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Unit 7: The First Major Challenge

Notes
July 1857 — Mutinies at Indore, Mhow, Saugar and certain places in
the Panjab like Jhelum sialkot etc.
August 1857 — Civil rebellion spreads throughout Saugor and Nerbudda
districts.
September 1857 — The English recapture Delhi: further outbreaks in Central
India.
October 1857 — Revolt spreads to Kotah State.
November 1857 — The rebels defeat General Windham outside Kanpur.
December 1587 — Sir Colin Campbell wins the battle of Kanpur.
— Tantia Tope escapes.
March l858 — Lucknow recaptured by the English.
April 1858 — Jhansi falls to the English. Fresh rising in Bihar led by
Kunwar Singh.
May 1858 — The English recapture Bareilly, Jagdishpur and Kalpi.
Indian rebels begin guerilla warfare Rohilkhand.
July-December 1858 — English authority re-established in India.

The recapture of Delhi could be of great psychological importance and English efforts were directed
towards that end. Troops from the Punjab were rushed and took their position to the north of
Delhi. Though resistance was offered by the Indian soldiers. In September 1857 Delhi was recaptured
by the English, but John Nicholson, the hero of the siege, was badly wounded during the operations
and succumbed to his injuries. The Emperor was arrested. Terrible vengeance was wrecked on the
inhabitants of Delhi. Two sons and a grandson of the Emperor were publicly shot by Lieut.
Hodson himself.
The rebellion broke our at Lucknow on 4th June. Henry Lawrence, the British Resident, the European
inhabitants and a few hundred loyal sepoys took shelter in the Residency. The Residency was
besieged by the Indian rebels and Sir Henry was killed during the siege. The command of the
besieged garrison devolved on Brigadier Inglis who held out against heavy odds. The early attempts
of Havelock and Outram to recover Lucknow met with no success. Some relief came in November
1857 when Sir Colin Campbell, the new Commander-in-Chief, sent from England entered the city
with the help of Gorkha regiments and evacuated the Europeans. In March 1858 the city was
finally reduced, but guerilla activity continued till September of the same year.
Kanpur was lost to the British on 5th June 1857. Nana Sahib was proclaimed the Peshwa. General
Sir Hugh Wheeler, commanding the station, surrendered on June 27. Some Europeans, men women
and children, were murdered. At Kanpur Nana Sahib was joined by his able and experienced
Lieutenant, Tantia Tope. The military operations for the recapture of Kanpur were closely associated
with the recovery of Lucknow. Sir Campbell occupied Kanpur on December 6. Tantia Tope escaped
and joined the Rani of Jhansi.
In the beginning of June 1857 the troops at Jhansi mutinied Rani Lakshmi Bai, the widow of the
late Raja Gangadhar Rao, was proclaimed the ruler of the state. After the loss of Kanpur, Tantia
Tope joined the Rani. Sir Hugh Rose recaptured Jhansi by assault on 3rd April 1958.
The Rani of Jhansi and Tantia tope marched towards Gwalior where they were hailed by the
Indian soldiers. The Sindhia however, decided to remain-loyal to the English and took shelter at
Agra. Nana Sahib was proclaimed the Peshwa and plans were chalked our for a march into the
South. Gwalior was recaptured by the English in June 1858, the Rani of Jhansi died fighting clad
in soldier’s uniform on the ramparts of the fort. Tantia Tope escaped southward; in April 1859 he
was captured by one of Sindhia’s feudatory who handed him over to the British to be hanged.
At Bareilly Khan Bahadur Khan had proclaimed himself the Nawab Nazim. In Bihar a local
zamindar Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur raised the banner of revolt. At Banaras a rebellion had

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