Indian Mutiny

Indian Mutiny
10 May 1857-19 April 1959
Chronological list of Wars and Campaigns
[[Image:|250px| ]]
Location: Gangetic Plain and Central India
Combatants:
British Army East India Company Armies	Bengal Presidency regiments
Result: Rebellion crushed
Medals: Indian Mutiny Medal Clasps: Delhi, Defence of Lucknow, Relief of Lucknow, Lucknow, Central India
Links:
Category:
Delhi Campaign Events at Cawnpore Havelock's Campaign Showers' Movable Column Greathed's Movable Column Seaton's Movable Column Trans-Gogra Campaign Oude Campaign Central India Campaign Rohilcund Campaign

Preamble

The Indian Mutiny is also known as India's First War of Independence, the Great Rebellion, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Revolt of 1857, the Uprising of 1857 and the Sepoy Mutiny.

The rebellion was almost exclusively confined to the regiments in the Bengal Presidency. In 1857 the Bengal Army strength was as follows:

	Cavalry	Infantry	Artillery	Sappers	Total
British troops	1,366	17,003	3,063	Nil	21,432
Indian troops	19,288	112,052	4,734	1,497	137,571
Totals	20,654	129,055	7,797	1,497	159,003

Outbreaks

Details of the outbreak of mutiny in various locations can be found in the following articles:

• Mutiny at Berhampore 27 February
• Mutiny at Barrackpore 29 March
• Mutiny at Lucknow 1 May
• Mutiny at Meerut 10 May
• Mutiny at Fyzabad 10 May
• Mutiny at Delhi 11 May
• Mutiny at Ferozepore 13 May
• Mutiny at Meean Meer 13 May
• Mutiny at Allygurh 20 May
• Mutiny at Mynpoorie 23 May
• Mutiny at Nusseerabad 28 May
• Mutiny at Hansi 29 May
• Mutiny at Bareilly 31 May
• Mutiny at Saharunpore 2 June
• Mutiny at Neemuch 3 June
• Mutiny at Azimguhr 3 June
• Mutiny at Benares 3 June
• Mutiny at Seetapore 4 June
• Mutiny at Jhansi 5 June
• Mutiny at Allahabad 6 June
• Mutiny at Sealkote 9 July
• Mutiny at Jhelum 17 July

Campaigns

For details of the campaigns during the mutiny see the following main articles

• Delhi Campaign May-Sept 1857
• Events at Lucknow May 1857-Mar 1858
• Events at Cawnpore Jun-Jul 1857
• Havelock's Campaign Jul-Sep 1857
• Showers' Movable Column Sep-Nov 1857
• Greathed's Movable Column Sep-Nov 1857
• Seaton's Movable Column Dec 1857- Oct 1858
• Trans-Gogra Campaign Nov 1857-Dec 1858
• Oude Campaign Dec 1857-Nov 1858
• Central India Campaign Dec 1857-Jan 1859
• Rohilcund Campaign Apr-May 1858

Volunteer force

• The Bengal Yeomanry Cavalry was a volunteer force raised in July 1857 after the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny and disbanded in 1859.
• The Meerut Light Horse was a volunteer unit formed in 1857 at the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny. Also known as the Meerut Volunteer Horse and the Meerut Volunteer Cavalry, which had originally been formed as the District Volunteer Force. It was disbanded in 1861.

Camel Corps

The Camel Corps was formed at Lucknow on 5 April 1858 from drafts of 100 men each from the 2nd and 3rd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade, to which were eventually added 200 Sikhs. The Camel Corps was used in 1858 and 1859 to support columns of soldiers despatched during the latter stages of the Indian Mutiny to hunt down groups of rebels that had fled into the countryside of Rohilkund and Oudh, and was disbanded on 1 June 1860.

