Bengal Army

Bengal Army
Bengal Army
List of Bengal Army Regiments
Bengal Infantry Regiments
Bengal Infantry Finder tool
Bengal Artillery
Bengal Horse Artillery
Bengal Sappers and Miners
East India Company Army

The Bengal Army was one of the three Presidency Armies of the East India Company.

A list of Bengal Army regiments can either be found in the Bengal Army Category or alphabetically, by type, in Bengal Army Regiments.

Divisions

• Bengal Artillery
• Bengal Cavalry Regiments
• Bengal Infantry Regiments
• Bengal Sappers and Miners
• Bengal Staff Corps
• Commissariat

FIBIS resources

• FIBIS database: Registers of Bengal Army European Soldiers Currently (2017/6/16) consists of IOR/L/MIL/10/122-123, 1790-1839 but additional years are to follow.
• FIBIS database: Soldiers’ and Widows’ Pension details -1896 IOR/ L/MIL/14/214 & 215. Includes previous members of the Bengal,Madras and Bombay Armies, including men from the Unattached List. May also include a few members of the Indian Army which officially was formed in 1895. These records are available on LDS microfilm 2029979 Items 1-2 (catalogue entry), however the FIBIS database record contains all the information available in the microfilm.
• FIBIS database: Applications for Cadetships in the EIC Armies (Index) includes Bengal Army. These are records for officers.
• FIBIS database: List of the Officers of the Bengal Army, 1758-1834 Index to book of same name by V. C .P. Hodson, 4 vols. Recommended on Fibiwiki Military Reading List. Also see Books, below.
• FIBIS database: War Services of Officers of the Bengal Army 1863. Transcriptions from the book Ubique : War Services of all the Officers of HM's Bengal Army by Thomas C Anderson 1863. This book is available on LDS microfilm 2105290 Item 2 (catalogue entry), however Peter Bailey has advised the FIBIS database record contains all the information available in the microfilm.
• "Edward Squibb-Letters from a Bengal Cadet" by Charles Gordon Clark FIBIS Journal Number 28 (Autumn 2012) pages 15-24. Edward Squibb arrived in 1820. See FIBIS Journals for details of how to access this article
• "The Clark Brothers - Life in the Bengal Army" by Charles Gordon Clark FIBIS Journal Number 29 (Spring 2013) pages 3-14. Gordon Wyatt Clark arrived in 1842 age 20. See FIBIS Journals for details of how to access this article
• "Captain Hunter: researching a memorial in Durham Cathedral" by Geoffrey Fox FIBIS Journal Number 31 (Spring 2014) pages 36-48. For access, see FIBIS Journals. Captain Hunter of the 73rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry was killed in action 21 December 1845 at the Battle of Ferozeshah

See Also

The Batta Mutiny of 1766

Records

Main article: East India Company Army

British Library

Records available in the British Library India Office holdings include:

• Bengal Army Records IOR/L/MIL/10 National Archives Discovery catalogue. Alternatively, use The British Library’s "Search our Catalogue Archives and Manuscripts". Example, use the search term “IOR/L/MIL/10” (including punctuation marks) and click on “Browse this collection”

Subcategories

• L/MIL/10/1-19 Bengal Army Lists, 1781-1849.
• L/MIL/10/20-69 Bengal Service Army Lists, 1759-1858
• L/MIL/10/70-74 Bengal Service Army Lists – Medical, c1765-1858
• L/MIL/10/75-102 Bengal Services, 1860-1893
• IOR/L/MIL/10/122-129 Registers of Bengal Army European Soldiers 1788-1860. Please note that these records were commenced in 1831 and only contain men still serving in the Army at that date. They are the recommended records to look at initially for men serving from 1831. If a man left the Army prior to 1831 for any reason, including death, he will not appear in these records. The Muster records are an alternative source of information.

Update June 2017. Some transcribed records in this series are now available in the FIBIS database. Refer FIBIS resources above.

• The Muster Rolls commence IOR/L/MIL/10/130-185
• L/MIL/10/301-326 Bengal Army Discharges, 1820-1882. The FamilySearch catalogue provides additional information about these records: "Between 1859-1861 the EIC European forces (of which the Bengal Army was a part of) were transferred to the British Army. Discharge papers are for those men who chose to take an unpensioned discharge rather than be transferred into the regular British Army".

