Three Days in August

9th of August at Ajmer

Notwithstanding all of his precautions, Lawrence was met with the disconcerting news at his residence at Dowlutbagh that there was a tumult at Ajmer Jail.
That morning, a gap had been found in the wall which surrounded the jail compound. The prisoners under sentence were confined to an inner enclosure which could only be accessed through 2 wicket gates – the first which led to the inner court and the second into the area where the prisoners were held. Around four in the afternoon, many prisoners appeared at the wicket, requesting ” to be allowed the usual indulgence of proceeding to a short distance from their place of confinement.” As soon as the wicket was opened, the whole body made a rush. The on-duty policeman tried to defend himself, but one sword was hardly enough to bring order. It was wrested from his grasp and used to cut him down. The guard in the outwicket met the same fate, and the prisoners now had no one to stop them from running through the gap in the wall. Armed with axes and anything they could find in the manner of weapons, they started off for their newly found freedom.
The alarm, however, had not been long in coming. The mounted police were quick to the saddle and set off in pursuit while George Lawrence, then in his residence some three-quarters of a mile from the gaol, quickly called for his horse and, accompanied by his staff, set off to join the chase. Before he could gain the main body of the police, however, he met them on their return. They had killed or wounded 18 prisoners, some of whom they now brought back. A further 25 were caught – only 25 managed to escape altogether. Lawrence at least had some hope- the city people had remained quiet, and not one attempted to assist the prisoners.

10th of August at Nasirabad

The 12th Bombay Native Infantry, although sent from Disa and were by all means attached to the Bombay Presidency, the men had in part been recruited from Bengal. As it was, no one was particularly concerned with their fidelity -all eyes were on the 1st and 2nd Bombay Lancers, with the whole of the former and a portion of the latter now quartered at Nasirabad. Some 14 sowars of the 1st Lancers had dashed off to Delhi during the mutiny in May and it was “hoped that the regiment had then been weeded of all its disaffected characters, and that, in fact, there were no more in the ranks who wanted to mutiny or sympathized with the cause of the King of Delhi.” This would, however, be put to the test.
On the 10th of August, a trooper of the 1st Bombay Lancers, apparently high on bhang and addled with opium, rode up and down the lines of his regiment, calling out to his comrades to join him – not dissimilar to Mangal Panday at Barrackpore in March. Here, however, no one listened. When he realised his comrades were less than forthcoming, he discharged his carabine at the only man who tried to stop him – the native officer – and then fled to the lines of the 12th Bombay Native Infantry. Here was a little more successful, with the Bengal element of the infantry passively supporting him – they did not seize him and, when called, refused to give him up.
In the meantime, Brigadier Macan arrived on the parade grounds with his officers. Macan called an assembly of all arms at the guns, but only 40 men of the 12th came forward – the rest protested, saying, “They were only being led to the guns to be slaughtered.” Unable to persuade them and not wanting another mutiny on his watch, Mecan mustered HM’s 83rd and marched to the lines of the 12th – it was only a matter of small work to drive the 12th from their position. Meanwhile, the rebellious sowar, seeing his number was up, rode out, shot at Mecan but missed. An artillery officer sprang to Mecan’s defence and quickly cut down the sowar, inflicting a wound that later proved mortal. Unswayed, Mecan paraded the 12th and promptly disarmed all of the men who had failed to obey their commanding officer; it was found their muskets were indeed loaded. The regiment was disarmed.
In the subsequent inquiry, five ringleaders were identified – cited with mutiny, they were court-martialed and hung while 2 native officers and one sepoy were sentenced to imprisonment for life. As such, 25 sepoys deserted, and 22 who were found to have doubtful loyalties were dismissed from the service. As for the remainder of the regiment, their arms were restored to them – their conduct hereafter, both in quarters and in the field, was found to be “unexceptionable.”

12th of August at Neemuch

Following the mutiny at Neemuch and its subsequent re-taking, Lawrence garrisoned the station with troops from Merwar, Kotah and Bundi. Unfortunately, Lawrence soon found the Purbeah elements in the troops “ready for mischief” harbouring mutiny in their demeanour with rumours that the officers were conniving to destroy their caste. As soon as possible, he sent off one squadron of the 2nd Bombay Light Cavalry, 100 men of H.M.’s 83rd and 200 of the 12th Bombay Native Infantry from Nasirabad to relieve the contingent troops and send them back to their respective states. Not that the arrival of the Bombay troops was any better. Two days after their arrival, a plot was uncovered by Colonel Jackson, commanding the Bombay troops that a portion of the 2nd Light Cavalry and the 12th Bombay Native Infantry planned to massacre all the Europeans in Neemuch. Jackson wasted no time in marching a detachment of the 83rd down to the lines to seize the ringleaders – in the ensuing scuffle, a private of the 83rd was shot and killed by accident, Lieutenant Blair of the cavalry was wounded, and 8 men deserted. It was generally agreed that things could have gone better and the affair had been mismanaged.
Three days later, the mutinous element of the Bombay troops decided to try their luck again; since the affair on the 12th, desertations in both of the regiments were becoming commonplace, and it was generally considered that if this state of affairs would continue, then there would general uprising. As such, the second attempt at mutiny was once again detected before any throats were cut – this time, it was decided that control over the native army had to be regained once and for all. The native troops would be moved out of their lines and marched to the entrenchment constructed around Neemuch Fort. Lawrence objected, but Captain Showers would not be thwarted.
The cavalry and the infantry were marched down by successive divisions, each by a different road and at intervals with a company of the “83rd, two 9-pounders and volunteer troop of gentlemen and Mewar Horse” under Showers turned out to support Jackson’s manoeuvres. Before the native troops knew what they were about, they found themselves in the entrenched camp under the Fort’s guns, with double sentries at the single gateway. Desertion was thus impossible and mutiny hopeless. They were paraded under the guns with port fires lit to watch the execution of the three ringleaders. These same troops, who Captain Showers insisted on treating in such a manner, would soon be called upon to do their duty, and it would be a wonder they still had any trust in the European officers at all.

