The March Begins – the Battle of Munnihar/Tigra, Oudh, April 11, 1858

On 29 March 1858, Lugard’s force left Lucknow. No one seemed particularly interested in their departure; the Times correspondent, William Russell, merely notes he went to see them forming up. The weather was becoming fearsome; blistering days, sweltering under tents, gave way to stuffy and very dusty night marches, and for the next six days, there wasn’t a rebel in sight. Lugard had planned to march directly to Azamgarh, but this was not to be.

Sultanpore Cantonments, April 5th 1858
Be so good as to tell His Excellency that I arrived here this morning all right, but owing to the bridge having been destroyed by fire, and there being no boats, I could not effect a crossing under a week; I therefore proceeded down the right bank towards Jaunpore.” (signed) Brig. E. Lugard

If the heat and the bad roads were not enough, there would also be a fight at hand. A chakladar (feudal chief) named Ghulam Hussain had come to the conclusion that the small force of Gurkhas, who had been left to garrison Jaunpore were quite a trifling matter – he had his personal army of some 3000 men, and they were wreaking havoc through the countryside, having plundered and burnt a village just a day before Lugard arrived at Tigra, some 8 miles distant from Jaunpore. Hussain, however, had some very odd notions of how the mutiny was proceeding. He had proclaimed to the people, whose livelihoods he was busy plundering, that Lugard was all that was left of the British army, which, according to him, had been destroyed before Lucknow. They were now running for their lives, seeking safety in the Lower Provinces. All this destruction, thought Hussain, would serve a purpose by ensuring there would be no provisions for Lugard’s army, but plenty for his. It did nothing to improve the already miserable plight of the people who fell along Hussain’s road, who by now must have been heartily fed up with one errant raider after another; in this time of lawlessness, one army barely differed from the other.

At Tigra, Lugard found the insurgents had moved six miles further back and had taken the day to burn and destroy the village of Selaidapore. There was little Lugard could do to prevent it – his men were tired, having just marched 16 miles in the blazing sun over bad roads; even the cattle that he had taken along had begun dying along the way, and Lugard decided the best he could do was call a halt. However, with the insurgents so close, he sent out scouts to reconnoitre their position. Towards evening, he received intelligence that the insurgents were planning to move, very much as if they were setting off on their next march. “This was about 4 p.m., and fearing they would make off, I at once ordered out all the cavalry off duty, consisting of 293 sabres, with three Horse Artillery guns and proceeded with them in pursuit, requesting Brigadier Douglas to bring up a portion of the infantry in support.” Riding with Lugard were both Battye brothers, Mr Venables and 24-year-old Lieutenant Charles Wemyss Havelock, the nephew of the late Sir Henry. Although a lieutenant in the 66th Gurkhas, he was doing duty with the 12th Bengal Irregular Cavalry when they mutinied at Sagauli. The detachment of the 12th at Gorakhpur was disarmed by Mr Wynyard, but a few had made a rush, retook their arms and dashed off. In all, only 83 men had remained loyal; with them, young Havelock had attached himself to his uncle’s army and had spent nine months in his employ. Attached to a Gurkha regiment for the taking of Lucknow, he was on the move again with the 12th Irregulars and Brigadier Lugard.

Lugard had been given to understand that the insurgents were encamped in a grove of trees just on the other side of Munnihar village, and numbered in all 3000, of which 800 were mutinied sepoys and cavalry of the 37th BNI and the 12th Irregulars. They also had two guns. He quickly came up to their cavalry picquets, who had moved up to three miles from Lugard’s camp; however, these thought better of it and rode off as Lugard advanced on them. As for the insurgent army, they were indeed in full retreat. With no time to lose and seeing his opportunity to punish Hussain slipping away, Lugard sent the 3rd Sikhs under Captain Pearse and a party of the 12th Irregulars under Lieutenant Havelock, supported by a squadron of the Military Train under Major Robertson. Major Michell of the Royal Artillery hurried on after them, but in the fast approaching dusk, there would be very little for them to do. There must have been something appalling in the sight of Lugard’s cavalry, sabres at the ready, charging in fury down upon the insurgents. A great many of them ran but those who did stand to fight did so with considerable determination, taking the brunt of the onslaught of the cavalry, while others ran for cover into huts.

Charging through the village was Lieutenant Havelock, very much in front, but unfortunately in the line of fire of a man who, hidden in one of the huts, took aim, hitting Havelock full in the face. His men rallied around him, and a doolie was quickly organised, but he died before he reached the camp. Meanwhile, the pursuit thundered on for another three miles. When they were done, 80 of Hussain’s men lay dead on the field, and his two guns of local manufacture — a very large iron 8-pounder and a 2 3/4ths-pounder (of small bore) — were dragged into Lugard’s camp. While his force managed to return before most of the night was over, the guns did not appear until 4 am. The effort was somewhat wasted. The artillery declared both guns useless for Lugard’s purposes, and he ordered them to be burst. Their massive carriages were dismantled, and any materials deemed useful for the force were salvaged.

“The cavalry could not certainly have marched yesterday less than thirty-two miles, and the infantry twenty-eight miles. The exertion in such weather was very great, but I considered the object required it; for had Golam Hussain’s force gone away unpunished and with their guns there would have been no limit to their falsehoods and boastings. As it is, the fact of their flight, punishment, and loss of their guns must become patent to the district.” (Brig. E. Lugard, dispatch, Camp Tigra, April 12 1858)

On 12 April, Lugard rested his men. The next day, they marched 13 miles to Didarganj, where he would learn what Kunwar Singh had in store for him at Azamgarh. The chase, as they say, was now on.

Returns of the 11th of April 1858

3rd Sikh Cavalry
3 troop horses killed
5 rank and file, and 7 troop horses, wounded

12th Irregular Cavalry
1 native officer, 1 rank and file wounded, 1 troop horse missing

Lieutenant Charles W. Havelock — born in Cawnpore in 1834. Aged 24. He was the only man killed that day.

“Lieutenant Havelock was shot through the head gallantly leading his men, and he expired before returning to camp. He was an intelligent, brave and gallant soldier, well worthy of the name he bore…” – Dispatch, Brig. E. Lugard, Camp Tigra, April 12.

Son of Maj.-Gen. Charles Frederick Havelock (formerly 16th Lancers) and Mary Wemyss. Major General Havelock had fought and was wounded at the Battle of Ferozeshah; subsequently, he fought at Mudki, at Gujrat and Sobraon and was present at the Capture of Ghaznee. He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in October 1854 in the Osmanli Irregular Cavalry and the rank of Major-General in August 1856 in the Ottoman Army. Charles was his eldest child and his only son. His daughter, Mary, had married John Bensley Thornhill and spent the mutiny in the Lucknow Residency. Her husband was mortally wounded when he went out to save young Harry Havelock during the first relief.

In the Jaunpore Cemetery, near the old Police Lines (north-east of the mauza Bharsara), is the tomb of Lieutenant Charles Wemyss Havelock; should it still be there, it bears the following inscription:

Sacred to the memory of Charles Wemyss Havelock, Lieutenant 66th Gurkhas, and Second-in-Command, 12th Irregular Cavalry, the beloved and only son of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Frederick Havelock and of Mary his wife, aged 24 years. He was killed in the action at Tighra with Sir E. Lugard’s force, whilst gallantly leading his men of the 12th Irregular Cavalry in a charge against the rebels. Born February 16th, 1834, died 11th April 1858.