The Mutinies in June 1857

The fire thus started in May would now spread from station to station in remarkable swiftness. The authorities, both military and civil, were caught off guard. While they had been warned to expect trouble after the shackling parade in Meerut on the 9th of May, no one had anticipated that their men had murder on their minds and, in their madness, would spare no one.
Much to the surprise of the British, when mutiny broke out, they would be faced with mixed loyalties that wracked the minds of many of the sepoys. Several officers and their families were saved by their men, only to be murdered by those of a different regiment. In some cases, the officers were offered positions in the new army; their men pleaded for their leadership, offering them handsome salaries and “three months in the hills” during the hot weather. For a British officer, though the offer might have appeared flattering, their own loyalties would not permit them to remain. There was one thing to leave your station and be called a coward; it was a completely different beast to be named a traitor.
The question also arises: why did the British not simply leave? It is easier to explain than to understand. We must remember these are not our times when duty and loyalty were more than just words. For an officer to be faced with the mutiny of his regiment, it called into question not just the men’s motivations but his own character. They believed in the men they commanded, and many had become blinded by the honour and service of their regiment. It must be remembered that several of the regiments that mutinied had been in the service of the East India Company for nearly a century. The 5th Regiment Bengal Native Infantry, had they not mutinied at Ambala, would have celebrated their centenary in 1858. So glorious had been their service and their Colours awash with names of past battles -Buxar, Carnatic, Guzerat, Delhi and Deig and the fact that they had a third Colour for their services under Lord Lake, was certainly enough to turn any young officer’s head and swell the pride of the old ones. It is not surprising, then, that old EICo officers had a tendency to refer to the sepoys under their command as their children. The regiment was everything, and everything they had was the regiment. While many long-serving sepoys, who had served in the honour of their regiment, had second thoughts about dishonouring it with mutiny, their loyalty was not to their British officers essentially; it was to their regiment, and it was their duty to remain with it, regardless of which direction they took. The British, who expected personal loyalty from their men, could not understand that the old sepoys, in their way, were trying to save the mutinied regiments from further dishonour by remaining with them. When it finally did come to mutiny, it was the determination of the sepoys to follow this path that would take the officers by surprise.

The Mutinies in Districts – June 1857

Withdrawal – Fatehpur – where it was decided to leave before the mutiny started
Duty over Life – the continuing flight from Fatehpur that takes the fugitives from Banda to Nagode and Rewa
Duty Done – the death of Mr Moore at Mirzapore; a loyal regiment and the end of the flight from Fatehpur.
No Quarter Given – Hamirpur
The Murderous Assault at Rohini – although well out of the NWP, this particular event would cause some consternation in the Santhal Parganas

In the Districts: June 1857

The Murderous Assault at Rohini

With equal ferocity, events were now proceeding onwards to Oudh and Rohilkhand

The Mutinies Continue

The British officers needed to do everything in their power to prevent a querulous regiment from mutinying. Their own honour was at stake as that of their men; a mutiny meant they had failed their men, their regiment and above all, they had disgraced themselves. So, leaving their post was often delayed until all options had been exhausted. As the weeks progressed, disarming regiments became a common way of dealing with sepoys well before they had the opportunity to mutiny; it was more often than not the British officers who protested the loudest. They would raise the argument that their men had not done anything, and it would hurt their feelings to be treated in such a terrible fashion. So implicitly they believed in the faithfulness of their regiments that their arguments ranged from believable to absurd, but in the case of Colonel Spottiswoode, he felt the humiliation of the disarming of his regiment so keenly that he chose to shoot himself rather than witness their disgrace. Knowing the smallest spark could set off a mutiny, officers walked on eggshells around their men. The officers took to sleeping in the lines at night to show how much they believed in their men, but it must have been common knowledge that the Captain Sahib slept with loaded pistols under his pillow, and his horse was always saddled at night. However, many officers also breathed a sigh of relief when their regiments were finally disarmed. Many an officer toyed with the idea of sending their families away, but finally did not, in case they upset their men. Showing a brave face is very much a feature of the mutiny. The turmoil they must have felt, caught between duty and the very human instinct for self-preservation, must have been tremendous. It is no wonder that many sought the guidance of their God.

Civilians, who had no loyalty to the military, were prevented by company directives from abandoning their stations. This was not a question of honour, but duty and obeying orders. To leave their station without permission was akin to professional neglect and would be viewed, under normal circumstances, very harshly. A civilian in the employ of the government was prevented by law from leaving; Sir Henry Lawrence realised the absurdity of these rules and issued a declaration that allowed civilians in the province of Oudh to leave their posts if they perceived an immediate threat to their lives. Unfortunately, this was an exception and not the rule, and many civilians, torn by the very horror of disobeying orders and thus losing their positions, chose to remain where they were rather than displease their higher-ups. Such misguided loyalty would unnecessarily cost many lives.

Fyzabad, Sultanpore and Salon

For Courage Mounteth with Occasion – Fyzabad and the doings of Maulvi and Mr Thurburn
Lieutenant Fowle Escapes from Fyzabad
Lo! thy Dread Empire, Chaos, is Restored – what Mr Thurburn did next
The Rebellion Continues – Sultanpore
Escape from Sultanpoor in 1857 – the very narrow escape of Mrs Goldney
The Small Station of Salon – the adventurous escape of three young men

Fyzabad, Sultanpore and Salon

Secrora, Gonda and Bahraich

You Are At Liberty to Consult Your Own Safety – Secrora
In the District of Bahraich – we follow Lieutenant Bonham, the three lieutenants, Mr Wingfield and the fate of Gonda
Mr Wingfield Calculates – the stormy petrel continues his journey
The Letters of Robert Bartrum M.D. – he sent his wife to Lucknow but stayed at his post in Gonda
Who is to Care for Us Now? – the tragedy of Kate Bartrum and her escape from Gonda
The Troubles of Mr Wynyard, Esq. – how to hold a district and keep your head. Gorakhpur in 1857