Page 69 - Wish Stream Year of 2016

Sir Henry Lawrence’s gravestone in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church, within the Residency compound. Also buried in the churchyard in mass graves are over 2,000 men, women and children who died during the siege.
Outram’s decision to remain in Lucknow was the discovery of a large stock of supplies beneath the Residency, suf cient to maintain the garri- son for two months. Lawrence had laid in the stores, but died before he had informed any of his subordinates.
ish history to be honoured with such an award for action during a military con ict.
Second relief
The second relief was led in person by Sir Colin Campbell, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ben- gal Presidency Army. Having arrived from Britain to take command in July, it was late October before all preparations were completed. Fighting his way from Calcutta, Campbell arrived in Cawn- pore on 3rd November. The rebels held effective control of large parts of the countryside. Camp- bell considered, but rejected, securing the coun- tryside before launching his relief of Lucknow. The massacre of British women and children fol- lowing the capitulation of Cawnpore was still in recent memory. Accordingly, Campbell left 1,100 troops in Cawnpore for its defence, leading 600 cavalry, 3,500 infantry and 42 guns to the Alam- bagh. British warships were dispatched from Hong Kong to Calcutta. The marines and sailors of three warships formed a Naval Brigade with the ships’ guns (8-inch guns and 24-pounder
Instead, the defended area
was enlarged by Havelock
and Outram. Outram had
hoped that the relief would
also demoralise the rebels,
but was disappointed. For
the next six weeks, the
rebels continued to subject
the defenders to musket and
artillery re, and dug a series
of mines beneath them. The defenders replied with sorties, as before, and dug counter-mines. Heavy casualties were sustained on both sides, with many burials of defenders taking place in St Mary’s churchyard daily.
The defenders were able to send messengers to and from the Alambagh, from where in turn mes- sengers could reach Cawnpore. (Later, a sema- phore system made the risky business of send- ing messengers between the Residency and the Alambagh unnecessary). A volunteer civil servant, Thomas Kavanagh, the son of a British soldier, disguised himself as a sepoy and ven- tured from the Residency aided by a local man named Kananji Lal. He and his scout crossed the entrenchments east of the city and reached the Alambagh to act as a guide to the next relief attempt. For this action, Kavanagh was awarded the Victoria Cross and was the rst civilian in Brit-
howitzers) and fought their way from Cal- cutta until they met up with Campbell’s force.
The strength of the rebels in Lucknow has been widely estimated as being from 30,000 to 60,000. They were amply equipped, the sepoy regiments among them were well trained, and they had improved their defences in response to Havelock’s and Outram’s rst relief of the Residency. However, the lack of a uni ed
command structure among the sepoys dimin- ished the value of their superior numbers and strategic positions.
At daybreak on 14th November, Campbell com- menced his relief of Lucknow. He had made his plans on the basis of Kavanagh’s information and the heavy loss of life experienced by the rst Lucknow relief column. Rather than ghting through the tortuous, narrow streets of Lucknow, Campbell opted to make a anking march to the east. He would then cross the canal as close to the River Gumti as possible and advance to La Martiniere (a school for British and Anglo-Indian boys) and as he advanced, he would secure each position to protect his communications and supply train back to the Alambagh. He would then secure several buildings defended by the rebels before advancing to the Residency, whose outer perimeter had been extended by Havelock and Outram.
For the next six weeks, the rebels continued to subject the defenders to musket and artillery re...
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