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The Siege Of Lucknow: A Diary [Illustrated Edition]
[Illustrated with over one hundred maps, photos and portraits, of the battles of the Indian Mutiny]
By 1857, the British power in India had been largely undisputed for almost fifty years, however, the armies of the East India Company were largely recruited from the native people of India. This inherent weakness would be exposed during the events of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-1858, as the Sepoy soldiers turned against their erstwhile British employers.
The events that led up to the Revolt were many and varied, including British highhandedness, ignorance of local customs and religious values, and incendiary propaganda. It is generally argued that the spark that lit the flame was the rumour that the newly issued rifle cartridges would be greased either with tallow, derived from beef and thereby offensive to Hindus, or lard, derived from pork and thereby offensive to Muslims. The enraged soldiers mutinied across a number of Indian States, taking Delhi, besieging Lucknow, and revolting in Oudh.
One of the enduring events during the entire revolt was the siege and successful defence of Lucknow, by a gallant band of British soldiers, loyal Indians and many women who were swept up in the chaos of the fighting. Once it became clear that the Mutiny would reach Lucknow, the local commander Sir Henry Lawrence did what he could to make the area as fortified and defensible as possible; however, overlooked on all sides by high buildings, without wide ditches or great walls any prolonged resistance would be very difficult. Sir Henry died soon after the siege began and command fell to Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Inglis, at his side like many of the defenders was accompanied by his wife and children. Lady Inglis kept a diary of the siege with great regularity and the vivid detailed descriptions of the daily shelling and sniping serve as perhaps the best account of the siege written to date.
A fascinating, atmospheric and often shockingly graphic diary.
By 1857, the British power in India had been largely undisputed for almost fifty years, however, the armies of the East India Company were largely recruited from the native people of India. This inherent weakness would be exposed during the events of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-1858, as the Sepoy soldiers turned against their erstwhile British employers.
The events that led up to the Revolt were many and varied, including British highhandedness, ignorance of local customs and religious values, and incendiary propaganda. It is generally argued that the spark that lit the flame was the rumour that the newly issued rifle cartridges would be greased either with tallow, derived from beef and thereby offensive to Hindus, or lard, derived from pork and thereby offensive to Muslims. The enraged soldiers mutinied across a number of Indian States, taking Delhi, besieging Lucknow, and revolting in Oudh.
One of the enduring events during the entire revolt was the siege and successful defence of Lucknow, by a gallant band of British soldiers, loyal Indians and many women who were swept up in the chaos of the fighting. Once it became clear that the Mutiny would reach Lucknow, the local commander Sir Henry Lawrence did what he could to make the area as fortified and defensible as possible; however, overlooked on all sides by high buildings, without wide ditches or great walls any prolonged resistance would be very difficult. Sir Henry died soon after the siege began and command fell to Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Inglis, at his side like many of the defenders was accompanied by his wife and children. Lady Inglis kept a diary of the siege with great regularity and the vivid detailed descriptions of the daily shelling and sniping serve as perhaps the best account of the siege written to date.
A fascinating, atmospheric and often shockingly graphic diary.
46 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1892
About the author
Julia Selina Inglis
3 books1 followerJulia Selina (Thesiger) Inglis (a.k.a. Lady Inglis), daughter of Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford, PC, QC, FRS and wife of Major General Sir John Eardley Wilmot Inglis, KCB, is best known for her firsthand account (published in 1892) of Siege of Lucknow in 1857 during the Indian Mutiny (or, Rebellion) of 1857-1858.
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March 25, 2016
I recently finished "A Diary Kept By Mrs. R. C. Germon, At Lucknow, Between The Months Of May And December, 1857" and the two diaries are so similar that I feel justified in copying parts of my previous review here :
This is a first-hand account of the siege of Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny in 1857.
For three months military personnel, women and children lived under ever more difficult conditions in the residency compound, surrounded by the mutineers and desperately awaiting reinforcements, all the while looking death in the face, either of starvation, being blown up or suicide ("several of the ladies had poison at hand").
While they were trying to hang on news reached them of atrocities committed in other parts of the country, worst of all the bloody Cawnpore massacre.
In an almost matter-of-fact way Lady Inglis who surprised herself by her ability to cope, describes the overcrowded conditions, the ever growing shortage of food and the almost constant enemy fire they had to endure.
Trapped in the compound they suffered under the extreme heat, rats, mosquitoes, flies, centipedes and scorpions. They died of bullet wounds, exploding mines, suicide (rare), sunstroke, smallpox, dysentery, scurvy and cholera and were buried in mass graves.
Lady Inglis doesn't go into details about the Cawnpore Massacre and despite all the suffering never loses her faith in God. She tells of how the garrison kept up their spirits well, that "the instances of cowardice and shirking were very few" and that there were innumerable instances of selflessness and bravery.
Lady Inglis' hardship doesn't end with the chaotic evacuation of the residency in Lucknow and the escape via Allahabad to Calcutta : on the way to Ceylon her ship sinks ! Still, in the end she was one of the fortunate ones as her husband and her three children survived.
This is a first-hand account of the siege of Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny in 1857.
For three months military personnel, women and children lived under ever more difficult conditions in the residency compound, surrounded by the mutineers and desperately awaiting reinforcements, all the while looking death in the face, either of starvation, being blown up or suicide ("several of the ladies had poison at hand").
While they were trying to hang on news reached them of atrocities committed in other parts of the country, worst of all the bloody Cawnpore massacre.
In an almost matter-of-fact way Lady Inglis who surprised herself by her ability to cope, describes the overcrowded conditions, the ever growing shortage of food and the almost constant enemy fire they had to endure.
Trapped in the compound they suffered under the extreme heat, rats, mosquitoes, flies, centipedes and scorpions. They died of bullet wounds, exploding mines, suicide (rare), sunstroke, smallpox, dysentery, scurvy and cholera and were buried in mass graves.
Lady Inglis doesn't go into details about the Cawnpore Massacre and despite all the suffering never loses her faith in God. She tells of how the garrison kept up their spirits well, that "the instances of cowardice and shirking were very few" and that there were innumerable instances of selflessness and bravery.
Lady Inglis' hardship doesn't end with the chaotic evacuation of the residency in Lucknow and the escape via Allahabad to Calcutta : on the way to Ceylon her ship sinks ! Still, in the end she was one of the fortunate ones as her husband and her three children survived.
Displaying 1 of 1 review