FIBIS resources

• Indian Mutiny Medal Roll (British Forces) 1857-1859 - a medal roll transcription with over 50,000 names of British Army soldiers awarded medals
• Supplement to The London Gazette - around 2000 names of Europeans killed or wounded by disaffected soldiers or local residents as reported in the London Gazette
• The Diary of a Medical Officer during the Great Indian Mutiny

Casualties

• Available at the British Library is the publication, Casualty Roll for the Indian Mutiny, 1857-59, compiled by I. T. Taverner, published by J. B. Hayward & Son (1983), Suffolk, England (ISBN: 0 903754 98 3) pp.205. It contains name, rank and regimental number of every casualty (fatal or otherwise) of HM's (incl. Naval Brigade) & HEIC forces (by Presidency, incl. Indian Medical Service and Ecclesiastical Establishment); location and date where/when/how injured. A useful chronology of the Mutiny events and bibliography is appended.

• Memorials of the Indian Mutiny Online site listing soldiers of both British and HEIC regiments who were killed during the Mutiny.

• Military records on findypast.com include record set entitled British Casualties, Indian Mutiny 1857-1859

Recommended Reading

See Fibiwiki Military Reading List - Mutiny

External Links

General

• Indian Mutiny 1857-59 The British Empire site
• Alphabetical list of Mutiny locations Google Books
• Indian Rebellion of 1857 Wikipedia
• Timeline of the Mutiny Wikipedia
• Chronological Table of Events Google Books
• Another chronology Google Books
• Disposition of the Bengal Army January 1857 Google Books
• Mutiny at the Margins the University of Edinburgh’s website

• Catalogue of Resources in UK Libraries in conjunction with Mutiny at the Margins

• 1857: A Brief Political and Military Analysis by Maj (Retd) Agha Humayun Amin defencejournal.com (Pakistan). Issues from July 1999 to June 2000

Chapter One "The English East India Company's Conquest Of India 1757-1849" Chapter Two "The Causes Of The Rebellion" Chapter Three "Political and Military Situation from 1839 to 1857" and Chapter Four "The Bengal Army and The Military Situation -1857" Chapter Five "Development of Situation-January to July 1857". Further chapters may be seen under particular campaigns

• VCs in the Indian Mutiny Wikipedia
• "Reflections from Lucknow on the Great Uprising of 1857" by Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones from the United Service Institution of India website. Scroll and select "October 2005-December 2005", then scroll to the article. Retrieved 12 October 2014
• Irregular Correspondence is a collection of letters by the three eldest sons of John and Eliza Laurie, to their parents. Includes the letters from India 1858-1861, of Lieutenant Julius Laurie of the 34th Foot. (Website by William Dyson-Laurie)
• "Counter-Insurgency in the Bombay Presidency during the Mutiny-Rebellion, 1857" by Bruce Collins, British Journal for Military History Vol 1, No 2 (2015). bjmh.org.uk.
• "The rising in the south" by Suryanath U Kamath Sunday, May 20, 2007 Deccan Herald. The 1857-58 uprising in Karnataka, which continued till 1859.
• A selection of lithographs from The Campaign in India 1857-58. From Drawings Made During the Eventful Period of the Great Mutiny, by G.F. Atkinson Illustrating the Military Operations Before Delhi, and Its Neighbourhood. 26 lithographed plates, published 1859. National Army Museum. Click on images to enlarge.
• Rifle Brigade In The Camel Corps rgjmuseum.co.uk.

Maps

• Schwartzberg Historical Atlas - Indian Mutiny Map
• Schwartzberg Historical Atlas - Administrative Divisions 1857
• Northern India in the Mutiny British Empire website

