Chapter  Ten

Sir Colin Campbell’s Final Relief and Evacuation of Lucknow Residency Garrison-November 1857

Maj (Retd) AGHA HUMAYUN AMIN from WASHINGTON DC gives a brilliant analysis of the 1857 War of Independence.

Sir Colin Campbell (1792-1863) (subsequently Lord Clyde) was a soldier of considerable experience. Being a man of limited  means he had struggled upwards on his own steam which was no mean achievement in an age when Commissions of almost all ranks could be bought! Aged 65 and with 49 years of service Campbell started with the Peninsular War against Napoleonic France, and subsequently took part in the Anglo-American War of 1814, Opium War against China, The Sikh Wars (Notably at Battle of Chillianwala where he was commanding the Left Division), Expeditions against Frontier Tribes, and most notably at the Crimean War where he was commanding the Highland Brigade during the victorious Battle of Alma417. Campbell reached Calcutta on 13th August and on 17th assumed the charge of Commander-in-Chief. After settling pressing logistic problems at Calcutta Campbell reached Allahabad on 1st November and Cawnpore on 3rd November418. The strategic situation at this moment was complicated as well as critical. On one side was the Lucknow Residency Garrison which though even after being reinforced by Havelock was under heavy pressure as the Delhi Sepoys had reinforced the Lucknow Sepoys after the fall of Delhi along with the famous Bakht Khan. South of Jamna around Kalpi was the Gwalior Contingent and the Jhansi Sepoys under the leadership of Tantia Topi and Nana Sahib. This Force was likely to threaten Cawnpore. Outram had sent a message to Campbell that the Residency Garrison could hold out till end of November, therefore, Campbell should first deal with the southern threat from Kalpi. However, Campbell decided to leave a Force of 1,050 men (500 Europeans and 550 Madras Infantry) and 9 Guns419 and advanced towards Lucknow on 9th November. On 10th November Kavangah a British Civilian Clerk from the Residency Garrison in native disguise with a native spy reached Campbell’s Camp at Bani with a letter from Outram about how Campbell should approach the Residency. Kavangah for this feat was awarded the first Civilian Victoria Cross, 2,000 Pounds Sterling and the coveted post of Deputy Commissioner in the Indian Civil Service420. Campbell arrived at Alam Bagh on 12th November. Campbell now at Alam Bagh had a total Force of 4,500 men and 42 Guns. By 14th the strength with reinforcements rose to 5,000 men 421. Outram in his letter had advised Campbell to adopt the Axis Alam Bagh-Dilkusha-Martiniere-Sikandar Bagh-Residency since this route avoided most of the built up areas and specially the narrow streets. However, Campbell’s Chief Engineer suggested the route along Axis Alam Bagh-Dilkusha-Cross Gumti, hit Faizabad Road, turn west and reach Residency after crossing south over the Iron Bridge. Campbell, however, dismissed the Chief Engineers advice. Campbell could communicate with the Residency with the help of a Semaphore erected at Alam Bagh. On 14th November Campbell started his advance towards Dilkusha which was unopposed for three miles till wall of Dilkusha Park was reached. However, by noon Dilkusha and Martiniere were occupied after brief engagements. On 15th Campbell consolidated his supplies at Dilkusha and on 16th he advanced towards the canal which he forded unopposed. The Sepoys were deceived by British feint demonstrations made towards the Char Bagh on the previous day. Campbell’s Force now passed a village and entered a ravine which led to the eastern end of the Sikandar Bagh. Sikandar Bagh occupied an area of 130 square yards and had strong masonry walls which were loop holed. A tough battle was fought here which involved British Artillery Guns of 18 Pounder calibre firing from a range of just 80 yards422. After half an hour’s fire a three feet breach was made in the wall. The breach was then stormed by 53rd Highlanders, 93rd Highlanders and 4th Punjab Infantry (A famous Battalion belonging to the Piffer Group). It was here that a man belonging to 4th Punjab Infantry thrust his hand into a gate about to be closed by the defending Sepoys. The gate due to this brave man could not be closed, and though his hand was badly injured facilitated the storming of this gate. 2,000  (Refers - Ibid) dead bodies of Sepoys were subsequently counted in the Sikandar Bagh. The then 4th Punjab Battalion to this day probably for the above mentioned act wears a colourful piping signifying their loyalty to the British Raj and Pakistan Army Dress Regulations give them the legal sanction to wear this piping! However, it was afternoon by the time Sikandar Bagh was captured. Now Campbell’s Force advanced westwards for about half a mile when they came in front of Shah Najaf an Imam Bargah with very thick walls which was held by the Sepoys in great strength. Campbell deployed Heavy Guns belonging to Peel naval brigade which pounded Shah Najaf for three hours after which it was stormed and captured after a tough fight with an assault personally led by Campbell. It was dark by the time Shah Najaf was captured, therefore, Campbell decided to halt. The next day advance was resumed and the Mess House and the Moti Mahal were  captured as a result of which contact was established with the extended Residency defences by evening of 17th of November423.

