The Fort of Victory

A Brief Outline of the Events at the Fort, from “Fatehgarh in the Mutiny”.

• June 25th – Attack on coolies working at Jussainput
• June 26th – Bombartment and two ladder attacks
• June 27th – Desultory attacks
• June 28th Pathans’ ladder attack. Mr. Jones was mortally wounded by musket fire from Hussainpur.
• June 29th – Wood yard entered by mining. Colonel Tucker and Conductor Ahern killed.
• June 30th – Rebel guns moved to Hussainpur and Isan Chandar Deb’s house. 1st mine on bastion noticed.
• July 1st – 1st mine on bastion exploded. Two assaults on breach.
• July 2nd – Construction of 2nd mine on bastion heard at night
• July 3rd- Decision to evacuate the Fort reached, and embarkation effected about midnight.

Unlike Wheeler’s Entrenchment, which had the men but not the infrastructure, the Fort of Fatehgarh
” was situated on the right bank of the Ganges on a bend in the river… It is a quadrilateral mud building defended by a dozen or more semicircular bastions thrown out before the angles and faces. The walls rise about fifteen feet above the ground level, averaging nine to ten feet in thickness, surmounted on three sides by a dry ditch and on the fourth by the Ganges. The enclosed area measures fifteen to twenty acres…” (Gavin Jones) The problem was not the fort but the garrison, consisting as it did of 35 men. Colonels Smith, Goldie and Tucker set about trying to render the position defensible with what little they had, but they had precious little.
Sham guns were mounted on some of the bastions, and lighter field pieces were mounted in the newly cut embrasures covering the most defensible positions. Regular charges were not available – Smith had stoutly refused to provision the Fort, and now he was forced to improvise his own weaponry. Rounds were fashioned from blank musket cartridges, scrap iron in canvas bags served as grape and sledge hammers were used as round shot. Some eight thousand rounds of musket ammunition completed the entire magazine. However, nothing happened. The rebels did not attack – in fact, it was another 8 days before they made their move. During this time, the garrison managed to organise provisions from a nearby village and set about strengthening their position. The first attack came on the 26th of June, before daybreak. It proved somewhat haphazard, and besides scaring the garrison awake, it did not achieve anything at all. The mutineers had fired upon a party of coolies who were pulling down some walls close to the fort; after a few shots from the garrison, the attack ended.
The next morning, before daybreak, the mutineers once again fired on the fort, this time with their two guns, but it was still too dark for them to aim with any accuracy, and they ended up hitting nothing at all. They recommenced during the day, but their shots continued to be harmless. However, their musketry fire was certainly better. Taking up positions behind trees, bushes and scattered rubble, they managed to keep up a steady fire on the fort. The besieged could do very little, for hidden as the attackers were, there was no chance of getting a shot at them. However, perhaps the cover was a little too effective, for the attackers themselves did not hit anyone. Sometime after noon, they gave up altogether.
On the 28th, the firing started again, this time they tried their guns from a different direction, only to be met with no success, their shots either passing over or hitting the bastions. Another round of ineffectual musketry started up again, this time providing cover for a scaling party, armed with ladders. However, as soon as they came within range, the men on the fort walls shot them dead. The party that did manage to get through suddenly found they had another problem. The ladders were too short, although the rebels did succeed in placing three ladders on a comparatively weak position, which, once again, were too short; the garrison threw down timber logs on the climbers, quickly taking possession of the ladders and repulsing the attackers. The rest of the day was marked by more feeble attempts at attack. For four days, the assaults continued, many of them were feints, and nightly alarms prevented the garrison from sleeping.
On the fifth day, things changed.
“…a company of riflemen had taken up their position on the houses in the Hussainpur village and kept up a deadly fire on upon us. Captain Phillimore, Mr Sutherland and one or two servants were thus wounded. Some of the riflemen had also taken up their position in a small outhouse, about seventy or eighty yards from the fort. They loopholed the walls and kept up a harassing fire from them, which rendered our guns perfectly useless, as we dared not lift our heads to fire.” It was here that the brother of Gavin Jones was mortally wounded, while providing a covering fire with his rifle for Conductor Ahern, who was trying to man one of the guns. Jones was shot in the head and died a few hours later. The next day, Colonel Tucker was killed in the same spot where Jones had been positioned – both men would be buried in the same grave. The insurgents, for their part, were using the night hours to stealthily cut their way through the walls, and they managed to gain ground in an adjacent wood yard. Mr Ahern decided this particular trick was unacceptable – the next morning on 29 July, with a discharge of grapeshot, he killed a dozen insurgents who had now taken to constructing a breastwork for their riflemen on the woodyard wall. They had been successful in erecting a covered way with bamboo and sandbags, thus enabling access to the woodyard. The discharge of grape, however, was discomfiting enough that they changed their tactics.
With the help of some sappers and miners, they now cut a hole through the woodyard wall and managed to get into the yard. “There was a large store of firewood and straw in it; so we allowed them to get it and work away, for they were unable to do us any harm.” However, the garrison now resorted to trickery. After two days of letting them “get away with it”, they set a sentry box on fire and threw it on the firewood below, causing an inferno and driving away the insurgents.
The next plan the insurgents put into place was mining. After two days of hard work, on the third day they sprang it, but to their disappointment, while it shook the fort, the damage was minimal. Only six yards of the wall were blown down, but the inner half was untouched.

