Second Anglo-Sikh War
Encyclopedia
The Second Anglo-Sikh War took place in 1848 and 1849, between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company
. It resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab
and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province by the East India Company.
during the early years of the nineteenth century. During the same period, the British East India Company's territories had been expanded until they were adjacent to the Punjab. Ranjit Singh maintained an uneasy alliance with the East India Company, while increasing the military strength of the Khalsa
(the Sikh Army, which also saw itself as the embodiment of the state and religion), to deter British aggression against his state and to expand Sikh territory to the north and north west, capturing territory from Afghanistan
and Kashmir
.
When Ranjit Singh died in 1839, the Sikh Empire began to fall into disorder. There was a succession of short-lived rulers at the central Durbar (court), and increasing tension between the Khalsa and the Durbar. The East India Company began to build up its military strength on the borders of the Punjab. Eventually, the increasing tension goaded the Khalsa to invade British territory, under weak and possibly treacherous leaders. The hard-fought First Anglo-Sikh War
ended in defeat for the Khalsa.
, the ruler of Jammu
, was allowed to acquire Kashmir
from the Sikh Empire by a large cash payment to the East India Company. Some of the Khalsa were forced to make an expedition to oust the ruling Maharajah of Kashmir in favour of Gulab Singh.
The infant Maharaja Duleep Singh
of the Sikh Empire was allowed to retain his throne, but a British Resident, Sir Henry Lawrence
, controlled the policy of the Durbar. Duleep Singh's mother, Maharani Jind Kaur
, continually tried to regain some of her former influence as Regent and was eventually exiled by Lawrence. While some Sikh generals and courtiers welcomed her dismissal, others resented Lawrence's action.
Some of the Khalsa had to be kept in being, since many predominantly Muslim
areas of the Sikh Empire threatened to ally with Dost Mohammed Khan in Afghanistan
or to lapse into disorder, and only force of arms could keep them in subjugation. The British were unwilling to incur the financial and manpower costs of using large numbers of British or Bengal Army
units for this task. To the contrary, the Governor-General of India
, Viscount Hardinge
sought to make economies after the war by reducing the size of the Bengal Army by 50,000 men. The Sirdars
(generals) of the Khalsa naturally resented carrying out the orders of comparatively junior British officers and administrators.
Early in 1848, Sir Henry Lawrence, who was ill, departed on leave to England
. Although it was assumed that his younger brother John Lawrence
would be appointed in his place, Lord Dalhousie, who had replaced Hardinge as Governor-General, appointed Sir Frederick Currie
instead. Currie was a legalist, based in Calcutta, who was unfamiliar with military matters and with the Punjab. While the Lawrences were comparatively informal and familiar with the junior officers who were Residents and Agents in the various districts of the Punjab, Currie was stiffer in manner and was inclined to treat his subordinates' reports with caution. In particular, he refused to act on reports from James Abbott, the Political Agent in Hazara, who was convinced that Sirdar Chattar Singh Attariwalla
, the Sikh Governor of Hazara, was actively plotting a rebellion with other Sirdars.
was part of the Sikh kingdom, having been captured by Ranjit Singh in 1818. In 1848, it was governed by a Hindu
viceroy, Dewan Mulraj
. After the end of the First Anglo-Sikh war, Mulraj had behaved independently. When he was required by the British-controlled Durbar in Lahore
to pay an increased tax assessment and revenues which were in arrears, Mulraj attempted to give up power to his son, so as to maintain his family's position as rulers. Currie instead imposed a Sikh governor, Sirdar Khan Singh, with a British Political Agent, Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew.
On 18 April 1848, Vans Agnew arrived at Multan with another officer, Lieutenant William Anderson, and a small escort. Mulraj handed over the keys of the fortress, but as Vans Agnew's party attempted to take possession, they were attacked by a party of Mulraj's irregular troops, and a mob from the city. Both officers were wounded, and were rescued by Khan Singh. They were taken to a mosque outside the city. Their escorts fled or defected to Mulraj, and the officers were murdered by the mob the next day.
Mulraj later claimed that he had not instigated these attacks, but he was committed to rebellion because of them. He presented Vans Agnew's head to Sirdar Khan Singh, and told him to take it back to Lahore. The news of the killings spread over the Punjab, and unrest and disquiet increased. Large numbers of Sikh soldiers deserted the regiments loyal to the Durbar to join those prepared to rebel under the leadership of Mulraj and disaffected Sirdars.
