The Capture of Lucknow was a battle of Indian rebellion of 1857. The British recaptured the city which they had abandoned in the previous winter, and destroyed the organised resistance by the rebels in the Kingdom of Oudh (or Awadh). Combatants Indian patriots, Rebellious East India Company Sepoys, 7 Indian princely states, deposed rulers of Oudh and Jhansi, Nana Sahib and allies, Indian civilians in some areas. ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... March 21 is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Chhota Imambara in Lucknow , Lucknow ( , Hindi: लखनऊ, Urdu: لکھنؤ, ) is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. ... Awadh (also known to the British as Oudh) is a region in the center of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was the first joint-stock company (the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue public stock). ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was the first joint-stock company (the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue public stock). ... Begum Hazrat Mahal, also known as Begum of Awadh, was the wife of Nawab Wazid Ali Shah. ... Colin Campbell with William Mansfield, 1st Viscount Sandhurst Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, GCB, KCSI (October 20, 1792–August 24, 1863) was a Scottish soldier. ... Combatants Great Britain Indian rebels Commanders General Archdale Wilson Brigadier John Nicholson Bahadur Shah II Bakht Khan Strength max. ... Combatants United Kingdom British East India Company Indian Mutineers Commanders Major General Sir Hugh Wheeler† Brigadier Alexander Jack† Major Edward Vibart† Captain John Moore† 32nd Nana Sahib Tatya Tope Strength around 500 soldiers and civilians around 4000 sepoys, local citizens and mercenaries Casualties All but a handful of the defenders... The Battle of Chinhat was fought on June 29, 1857, between British forces and Indian rebels. ... Combatants Great Britain Indian rebels Commanders Sir Henry Lawrence Henry Havelock Sir James Outram Sir Colin Campbell Strength rising to approx. ... Combatants Great Britain Indian rebels Commanders Sir Colin Campbell Tantya Tope Strength 5,000 30 guns 14,000 40 guns Casualties unknown unknown The Second Battle of Cawnpore was a battle of Indian rebellion of 1857, or Indian Mutiny as it is often referred to. ... The Central India Campaign was one of the last series of actions in the Indian rebellion of 1857, or Indian Mutiny. ... Combatants Indian patriots, Rebellious East India Company Sepoys, 7 Indian princely states, deposed rulers of Oudh and Jhansi, Nana Sahib and allies, Indian civilians in some areas. ... Awadh (also known to the British as Oudh) is a region in the center of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ...

Background

Oudh had been annexed by the British East India Company only a year before a general mutiny broke out in the Company's Bengal Army. The mutiny had threatened British authority in several areas of India, and in Oudh the resentful dispossessed rulers and landowners joined with the mutinied regiments in what became a national rebellion. The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was the first joint-stock company (the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue public stock). ...

From July 1 to November 26, 1857, the British had withstood the siege of the Residency to the north of the city. When the besieged garrison was finally relieved by the British commander-in-chief, Sir Colin Campbell, the Residency was evacuated. Campbell's communications were threatened so he returned to Cawnpore with all the civilians evacuated from the Residency, and the sick and wounded. However, he left a division of 4,000 men under Sir James Outram to hold the Alambagh, a walled park two miles south of the city. is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 330th day of the year (331st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Great Britain Indian rebels Commanders Sir Henry Lawrence Henry Havelock Sir James Outram Sir Colin Campbell Strength rising to approx. ... Colin Campbell with William Mansfield, 1st Viscount Sandhurst Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, GCB, KCSI (October 20, 1792–August 24, 1863) was a Scottish soldier. ... Kānpur (known as Cawnpore before 1948) is the most populous city in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Sir James Outram Sir James Outram (January 29, 1803-March 11, 1863), English general, and one of the heroes of the Indian Mutiny, was the son of Benjamin Outram of Butterley Hall, Derbyshire, civil engineer. ... Alambagh, or Alumbagh, is a large walled enclosure situated about 4 miles from Lucknow, near the Cawnpore road in India. ...

During the following cold weather campaigning season, Campbell re-established his communications with Delhi and with Calcutta. He also received fresh reinforcements from Britain and built up a substantial transport and supply column. , Delhi ( , Hindi: , Punjabi: , Urdu: ) sometimes referred to as Dilli, is the second-largest metropolis in India after Mumbai with a population of 13 million. ... This article is on Calcutta/Kolkata, the city. ...

Campbell suggested leaving Oudh alone during 1858, concentrating instead on recapturing the state of Rohilkhand, which was also in rebel hands. However, the Governor General, Lord Canning, insisted that Oudh be recaptured, so as to discourage other potential rebels. Rohilkhand is a region of northwestern Uttar Pradesh state of India. ... The Right Honourable Charles John Canning, 1st & Last Earl Canning (14 December 1812 - 17 June 1862), English statesman, Governor-General of India during the Mutiny of 1857, was the youngest child of George Canning, and was born at Brompton, near London. ...

