In northern India there were signs of unrest among the
sepoys of the East India Company's Bengal Army which British officers had begun
to notice but sadly failed to realize the full significance of and leniency by
the British, such as abandoning flogging as punishment meant a breakdown in
discipline of the sepoys. However, there were other contributing factors to the
unrest such as the British banning sutee, the self-immolation of widows, which
incensed the Hindu sepoys, who felt that their customs and religion were being
threatened by such reforms. And the introduction of a new Enfield rifle by the
British with meat fat greased-paper cartridges caused much distress in the
indian ranks as the cartridges were rumoured to be greased in pig and cow fat.
In February 1857, the 19th Native Infantry at Bahrampore in Bengal point blank refused to accept these newly issued cartridges. The British, quickly realizing the religious blunder, abandoned the use of meat fat for greasing the cartridges, but the Hindu and Muslim soldiers were still suspicious and believed that the British were trying to subvert their religion.
Apparently around this time Indian runners were noticed by the British over much of northern India and although the British did not realize it at the time, the runners were alerting other villages that something momentus was about to occur. The runners would alert the villagers by passing on a chapatti and the recipient of the chapatti would then rush it to the next village and give it to someone there. It was a simple but very effective way of inciting further unrest.
An isolated act of mutiny that erupted on March 19, 1857, on the parade ground of Barrackpore, was to become much more of a problem for the British. In the 34th Bengal Regiment a zealot named Mangal Pande suddenly broke ranks, shouting to his regimental comrades about the cartridges defiling their religion and inciting them to violence: The regimental adjutant who galloped into the melee to try and restore calm was brutally cut down by the mutineer. The commanding general then rushed onto the parade ground and faced Pande. After words were exchanged Pande attempted suicide by dramatically firing his own musket upwards into his breast. He survived this attempt, only to be hanged by the British on April 8. As a result of this mutiny the 34th was promptly disbanded, but the damage had been done and the legend of Mangal Pande lived on, gaining strength with each retelling. His name also became the nickname the British gave to the Indian mutineers — 'pandies.'
By 1857, it could be safely said that the Mogul dynasty had withered to the point of near extinction. The last of the Moguls, Bahadur Shah II, 'King of Delhi,' was a frail, opium-addicted old man deprived of any real power and was but king in name only. In fact it was understood that upon his death his title would no longer exist.
The royal palace had some 12,000 retainers of one sort or another living there and these people were generally unproductive. But in the early hours of May 11, the king was disturbed from his rest when news spread through the court like wildfire that the 3rd Native Cavalry from the nearby Meerut cantonment had dashed to Delhi and entered the city by the bridge over the Jumna River. The troopers had gathered, demanding an audience.
In a mutinous incident at Meerut and leaving behind a bloody trail the 3rd Native Cavalry had gone against the British and declared their intention to fight the foreign Raj under the flag of their 'king.' Now at the palace they were admitted by sympathizers, and the soldiers continued their bloodshed, rampaging through the grounds and killing every Englishman they could find. But this attack was merely the start. Massacres, including the killing of women and children, erupted throughout Delhi. There was even stories of a pregnant Englishwoman hacked to pieces.
Bahadur Shah was reluctant to accept titular leadership of the uprising because of the risk and turmoil, but in reality he had little choice —he was informed that the 3rd Cavalry, now running wild in Delhi, would inevitably be joined by all native units in northern India. To begin with the 38th, 54th and 74th native regiments in Delhi, plus a battery of native artillery continued to take orders from their British officers, because they thought that British reinforcements were on the way and the rebellion was doomed to fail. It was the 38th regiment that had been entrusted to guard the critical Kashmir Gate to the city. Unfortunately the sight of the 3rd Cavalry from Meerut rampaging through the streets and murdering Englishmen incited the 38th to open the gates and join the revolt. However some 150 troops from the 74th Native Infantry and 54th remained loyal and tried to restore discipline at the Kashmir Gate. By afternoon, however, the gate had become untenable.