, had been near Multan in April but was unable to save Vans Agnew. He hastily levied some Pakhtun irregular troops, and together with some Sikh regiments, defeated Mulraj's army at the Battle of Kineyri near the Chenab River
on 18 June. He drove them back to the city but was unable to attack the fortified city itself.
Meanwhile, on learning of the events at Multan, Currie wrote to Sir Hugh Gough
, the Commander in Chief of the Bengal Army, recommending that a major British force should at once move upon Multan. However Gough, supported by Dalhousie, the Governor General, declined to order major units of the East India Company to the Punjab until the end of the hot weather and monsoon seasons, which would not be until November. Instead, Currie ordered only a small force from the Bengal Army under General Whish to begin the siege of the city, joined by several contingents of locally-recruited irregulars and detachments of the Khalsa. These forces joined Edwardes at Multan between 18 and 28 August. To the alarm of several Political Agents, the force from the Khalsa included a large contingent commanded by Sirdar Sher Singh Attariwalla
, Chattar Singh's son.
Some Agents were already taking action to forestall outbreaks of rebellion. Captain John Nicholson
, leading irregular cavalry based at Peshawar
, seized the vital fort of Attock
on the Indus River
from its Sikh garrison while they were still undecided whether to rebel, or were caught unprepared. Nicholson's force then linked up with James Abbott's local Hazara levies to capture the Margalla Hills
which separated Hazara from the other parts of the Punjab. When Chattar Singh openly rebelled in August, his force was unable to leave Hazara without fighting a battle. Although Chattar Singh twice succeeded in capturing the passes through the hills, he nevertheless failed to take advantage of this (possibly because of dissension among his senior officers and continual harassment by pro-British irregulars), and retreated into Hazara.
On 14 September, Sher Singh's army openly rebelled at Multan. He did not join Mulraj however. He and Mulraj conferred at a carefully chosen neutral site, at which it was agreed that Mulraj would give some money from his treasury to Sher Singh's army, which would march north into the Central Punjab and ultimately rejoin Chattar Singh. Meanwhile, Whish was forced to raise the siege until he was reinforced.
A contingent from the Bombay Army
(administered separately from the Bengal Army) had been ordered to reinforce Whish and besiege Multan. This force was delayed by a petty squabble over seniority and could arrive only when its first commander (who was senior to Whish and refused to serve under him) was replaced by a more junior officer. Whish's army was supplied and reinforced by sea and river transport up the rivers Indus and Chenab.
Sir Hugh Gough led his main force against Sher Singh's army, which defended the line of the River Chenab against Gough for several weeks. On 22 November, the Sikhs repelled a British cavalry attack on a bridgehead on the eastern side of the river at the Battle of Ramnagar
. Although they subsequently withdrew from their exposed bridgehead, the Sikhs regarded the battle as a victory and their morale was raised. Gough forced his way across the Chenab in December and outflanked the Sikhs defending the fords, but his cavalry then paused to await infantry reinforcements, allowing the Sikhs to withdraw without interference.
At the start of 1849, Amir Dost Mohammed Khan of Afghanistan sided with the rebellious Sikhs, who agreed to cede the city of Peshawar and its surrounding area which had been conquered by Ranjit Singh early in the nineteenth century. Dost Mohammed Khan's support of the Sikhs was cautious, but when 3,500 Afghan horsemen approached the vital fort of Attock on the Indus River, its garrison of Muslim troops installed earlier by Nicholson defected. This allowed Chattar Singh to move out of Hazara and march west and then south, intending to link up with Sher Singh's army. Dalhousie had earlier ordered Gough to halt operations while waiting for Multan to fall, which would allow Whish to reinforce him. Learning of the fall of Attock, he instead ordered Gough to destroy Sher Singh's army before Chattar Singh could join him.
Gough unexpectedly encountered Sher Singh's position near the Jhelum River
on 13 January 1849. Sher Singh had cunningly concealed his army, and Gough was faced with the choice of withdrawing, or attacking when it was late in the day. Gough unhesitatingly took the latter course. The resulting Battle of Chillianwala
was desperately fought. Gough's troops, attacking into thick scrub without effective artillery support, suffered heavy losses. Some units lost their colours (which was regarded as a disgrace) and part of one British cavalry regiment fled in panic, resulting in the loss of four guns, also reckoned a humiliation. Sher Singh's army was also hard hit, losing twelve of its own guns.
Three days of heavy rain followed, discouraging both sides from renewing battle. After both armies had faced each other for three days without renewing the action, both withdrew. Sher Singh continued northwards to join Chattar Singh, which made the battle into a strategic British defeat.