FamilySearch (LDS (Mormons)) have filmed many of these records, most of which are now available as digitised microfilm. Search the FamilySearch catalogue by entering keywords such as Bengal Army. In particular, “Registers of Bengal Army European soldiers, 1788-1860” and “Bengal Army muster rolls and casualty returns, 1716-1860” are available.

Note: Microfilm ordering services ceased September 2017, however selected microfilms have been digitised and are currently available for viewing on a FamilySearch computer at a FamilySearch Centre or FamilySearch Affiliate Library. Locate these records through the FamilySearch catalogue. It is expected that in time all microfilms will be similarly available in this format. See FamilySearch Centres for viewing details.

• Military Department Library: Bengal Army IOR/L/MIL/17/2 1791-1903 includes
  • Bengal Army List IOR/L/MIL/17/2/1-267 1819-1889
  • Bengal Army: General and Regimental Histories, Biographical Compilations, Indian Mutiny IOR/L/MIL/17/2/474-505 1845-1927
• Soldiers’ and Officers’ Wills IOR/L/AG/34/30 1825-1881 (varies according to Presidency and whether a soldier or an officer). These records are available on findmypast

Books

• List of the Officers of the Bengal Army, 1758-1834 by V. C .P. Hodson, 4 vols. (London, 1927-47) Note that the dates refer to the date of joining the Army. Alphabetically arranged and annotated with biographical and genealogical notices, giving details of: (1) rank and brief career history (2) family information (3) service records: regiments or battalions in which the officer served (4) references to wills if they exist, to monumental inscriptions, or to mentions in publications. These volumes are now available online, refer below. The British Library shelfmark is OIR.355.332.

  A description of the fascinating information contained in the appendices is explained in Bengal army officers names nationalities fatalities and a phantom Untold Lives blog of the British Library.

  FIBIS has transcribed the indexes of these books, which are available on the FIBIS database.

  The LDS (Mormon) Family History Library filmed the above books (catalogue entry), which currently (2018/09) are only partially available as digitised microfilm. It had been recommended that all three LDS films be viewed, as there is a lot of cross referencing. See FamilySearch Centres for access information. However, while ever online versions of the volumes are available, it is unlikely the microfilms will need to be consulted.

• Ubique: War Services of Officers of the Bengal Army by T.C. Anderson, originally published 1863, is available in reprint editions. Data from this book is available on the FIBIS database, refer above.

External links

• Officers biographies - Bengal and Madras Armies from Macquarie University’s Seringapatam 1799
• The Bengal Army in The Victorians at war, 1815-1914: an encyclopedia of British military history by Harold E. Raugh, 2004
• General Distribution Return of Her Majesty's and the East India Company's Troops Serving in the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal) Showing the Number and Strength of Each Station, 1 April 1857 The Nafziger Collection of Orders of Battle (page 171 of the Finding Aid)
• The structure and organisation of the Bengal Native Infantry with special reference to problems of discipline, (1796-1852) by A. Sen 1961. PhD thesis, SOAS University of London.
• The Civil and Military Patronage of the East India Company, 1784-1858 by John Michael Bourne 1977. PhD thesis, University of Leicester.
• White Mutiny: the Bengal Europeans, 1825-75, a study in military social history by Peter Alan Stanley. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University, March 1993, whose aim was "to connect the military and social history of mid-Victorian Britain through a study of the East India Company's Bengal European regiments and their demise following the 'white mutiny' of 1859-60". Pdf download. Depending on your browser, you may need to locate it in your downloads folder. There was also a book published, see below.
• The Bengal Army and the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny by Julian Saul Markham David 2001. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Historical books online

• The Presidential Armies of India by Colonel S Rivett-Carnac 1890 Archive.org has chapters on the Bengal Army
• Alphabetical List of the Officers of the Bengal Army from 1760 to 1834 compiled by Dodwell and Miles, 1838. Archive.org. Google Books edition
• List of the Officers of the Bengal Army, 1758-1834 by V. C .P. Hodson, in 4 volumes. (London, 1927-47)

Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV. Central Secretariat Library (CSL) [Delhi] Digital Repository.

Alternative files All parts I-IV, Part I, Part 2, Part IV All Central Secretariat Library (CSL) [Delhi] Digital Repository.

