With the Second Relief of Lucknow accomplished and Tantya Tope defeated at the second battle of Cawnpore, forces were raised to pursue the rebels north of the Gogra River. Colonel Francis Rowcroft was given command of the newly formed Sarun Field Force. Together with the Naval Brigade from the Pearl commanded by Captain Edward Southwell Sotheby, they would be victorious in a series of battles between November 1857 and November 1858 in what would be known as the Trans-Gogra Campaign. Sir James Hope Grant would take command of the trans-Gogra force (The Goruckpore Field Force) in November 1858, cross the river and run the rebels to the ground, forcing the remnants to flee to Nepal.

Colonel Francis Rawdon Edward Rowcroft was born in 1802. He was appointed ensign to the 18th Bengal Native Infantry in 1819 and then began a long list of transfers. He was posted to the 1/12th BNI in 1821, then transferred to the 1st BNI in 1824, was posted as Lieutenant Colonel to the 27th BNI in 1850, to the 2nd BNI in 1852, the 69th BNI in 1854, the 30th NI in 1855, and in September of the same year, to the 31st BNI. Finally, in 1856, he was commander of the 8th BNI in Dinapore, which promptly mutinied a year later. He was then left in Dinapore, his regiment gone and with little else to do but wait. However, things were changing. Rowcroft would be released from the onerous duties at Dinapore and form up the Sarun Field Force in western Bihar, comprising 30 men of the Royal Marines, 130 of the Pearl Naval Brigade, 350 Nepal troops and 50 men of the Bengal Police Battalion. For artillery, they had four 12-pounder howitzers, two of which were mountain-train guns. Their objective was to move from Tirhat along the Gandak River towards Gorakhpur.