There was much alarm at the losses Gough had suffered. His tactics were severely criticised and he was replaced by General Charles James Napier
, although the order did not arrive until after hostilities had ceased. Some junior officers reckoned that the true cause of the setback lay lower down the ranks. Promotion in both the British and Bengal armies came slowly, and by the time officers were appointed to command regiments and brigades, they were too old, and worn out by harsh climate and disease. At Chillianwala, several senior officers had proved unable to command their units effectively.
As Gough's army closed in on the Khalsa, Sher Singh attempted a last outflanking move, sending cavalry to cross the Chenab, and re-cross in Gough's rear. They were thwarted by heavy rains which made the river difficult to cross, and British irregular cavalry led by Harry Burnett Lumsden
and William Hodson. On 13 February, Gough attacked the Khalsa at the Battle of Gujrat. Here, he began the battle with a three-hour bombardment from almost 100 guns, which drove the Sikhs from their hasty entrenchments. He then sent his cavalry and horse artillery after them in a pursuit which lasted for four hours.
On 12 March, Chattar Singh and Sher Singh surrendered near Rawalpindi. Some 20,000 men (mainly irregular cavalry) laid down their arms. The Afghan contingent hastily withdrew through Attock and Peshawar, which the British reoccupied. Dost Mohammed Khan later signed a treaty acknowledging British possession of these cities.
On 30 March, Duleep Singh held his last court at Lahore, at which he signed away all claims to the rule of the Punjab. A proclamation by Dalhousie, annexing the Punjab, was then read out. For his services the Earl of Dalhousie received the thanks of the British parliament and a step in the peerage, as Marquess. Gough also received rewards for his services, although his tactics at Chillianwala were to be questioned for the remainder of his life. Many of the junior British Political Agents who had organised local resistance to the Khalsa were to have distinguished later careers.
The Sikh Wars gave the two sides a mutual respect for each other's fighting prowess (although the war itself had been unchivalrously fought; the Sikhs took no prisoners at Chillianwala, and the British had taken no prisoners at Gujarat).
There was an increased recruitment of people from various communities of the Punjab in the Punjab Irregular Force under British command. These recruits fought for the East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857
, against the mutineers and other opponents (mostly high-caste Hindus from Eastern provinces, and forces or loyalists of Shia, Maratha and Mughal rulers). These Punjabi recruits had especially little sympathy with the Hindu mutineers of the Bengal Army, ironically contributed to by the latter's role in helping the British in the Anglo-Sikh wars. A long history of enmity of the Sikhs with Mughal rule did not help the mutineers' cause either, given their choice of Bahadur Shah Zafar as a symbolic leader.
was distributed with a free hand to all regiments employed in the operations of the Anglo-Sikh Wars during 1848-49 vide Gazette of the Governor General 277 of 1849, and the list of regiments honoured was issued vide. GoGG 803 of 1853. The Bombay Army was awarded separately and the spelling was changed from 'Punjab' vide Gazette of India No 1079 of 1910. Forty of the honoured units of the Bengal Army were consumed by the Mutiny. India has now raised a memorial at Ferozepore to pay homage to men of the Khalsa Army who laid down their lives in the Anglo-Sikh Wars and the battle honour is considered to be repugnant
.
Units awarded this honour were:
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. It resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province by the East India Company.
Background to the War
The Sikh kingdom of the Punjab was consolidated and expanded by Maharaja Ranjit SinghMaharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjab)
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
during the early years of the nineteenth century. During the same period, the British East India Company's territories had been expanded until they were adjacent to the Punjab. Ranjit Singh maintained an uneasy alliance with the East India Company, while increasing the military strength of the Khalsa
Khalsa
+YouWebImagesVideosMapsNewsMailMoreTranslateFrom: ArabicTo: EnglishEnglishHindiEnglishAllow phonetic typingHindiEnglishArabicAssumptionGoogle Translate for Business:Translator ToolkitWebsite TranslatorGlobal Market Finder...
(the Sikh Army, which also saw itself as the embodiment of the state and religion), to deter British aggression against his state and to expand Sikh territory to the north and north west, capturing territory from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
.
When Ranjit Singh died in 1839, the Sikh Empire began to fall into disorder. There was a succession of short-lived rulers at the central Durbar (court), and increasing tension between the Khalsa and the Durbar. The East India Company began to build up its military strength on the borders of the Punjab. Eventually, the increasing tension goaded the Khalsa to invade British territory, under weak and possibly treacherous leaders. The hard-fought First Anglo-Sikh War
First Anglo-Sikh War
The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.-Background and causes of the war:...
ended in defeat for the Khalsa.