• A Sketch of the Services of the Bengal Native Army to the year 1895 by F G Cardew 1903. Central Secretariat Library (CSL) [Delhi] Digital Repository. Hathi Trust Digital Library version available to those in areas such as USA etc.
• Indian Army Uniforms under the British from the 18th century to 1947: Cavalry by W Y Carman 1961. Archive.org Lending Library. Includes a Regimental index, page 232.

Indian Army Uniforms by W Y Carman 1969. Full title: Indian Army Uniforms under the British from the 18th century to 1947 : Artillery, Engineers and Infantry. Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India. Note: Original colour plates are in black and white and most illustrations are of poor quality.

Clothing regulations of the Bengal Army Calcutta Gazette office, Calcutta 1855. Link to a pdf, Digital Repository of GIPE (Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics [Pune India]). Clothing regulations are in respect of soldiers ("other ranks"), not officers, (who have dress regulations).

• Authentic Abstracts of Minutes in the Supreme Council of Bengal, on the late contracts for draught and carriage bullocks, for victualling the European troops, and for victualling Fort William : the augmentation of General Sir Eyre Coote's appointment, and continuation of Brigadier-General Stibbert's emoluments, though superseded in the chief command : and a remarkable treaty, offensive and defensive, with the Ranah of Gohud, a Marratta 1780 Archive.org
• The New Regulations for the Bengal Army ; According to the Minutes of the Council and General Orders Issued in Fort William During the Months of May and June 1796 Google Books
• An historical account of the rise and progress of the Bengal Native Infantry, from its first formation in 1757, to 1796 when the present regulations took place, together with a detail of the services on which the several battalions have been employed by the late Captain John Williams, Bengal Army, 1817 Google Books. The following coloured illustrations have been noted: Subadar, Grenadier Sepoy, Light Infantry Sepoy
• Indian Records Series: Fort William - India House Correspondence. Published for the National Archives of India. Archive.org
  • (Military Series) Vol.20 1792-1796 Edited by A C Banerjee. 1969. Letters to and from the Military Department
  • (Military Series) Vol.21 1797-1800 Edited by Sita Ram Kohli. 1968. Letters to and from the Military Department
  • Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01009529821 which includes (Military series) v. 19. 1787-1791 ed. by B. Prasad.
• Inquiry into the state of the Indian Army : with suggestions for its improvement and the establishment of a military police for India by Walter Badenach, Captain Bengal Army 1826 Google Books
• A collection of facts and documents relative to batta, &c. with other pending questions concerning the Indian Army, compiled from the proceedings of the East India officers A.D. 1793 to 1796, the general orders and other official sources; with short arguments and marginal notes for current use. Calcutta , Samuel Smith and Co. 1829 Google Books
• Abstract of General Orders 1817-1840 compiled by Captain David Thompson, 56th Regiment, Bengal N I Assistant Adjutant General of Division Delhi 1841 HathiTrust Digital Library

‪Abstract of General Orders from 1846 to 1847 Inclusive‬ with a preceding Index 1840-1847 Compiled by Captain O Cavanagh Delhi 1848 Google Books

Abstract of General Orders from 1847 to 1849 Inclusive Compiled by Captain O Cavanagh Delhi 1851

Abstract of General Orders for 1850-1851 with Index compiled by Captain O Cavanagh Delhi 1852