Gavin Jones would recall,
“The bastion where I was happened to be next to that where the explosion took place; I at once ran to the spot to see what mischief was done. Seeing, however, several of our party engaged in moving a gun to the breach, I returned to my post, and noticed 100 to 150 Pathans and sepoys congregating below the breach in order to attempt an escalade as soon as the dust and smoke cleared off; I at once sent notice to the others to get aid, and in the meantime, by pouring the fire of two double-barrels and eight muskets, already loaded, into them, and discharging them as they were reloaded by a native, managed to disperse them before any of my comrades came up to my aid.”

Later on in the day, the insurgents once again tried for the breach, but Mr Fisher swiftly dispatched their leader, and the remainder fell back. Unfortunately, Mr Ahern, who was the only capable gunner in the fort, was shot in the head while laying a gun. Things were starting to look very bleak. At the same time, the insurgents now brought a gun to bear on the house containing the ladies and children. Their aim was mostly too high, but three cannonballs did hit the walls; they also brought another gun to bear against the gate. To their surprise, even after breaking a hinge and knocking a few holes into it, the gate was still standing. The defenders had piled up the gate with enough timber to stop the shots.

By now, two of the fort’s guns were unusable, and three of their best shots were dead. The remainder had not slept in days, and fatigue was beginning to take its toll. Captain Vibart volunteered to lead a night sortie against the mutineers, but the idea was cast aside – no one could be spared from the defences. By the 1st of July, worn out and reduced in numbers, Smith sent out a letter begging for assistance from anyone the messenger could find. He wrote the letter in French, but either his language skills or his patience ran out, and Smith concluded his letter with ” We are in great danger and plead for speedy help. We are more than 100 -32 men, 72 women and children against 1000 insurgents.” The letter was signed by Smith and Thornhill. The letter finally reached Agra, but any help that could have been sent from that post would have arrived too late.

Council of War and the Second Flight

On the 3rd of July, Smith held a council of war. The situation was becoming dire, no help was forthcoming, and it seemed unlikely that a force of 30 men could hold out much longer against the 1000s pitted against them. Any ideas to reinforce further structures were deemed impractical – what remained was to try their chances in the boats.
 Despite knowing that Wheeler was possibly still besieged, the garrison decided to start out for Cawnpore. Smith certainly knew by the 10th of June of the mutiny in that station. Who came up with this idea of going is uncertain, but it seems that Gavin Jones forwarded it, and the remaining officers agreed. No one had any recent information regarding Cawnpore, and no efforts had been made after the 10th of June to get any. A message sent to the inhabitants of Kanauj, who were in daily contact with Cawnpore, would have solved that, but like so many times in Fatehgarh, no one actually did anything at all. The garrison piled into their boats and set off into the unknown.
Of the 17 boats kept ready by Colonel Smith, only three remained; the rest disappeared, as had nearly all the boatmen he had hired; only four could be found. The garrison would now be obliged to row themselves. At 2 am, having secured what provisions, ammunition and baggage they could and having set the garrison in the boats, they set off, under the very loud command of Colonel Goldie, shouting into the night to ” Let go!” Pursued by their besiegers some way along the bank, the boats managed to navigate into a deep stream and soon left Fatehgarh behind them. They entered a narrow channel across the island of Sundarpur, where it soon became clear the water level was low and the sandbars many. The boats were constantly grounded and thus had to be pushed across the sand by anyone who was able-bodied enough to do so. It took them 6 hours to reach Rasulpur, barely any distance at all from Fatehgarh.
At Rasulpur, the garrison decided to stop for breakfast. Precious hours were lost in this way, and no doubt the events of the morning led to the disaster in the afternoon. During breakfast, the party was accosted by a local zamindar, Mangal Singh. Accompanied by several hundred well-armed villagers, Mangal Singh strode up to the party and wanted to know who they were and where they were from. Mr Churcher somehow thought it was prudent to lie and told the Zamindar they were a force on their way to Cawnpore to reinforce the force! Mangal Singh, finding this very funny, promptly asked them for a ransom. This was refused. Suddenly, a number of the villagers opened fire on the breakfasting groups in the boats. Colonel Smith swiftly ordered the officers from each boat to fix bayonets and charge. Major Munro, Captain Vibart, Lieut. Swetenham and Ensigns Eckford and Henderson quickly advanced in a line while firing. Mangal Singh was injured, two men were wounded, and his nephew was killed. The rest of the villagers fled in panic.
Instead of utilising what time they had wisely, they suddenly seemed to throw all haste to the wind. Colonel Smith entreated one Khusali to go and get boatmen from his village, a mile up ahead. They thus waited for the return of Khusali, who, having reached his village at 2 pm, found it full of sepoys, hurrying along the river to overtake the garrison. It is hard to believe at this point that Colonel Smith and the other officers actually imagined they would not be followed and Khusali would be able to bring them any boatmen in any reasonable amount of time.
Eventually, instead of waiting for Khusali to return, the garrison pushed off at 11 am. It was only then that they realised that the other boatman from Colonel Goldie’s boat had vanished. Instead of choosing which boat to abandon, they inexplicably dragged all three boats two miles by hand to the village of Santokpur – completely exhausted, they could move no further. The servants were given permission to start cooking food on the shore even though bands of villagers were amassing, eager for plunder, and had already taken to shooting at the boats. Unperturbed by this, a rearrangement was undertaken. Colonel Goldie’s boat was now abandoned, and they divided themselves between the two remaining boats.