Aftermath of the First Anglo-Sikh War
At the end of the war, the Sikh Empire was forced to cede some valuable territory (the Jullundur Doab) to the East India Company, and Maharaja Gulab SinghMaharaja Gulab Singh
Maharaja Gulab Singh was the founder and first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the second largest princely state in British India...
, the ruler of Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
, was allowed to acquire Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
from the Sikh Empire by a large cash payment to the East India Company. Some of the Khalsa were forced to make an expedition to oust the ruling Maharajah of Kashmir in favour of Gulab Singh.
The infant Maharaja Duleep Singh
Duleep Singh
This article is about Maharaja Dalip Singh. For other uses, see Dalip SinghMaharaja Dalip Singh, GCSI , commonly called Duleep Singh and later in life nicknamed the Black Prince of Perthshire, was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire...
of the Sikh Empire was allowed to retain his throne, but a British Resident, Sir Henry Lawrence
Henry Montgomery Lawrence
Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence was a British soldier and statesman in India, who died defending Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny.-Career:Lawrence was the brother of John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence and was born at Matara, Ceylon...
, controlled the policy of the Durbar. Duleep Singh's mother, Maharani Jind Kaur
Jind Kaur
Maharani Jind Kaur, also popularly known as Rani Jindan. She was the youngest wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the mother of the last Sikh Emperor, Maharajah Duleep Singh. In 1845 she became Regent of Punjab for Duleep Singh. The Queen Mother of the last Sikh sovereign of the Punjab...
, continually tried to regain some of her former influence as Regent and was eventually exiled by Lawrence. While some Sikh generals and courtiers welcomed her dismissal, others resented Lawrence's action.
Some of the Khalsa had to be kept in being, since many predominantly Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
areas of the Sikh Empire threatened to ally with Dost Mohammed Khan in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
or to lapse into disorder, and only force of arms could keep them in subjugation. The British were unwilling to incur the financial and manpower costs of using large numbers of British or Bengal Army
Bengal Army
The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province...
units for this task. To the contrary, the Governor-General of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
, Viscount Hardinge
Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge
Field Marshal Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge, GCB, PC was a British field marshal and Governor-general of India.-Army career:...
sought to make economies after the war by reducing the size of the Bengal Army by 50,000 men. The Sirdars
Sardar
Sardar is a title of Indo-Aryan origin that was originally used to denote feudal princes, noblemen, and other aristocrats. It was later applied to indicate a Head of State, a Commander-in-chief, and an Army military rank...
(generals) of the Khalsa naturally resented carrying out the orders of comparatively junior British officers and administrators.
Early in 1848, Sir Henry Lawrence, who was ill, departed on leave to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Although it was assumed that his younger brother John Lawrence
John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence
John Laird Mair Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, GCB, GCSI, PC , known as Sir John Lawrence, Bt., between 1858 and 1869, was an Englishman who became a prominent British Imperial statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1864 to 1869.-Early life:Lawrence came from Richmond, North Yorkshire...
would be appointed in his place, Lord Dalhousie, who had replaced Hardinge as Governor-General, appointed Sir Frederick Currie
Sir Frederick Currie, 1st Baronet
Sir Frederick Currie, 1st Baronet was an English diplomat.He was educated at Charterhouse and had a distinguished career in the British East India Company and the Indian Civil Service...
instead. Currie was a legalist, based in Calcutta, who was unfamiliar with military matters and with the Punjab. While the Lawrences were comparatively informal and familiar with the junior officers who were Residents and Agents in the various districts of the Punjab, Currie was stiffer in manner and was inclined to treat his subordinates' reports with caution. In particular, he refused to act on reports from James Abbott, the Political Agent in Hazara, who was convinced that Sirdar Chattar Singh Attariwalla
Chattar Singh Attariwalla
General Chattar Singh Attariwalla, was a military commander and a member of the Sikh nobility during the period of the Sikh Empire in the mid-19th century in Punjab. He was also Governor of Hazara province and fought in the Second Anglo-Sikh War against the British...
, the Sikh Governor of Hazara, was actively plotting a rebellion with other Sirdars.
First outbreak
The city of MultanMultan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
was part of the Sikh kingdom, having been captured by Ranjit Singh in 1818. In 1848, it was governed by a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
viceroy, Dewan Mulraj
Dewan Mulraj
Dewan Mulraj was a 19th century ruler of Multan-History:-Conquest of Multan:In the 19th century, the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh conquered Multan. The ruler of Multan, Muzaffar Khan Saddozai was defeated and killed...
