Battle of Cawnpore
The Battle of Cawnpore, a significant event during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, began with the mutiny of Indian sepoys on June 4, marking a pivotal turn in the uprising against British colonial rule. Following the mutiny, the sepoys declared Nana Sahib as their leader. Major General Sir Hugh Massey Wheeler, commanding the British forces in the area, retreated to makeshift entrenchments in Cawnpore, where he and his forces found themselves besieged by Indian troops. After weeks of conflict, Wheeler surrendered on June 27, under the promise of safe passage, only to be ambushed at the riverbank by Nana’s forces, resulting in a tragic massacre of the British civilians and soldiers. Further violence ensued, with atrocities committed against women and children prisoners before the British successfully retook Cawnpore on July 17. The aftermath of these events, particularly the massacre at the Cawnpore Well, fueled a strong British resolve to suppress the rebellion, highlighting the intense and tragic complexities of colonial conflicts. This episode remains a stark reminder of the violent confrontations during the period, impacting perspectives on colonialism, resistance, and the legacies of such historical events.
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Battle of Cawnpore
Type of action: Series of sieges, massacres, and ground battles in the Indian Mutiny
Date: June 4-December 6, 1857
Location: Kānpur, India
Combatants: 2,000-3,000 British vs. 10,000-12,000 Indians
Principal commanders:British, Major General Sir Hugh Massey Wheeler (1805–1857), Major General Sir Henry Havelock (1795–1857), Major General Sir Charles Ash Windham (1810–1870), General Sir Colin Campbell (1792–1863); Indian, Nana Sahib (1825?-1860?); Tantia Topi (1819?-1859)
Result: British regained control of Cawnpore at great cost
Sepoys in Cawnpore mutinied on June 4, 1857, and proclaimed Nana Sahib their leader the following day. Major General Sir Hugh Massey Wheeler, commandant of all British forces in that area, withdrew into hastily constructed entrenchments inside the city on June 6. The Indians immediately surrounded and besieged the British. Under Nana’s promise of safe passage to Allahabad, on June 27, Wheeler surrendered 450 men, women, and children and marched out of the entrenchments to boats provided for them at Satichaura Ghat. There, on a prearranged signal, Nana’s troops attacked and massacred all but about 130, taking about 110 prisoner. The men prisoners were summarily shot.
Major General Sir Henry Havelock was about to recapture Cawnpore on July 15, so the following day, Nana massacred the women and children prisoners and threw their bodies down a well. Havelock took Cawnpore on July 17. Havelock died of dysentery, and Major General Sir Charles Ash Windham replaced him on November 24. Nana and the Gwalior contingent attacked on November 27 and defeated Windham the next day. Sir Colin Campbell counterattacked and defeated Tantia Topi and the Gwalior contingent on December 6.
Significance
The Cawnpore Well, as the massacre of women and children came to be known, galvanized British resolve in the Indian Mutiny.
Bibliography
Gupta, Pratul Chandra. Nana Sahib and the Rising at Cawnpore. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963.
Shepherd, W. J. A Personal Narrative of the Outbreak and Massacre at Cawnpore During the Sepoy Revolt of 1857. New Delhi: Academic Books, 1980.
Ward, Andrew. Our Bones Are Scattered: The Cawnpore Massacres and the Indian Mutiny of 1857. New York: Holt, 1996.
Yalland, Zoë. Boxwallahs: The British in Cawnpore, 1857–1901. Wilby, Norwich: M. Russell, 1994.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Traders and Nabobs: The British in Cawnpore, 1765–1857. Wilton, Salisbury, Wiltshire: M. Russell, 1987.