Later in the morning of the 11th May, as the 3rd Cavalry swarmed the city, Delhi magistrate Theophilus Metcalf warned the officer in charge of the main munitions magazine in Delhi, to take all possible steps to keep the magazine from falling into the hands of the enemy. This officer was Lieutenant Willoughby and he did what he could to make the arsenal defensible, but he knew he did not have the force to fully defend it., so with his small staff of British officers, he prepared charges so that he could blow up the arsenal rather than let the mutineers take it. He did this despite knowing that he and his officers would likely be killed by the explosion.
In February 1857, the 19th Native Infantry at Bahrampore in Bengal point blank refused to accept these newly issued cartridges. The British, quickly realizing the religious blunder, abandoned the use of meat fat for greasing the cartridges, but the Hindu and Muslim soldiers were still suspicious and believed that the British were trying to subvert their religion.
Apparently around this time Indian runners were noticed by the British over much of northern India and although the British did not realize it at the time, the runners were alerting other villages that something momentus was about to occur. The runners would alert the villagers by passing on a chapatti and the recipient of the chapatti would then rush it to the next village and give it to someone there. It was a simple but very effective way of inciting further unrest.
An isolated act of mutiny that erupted on March 19, 1857, on the parade ground of Barrackpore, was to become much more of a problem for the British. In the 34th Bengal Regiment a zealot named Mangal Pande suddenly broke ranks, shouting to his regimental comrades about the cartridges defiling their religion and inciting them to violence: The regimental adjutant who galloped into the melee to try and restore calm was brutally cut down by the mutineer. The commanding general then rushed onto the parade ground and faced Pande. After words were exchanged Pande attempted suicide by dramatically firing his own musket upwards into his breast. He survived this attempt, only to be hanged by the British on April 8. As a result of this mutiny the 34th was promptly disbanded, but the damage had been done and the legend of Mangal Pande lived on, gaining strength with each retelling. His name also became the nickname the British gave to the Indian mutineers — 'pandies.'
By 1857, it could be safely said that the Mogul dynasty had withered to the point of near extinction. The last of the Moguls, Bahadur Shah II, 'King of Delhi,' was a frail, opium-addicted old man deprived of any real power and was but king in name only. In fact it was understood that upon his death his title would no longer exist.
The royal palace had some 12,000 retainers of one sort or another living there and these people were generally unproductive. But in the early hours of May 11, the king was disturbed from his rest when news spread through the court like wildfire that the 3rd Native Cavalry from the nearby Meerut cantonment had dashed to Delhi and entered the city by the bridge over the Jumna River. The troopers had gathered, demanding an audience.
In a mutinous incident at Meerut and leaving behind a bloody trail the 3rd Native Cavalry had gone against the British and declared their intention to fight the foreign Raj under the flag of their 'king.' Now at the palace they were admitted by sympathizers, and the soldiers continued their bloodshed, rampaging through the grounds and killing every Englishman they could find. But this attack was merely the start. Massacres, including the killing of women and children, erupted throughout Delhi. There was even stories of a pregnant Englishwoman hacked to pieces.
Bahadur Shah was reluctant to accept titular leadership of the uprising because of the risk and turmoil, but in reality he had little choice —he was informed that the 3rd Cavalry, now running wild in Delhi, would inevitably be joined by all native units in northern India. To begin with the 38th, 54th and 74th native regiments in Delhi, plus a battery of native artillery continued to take orders from their British officers, because they thought that British reinforcements were on the way and the rebellion was doomed to fail. It was the 38th regiment that had been entrusted to guard the critical Kashmir Gate to the city. Unfortunately the sight of the 3rd Cavalry from Meerut rampaging through the streets and murdering Englishmen incited the 38th to open the gates and join the revolt. However some 150 troops from the 74th Native Infantry and 54th remained loyal and tried to restore discipline at the Kashmir Gate. By afternoon, however, the gate had become untenable.
Later in the morning of the 11th May, as the 3rd Cavalry swarmed the city, Delhi magistrate Theophilus Metcalf warned the officer in charge of the main munitions magazine in Delhi, to take all possible steps to keep the magazine from falling into the hands of the enemy. This officer was Lieutenant Willoughby and he did what he could to make the arsenal defensible, but he knew he did not have the force to fully defend it., so with his small staff of British officers, he prepared charges so that he could blow up the arsenal rather than let the mutineers take it. He did this despite knowing that he and his officers would likely be killed by the explosion.
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