. After the end of the First Anglo-Sikh war, Mulraj had behaved independently. When he was required by the British-controlled Durbar in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
to pay an increased tax assessment and revenues which were in arrears, Mulraj attempted to give up power to his son, so as to maintain his family's position as rulers. Currie instead imposed a Sikh governor, Sirdar Khan Singh, with a British Political Agent, Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew.
On 18 April 1848, Vans Agnew arrived at Multan with another officer, Lieutenant William Anderson, and a small escort. Mulraj handed over the keys of the fortress, but as Vans Agnew's party attempted to take possession, they were attacked by a party of Mulraj's irregular troops, and a mob from the city. Both officers were wounded, and were rescued by Khan Singh. They were taken to a mosque outside the city. Their escorts fled or defected to Mulraj, and the officers were murdered by the mob the next day.
Mulraj later claimed that he had not instigated these attacks, but he was committed to rebellion because of them. He presented Vans Agnew's head to Sirdar Khan Singh, and told him to take it back to Lahore. The news of the killings spread over the Punjab, and unrest and disquiet increased. Large numbers of Sikh soldiers deserted the regiments loyal to the Durbar to join those prepared to rebel under the leadership of Mulraj and disaffected Sirdars.
Subsequent outbreaks
Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes, the British Political Agent in BannuBannu
Bannu is the principal city of the Bannu District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is an important road junction and market city. Bannu is a very old city, founded in ancient times; however, the present location of the downtown Bannu was founded by Sir Herbert Edwardes in 1848,...
, had been near Multan in April but was unable to save Vans Agnew. He hastily levied some Pakhtun irregular troops, and together with some Sikh regiments, defeated Mulraj's army at the Battle of Kineyri near the Chenab River
Chenab River
The Chenab River چنRiver' آب) is a major river of Jammu and Kashmir and the Punjab in Pakistan. It forms in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir into the plains of the Punjab, Pakistan...
on 18 June. He drove them back to the city but was unable to attack the fortified city itself.
Meanwhile, on learning of the events at Multan, Currie wrote to Sir Hugh Gough
Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough
Field Marshal Sir Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, KP, GCSI, KCB, PC , was an Irish British Army officer. He was said to have commanded in more general actions than any other British officer of the 19th century except the Duke of Wellington.- Early career :Born at Woodstown House, Co...
, the Commander in Chief of the Bengal Army, recommending that a major British force should at once move upon Multan. However Gough, supported by Dalhousie, the Governor General, declined to order major units of the East India Company to the Punjab until the end of the hot weather and monsoon seasons, which would not be until November. Instead, Currie ordered only a small force from the Bengal Army under General Whish to begin the siege of the city, joined by several contingents of locally-recruited irregulars and detachments of the Khalsa. These forces joined Edwardes at Multan between 18 and 28 August. To the alarm of several Political Agents, the force from the Khalsa included a large contingent commanded by Sirdar Sher Singh Attariwalla
Sher Singh Attariwalla
General Sher Singh was a royal military commander and a member of the Sikh nobility during the period of the Sikh Empire in the mid-19th century in Punjab....
, Chattar Singh's son.
Some Agents were already taking action to forestall outbreaks of rebellion. Captain John Nicholson
John Nicholson
-In politics:*John Nicholson , United States Representative from New York*John A. Nicholson , United States Representative from Delaware*John Robert Nicholson , Canadian former Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia...
, leading irregular cavalry based at Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, seized the vital fort of Attock
Attock
Attock is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Attock District...
on the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
from its Sikh garrison while they were still undecided whether to rebel, or were caught unprepared. Nicholson's force then linked up with James Abbott's local Hazara levies to capture the Margalla Hills
Margalla Hills
The Margalla Hills—the foothills of the Himalayas—are a series of small-elevation hills located north of Islamabad, Pakistan. Margalla Range has an area of 12,605 hectares. The hill range nestles between an elevation of 685 meters at the western end and 1,604 meters on its east.- Etymology :Two...
which separated Hazara from the other parts of the Punjab. When Chattar Singh openly rebelled in August, his force was unable to leave Hazara without fighting a battle. Although Chattar Singh twice succeeded in capturing the passes through the hills, he nevertheless failed to take advantage of this (possibly because of dissension among his senior officers and continual harassment by pro-British irregulars), and retreated into Hazara.
On 14 September, Sher Singh's army openly rebelled at Multan. He did not join Mulraj however. He and Mulraj conferred at a carefully chosen neutral site, at which it was agreed that Mulraj would give some money from his treasury to Sher Singh's army, which would march north into the Central Punjab and ultimately rejoin Chattar Singh. Meanwhile, Whish was forced to raise the siege until he was reinforced.