Colonel Smith’s boat contained:
– Colonel and Mrs. Smith: Colonel Goldie and his three daughters; Mrs. Tucker and three children; Humphreys, a manservant of the Tucker family; Conductor Rohan, Mrs. Rohan and nine children; Doctor and Mrs. Maltby; Sergt Roach, Mrs. Roach and two children; Mrs. Ahern; Mr. E. James; Doctor Heathcote, Mrs. Heathcote and two children; Mr. Lowis, Mrs.. Lowis and three children; Miss Nancy Lang, Mr. Thornhill, Mrs. Thornhill and two children; Sergt. Best, Mrs. Best and three children; Mr. Gibson, Mrs. Gibson, and two children; Mr. and Mrs. Boscow; Miss Sturt; Major Monro; Captains Phillimore and Vibart; Lieut., Swetenham; Ensigns Byrne and Henderson; the two Donald’s; and Wrixon senior.
Major Roberson’s boat:
Major Robertson, wife and one child: Miss Thomson; Mr. Gavin Jones; Mr. D. Churcher; Mr. T. Churcher; Mr. Sutherland; Mrs. Sutherland and three children; Sergt. Redman, Mrs. Redman and two children; Mr. Anderson; Rev. Mr. Fisher, Mrs. Fisher, and one child; Mrs. J.M. Jones and one child; Captain Phillott; Lieut. Simpson and Ensign Eckford; Lieut. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Fitzgerald, and one child; Mr. Jons, Mrs. Jons, and four children; Mr. Jim (son-in-law of Mr. Jons), Wrixon (Junior); Dhaukal Prashad, Rebecca his wife, and four children; Kale Khan, sepoy; Bhairo, bearer of Mr. Jones. There were no boatmen.
Several servants could not be taken on and were subsequently left behind, along with a large number of boxes and bundles. Providentially, all of them escaped.
The sepoys lost no time in chasing Colonel Smith. What time he lost in reorganizing and breakfasting, they spent in closing the gap between them. It was no long time before they finally caught up with Major Robertson’s boat at the bend in the river around Manpur Island. Colonel Smith, still provided with boatmen, raced ahead, but for Major Robertson and the people on the boat, time had run out.

Massacre of Manpur

At first, no one on Major Robertson’s boat paid any attention to the crafts that were rapidly coming up behind them, just as they ignored the yelling villagers ahead of them. The men were much too busy pushing the boat into deeper water. At a distance of 20 yards, the seemingly empty boats revealed their cargo of riflemen, who opened fire on Major Robertson’s boat. Mr T. Churcher and Mr Sutherland were killed, Mr Fisher was shot through the thigh, and Gavin Jones was shot in the right shoulder. Mrs Sutherland was shot in the back, and Mrs Jones in the right side, while her child’s arm was broken by the same bullet. Major Phillott, Lieut. Simpson and Ensign Eckford were mortally wounded. Major Robertson, still standing in the water but severely injured with a shattered hip, now called on anyone still in the boat to jump out. Everyone who still could now did, but many of them were swept away by the current and, in all probability, drowned. Wrixon, the Jons and the Redman families were killed before they could get in the water. Twenty-seven of the fugitives were dead within a few minutes, either shot or drowned. Among those who survived was Rev. Fisher, whose wife and son were swept away by the current – injured, he staggered to the shore. David Churcher, supporting Major Robertson, who could not swim, swam downstream to an island, while Gavin Jones, availing himself of a boatman’s gourd as a flotation device, swam downriver for eight miles before catching up to Colonel Smith’s boat. Kale Khan -who had first supported the Major before handing him over to David Churcher – swam away but was overtaken and captured. Bhairo, Mrs Jones’ bearer, safely reached the shore while the remaining fugitives were taken prisoner. Mrs Sutherland, her daughter and son; Mrs Jones, her child and mother; a child of Conductor Jones; Dhaukal Pershad, his wife and four children were taken ashore at Singhirampur, and Kale Khan soon joined them. The survivors of the massacre were taken to the village of Singhirampur.
Major Robertson’s boat was found to be filled with baggage. No less than four camel loads were carted off by the sepoys, and a local zamindar took away three large chests. It beggars belief that one of these was filled with china and crockery.