• Code of Regulations for the Medical Department of the Bengal Establishment by James Hutchinson, Secretary to the Medical Board 1838. Google Books
• ‪Selected Papers and Orders, Civil and Military, regarding the march of troops, and the mode of supplying them with carriage, provisions, &c. with an appendix shewing the nature of the arrangements made for the supply of troops on the march in the Cawnpore District‬ Published by order of … The Lieut. Governor, North Western Provinces. Agra, 1849 Google Books
• History of the Rise and Progress of the Bengal Army, Volume 1 by Arthur Broome 1850 Archive.org. Only Volume 1 was published. Google Books (different file). Both have poor maps.
• The British Officer: his Position, Duties, Emoluments and Privileges… by J H Stocqueler 1851 Archive.org. Includes "Part VI The East India Company’s Service", from page 260. Contents, Part VI
• The Officer's Complete Guide by Lieut. Archibald Swiney Haig 55th Regiment Bengal Infantry (published 1856) - contains General Orders, pay regulations etc (Google Books)
• Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Sanitary State of the Army in India : with Abstract of Evidence, and of Reports Received from Indian Military Stations 1864 Archive.org
  • Abstract of Sanitary Details in Reports from Principal Military Stations in India. Bengal Presidency page 345
  • Remarks on the Climate of Stations. Bengal Presidency page 523. Note that Singapore and Penang appear in this latter section, together with the military stations in Burma. However, a detailed description of the stations in Burma appears in the section on the Madras Presidency.
• First Annual Report of the Sanitary Commission for Bengal, 1864-65 Google Books. Mainly in respect of the Army
• Medical And Sanitary Report of the Native Army of Bengal for the year 1875 Archive.org
• From Sepoy to Subadar: Being the Life and Adventures of a Native Officer of the Bengal Army Written And Related By Himself. 3rd edition 1911, edited by Lieutenant-Colonel D. C. Phillott. Translated and first published by Lieutenant-Colonel Norgate, Bengal Staff Corps at Lahore, 1873. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Article about the book: "Chronicles of Sita Ram" by Bhupesh Bhandari October 13, 2012 Business Standard. The author enlisted in 1812 and retired in 1860. "There has been a great debate amongst historians about the authenticity of Sita Ram’s accounts... [but It] is a fantastic insider’s account of life in the battlefields and the barracks".
• Memoir of the late Lieut.-Colonel Richard Scott (From his Private Journals) from The Naval and Military Magazine Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4 1827-1828 Google Books

Part 1– Appointed 1768, Part 2- Sir Eyre Coote's Campaigns of 1781, 1782, and 1783, Part 3- Campaigns in India –includes General Stuart's Operations; General Goddard's March; and the Proceedings of the Bombay Army and its Government, Part 4- includes Popham’s Capture of Gwalior; General Goddard’s Operations, Campaigns of Lord Cornwallis, Siege of Bangalore, Part 5 March to Seringapatum, Part 6, Part 7

"Lieutenant -Colonel Richard Scott" from The East India Military Calendar: Containing the Services of General and Field Officers of the Indian Army, Volume 1, page 315 by by John Philippart 1823 Google Books