Historical newspapers and books online

• (British Library) British Newspapers Online - Sepoy Mutiny - Background context and links to free to view contemporary newspaper articles
• Military Divisions in India at the outbreak of the Mutiny in The history of the Indian revolt and of the expeditions to Persia, China & Japan by George Dodd (Google Books)
• The Mutiny of the Bengal Army by George Bruce Malleson (1858) (Google Books)
• Bulletins and other state intelligence. Compiled and arranged from the official documents published in the London Gazette. These volumes, mainly the middle six, include information about the military events and contain lists of casualties during the Indian Mutiny. (refer FIBIS database, above) Published in these volumes 1859-1862. Google Books.
  • 1857 Part 1, January to June, 1857 Part 2, July to December, with Index under entry 'India Board'
  • 1858 Part 1,1858 Part 2, 1858 Part 3, 1858 Part 4 with Index under entry 'India Board'
  • 1859 Part 1, January to June, 1859 Part 2, July to December with Index under entry 'India Office'
• The London Gazette Extraordinary Wednesday, February 17, 1858, (page 811) consisting of 34 pages relating to the Indian Mutiny. Includes "a complete nominal roll of officers, members of the Uncovenanted Service, and women and children of the garrison of Lucknow" (page 839). This link advises there were corrections in subsequent Gazettes.
• The History of the Indian Mutiny, Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Charles Ball, 1858. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Index pages commence digital page 756, Volume 1 and digital page 4, Volume 2

Google Books has Volume 1, and almost all of Volume 2, classified as Volumes 1-7, as follows:

Volume 1: Images, Cover page,which advises "Illustrated with Battle Scenes, Views of Places, Portraits and Maps, Beautifully Engraved On Steel" Page 1 of text, continues to page 184

Volume 2: Images, page 185, continues to page 376

Volume 3: Images, page 377, continues to page 568

Volume 4: Images, page 569, continues to page 648, end of (original) Volume 1. Page 1 of (original) Volume 2, continues to page 112

Volume 5: Images, page 113, continues to page 304

Volume 6: Images, page 305, continues to page 496

Volume 7: Images, page 497, continues to page 663, missing page 664, Index, Volume 1, page 671, Index, Volume 2, page 679

