Historic Guns of British India

Summary

This article describes some famous artillery pieces with connections to the era of the British in India.

The information in this article has been provided by Elizabeth Hancox, FIBIS member and acknowledged expert on guns.

The Celebrated Bhurtpore Gun at Woolwich

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Named "The Father of Victory", this gun captured during the Siege of Bhurtpore in 1826, stands outside the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich. It is 16ft 4ins long and weighs about 17.5 tons; the calibre is 8ins. Tradition has maintained that the precious metals enter into its composition; but analysis of metal taken from three places dispelled this idea. The metal is variable; it contains 9% to 15% lead, with traces of arsenic and antimony; the other components are 3% to 5% of tin, and the remainder copper. It is remarkable, however, that the exterior of the breech is of a totally different metal from the body of the gun, being in fact brass, containing nearly 37% of zinc, and has been cast over the body of the gun subsequently to the first completion of it, as one of the ornamental scrolls is partly covered by it.

This trophy was confided to the two corps of Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers by His Majesty George IV in 1828. It bears the following inscriptions:

On the Chase:

‘The Father of Victory’	title borne by Shah Alam also
‘The Reviver of Religion’	title peculiar to Aurangzeb
‘Muhammad, Aurangzeb, Alamgir'	Extolled, Throne adoring, World subduing
‘The Warrior, the Victorious King’	titles common to all Mogul emperors

On the Swell:

‘Year of the Hejira 1087’	common era AD 1677
‘The 20th of the Reign’	Aurangzeb's reign

Under the right trunnion:

‘The gun, the aid of Ali’
Ali, the hero-saint of the Indian Mohammedans, invoked by them in every difficulty, and especially in battle.
His titles are: ‘The victorious Lion of God,’ ‘The Remover of Difficulties

Under the left trunnion

According to the weights of Shah Jehan
The Ball, 30 sirs
Powder, 13 sirs
The weights and measures, as established by the Emperor Shah Jehan are those still used in India - the sir is about 2lbs.
The meaning of Shah Jehan is ‘King of the world’

Letters from letter-book in DAQM General’s Office, Woolwich

21st October 1828

The Master General has the highest satisfaction in communicating to the Regiment of Artillery the following letter from the principal aide-de-camp to the King, conveying His Majesty’s gracious intention that the gun taken at Bhurtpoor, and presented to His Majesty by Viscount Combermere and the forces which captured that fortress, shall be mounted at the front of the barracks at Woolwich, and placed in the charge and custody of the corps of Royal Artillery and Engineers, as a special mark of His Majesty’s approbation of their services on all occasions.

His Lordship in communicating to the two corps the King’s gracious commands, feels assured that a memorial so lasting of His Majesty’s distinguished favour will be a stimulus to continue for the future that zeal, good conduct and exertion, which has gained the corps the highest honour- the approbation of their sovereign.

The Commandant at Woolwich is desired to take measures tp carry into effect His Majesty’s most gracious intention.

(signed)

A Dickson, Colonel,

D.A. General.

Royal Lodge, Windsor

13th October 1828

My Lord

Having, by desire of Lieut. General Cuppage, submitted to the King a drawing of the gun taken at Bhurtpoor, mounted at Woolwich, and presented to His Majesty by General Viscount Combermere and the troops of His Majesty’s and the East India Company’s Service which co-operated under his lordship’s command in the assault and capture of that fortress, and having solicited the King’s pleasure with respect of the situation in which this gun should be placed, I have been honoured with His Majesty’s commands to convey to your lordship, and to desire that you will communicate to the officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers, His Majesty’s determination that this gun shall be placed in front of the barracks at Woolwich: and His Majesty further desires that your lordship will take the necessary steps for giving due effect to such his pleasure.

His Majesty is influenced upon this occasion, and not only by a wish to assign a public and conspicuous situation to this splendid memorial of the enterprise and gallantry of the officers and soldiers by whom the important conquest of Bhurtpoor was achieved, but also by desire to place it in the charge and custody of a body of men which has in so eminent a degree merited His Majesty’s attachment and his approbation, by its distinguished ability and gallantry on every service in which it has been engaged, and by the manner in which it has in all other respects upheld the character and credit of the British arms.

I have &c.,

(signed)

H Taylor

Principal Aide-de-camp to the King

General Lord Viscount Beresford, G.C.B.

Indian SB Bronze Gun at the Royal Arsenal

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This gun captured during the Siege of Bhurtpore in 1826, stands outside the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. The extreme length of this gun is 168.6ins and the estimated weight 6.5 tons, calibre 5.5ins. The workmanship is both elaborate and beautiful; there are three inscriptions on this cannon, shown below as 1, 2 and 3

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1. Translates as ‘Maharajah Brijander Sujjan Singh Bahadur’ which is assumed to be the name of a monarch.

2. This reads ‘Maharajah Pirthi Andar Siwai Jawahir Singh Bahadur or Maharajah Briji Andar Siwai Jawahir Singh Bahadur, the latter being preferred and is again the name of a monarch.

3. This has been more difficult to decipher but assumed to read ‘Maharao Manbhir Singh tup-i-burj-i-in Maqam Sakt Walu Kari-gar which translates to ‘Maharao Manbhir Singh made the cannon of the citadel of this place Walu was the artificer’. The figures LXXII are obviously the work of some European, and are in no way connected with the writing.

In endeavouring to decide the history of the gun, the first thing which demands attention is the circumstance that at the end of the cascabel there is the design of a face, intended apparently to represent either the sun or moon. This points strongly to the presumption that the cannon belonged to one of the dynasties known in India as the ‘Surya bunsi’ (Children of the Sun) or ‘Chandra bunsi’ (Children of the Moon). Now Udaipur was a dynasty of the sun, and the surmise that this is the state from whence the gun came is strengthened by the fact that Sujjan Singh (inscription 1) does occur in the annals of that principality; but though the British Government several times interfered in the internal administration of the country they never conducted warlike operations against the chief; so it is concluded that in spite of the mark on the cascabel, the cannon was not captured in this state.

The names ‘Siwai’ and ‘Pirthi’ (inscription 2) are to be traced to the ‘Jaipur’ dynasty, but so far as my researches have extended I cannot find that this line of Chiefs belongs to either the ‘Children of the Sun’ or ‘Children of the Moon’; moreover, though on more than one occasion the British authorities have taken steps to secure good government in this state I have not succeeded in discovering any campaign of a nature likely to result in the capture and dispatch to England of a cannon of this description; so I dismiss ‘Jaipur’ from further consideration. There remains but one other state to which I wish to refer as in any way connected with the matter at issue- I allude to ‘Bhartpur’. In the first place the ruling race is sprung from the ‘Jats’ and these in turn claim an origin as the ‘Children of the Moon’, moreover ‘Brijandar’ ‘Siwai and ‘Jawahir Singh’ are all names frequently to be met in the annals of the Bhartpur dynasty, while the first of the three as far as I can learn, is confined exclusively to this state. Further there was also a Chieftain of this kingdom called Jawahir Singh who ruled 1763-1768. Lastly, the play of words in ‘Brij’ and ‘Burj’ both written b r j (no short vowels) seem to emphasise the word ‘Brijandar. These various arguments seem to point strongly to the supposition that the cannon came from Bhartpur and dates from the third quarter of the 18th Century.

(The analysis of the cannon undertaken by Mr Wollaston of the India Office)