Course of the War
As the cold weather season began in November, substantial contingents from the East India Company's armies at last took the field.A contingent from the Bombay Army
Bombay Army
The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia.The Presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all three presidencies to the direct...
(administered separately from the Bengal Army) had been ordered to reinforce Whish and besiege Multan. This force was delayed by a petty squabble over seniority and could arrive only when its first commander (who was senior to Whish and refused to serve under him) was replaced by a more junior officer. Whish's army was supplied and reinforced by sea and river transport up the rivers Indus and Chenab.
Sir Hugh Gough led his main force against Sher Singh's army, which defended the line of the River Chenab against Gough for several weeks. On 22 November, the Sikhs repelled a British cavalry attack on a bridgehead on the eastern side of the river at the Battle of Ramnagar
Battle of Ramnagar
The Battle of Ramnagar was fought on 22 November 1848 between British and Sikh forces during the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The British were led by Sir Hugh Gough, while the Sikhs were led by Sher Singh Attariwalla.-Background:...
. Although they subsequently withdrew from their exposed bridgehead, the Sikhs regarded the battle as a victory and their morale was raised. Gough forced his way across the Chenab in December and outflanked the Sikhs defending the fords, but his cavalry then paused to await infantry reinforcements, allowing the Sikhs to withdraw without interference.
At the start of 1849, Amir Dost Mohammed Khan of Afghanistan sided with the rebellious Sikhs, who agreed to cede the city of Peshawar and its surrounding area which had been conquered by Ranjit Singh early in the nineteenth century. Dost Mohammed Khan's support of the Sikhs was cautious, but when 3,500 Afghan horsemen approached the vital fort of Attock on the Indus River, its garrison of Muslim troops installed earlier by Nicholson defected. This allowed Chattar Singh to move out of Hazara and march west and then south, intending to link up with Sher Singh's army. Dalhousie had earlier ordered Gough to halt operations while waiting for Multan to fall, which would allow Whish to reinforce him. Learning of the fall of Attock, he instead ordered Gough to destroy Sher Singh's army before Chattar Singh could join him.
Gough unexpectedly encountered Sher Singh's position near the Jhelum River
Jhelum River
Jehlum River or Jhelum River , ) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
on 13 January 1849. Sher Singh had cunningly concealed his army, and Gough was faced with the choice of withdrawing, or attacking when it was late in the day. Gough unhesitatingly took the latter course. The resulting Battle of Chillianwala
Battle of Chillianwala
The Battle of Chillianwala was fought during the Second Anglo-Sikh War in the Chillianwala region of Punjab, now part of modern-day Pakistan. The battle was one of the bloodiest fought by the British East India Company. Both armies held their positions at the end of the battle and both sides...
was desperately fought. Gough's troops, attacking into thick scrub without effective artillery support, suffered heavy losses. Some units lost their colours (which was regarded as a disgrace) and part of one British cavalry regiment fled in panic, resulting in the loss of four guns, also reckoned a humiliation. Sher Singh's army was also hard hit, losing twelve of its own guns.
Three days of heavy rain followed, discouraging both sides from renewing battle. After both armies had faced each other for three days without renewing the action, both withdrew. Sher Singh continued northwards to join Chattar Singh, which made the battle into a strategic British defeat.
There was much alarm at the losses Gough had suffered. His tactics were severely criticised and he was replaced by General Charles James Napier
Charles James Napier
General Sir Charles James Napier, GCB , was a general of the British Empire and the British Army's Commander-in-Chief in India, notable for conquering the Sindh Province in what is now Pakistan.- His genealogy :...
, although the order did not arrive until after hostilities had ceased. Some junior officers reckoned that the true cause of the setback lay lower down the ranks. Promotion in both the British and Bengal armies came slowly, and by the time officers were appointed to command regiments and brigades, they were too old, and worn out by harsh climate and disease. At Chillianwala, several senior officers had proved unable to command their units effectively.
