by G. A. Henty 1902, first published 1893 Archive.org. An adventure story for younger readers.
• Fiction. Oakfield or Fellowship In the East by W D Arnold [William Delafield], Lieut. 58th Regiment, BNI [Bengal Native infantry]. 2nd edition 1854 Volume I Archive.org. Volume II Google Books. Oakfield or Fellowship In the East Wikipedia, which states "The novel is an indictment of the moral standards of the British regiments in India." Originally published (1853) using the pseudonym Punjabee. Volume II, Oakfield takes part in the 2nd Sikh War.