Outram felt that the British should not withdraw from Lucknow City and should continue to hold the Residency Defences expanding them further by capture of Kaisar Bagh. However, Campbell decided otherwise. Campbell knew that if the Sepoys discovered his intention of evacuating the Residency Garrison they would do all within their capabilities to obstruct him. Therefore, Campbell  made the following plan424:-

a. Occupy buildings south of Sikandar Bagh to secure his left flank before evacuation of Residency Garrison. (As done later on 18th November)

b. Evacuate the sick and non- combatants from the Residency to the Dilkusha.

c. Bombard Kaisar Bagh on 20th and 21st with Peel’s Heavy Guns to make the Sepoys think that an assault on Kaisar Bagh (Their main stronghold was inevitable).

d. Evacuate the Residency Garrison Non-Combatants to the Dilkusha Bagh on the night of 22nd  November.

This plan was successfully carried out and by 23rd November the complete British Force had left the city and was in Dilkusha Bagh. (The deception bombardment against Kaisar Bagh actually resulted in its walls being breached at three different places further reinforcing the sepoy conviction that a British assault on 22nd or 23rd November was imminent. By 24th the complete British Force was at Alam Bagh. The British lost another commander in the person of Havelock who died on 24th due to overwork and dysentery and was buried in the Alam Bagh area. Campbell during this entire operation from 14th to 23rd November lost 536 killed and wounded425. Sir John Fortescue ascribed this low figure to use of unexpected line of advance and Campbell’s successful deception plan for evacuation of the Garrison.n

REFERENCES

417 From -  The Life of Colin Campbell-Lord Clyde-Volumes One and Two- Lieutenant General L.Shadwell-Edinburgh-1881.

418 Pages-88 & 89-Fitz Gerald and Lee-Op Cit.

419 Page-89-Ibid.

420 Page-304-Season in Hell-Op Cit. Interestingly Kavangah at this time was in heavy debt and his case had been previously referred to Lord Dalhousie the previous Viceroy for dismissal, but was turned down by Dalhousie (Page 249-Ibid).Kavangah again went into debt in 1876 and was compulsarily retired from the ICS with a pension of 500 Pounds Sterling an year!  (Page-304-Ibid)

421Pages-320 & 321-J.W Fortescue-Vol-XIII-Op Cit.

422Pages-92,93 and 94-Fitz Gerald and Lee-Op Cit  . Pages -321 to 326-J.W Fortescue-Vol-XIII-Op Cit.

423 Ibid.

424Page-325 , 326 & 327-J.W Fortescue-Vol-XIII-Op Cit.

425Page-326-Ibid.

Chapter  Eleven

The Final Capture of Lucknow-March-1858

The British had evacuated their besieged Troops at Lucknow but were not strong enough yet to recapture Lucknow. Although Troops were arriving from England, Burma, Ceylon and Persia for the recapture of Lucknow. Troops being on a sea journey to China for an expedition were also diverted to Calcutta. In the meantime Campbell decided to clear the Ganges-Jamna Doab. The crucial areas of the Doab were those around Fateh Garh West of Cawnpore and South of Rohailkhand. A Force sent from Delhi under Brigadier Seaton and Campbell himself leading his Troops from Cawnpore pacified the complete area between Delhi Agra and Cawnpore culminating in the final capture of Fateh Garh as a result of which all rebel Sepoys were driven into Rohailkhand or Oudh. Now Campbell wanted to go into Rohailkhand. However Canning the Viceroy a firm believer in the dictum that  war is too serious a business to be left to Generals alone overruled him and ordered that political conditions demand priority for capture of   Lucknow427 .