The last battles
Meanwhile, Whish's force completed their siege works around Multan, their batteries opened fire and made a breach in the defences, which the infantry stormed. Mulraj surrendered on 22 January. He was to be imprisoned for the remainder of his life. The ending of the siege allowed Whish to reinforce Gough. In particular, Whish's division had large numbers of heavy guns, which the Sikhs lacked.As Gough's army closed in on the Khalsa, Sher Singh attempted a last outflanking move, sending cavalry to cross the Chenab, and re-cross in Gough's rear. They were thwarted by heavy rains which made the river difficult to cross, and British irregular cavalry led by Harry Burnett Lumsden
Harry Burnett Lumsden
Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Burnett "Joe" Lumsden was a British military officer active in India.Lumsden was born aboard the East India Company’s ship Rose in the Bay of Bengal, the son of a British Army Colonel Thomas Lumsden, C.B...
and William Hodson. On 13 February, Gough attacked the Khalsa at the Battle of Gujrat. Here, he began the battle with a three-hour bombardment from almost 100 guns, which drove the Sikhs from their hasty entrenchments. He then sent his cavalry and horse artillery after them in a pursuit which lasted for four hours.
On 12 March, Chattar Singh and Sher Singh surrendered near Rawalpindi. Some 20,000 men (mainly irregular cavalry) laid down their arms. The Afghan contingent hastily withdrew through Attock and Peshawar, which the British reoccupied. Dost Mohammed Khan later signed a treaty acknowledging British possession of these cities.
On 30 March, Duleep Singh held his last court at Lahore, at which he signed away all claims to the rule of the Punjab. A proclamation by Dalhousie, annexing the Punjab, was then read out. For his services the Earl of Dalhousie received the thanks of the British parliament and a step in the peerage, as Marquess. Gough also received rewards for his services, although his tactics at Chillianwala were to be questioned for the remainder of his life. Many of the junior British Political Agents who had organised local resistance to the Khalsa were to have distinguished later careers.
Aftermath
The Sikh defeat had resulted from several causes. Their administration of the population of the Punjab had been poor, which meant that their large armies found it difficult to find enough food. The mainly Muslim inhabitants of the frontier districts, who had themselves been subjugated by the Khalsa in earlier years, readily fought under British officers against the Sikhs, continually disrupting their movements. Finally, the East India Company had brought overwhelming force against them.The Sikh Wars gave the two sides a mutual respect for each other's fighting prowess (although the war itself had been unchivalrously fought; the Sikhs took no prisoners at Chillianwala, and the British had taken no prisoners at Gujarat).
There was an increased recruitment of people from various communities of the Punjab in the Punjab Irregular Force under British command. These recruits fought for the East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, against the mutineers and other opponents (mostly high-caste Hindus from Eastern provinces, and forces or loyalists of Shia, Maratha and Mughal rulers). These Punjabi recruits had especially little sympathy with the Hindu mutineers of the Bengal Army, ironically contributed to by the latter's role in helping the British in the Anglo-Sikh wars. A long history of enmity of the Sikhs with Mughal rule did not help the mutineers' cause either, given their choice of Bahadur Shah Zafar as a symbolic leader.
Battle honour
The battle honour PunjaubPunjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
was distributed with a free hand to all regiments employed in the operations of the Anglo-Sikh Wars during 1848-49 vide Gazette of the Governor General 277 of 1849, and the list of regiments honoured was issued vide. GoGG 803 of 1853. The Bombay Army was awarded separately and the spelling was changed from 'Punjab' vide Gazette of India No 1079 of 1910. Forty of the honoured units of the Bengal Army were consumed by the Mutiny. India has now raised a memorial at Ferozepore to pay homage to men of the Khalsa Army who laid down their lives in the Anglo-Sikh Wars and the battle honour is considered to be repugnant
Repugnant battle honours of the Indian Army
Some battle honours earned by Indian Army units, which are descended from erstwhile units of the British East India Company, and later the British Raj, have been declared as repugnant by the Government of India. Indian Army units do not inscribe these battle honours on their colours and do not...
.
Units awarded this honour were:
- 2nd Bengal Irregular Cavalry - presently 2nd Lancers
- 1st, 2nd Scinde Irregular Horse - presently Scinde Horse
- 7th Bengal Irregular Cavalry - presently 3rd Cavalry3rd CavalryThe 3rd Cavalry was a regular cavalry Regiment in the British Indian Army formed from the 5th and 8th Cavalry regiments in 1922.The which served on the North West Frontier and during World War I and World War II.-Early history:...
- 17th Bengal Irregular Cavalry - presently 18 Cavalry
- 1st Company Bombay Foot Artillery - 5 Mtn Bty
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd Companies Bengal Sappers and 1st through 7th Companies Bengal Pioneers - presently Bengal Engineer GroupBengal Engineer GroupThe Bengal Engineer Group or the Bengal Sappers or Bengal Engineers as they are informally known, are remnants of British Indian Army's Bengal Army of the Bengal Presidency in British India; now a regiment of the Corps of Engineers in the Indian Army. The Bengal Sappers have their regimental...
