Siege of Cawnpore June 1857
| Siege of Cawnpore June 1857 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Part of Indian Mutiny | ||
| Date: | 5-27 June 1857 | |
| Location: | Cawnpore Uttar Pradesh | |
| Presidency: | Bengal | |
| Co-ordinates: | 26.470876°N 80.371896°E | |
| Result: | Siege | |
| Combatants | ||
| East India Company | Rebel Sepoys | |
| Commanders | ||
| Maj Gen Sir Hugh Wheeler | Nana Sahib (Dhondu Pant) Tatya Tope | |
| Strength | ||
| 950 incl. 225 women & 320 children | ||
| Casualties | ||
This article is part of the Events at Cawnpore during the Indian Mutiny
Synopsis
On 4 and 5 June the rank and file of the native regiments broke and fled towards Delhi leaving the native officers and 80 men who remained faithful. Nana Sahib induced the sepoys to return and attack the Europeans at Cawnpore. The siege began on 7 June. Wheeler moved his garrison outside the city to a small entrenchment consisting of a few barrack huts with a low earth rampart. They would have been better able to defend the magazine with its store of arms and ammunition. During the next 3 weeks one barrack hut was burned down and all the artillerymen killed. With food, water and ammunition nearly exhausted, capitulation was the only option for the defenders. They were offered safe conduct to Allahabad and on 27 June they were conducted to boats waiting at Satichaura Ghat on the Ganges. See Cawnpore (Satichaura Ghat) for subsequent events.
Wheeler's Garrison
- One company of Artillery - 63 men, 16 women, 20 children
- 84th Regiment - 60 men, 55 women, 40 children
- 32nd Regiment - 84 men, 45 women, 60 children
- 1st Madras Fusiliers - 15 men
- Musicians and other occupations - 45 men, 29 women, 100 children
- Non-military - 100 men, 80 women, 100 children
Native Troops
- 2nd Light Cavalry
- 1st Bengal Native Infantry
- 53rd Bengal Native Infantry
- 56th Bengal Native Infantry
External Links
Indian Mutiny 1857-58 www.britishempire.co.uk
Siege of Cawnpore Wikipedia
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh Wikipedia
Kanpur Memorial Church Wikipedia
Maj Gen Sir Hugh Wheeler ODNB
Historical books on-line
List of inscriptions on Christian tombs and tablets of historical interest in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh by E A H Blunt ICS 1911 Description of the uprising and names on monuments of European victims archive.org
Recommended Reading
Saul David, Indian Mutiny: 1857 (London: Viking, 2002), ISBN 0670911372 ; (Penguin, 2002), ISBN 0141005548
W H Russell, My Indian Mutiny Diary (Periodicals Service Co, 1967), ISBN 0527781207
Andrew Ward, Our Bones are Scattered: the Cawnpore Massacres and the Indian Mutiny of 1857 (McArthur & Co, 1996), ISBN 0719564107