• Annals of the Indian Rebellion, 1857-58 (attributed to ‪Noah Alfred Chick). Published at Calcutta 1859. Google Books. It appears this book may originally have been published in monthly parts. Another edition includes the title wording containing narratives of the outbreaks and eventful occurrences, and stories of personal adventures, during the Mutiny of 1857-58.
• A History of the Sepoy War in India, 1857-1858 by John William Kaye Archive.org Volume 1 1864, Volume 2 1874, Volume 3 1876
• History of the Indian Mutiny, 1857-1858: Commencing from the close of the second volume of Sir John Kaye's History of the Sepoy War by Colonel G.B. Malleson Archive.org
  • Volume 1 1878, Volume 2 1879, Volume 3 (title History of the Indian Mutiny 1857-1859) 1880
• Analytical index to Sir John W. Kaye's History of the Sepoy War and Col. G.B. Malleson's History of the Indian Mutiny by Frederic Pincott. 1880 Archive.org
• 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. Index, page 639
• Selections from the letters, despatches and other state papers preserved in the Military department of the government of India, 1857-58 edited by George W. Forrest Archive.org
  • Volume 1 1893, Volume 3 1902, Volume 4 1912
• A History of the Indian Mutiny; reviewed and illustrated from original documents by G W Forrest CIE 1904-12 Archive.org Volume I, Volume II, Volume III.
• ‪Narrative of the Mutinies in Oude. Compiled from Authentic Records‬ by Captain ‪George Hutchinson‪, Bengal Engineers, Military Secretary to the Chief Commissioner, Oude 1859 Google Books‬
• Disposition of Troops in the Punjab prior to the Mutiny in The Crisis in the Punjab, from the 10th of May Until the Fall of Delhi by Frederic Henry Cooper (Google Books)
• "No. CXVII—Mutinies in India (Bengal): Further Papers (No. 6, in continuation of No. 4,) relative to the Mutinies in the East Indies" etc, including "Central Provinces", pages 326-446 (computer pages 138-258) 'Series F British India, Colonies etc' Annals of British Legislation, Volume 5 edited by Leone Levi 1859 Google Books
• Parliamentary papers, Volume 50 - East India (Prize Property) HMSO (1860) containing official correspondence on prize captured by HM and Company forces during Indian Mutiny actions. Details discussion on the origin and distribution of ten different prize funds. Google Books
• A Year's Campaigning in India‬: ‪From March, 1857, to March, 1858 by‬ Julius George Medley, Captain Bengal Engineers and Garrison Engineer of Lucknow. 1858 Google Books
• Joseph Fahrer of the Bengal Medical Service was the Residency Surgeon at Lucknow from 1853 and attended Sir Henry Lawrence when mortally wounded. His account of the Mutiny period is from Recollections of My Life, page 130 by Surgeon-General Sir Joseph Fayrer 1900 Archive.org.
• Forty One Years in India: From subaltern to commander-in-chief Volume 1 by Field Marshal Lord Roberts of Kandahar 1897 Chapter 6 onwards. Archive.org Volume 2 1898
• Lieutenant General Crommelin, C.B.: Royal (Bengal) Engineers; a Memoir and a Retrospect in the Year of the Mutiny in India by Charles Hervey 1887 Archive.org
• 'China Jim', Incidents and Adventures in the Life of an Indian Mutiny Veteran by Major General J T Harris 1912 Archive.org. He joined the Bengal Army in 1849. He probably retired c late 1870s. He took part in the 2nd Burma War, the Indian Mutiny and the 2nd China War.
• Incidents in India and Memories of the Mutiny, with some records of Alexander's Horse and the 1st Bengal Cavalry Edited by F W Pitt 1896 Archive.org. The subject of the book is General W R E Alexander, a Commander of the 1st Bengal Cavalry.
• ‪The Shannon's Brigade in India‬: ‪being some account of Sir William Peel's Naval Brigade in the Indian Campaign of 1857-1858‬ by Edmund Hope Verney, Lieut. R.N. 1862 ‪Google Books
  • Also see Fiction below for a novel, The Devil's Wind by Maj. Gen.G.L. Verney, concerning the Shannon's Brigade.
• From Cadet to Colonel: the Record of a Life of Active Service by Sir Thomas Seaton 1866 Google Books, The Indian Mutiny commences Volume 2 Chapter III, page 52 (Volume 1)
• Eight Months' Campaign Against the Bengal Sepoy Army During the Mutiny of 1857 by Colonel George Bourchier , Bengal Horse Artillery 1858 Google Books
