East India Company Army

The East India Company maintained armies in its three Presidencies. These were formed from the mid-18th century and lasted until the Indian Mutiny. European regiments were amalgamated with the British Army in 1860. 'Native' regiments continued until the abolition of the Presidency Armies in the 1890s. For Indian armies and regiments after this date, see the Indian Army.

The three Presidency armies were quite distinct from each other and operated independently. More information can be found on their respective articles:

• Bengal Army
• Bombay Army
• Madras Army

Records

FIBIS Research Guide

Researching ancestors in the East India Company's Armies by Peter Bailey Families in British India Society, 2006. (FIBIS research guide; 1)

This is the essential handbook for anyone researching ancestors who were connected to the HEIC Armies of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. It covers records from the armies' origins until their assimilation into the British Army in 1860. Laid out in a clear and accessible manner, the book directs searchers to records on all available stages of a man's career, whether officer or soldier, including sources which may provide details on his wife and children. For those researchers not fortunate enough to have access to the India Office Records at the British Library, the LDS film numbers are included. A full review by Richard Scott Morel, Archivist of Pre-1858 India Office Records, is available on pp. 45-46 of the FIBIS Journal 17 (Spring 2007)

Purchase a copy from the FIBIS Online Shop

Books and Articles

"Irishmen in the East-India Company Army" by Peter Bailey in Irish Family History-Journal of the Irish Family History Society Volume 17, 2001 page 84

Other

The National Army Museum, London has a card index, mainly in respect of East India Company Army Officers

Wives and children

Marriages between EIC soldiers and Anglo Indians or Native women, the allowances paid to wives and the army records kept regarding these wives are discussed in "Haemoglobin D (B Punjab) in an East Anglian Family", The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 95, No. 2 (Jul. - Dec., 1965), pp. 295-306. The article (including an extract) and its implications are the subject of this archived India List thread.

See also

• Armies in India
• European regiments
• Regiments
• Auxillary Regiments

External Links

• Presidency Armies - Wikipedia
• This India List thread is about the difference between “Rank in Regiment” and “Rank in Army”
• This India List thread is about the fact that commissions and ranks were not purchased within the East India Company Armies. However one possible exception is mentioned.
• This India List post discusses some of the advantages of joining the East India Company’s Armies, rather than the British Army.

Online Books

• The East India Military Calendar: Containing the Services of General and Field Officers of the Indian Army by John Philippart. Contain the biographies of many officers. Google Books:

• Volume 1, published 1823, index page 501
• Volume 2, published 1824, index page 565
• Volume 3, published 1826, index page 535

• Memoirs of the early life and service of a field officer on the retired list of the Indian army by Major David Price 1839 Google Books. Recruitment into the East India Company Army in London in 1780 is mentioned on page 11