Bengal Army
| Bengal Army | |
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| 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
FIBIS resources
- 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.[1]
- FIBIS database:Applications for Cadetships in EIC Armies 1789-1860 includes Bengal Army. These are records for officers.
- 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 the FIBIS database record contains all the information available in the microfilm.
- Also see Books below.
- "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
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 1716-1907 with 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. 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.
- The Muster Rolls commence IOR/L/MIL/10/130-185
- The LDS (Mormons) have filmed many of these records. Search the Microfilm 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.(Ordering microfilms)
- Military Department Library: Bengal Army IOR/L/MIL/17/2 1791-1903 includes
- 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
Individuals
- Catalogue entry IOR/F/4/1454/57020 Apr 1831-Dec 1832 Trial, in the Calcutta Supreme Court, of Anne Louisa Ramsay, for the attempted murder, at Delhi Cantonments on 9 Apr 1831, of Lieutenant George Richard Talbot of the 8th Bengal Native Infantry - her husband, Allan Ramsay, formerly a Lieutenant in the 8th Bengal Native Infantry is charged with aiding and abetting the attempted murder - both parties are acquitted (includes a transcript of the proceedings of the original Court of Enquiry, depositions of witnesses, etc).
Books
- Lives 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. 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 phantomUntold 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 has filmed the above books (Library Catalogue entry). This India List thread recommends that all three LDS films be ordered, as there is a lot of cross referencing.
- Savannah Publications, London has reprinted Ubique: War Services of Officers of the Bengal Army by T.C. Anderson, originally published 1863. Index data from this book is available on the FIBIS database, refer above
- Savannah Publications, London has published Officer Casualties of the Indian Armies 1803-1946 by Anthony J. Farrington. The author was Director of the India Office Records collection at the British Library
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)
Historical books online
- 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
- Alphabetical List of the Officers of the Bengal Army from 1760 to 1834 compiled by Dodwell and Miles, 1838. Archive.org. Google Books edition
- 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
- 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
- History of the Rise and Progress of the Bengal Army, Volume 1 by Arthur Broome 1850 (www.archive.org)
- The Presidential Armies of India by Colonel S Rivett-Carnac 1890 Archive.org has chapters on the Bengal Army
- The Officer's Complete Guide by Lieut. Archibald Swiney Haig 55th Regiment Bengal Infantry (published 1856) - contains General Orders, pay regulations etc (Google Books)
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Narrative of the mutiny of the officers of the army in Bengal, in the year 1766 Sir Henry Strachey, 1773 Google Books
- "Baggage of the Indian Army" Calcutta Review, Volume 11 January-June 1849, page 445 Google Books
- 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
- 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
References