- Bombay Sappers & Miners - presently Bombay Engineer GroupBombay Engineer GroupThe Bombay Engineering Group, or the Bombay Sappers as they are informally known, are a regiment of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers. The Bombay Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Bombay Presidency army of the British Raj. This regiment has its centre in Khadki, Pune in...
- 9th Bombay Infantry - 4th Battalion, the GrenadiersThe GrenadiersThe Grenadiers are an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, formerly part of the Bombay Army and later the pre-independence Indian Army, when the regiment was known as the 4th Bombay Grenadiers. It has distinguished itself during the two world wars and also since the Independence of India...
- 3rd Bombay Infantry - 1st Battalion, the Maratha Light InfantryMaratha Light InfantryThe Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was formed as the 103rd Maharattas in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment of the Army....
- 4th Bombay Infantry - 1st Battalion, the Rajputana RiflesRajputana RiflesThe Rajputana Rifles is the most senior rifle regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1921 as part of the British Indian Army, when six previously existing regiments were amalgamated together to form six battalions of the 6th Rajputana Rifles...
, presently 3rd Battalion, the Brigade of GuardsBrigade of GuardsThe Brigade of Guards is a historical elite unit of the British Army, which has existed sporadically since the 17th century.... - 31st Bengal Infantry - 1st Battalion, the Rajput RegimentRajput RegimentThe Rajput Regiment is a regiment in the Indian Army that is composed primarily of the Rajput clans from India. The British designated the Rajputs as a martial race and subsequently employed large numbers of these warriors in the British Indian Army....
, presently 4th Battalion, the Brigade of GuardsBrigade of GuardsThe Brigade of Guards is a historical elite unit of the British Army, which has existed sporadically since the 17th century.... - 70th Bengal Infantry - 5th Battalion, the Rajput RegimentRajput RegimentThe Rajput Regiment is a regiment in the Indian Army that is composed primarily of the Rajput clans from India. The British designated the Rajputs as a martial race and subsequently employed large numbers of these warriors in the British Indian Army....
- 19th Bombay Infantry - 2nd Battalion, the Jat RegimentJat RegimentThe Jat Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army and is one of the longest serving and most decorated regiments of the Indian Army. The regiment has won 19 battle honours between 1839 to 1947 and post independence 5 battle honours, Two Ashok Chakras, eight Mahavir Chakras, eight Kirti...
- Corps of GuidesCorps of GuidesThe Corps of Guides was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. -Formation:Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Brereton Rivers, a former officer cadet at the Royal Military College of Canada was one of the first of a small band of Canadian Military Intelligence officers serving in an organization that...
- 10 Guides Cavalry (PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) - 1st Bombay Cavalry - 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers
- 1st Sikh Local Infantry and 2nd Sikh Local Infantry - 1st and 2nd Battalions, 12th Frontier Force Regiment12th Frontier Force RegimentThe 12th Frontier Force Regiment was part of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. In 1945 the prenomial "12th" was dropped when the British...
- 1st Bengal Cavalry, 5th Bengal Cavalry, 6th Bengal Cavalry, 7th Bengal Cavalry, 8th Bengal Cavalry, 11th Bengal Cavalry (2nd Bengal Cavalry) - Mutinied 1857.
- 3rd Bengal Irregular Cavalry, 9th Bengal Irregular Cavalry, 11th Bengal Irregular Cavalry, 12th Bengal Irregular Cavalry, 13th Bengal Irregular Cavalry, 14th Bengal Irregular Cavalry, 15th Bengal Irregular Cavalry. (16th Bengal Irregular Cavalry - Mutinied 1857).
- 1st Bengal Infantry, 3rd Bengal Infantry, 4th Bengal Infantry, 8th Bengal Infantry, 13th Bengal Infantry, 15th Bengal Infantry, 18th Bengal Infantry, 20th Bengal Infantry, 22nd Bengal Infantry, 25th Bengal Infantry, 29th Bengal Infantry, 30th Bengal Infantry, 36th Bengal Infantry, 37th Bengal Infantry, 45th Bengal Infantry, 46th Bengal Infantry, 49th Bengal Infantry, 50th Bengal Infantry, 51st Bengal Infantry, 52nd Bengal Infantry, 53rd Bengal Infantry, 56th Bengal Infantry, 69th Bengal Infantry, 71st Bengal Infantry, 72nd Bengal Infantry, 73rd Bengal Infantry - Mutinied 1857.
- The Marine Battalion (10th Battalion, the Bombay Pioneers) - Disbanded 1933.