Meanwhile Outram at Alam Bagh had been attacked by Sepoys six times between November 1857 and February 1858. Campbell had now firmly secured the river line between Fateh Garh and Delhi facilitating the passage of siege train from Agra to Cawnpore. Campbell also left a Force at Fateh Garh under Walpole to deceive the Rohailkhand Sepoys into thinking that an attack on Rohailkhand was imminent so that they should not reinforce the Sepoy position at Lucknow. Walpole successfully did so during the month of February. On 28th February Campbell left Cawnpore for Unao where his Force about to launch the final assault on Lucknow was being assembled. Campbell had a big Army for the final capture of Lucknow; larger than the British Forces at Chillianwala or Gujrat against Sikhs428 (or even those in First Afghan War. Again in all previous campaigns the native element had constituted the bulk of British Armies whereas here out of 17 Battalions of Infantry which formed the bulk of the Army all but two were of European origin429  . Detailed Composition of Campbell’s Force was as following430:—

(The Nepali Gurkha Contingent under Jang Bahadur had entered Oudh via Gorakhpur District and alongwith General Franks who had his own Gurkha Force was marching towards Lucknow to join Campbell’s Force431).

The Sepoys defending Lucknow meanwhile had made great improvements in the defences of Lucknow though again without tactical insight. They had constructed three strong lines of earthworks for defence of the city but left the area north of the river undefended thinking that the British would confine their operations to the south of the river. The first line was along the canal starting from west of Char Bagh till the canal joined the river. The second line was half a mile to the rear was from the river till the Imambara in the south, whereas the third line was along the Northern and Eastern wall of Kaisar Bagh. Colonel Robert Napier Campbell’s Chief Engineer suggested that a British Force should operate north of the river to outflank the defences of Lucknow432. Campbell accepted the suggestion and gave Outram the command of the northern force. Campbell’s final plan for the capture of Lucknow was as following:-

a) Main attack under Campbell was to be launched from Dilkusha towards Kaisar Bagh South of the River via Hazrat Ganj the main street going towards Kaisar Bagh from the general direction of the canal.

b) Outram’s Force to cross the river Gumti by means of two pontoon Bridges move north till Faizabad Road and from there turn west coming towards the general direction of Iron Bridge to envelope the city from the North. This Force was also to establish Artillery Batteries along the Northern bank of the river to enfilade the Sepoy lines of defences and to provide general flanking Artillery firesupport to Campbell’s main attack.

c) The area between Char Bagh and the axis of the main attack was only to be blocked by a small force.