Campbell's advance

Contemporary plan of the movements during the siege, relief and capture of Lucknow

Campbell's army crossed the Ganges River in late February, and advanced to rendezvous with Outram at the Alambagh on March 1. The army was now organised into three infantry divisions under Outram, Brigadier Walpole and Brigadier Lugard, and a cavalry division under James Hope Grant. A force of 9,000 Nepalis (not to be confused with the regular Gurkha units of the Bengal Army) was approaching Lucknow from the north, commanded by Brigadier Franks. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1353x996, 327 KB) Originally downloaded from [1]. Page no longer exists. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1353x996, 327 KB) Originally downloaded from [1]. Page no longer exists. ... This article is about the river. ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to twenty thousand soldiers. ... Sir James Hope Grant (July 22, 1808 - March 7, 1875), British general, was the fifth and youngest son of Francis Grant of Kilgraston, Perthshire, and brother of Sir Francis Grant, PRA. He entered the army in 1826 as cornet in the 9th Lancers, and became lieutenant in 1828 and captain... Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha, are people from Nepal who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. ...

The defenders of Lucknow were said to number 100,000. This suspiciously large and round figure reflects the fact that the defenders lacked coordinated leadership, and were largely the personal retinues of landowners, or loosely organised bodies of fighters, whose motives, dedication and equipment varied widely. The British were not able to gain any reliable reports of their numbers. The rebels were nevertheless equipped with large numbers of cannon and had heavily fortified the Charbagh Canal, the city and the palaces and mosques adjoining the Residency to the north of the city. They had not fortified the northern approaches to the city on the north bank of the Gumti River, which had not seen fighting previously. The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as it exists today A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... Shahi Bridge over the Gomti River The Gomti River, also known as the Gumti or Gomati, is a tributary of the Ganges River. ...

Campbell began by repeating his moves of the relief of the Residency the previous year. He moved to the east of the city and canal to occupy a walled park, the Dilkusha Park, although this time he suffered from rebel artillery fire until his own guns could be brought up.

On March 5, Campbell's engineers constructed two pontoon bridges across the Gumti. Outram's division crossed to the north bank, and by March 9 were established north of the city. Under covering fire from his siege guns, his division captured the grandstand of the King of Oudh's racecourse (known as the Chakar Kothi). Meanwhile, Campbell's main body captured the Martiniere (formerly a school for the children of British civilians) and forced the Charbagh Canal with few casualties. This article is about the day. ... Pontoon bridge across the James River at Richmond, Virginia, 1865. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (69th in leap years). ...

Capture of the main defences

By March 11, Outram captured two bridges across the Gumti near the Residency, although heavy rebel artillery fire forced him to abandon one of them. Meanwhile, Campbell occupied an enclosed palace (the Secundrabagh) and a mosque (the Shah Najaf) with little opposition; these two positions had been the scene of heavy fighting the previous November. In front of him was a block of palace buildings, collectively known as the Begum Kothi. There was severe fighting for these on March 11, in which 600 or 700 rebels died. March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (71st in leap years). ... March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (71st in leap years). ...

Over the next three days, Campbell's engineers and gunners blasted and tunnelled their way through the buildings between the Begum Kothi and the main rebel position in the King of Oudh's palace, the Kaisarbagh. Meanwhile, Outram's guns bombarded the Kaisarbagh from the north. The main assault on the Kaisarbagh took place on March 14. Campbell's and Frank's forces attacked from the east, but Campbell surprisingly refused Outram permission to cross the Gumti and take the Kaisarbagh between two fires. As a result, although the Kaisarbagh was easily captured, its defenders were able to retreat without difficulty. March 14 is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Final capture of Lucknow

Most of the rebels were now abandoning Lucknow and scattering into the countryside. Campbell failed to stop most of them, by sending his cavalry after some rebels who had left earlier. Operations temporarily halted while the British reorganised and most regiments fell to looting the captured palaces.

On March 16, Outram finally recrossed the Gumti, and his division advanced on and stormed the Residency. There were disjointed rebel counter-attacks on the Alambagh and the British positions north of the Gumti, both of which failed. A rebel force which was supposed to contain Begum Hazrat Mahal,the wife of the dispossessed King of Oudh, and her son Birjis Qadr whom the rebels had proclaimed King, was driven from the Musabagh, yet another walled palace four miles northwest of Lucknow. March 16 is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Begum Hazrat Mahal, also known as Begum of Awadh, was the wife of Nawab Wazid Ali Shah. ...

The last rebels, 1,200 men under a noted leader, the Maulvi of Faizabad, were driven from a fortified house in the centre of the city on March 21. The city was declared cleared on this date. March 21 is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Outcome

Campbell had advanced cautiously and had captured Lucknow with few casualties, but by failing to prevent the rebels escaping, he was forced to spend much of the following hot weather season clearing the rebels from the countryside of Oudh. As a result, his army suffered heavy casualties from heatstroke and other diseases.

Outram had also failed to protest his orders not to advance on the 14th, which had allowed most rebels to escape. Outram was Civil Commissioner for Oudh in addition to his military command, and may have allowed his hopes for pacification and reconciliation to override his soldier's instincts.

Rebel casualties were hard to estimate. British troops usually executed any prisoners they captured, whether armed or not. One of the prominent British casualties was William Hodson, who led an irregular cavalry unit and also served as an Intelligence officer, killed during the capture of the Begum Kothi on March 11th. William Stephen Raikes Hodson (March 10, 1821 - March 11, 1858), known as Hodson of Hodsons Horse, British leader of irregular light cavalry during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, third son of the Rev. ...

References

• The Great Mutiny - India 1857, by Christopher Hibbert, Penguin, 1980, ISBN 0-14-004752-2
• Battles of the Indian Mutiny, by Michael Edwardes, Pan, 1963 ISBN 0-330-02524-4