Page 68 - Wish Stream Year of 2016

sioner by Lawrence. When Banks was killed by a sniper a short time later, Inglis assumed overall command.
About 8,000 sepoys, who had joined the rebel- lion, and several hundred retainers of local land- owners surrounded the Residency. They had some modern guns and also some older pieces which red all sorts of improvised missiles. There were several determined attempts to storm the defences during the rst weeks of the siege, but the rebels lacked a uni ed command able to coordinate all the besieging forces.
The defenders, their number constantly reduced by military action as well as disease, were able to repulse all attempts to overwhelm them. Several sorties were mounted, attempting to reduce the effectiveness of the most dangerous rebel posi- tions and to silence some of their guns. The Vic- toria Cross was awarded to several participants in these sorties. The women and children took shelter in the cellars of the Residence and the hospital during the attacks.
First relief attempt
Major General Sir Henry Havelock was chosen by General Outram to command the force to relieve Lucknow. As a result of the massacres at Cawnpore in May, the news of which horri- ed and scandalised Victorian Britain, the British resolved at all costs not to let a similar situation occur at Lucknow.
Lucknow had become a symbol of Britain’s resolve to defeat the mutineers. Havelock had earlier sent a letter to Inglis in the Residency, sug- gesting he cut his way out and make for Cawn- pore, where he was now based, having relieved the town after the uprising and massacres. Inglis replied that he had too few effective troops and too many sick, wounded and non-combatants to make such an attempt. He also pleaded for urgent assistance. The rebels, meanwhile, con- tinued to shell the garrison in the Residency, and also dug mines beneath the defences, which destroyed several posts. Although the garrison kept the rebels at a distance with sorties and counter-attacks, they were becoming weaker and food was running short.
General Outram arrived at Cawnpore with rein- forcements on 15th September. He allowed Havelock to command the relief force, accom- panying it nominally as a volunteer until Lucknow was reached. The force numbered 3,179 and
was composed of six British and one Sikh infan- try battalions, with three artillery batteries, but only 168 volunteer cavalry. They were divided into two brigades, under Colonel Neill and Colo- nel Hamilton of the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot.2
The advance resumed on 18th September. The rebels did not make any serious stand in the open country, even failing to destroy some vital bridges. On 23rd September, Havelock’s force drove the rebels from the Alambagh, a walled park four miles south of the Residency. Leaving the baggage with a small force in the Alambagh, he began the nal advance on 25th Septem- ber. Because of the monsoon rains, much of the open ground around the city was ooded or waterlogged, preventing the British making any out anking moves and forcing them to make a direct advance through part of the city.
The force met heavy resistance and suffered many losses. The advance was made through heavily defended narrow lanes. Neill was one of those killed by rebel musket re. In all, the relief force lost 535 men out of 2000, incurred mainly in this last rush. By the time of the relief, the defenders of the Residency had endured a siege of 87 days, and were reduced to 982 ghting personnel. On reaching the Residency, Havelock was superseded in command by Major Gen- eral Sir James Outram.
The inscription on Lawrence’s tomb reads:
Here lies Henry Lawrence
Who tried to do his duty
May the Lord have mercy on his Soul Born 28th June 1806, Died 4th July 1857 A memorial cross to Sir Henry Lawrence also stands in the Residency grounds.
Second siege
Originally, Outram had intended to evacuate the Residency, but the heavy casualties incurred during the nal advance made it impossible to remove all the sick and wounded and non- combatants. Another factor which in uenced
2 A Highland regiment, subtitled the ‘Ross-shire Buffs’. Raised in the late 18th Century, it took a major role
in the defeat of the rebels at Cawnpore (after the massacres) and in the rst relief and second siege of Lucknow, winning a total of eight VCs for both actions. The Regiment was merged in 1881 to form the Seaforth Highlanders. After successive mergers culminating in the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons), its nal successor regiment is the present Royal Regiment of Scotland
66 SANDHURST