William Hodson

Brevet Major William Stephen Raikes Hodson (1821–1858) was an officer of the British East India Company who joined the 2nd Bengal Grenadiers in 1844 as a cadet. He was present at the battles of Mudki, Ferozeshah and Sobraon in the 1st Sikh War. He was adjutant of the Corps of Guides under Harry Lumsden and was responsible for introducing the first khaki uniforms. Appointed Commissioner of the Punjab after its annexation, he was Commandant of the Corps of Guides in 1852. After acting as despatch rider for General George Anson when the Indian Mutiny broke out, he was ordered to raise a regiment of irregular horse which became Hodson's Horse. He played a major role in the recapture of Delhi and took the Mughal Emperor prisoner. The subsequent capture and execution of the Mughal princes brought him severe criticism. He was killed during the capture of Lucknow at the Battle of Begum Kothi.

FIBIS Resources

FIBIS Journal No 22 contains an article "The Memorial to Major William Hodson in Lichfield Cathedral" by Richard Morgan, (pages 49-52).

External links

Hodson's grave at La Martiniere College, Lucknow

William Hodson Dictionary of Indian Biography (1906)
William Hodson Wikipedia

Historical Books on-line

• Hodson of Hodson's Horse, or, Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India by Major W S R Hodson 4th Edition 1883 (Archive.org)
• The Life of Hodson of Hodson's Horse by Captain Lionel James Trotter 1910 (Archive.org)
  
• "Appendix N: Hodson of Hodson’s Horse", page 591 A History of the Indian Mutiny and of the disturbances which accompanied it among the civil population] by T. Rice Holmes 5th edition revised 1898, originally published 1883. Archive.org

Recommended Reading

"Hodson's Horse: 1857-1922" by Major F.G. Cardew. Reprinted Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval & Military Press. 2006 (402pp)- addition of colored maps.