• Mutiny Memoirs being Personal Reminiscences of the Great Sepoy Revolt of 1857 by Colonel A. R. D. Mackenzie 2nd edition 1892 Archive.org (First edition 1891)
• Memories of the Mutiny by Francis Cornwallis Maude, late Colonel R A, and formerly commanding the Artillery of Havelock's Column. 1894 Archive.org Volume I 2nd Edition. Volume II
• "The Indian Mutiny", page 121, Recollections of a Military Life by General Sir John Adye , RA 1895 Archive.org. He came to India when the Indian Mutiny broke out, and was in India nearly nine years.
• A Narrative of the Siege of Delhi with an Account of the Mutiny at Ferozepore in 1857 by Charles John Griffiths, Late Captain 61st Regiment 1910 Archive.org
• Up Among the Pandies: Or, A Year's Service in India by Lieut. Vivian Dering Majendie, Royal Artillery. 1859 Google Books. The author left England after the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny.
• Recollections of a winter campaign in India in 1857-58 by Capt Oliver John Jones, R.N. 1859 Google Books. The author was attached, as a volunteer, to the 53rd Regiment of Foot for five months
• Cavalry Experiences and Leaves from My Journal by Colonel H A Ouvry 1892 Archive.org. The author was with the 9th Lancers, and for a period with Irregular Cavalry. His Indian Mutiny experiences commence page 127.
• Life and travels of James Fisher: an autobiography, page 32 by James Fisher 1890 Archive.org. During the Indian Mutiny the author belonged to a British Army regiment, 2nd Battalion Military Train, whose duty was a mounted transport. (This regiment was later part of the Royal Army Service Corps and nowadays the Royal Logistic Corps)
• 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 is available to read as a Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. The soldier was Thomas Malcolm. This book is also available on a restricted access basis, probably accessible by those in North America on the Hathi Trust Digital Library
• Sepoy Mutiny page 107 Recollections of thirty-nine years in the Army by Sir Charles Alexander Gordon, Surgeon- General 1898 Archive.org. He was then a surgeon with the 10th Regiment of Foot.
• Through the Mutiny, reminiscences of thirty years' active service and sport in India, 1854-83 by Thomas Nicholls Walker 1907 Archive.org
• Fatehgarh And The Mutiny by F R Cosens (and C L Wallace) 1933 Osmania University Digital Library [OUDL]. May only be available Indian office hours (IST 10 am to 6 pm), (IST = GMT+5:30). Also available as a pdf download from the Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.
• The Revolt in Central India 1857-1859 compiled by Army Headquarters, India 1908. Archive.org
• "The Mutiny" page 310 Memorials of Service in India‬: ‪from the correspondence of the late Major Samuel Charters Macpherson,‬ Political Agent at Gwalior during the Mutiny 1865 Google Books
• From Midshipman to Field Marshal, Volume I by Evelyn Wood 1906 Archive.org. He arrived in India in December 1857 page 118 and took part in operations in Central India, where he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
• Oriental Campaigns and European Furloughs: The Autobiography of a Veteran of the Indian Mutiny by Colonel E. Maude 1908 Archive.org The author served in a Field Force against the Bheels in 1857 page 207 and in the Malwa Field Force in 1858 page 213
• The Mutiny, page 48 Incidents and Anecdotes in the Life of Lieut.-General Sprot Volume 1 1906 Archive.org. The author was located in Central India.
• "East India (Troops and Police)". Correspondence relative to the grant of the Medal to the Troops and Police employed in Suppressing the Mutiny and Rebellion in the Bombay Presidency. With Medal Rolls and details of some of the actions. Accounts and papers of the House of Commons Volume XXXVIII. Ordered to be printed 17 May 1865. Google Books.
• Our real danger in India by C Forjett, late Commissioner of Police of Bombay c 1877. Archive.org. Includes the author’s views on the causes of the Mutiny and his part in the preventative and precautionary measures taken in Bombay during the Mutiny.
• Chapter VI, page 198 Reminiscences of an Indian Official by General Sir Orfeur Cavenagh 1884 Archive.org. The measures taken in Calcutta during the Mutiny.
• History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol I by Maj-Gen Whitworth Porter 1889 Volume I The Indian Mutiny archive.org
  