Campbell reached Alam Bagh on 1st of March and in the early hours of 2nd March captured Dilkusha Bagh from the Sepoys after a brief skirmish. Campbell also established a cavalry screen of 1,600 strength between Alam Bagh and Bibipur to secure his rear logistic and artillery movements. Construction of two pontoon bridges for passage of Outram’s Force was commenced on 4th March on the Gumti north of Bibipur. Through some planning blunder this site was within range of Sepoy Guns at La Martiniere433  though the Sepoys never exploited this great tactical advantage. Meanwhile on 4th March Brigadier Franks who had been operating in Eastern Oudh joined Campbell’s Force with his own Troops and 3,000 Nepali Gurkhas. By evening of 5th March the two pontoon bridges under construction were completed and Outram crossed the river before the dawn of 6th March so as to avoid direct artillery fire of Sepoy Guns at La Martiniere. Outram now moved north towards Faizabad Road and dispersed a Sepoy Cavalry Force which tried to obstruct his advance short of the Faizabad Road. Outram camped near Chinhat on the Faizabad Road and was again unsuccessfully attacked by a Sepoy Infantry Force on the morning of 7th March. On 8th March Outram selected sites for deployment of heavy guns which had now been brought north of the river. Outram also dispersed a Sepoy Force guarding the Northern Flank holding the Chakar Kothi north, of the First Sepoy line of defence,  on 9th of March facilitating establishment of Artillery batteries to enfilade the First Sepoy line of defence along the canal. Meanwhile Campbell under cover of Outram’s Batteries on the northern side established batteries to shell the Martiniere from the Dilkusha under whose covering fire La Martiniere was captured on 9th of March with negligible resistance due to the great volume of artillery fire on it from both sides of the river. On 10th March Campbell’s Force crossed the canal and captured the Bank’s House after a tough fight which facilitated forward movement of Campbell’s Artillery to establish Batteries to pound Begum Kothi another Sepoy strong point. Meanwhile Outram’s advance guard on the 9th of March had cleared area up to the Badshah Bagh establishing Batteries on the way. Outram’s Batteries also started shelling the Kaisar Bagh from 10th March. On 11th March Outram cleared the area up to the Iron Bridge and pushed forward till the Stone bridge but subsequently withdrew due to heavy Sepoy Artillery fire to the Iron Bridge area. South of the river on 11th March the Begum Kothi was pounded throughout the day by heavy guns and was attacked around four in the evening by a Force comprising elements of 93rd Highlanders (Scots), 4th Punjab Infantry and about 1,000 Gurkhas. Subsequently Brasyer’s Sikhs were also sent in the second wave and the Begum Kothi was captured after about two hours after a tough fight and according to Sir John Fortescue about 800 bodies of Sepoys were counted inside the Begum Kothi. It was here that Major William Hodson the murderer of Bahadur Shah’s son got his due share after being fatally wounded as a result of a musket ball in his chest. On 12th March the main body of the Nepali Gurkha Contingent arrived led by Jung Bahadur. This Force was earmarked to clear the road leading to the Imam Bara which was another important Sepoy strong point east of Kaisar Bagh. The Imam Bara was now pounded till the morning of 14th March by heavy guns till it was stormed and captured after a tough fight after which the Kaisar Bagh was attacked. Outram now requested Campbell for permission to cross the Iron Bridge and to move south to block the Sepoy retreat but Campbell forbade him from doing so saying that he (Outram) might do so provided that he would undertake not to lose a single man 434 . This decision was a great blunder on Campbell’s part and greatly facilitated the withdrawal of the bulk of Sepoy force from Lucknow;  thus prolonging of the British campaign in Oudh against these Sepoys till almost 1859. The Kaisar Bagh was captured on 14th March and on 16th March at last Outram was given permission to cross the Iron Bridge and come south. Outram soon captured  the Great Imambara but was too late to stop some ten thousand Sepoys from escaping from the city. The Sepoys cleverly left a diversionary force at Stone Bridge to attract the attention of Brigadier Walpole of Outram’s Force and crossed the river some miles upstream and after making a long detour northwards took the Faizabad Road and withdrew towards Faizabad. By 21st March whole of the city was captured. Thus Campbell was able to achieve the political object of capturing a city which signified a deposed dynasty’s capital but failed in the military object of not allowing bulk of the Sepoy Force from escaping. The casualties in the final capture of Lucknow were very low as compared with those sustained by the British at Delhi i.e. just 127 Officers and men killed and 595 wounded as against some 1,674 killed and wounded in the final assault on Delhi435. However the casualties suffered in the subsequent campaign in chasing the Sepoys who had escaped from Lucknow nullified the advantage of low casualties suffered by Campbell in the final capture of Lucknow. Thus British casualties in the subsequent campaign to hunt the Lucknow Sepoys exceeded the figure of 1,000436. Hazrat Mahal wife of Wajid Ali Shah last ruler of Oudh escaped to Nepal alongwith her ten year old son Birjis Kadr who had been proclaimed King of Oudh by the Lucknow Sepoys in July 1857. This indomitable lady was granted political asylum by the Nepalese Government. Subsequently this lady turned down the British offer of a pardon and a handsome pension 437.    She was certainly of a different mould from her husband who enjoyed a British pension at Calcutta till his death in the year 1887438

REFERENCES

427 Page-336-Ibid.

428 Pages-216 & 292-The Sikhs and the Sikh Wars-Op Cit.

429Page-126-Battles of the Indian Mutiny-Op Cit.

430Pages-338 and 339-J.W Fortescue-Vol-XIII-Op Cit.

431Page-836-Henry Beveridge-Vol-III-Op Cit.

432Page-339-J.W Fortescue-Vol-XIII-Op Cit.

433 Ibid.

434 Page-342-Ibid.

435Page-136-Battles of the Indian Mutiny-Op Cit.

436 Ibid.

43 7  Page-204-Ibid

438Page-248-Mutiny Records-Oudh and Lucknow-Op Cit.