Second Battle of Cawnpore
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| Second Battle of Cawnpore | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Indian rebellion of 1857 | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Great Britain | Indian rebels | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Sir Colin Campbell | Tantya Tope | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5,000 30 guns |
14,000 40 guns |
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| 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. It was decisive as it thwarted the rebels' last chance to regain the initiative and recapture the cities of Cawnpore and Lucknow.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Cawnpore had been recaptured from the rebels under the Nana Sahib on July 17, 1857. Although it had been held by the British from then until November, in that month Sir Colin Campbell, the new Commander-in-Chief in India, had taken most of its garrison for the Relief of Lucknow. He left a detachment of about 1,500 under Brigadier Windham to hold Cawnpore, the vital bridge of boats across the River Ganges and the entrenchment constructed to protect it.
Meanwhile, the Nana Sahib's lieutenant, Tantya Tope, had gathered a large army to recapture Cawnpore. The core of this army was the Gwalior Contingent. This was a body of troops in the service of the ruler of Gwalior, but which was recruited and organised on the same lines as the Bengal Army of the British East India Company. The Gwalior Contingent had mutinied against their British officers in June and July. They had since remained undecided as to their next course of action until Tantya Tope took charge of them, and led them to Kalpi on November 9, where they crossed the River Jumna and moved east on Cawnpore.
[edit] Tantya Tope recaptures Cawnpore
By November 19, Tantya Tope's advance guard of 6,000 dominated all the routes west and north-west of Cawnpore. Although Windham was aware that Campbell had gained success at Lucknow, he nevertheless decided to attack Tantya Tope before he could threaten the entrenchment, without waiting for Campbell to return from Lucknow.
On November 26, Windham's force drove back Tantya Tope's advance guard. Unfortunately, the rebels' main body was close at hand. Windham tried to make an orderly withdrawal but some of his troops (a mixed bag of detachments of several regiments) misbehaved, retreating without orders and looting drink and supplies when they reached the entrenchment.
Meanwhile, Campbell was withdrawing from Lucknow with 3,000 troops and a convoy containing 2,000 sick, wounded and non-combatants. Hearing that Cawnpore was in danger, he left his infantry to protect the convoy and moved ahead with his cavalry and horse artillery. To his relief, when he arrived on the north bank of the Ganges late on November 27, the bridge was still intact. Windham held the entrenchment, but the rebels had occupied the city of Cawnpore and the ground between the city and the Ganges.
[edit] Evacuation of civilians
Campbell crossed the bridge the next day. He deployed his artillery on the north bank of the river to fire on the rebels threatening the bridge, and then slowly filed the carts and other vehicles of the convoy across the bridge. The process took three days to complete. Although several officers urged Campbell to attack as soon as the north bank was evacuated, Campbell delayed for another five days while all the non-combatants were ferried down-river to safety. Campbell was later to be known for his caution, becoming irreverently known as "Sir Crawling Camel".
[edit] Tantya Tope defeated
The rebels had continued to make some attacks on the British positions. An attack on December 5 was beaten off. Campbell was now ready to make his own attack. On December 6, Windham opened a violent bombardment from the entrenchment to deceive the rebels that Campbell was about to attack their left. The real attack was made on their right, curling around the city of Cawnpore to threaten the rebels' links to Kalpi. Campbell's heavier guns were the decisive factor, particularly the 24-pounders manned by the sailors of the Naval Brigade.
As the Gwalior Contingent broke and fled, the Nana Sahib's own retainers and adherents were defeated north of the city. The pursuit was pressed as hard as possible, capturing almost every gun and cart from the rebels. At Bithur, the Nana Sahib's treasury was captured the next day, concealed in a well.
[edit] Results
The rebels had attacked at the most favourable possible moment, under one of their most dynamic and charismatic leaders, and yet they had been defeated. From this point on, increasing numbers of British reinforcements were to arrive in India and the rebellion was doomed to defeat, although Tantya Tope and other determined leaders were to continue to resist for more than a year.
[edit] Sources
- 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