• "Major General Littellus Burrell" c1753-1827 Naval and Military Magazine Volume 2 1827, page 540 Archive.org
• Memoirs and correspondence of Field-Marshal Viscount Combermere by the Right Hon Mary, Vicountess Combermere and Capt W W Knollys 1866 Archive.org Volume I, Volume II. Volume I includes a period in India from 1796 with the then 25th Light Dragoons. Volume II covers the period as Commander-in Chief in India 1825-1830
• War and Sport in India, 1802-1806 : an Officer's Diary by John Pester, edited by JA Devenish [1913]. Archive.org. The author was in the Bengal Army, being a cadet in 1799, and a Lieutenant (from July 1801) at the time of the diary, when he took part in the 2nd Maratha War.
• "An Eighteenth- Century Subaltern In India" page 70, Bengal, Past and Present, Journal of the Calcutta Historical Society Volume 44 July-Dec 1932 Archive.org. Digital Library of India Collection. Lieutenant (afterwards Major-General) John Anthony Hodgson of the Bengal Army arrived in India December 1799. He was subsequently Surveyor-General of India 1821-1829.
• Pen and pencil sketches being the journal of a tour in India by Captain Mundy, late Aide-de-Camp to Lord Combermere 1832 Google Books Volume I, Volume II
• Tours in Upper India and in Parts of the Himalaya Mountains: With Accounts of the Courts of the Native Princes ‬ by Major Archer, late Aid-De-Camp to Lord Combermere 1833 Google Books Volume I, Volume II
• First impressions and studies from nature in Hindostan; embracing an outline of the voyage to Calcutta, and five years residence in Bengal and the Doab, from MDCCCXXXI to MDCCCXXXVI by Thomas Bacon, Lieut. Of the Bengal Horse Artillery 1837 Archive.org Volume I, Volume II. Also available on Hathi Trust Digital Library A and B, where the illustration pages can be rotated.
• From Cadet to Colonel: the Record of a Life of Active Service by Sir Thomas Seaton 1866 Google Books Volume 1 He arrived in Calcutta on 1 January 1823 to join the Bengal Army Volume 2 includes the Indian Mutiny. The author retired 1 June 1859
• Reminiscences of an Indian Official by General Sir Orfeur Cavenagh 1884 Archive.org. The author joined the Bengal Army in 1837. After the Indian Mutiny he was appointed Governor of the Straits Settlement, where he remained until transfer of the administration of the Straits Settlement to the Colonial Office in April 1867.
• General Sir Richard Meade and the Feudatory States of Central and Southern India; a record of forty-three year's service as Soldier, Political Officer and Administrator by Thomas Henry Thornton 1898 Archive.org. Born 1821, Sir Richard served in the Bengal Army from 1838 for nearly twenty years. At the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny he was Brigade-Major of the Gwalior Contingent which mutinied. He later raised Meade’s Horse. Subsequently in 1859 he was appointed Political Agent at Gwalior, then two years later Governor-General’s Agent for the States of Central India, the first of several important posts, involving many confidential matters, finally retiring in March 1881.
• Journal of the late General Sir Sam Browne from 1840-1878 HathiTrust Digital Library. Biographical including career details rshg.org.uk.
• My service in the Indian Army – and after by General Sir John Luther Vaughan 1904 Archive.org. He joined the Bengal Army in 1841 and had to retire c 1870 as there was no position for him. At the start of the 2nd Afghan War he became special military correspondent for the war for The Times
• Facts and Reflections, by a Subaltern of the Indian Army 1849 Archive.org. The author was appointed to the Bengal Army and arrived in Calcutta in October 1841. He returned to England due to illness after seven years, and warned of the disadvantages of an Army career in India.
• 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. He took part in the 2nd Sikh War, the 2nd Burma War and the Indian Mutiny, and retired in 1876.
• The Memoirs of the Gemini Generals; Personal Anecdotes, Sporting Adventures, and Sketches of Distinguished Officers by Major-Generals Osborn Wilkinson and Johnson Wilkinson. 1896 Archive.org. Twin brothers Osborn and Johnson Wilkinson were born 1822. The former joined the Bengal Cavalry in 1844, and served initially in the 10th Light Bengal Cavalry, and subsequently the 2nd Bengal Cavalry, (and perhaps other cavalry regiments); the latter HM 15th Regiment of Foot, which went to Ceylon in 1845, with a period at Poona.
• '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.
• Memories of Seven Campaigns: a record of thirty-five years' service in the Indian Medical Department in India, China, Egypt, and the Sudan by James Howard Thornton, Deputy Surgeon General, Indian Medical Service, late Principal Medical Officer Punjab Frontier Force. 1895 Archive.org. The author was in the Bengal Medical Service 1856-1891, during which time he took part in the Indian Mutiny, 2nd China War‎, military operations in Assam, Bhutan War, Egyptian Campaign 1882, Sudan Campaign‎, and Black Mountain Expedition 1888‎.
• The Hearseys : five generations of an Anglo-Indian family by Colonel Hugh Pearse 1905 Archive.org. Includes Bengal Army.
• A Postscript To The Records Of The Indian Mutiny Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India. 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”
• "Baggage of the Indian Army" Calcutta Review, Volume 11 January-June 1849, page 445 Google Books
• Routes In The Bengal Presidency by Major Fred. Roberts 1865. Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India.
• Routes In The Bengal And Punjab Commands Revised Edition 1900. [Quarter] Master General Of India. Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India.
• The Decisive Battles of India : from 1746 to 1849 inclusive by Colonel GB Malleson Fourth Edition, New, 1914, first published 1883. With maps. 2nd edition 1885 Darker text, but lacks some maps. Archive.org.
• Vignettes From Indian Wars by Lieut-General Sir George MacMunn, Colonel Commandant Royal Artillery 1932 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.
• White Mutiny : British Military Culture in India by Peter Stanley 1998 Archive.org Lending Library. The Bengal European Regiments were dissatisfied with the terms for the transfer to the British Army, from November 1858.
• Tom Raw, the Griffin: a burlesque poem, in twelve cantos: illustrated by twenty-five engravings, descriptive of the adventures of a cadet in the East India company's service, from the period of his quitting England to his obtaining a staff situtation in India by “a Civilian and an Officer on the Bengal Establishment” (Sir Charles D'Oyly) 1828 Archive.org
• "Sketching from Nature: Soldier Artists in India" by Patricia Kattenhorn page 17 Under the Indian Sun : British Landscape Artists edited by Pauline Rohatgi and Pheroza Godrej 1995. Published by Marg Publications, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Bombay. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• Guide to the transliteration of Hindu and Muhammadan names in the Bengal Army by C J Lyall, Bengal Civil Service 3rd edition 1892 Archive.org
• 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.