• Heroes of the Indian Mutiny: stories of heroic deeds by Edward Gilliat 1914 Archive.org
• 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 376 Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal, 1871 Part 1 Google Books
• Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal 1880 Part 3 Archive.org
  • "Notes on the History and Services of the Thirty-Second Regiment" The middle parts of this article, are available as follows: page 114, page 218, page 299. Unfortunately, the earlier and later parts of this article in earlier and later volumes are not available online. They are however, available at the British Library.
  • "Martyrs, an Episode in the Indian Mutiny" by Major Picton Warlow page 278
• Records of the Intelligence Department of the Government of the North-West Provinces of India during the Mutiny of 1857 arranged by Sir William Muir 1902 Archive.org Volume 1 Volume 2
• Selections from the Punjab Government Records. Edited by A. Raynor and H. R. Goulding c 1911. Pdf downloads, Digital Library of India

Mutiny Records Correspondence In Two Part Part I 1911: A selection from all volumes, Archive.org version.

Mutiny Records Correspondence Vol.7 Pt.2 1911.

Mutiny Records Reports Vol.8; Pt.1 1911, Archive.org version; Mutiny Records Reports Vol.8; Pt.2, Archive.org version.

• My Diary in India, in the year 1858-9 by William Howard Russell, Special Correspondent of The Times 1860 Google Books Volume 1, Volume 2
• "The Indian Campaigns 1857-1859" page 21, Recollections of a Life in the British Army during the latter half of the 19th Century by Gen. Sir Richard Harrison, Royal Engineers 1908 Archive.org
• For online books about Brig-Gen John Nicholson and his role in the indian Mutiny, see the the page John Nicholson
• See the page Herbert Benjamin Edwardes‎ for online books about his role as Commissioner of Peshawar during the Indian Mutiny.
• "The Indian Mutiny", page 1 Through Persia in disguise, with reminiscences of the Indian Mutiny by Colonel Charles E. Stewart, edited from his diaries by Basil Stewart. 1911 Archive.org
• Fifty-Seven: Some Account of the Administration in Indian Districts during the Revolt of the Bengal Army by Henry George Keene 1883 Archive.org
• Notes on the Revolt in the North-Western Provinces of India by Charles Raikes 1858 Google Books
• How I won the Victoria Cross by Thomas Henry Kavanagh, Assistant Commissioner in Oudh, 1860 Google Books
• Personal Adventures during the Indian Rebellion in Rohilcund, Futtehghur, and Oude by William Edwards, Judge of Benares, and late Magistrate and Collector of Budaon in Rohilcund. 1858 Google Books
• The Personal Adventures and Experiences of a Magistrate During the Rise, Progress, and Suppression of the Indian Mutiny by Mark Thornhill 1884 Archive.org. Also available as a current reprint by Cambridge University Press Preview Google Books.
• Daily Life during the Indian Mutiny : Personal Experiences of 1857 by J W Sherer [former Magistrate of Futtehpore, and afterwards Cawnpore] 1910 (later reprint edition). Archive.org. Text previously appeared in Colonel F C Maude’s Memories of the Mutiny 1894, refer above.
• Revolt of the Sepoys Reprinted from the Princeton Review January 1858 by John Cameron Lowrie 1858 Google Books
• The Revolt of the Bengal Sepoys by Dr Julius Berncastle 1857 Google Books
• A Postscript To The Records Of The Indian Mutiny Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. Full title: A Postscript to the Records of the Indian Mutiny. An Attempt to Trace the Subsequent Careers and Fate of the Rebel Bengal Regiments, 1857-1858 by Lieutenant-Colonel G H D Gimlette 1927. “Gimlette lists all of the units of the Bengal Army and gives a short annotation of each one discussing their eventual fate”

Fiction

• First Love and Last Love: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny by James Grant 1869 Archive.org
• Eight Days: a Tale of the Indian Mutiny by R E Forrest, first published 1891. Archive.org
• The Star of Fortune: a Story of the Indian Mutiny by J E Muddock 1894 Archive.org Volume I, Volume II

The Great White Hand or, The Tiger of Cawnpore: a Story of the Indian Mutiny by J E Muddock 1896 Archive.org

• On to the Rescue : a Tale of the Indian Mutiny by Gordon Stables, Surgeon, Royal Navy. 1894 Archive.org
• The Red Year: a Story of the Indian Mutiny by Louis Tracy 1907 Archive.org
• The Devils Wind by Maj. Gen. G.L. Verney 1956. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. An account of the actions of the Naval Brigade of H.M.S. Shannon,which participated in the Relief of Lucknow, told through the eyes of a very young sailor.

For younger readers

• Childhood in India; or, English Children in the East by the wife of an officer, late of H.M. service 1865 (Google Books) . A Tale for Children "Founded on Fact" based on the experiences of a family in India during the Mutiny of 1857.
• Begumbagh A Tale of the Indian Mutiny by George Manville Fenn 1879 Archive.org. George Manville Fenn 1831-1909, was a prolific writer of boys' adventure stories.

Gil the Gunner; or The Youngest Officer in the East by George Manville Fenn 1892 Archive.org. A boys’ adventure story about a young officer in the Bengal Horse Artillery.

• The Disputed V.C. : a Tale of the Indian Mutiny by Frederick P Gibbon, c 1894 Archive.org. A boys’ adventure story.
• Chaloner of the Bengal Cavalry: a Tale of the Indian Mutiny by Percival Lancaster R E. 1915 Archive.org An adventure story for younger readers.