The Ladies Leave

The question was what to do with the ladies and children who were still at Beawar and Ajmer. They were not allowed to rejoin their husbands at Nasirabad, Agra was considered imprudent due to the unsettled state of the roads, and proceeding to Disa in the Bombay Presidency was too difficult without a large escort. They could neither stay nor go. Then there were the ladies at Nasirabad, those who had followed their husbands back to the station and those who had arrived from Neemuch with theirs. Their inconvenient presence at all these stations needed a solution.
Now, the officers at Nasirabad faced another problem – orders had been relayed that they were to join the Agra Garrison, and their families were by no accounts to accompany them. The officers implored Lawrence for a solution, but it came from Captain Monck-Mason at Jodhpur instead.
An invitation by the Maharaja was extended to all the ladies – amongst whom were Mrs. Pritchard and Mrs. Burton – to take refuge at Jodhpur. The Maharaja would guarantee their safety, not just in the city but on the road. He sent an escort of his personal troops and every conveyance needed to bring any lady willing to leave to Jodhpur. The arrangement made, all the ladies, until then housed at Beawar and Ajmer, made their way to the formidable city. On arrival, they were immediately taken in by Captain Monck-Mason and his wife, who found them safe lodgings and provided whatever necessities they were lacking. They were even regaled with two bottles of ale a day, the Maharaja presuming this was the requisite amount necessary for Europeans to maintain their health in India. For them, the horrors of the mutiny were kept at bay, at least for a little while.
Unfortunately, not all had been willing to leave.
The ladies of Neemuch, for some reason, opted to stay at Nasirabad. They could have left anytime between the 17th of July and the beginning of August when things were still relatively settled; but they did not leave until the 28th when the country was well flooded by the monsoon rains and they would have to make long detours to reach what they thought would be their safe destination – Agra. So, accordingly, they made a start, only to be called back to Nasirabad after one march on account of a mutiny in Erinpura. The miserable remnants of all their worldly goods were once again dumped on the floor as the camels were now needed to pursue this fresh band of mutineers. Here, the ladies stayed until the 7th of September. To add to their difficulties, the Gwalior Contingent was making the roads unsafe – they were in the general area the party needed to traverse to reach Agra and since no one knew if the Contingent was planning to go to Agra or if perchance somewhere else. Nevertheless, the Neemuch party decided to move out.
This time, they managed to get three marches out of Nasirabad before being recalled, and they were back in the station on the 14th – the Erinpura mutineers were decidedly still hostile. “As on former occasions, they were warned that as their stay would be short, there was no need for them to take any measures for increasing the comforts or lessening the discomforts of their position. The camels were again taken from them; this time, they had paid for them in advance, having been forced to do so by the authorities; the money was returned to them, the hire of the cattle for the days they had been employed in marching and halting having been first carefully deducted.”
By now, they might have been regretting not going to Jodhpur when they had the chance, as their stay in Nasirabad would be a long one. With patience wearing thin, Colonel Shuldham, the senior officer of the party, implored Captain Eden at Jaipur for help. Eden threw his back into it, organising camels and an escort made up of the men of Thakur Pooram Singh – the only problem was, they would not be ready for another six weeks. On the 11th of November, they left Nasirabad and finally saw the walls of Agra Fort on the 3rd of December.

While Jodhpur was a safe haven for the ladies, the state was hardly free from troubles. However, these would not play out in Jodhpur itself but in Erinpura. The Jodhpur Legion would finally make their intentions known.

Killed and Wounded at Nimach
Private William Maddison, H.M.’s 83rd Regiment, Neemuch, July 23, wounded at an outbreak in the Bazaar.
Private Thomas Wood, H.M.’s 83rd Regiment, Neemuch, July 23, wounded at an outbreak in the Bazaar.
Private Thomas Mason, H.M.’s 83rd Regiment, Neemuch, July 23, wounded at an outbreak in
K the Bazaar.
Lance-Sergeant John Clifford, H.M.’s 83rd Regiment, Neemuch, August 12, wounded when capturing mutineers, 2nd Bombay Light Cavalry.
Private Patrick Boyle, H.M.’s 83rd Regiment, Neemuch, August 12, wounded when capturing 2nd Bombay Light Cavalry.

^{Sources:
Cochrane, J., comp. Narrative of the Indian Mutinies of 1857, Compiled for the Madras Military Male Orphan Asylum. Madras: Military Male Orphan Asylum Press, 185}8.
^{Intelligence Branch, comp. The Revolt in Central India 1857-59. Simla: Government Monotype Press, 1908.
Malleson, G. B. History of the Indian Mutiny, 1857-1858, Commencing from the Close of the Second Volume of Sir John Kaye’s History of the Sepoy War. Vol. III (1889). London: Wm. H. Allen & Co.
Prichard, Iltudus Thomas. The Mutinies in Rajpootana: A Personal Narrative. London: John W. Parker and Son, 1860.
Showers, Charles Lionel. A Missing Chapter of the Indian Mutiny. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1888.
Rajputana (Agency). The Rajputana Gazetteer. Vol. 1. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, 1879}

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