Battle of Bhitaura

From FIBIwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Battle of Bhitaura
Part of 2nd Rohilla War
Date: 26 October 1794
Location: Fatehganj Pashchimi, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
Presidency: Bengal
Co-ordinates: 28.470009°N 79.306388°E
Result: British victory
Combatants
East India Company
Kingdom of Awadh
Rohillas
Commanders
Sir Robert Abercrombie Ghulam Muhammad Khan
Strength
7,500 25,000 including camp followers
Casualties
2,500

Summary

General Abercrombie proceeded from Cawnpore with 7,500 troops expecting to be joined by the Oudh army of about 5,000 troops. However they did not join up and Abercrombie alone met the Rohillas at Bhitaura. Though ultimately a British victory, there was an initial disaster when Captain Ramsay and two regiments of cavalry inexplicably galloped through two battalions of Company sepoys. 5,000 Rohilla horse took advantage of the confusion and caused 2.500 killed and wounded. Captain Ramsay escaped court martial by fleeing to Goa. The suspicion was that he was bribed to assist the enemy. Official accounts omitted this shameful incident.

Biographies

Entries in the Dictionary of Indian Biography 1906
Robert Abercrombie (1740-1827)

External Links

Battle of Bhitaura Google Books
Battle of Bhitaura archive.org
War Memorial at Fatehganj Wikimapia
Soldiers on the memorial in St John's Church Calcutta Officers Died website
Battle of Bhitaura Google Books