The whole country was now up in arms, and that vast empire that had taken us 100 years to build up, was shaken to its foundations. But it was held with a tenacious grasp by men whose heads had been screwed on right, backed by those who had been worked up to a state of madness or desperation by the fiend-like deeds of the brutes whom previously we had drilled, fought side by side with, and pampered, while they had looked upon our kindness as a sign of weakness. The revolt was spreading with rapidity. Cantonments all over the country were in flames. Benares, the holy city, was in a blaze. But the Mutineers had a very short life of it there. That noble, brave man, Colonel Neill, dropped in upon them with a portion of his Madras Fusiliers—the present 103rd Fusiliers—and at once put them to flight. The troops in Benares were the 37th N. Infantry, a Sikh regiment, and the 13th Irregular Cavalry. The odds were heavy against our men—1500 against 500—and they had just come in from a long march. But the dreaded “Gorahs” (English soldiers) were too many for them. Troops were now being fast pushed up the country. Although the heat was something terrible—it was over 100 degrees in the shade—the excitement kept our men up. The following regiments were moving up country by road and water as fast as they could: 64th, 78th Highlanders, and 84th—all shaping for Allahabad. But none of them arrived in time to save the unfortunate officers of the 6th N. Infantry. The Mutineers had been playing a double game, and had deceived all their officers, whom they butchered without the slightest show of mercy. It was a bloodthirsty act. All, or nearly all, the officers of that unfortunate regiment were assembled at their mess-house on the 5th June, 1857, when they were shot or bayoneted by the very men whom they had so lately commanded. These officers had put implicit confidence in their men, they having only a few days previously presented a petition to the Government requesting that they might be led against the Mutineers at Delhi; but they and the 3rd Oude Irregular Cavalry murdered all they could lay their hands upon, and pillaged the city, shooting or cutting down all who stood in their way. A noble young hero—a boy—here stood forth in brightest colours. I will give the account as it appeared in the native papers, as it is too good to be abridged. When the wretched 6th N. Infantry and 3rd Oude Irregular Cavalry mutinied at Allahabad and murdered their officers, an ensign only 16 years of age—a Mr. Arthur M. H. Chuk—was left for dead amongst the rest. He escaped in the darkness to a ravine, and, although desperately wounded, contrived to get up into a tree; but on the fifth day he was discovered, and dragged by the brutal sepoys before one of their leaders, to have what little life there was left in him extinguished. There he found a Native Christian, being tormented and tortured in order to induce him to renounce the Christian faith. The firmness of the poor Native was giving way, under the tortures that he, poor thing, was undergoing. The young officer, after anxiously watching him for a short time, cried out with a loud voice, “Oh, my friend, come what may, do not deny the Lord Jesus.” Just at that moment the gallant Colonel Neill, with his Madras Fusiliers, dashed in among them, and thus saved the Native Christian. But the young martyr had passed beyond the reach of human cruelty. He had entered into rest—that rest that is prepared for all those who are faithful to the end. Reader, what a glorious end for one so young!
Colonel Neill had come just in time to save the Fort of Allahabad, as the only Europeans there were a few invalid Artillerymen. All the non-military were at once armed, and formed up as militia, determined to fight desperately for their lives. The gallant Colonel was resolved to give the enemy no rest, and, with 200 of his Fusiliers and a few guns, he made Allahabad a little too hot for them. Reinforcements were now coming up the country as fast as possible. A column was quickly formed to be pushed on to Cawnpore. In the meantime, horrible accounts kept coming in from all parts of Bengal. Jhansie was lost; the men, women, and children, had all been massacred. They made a noble stand in a little fort, as long as they had any food; but at last had to give in for the want of provisions. They evacuated the fort under a faithful promise that their lives should be spared; but as soon as the rebels had got their arms from them, they set to and tied them to trees, subjecting both male and female, old and young, to treatment too horrible to mention—deeds such as have no equal except at Cawnpore. I am sorry to have to record that the “Ranee,” Queen of Jhansie, was at the head of this rising, and this fiend in the form of woman is believed to have stood by and given the order to slaughter our poor defenceless women and children, after they had suffered worse than death itself. Nowgong and Saugor were gone, and all that could not escape were shot down. Some of the officers managed to escape with their lives by riding night and day to Agra.
THE SCENE OF THE MASSACRES AT CAWNPORE.
(Morning of 17th July, 1857).
Black spots on ground and pillars represents Blood.
NANA SAHIB AT CAWNPORE.
All eyes were now directed to Cawnpore and Lucknow. Sir H. Wheeler was at the former place with the 1st Light Cavalry, 53rd and 56th, two batteries of Artillery, some Oude Irregular Cavalry, and some 500 or 600 of Nana Sahib’s troops—this gentleman being supposed, up to the present, to be loyal to our Government. All the reliable forces that Gen. Sir H. Wheeler had consisted of a number of officers who had made their way as Fugitives from other stations and the officers of the above-named regiments, together with detachments from the following regiments that had been pushed up country: a few of the Madras Fusiliers, about 60 men of the 84th, and a company of the 32nd from Lucknow. His whole force consisted of about 250 fighting men, including officers, with whom he had to protect no fewer than 520 defenceless women and children. Had it not been for these poor creatures he would have cut his way through to Allahabad. Being compelled to retire to his intrenchments, he defended himself against a host, although cut off from all communications. The rebels first thought of marching off to Delhi, to join with those who were trying to exterminate the Feringhees. But the wily Nana Sahib persuaded them to return to Cawnpore first, and to destroy all the English in that place—old and young, rich and poor, all had to die. In order to induce them to do so, he promised double pay if they would only fight for him. They at once marched back and summoned the General to surrender or die. The Nana at once attacked the intrenchments, but was driven back with terrible slaughter. They then brought up heavy guns and opened a destructive fire upon them. Numbers of the poor women and children were killed, but our men peppered them pretty well. They came on repeatedly to try and take the works, but the rifle, so much despised by them, threw death and destruction in their ranks. The heat was something fearful, and as our poor women had no shelter from the scorching rays of the sun, a number of them were stricken down by it to rise no more. They were the most fortunate of the whole. Many were cut to pieces with shot and shell. One poor woman sat nursing her twin boys, but a few months’ old, when a round shot from the enemy took off both her arms, and killed her two dear little ones. The agony of that poor mother, no pen can describe. At times the air was full of shells bursting in all directions, but still this noble little garrison held out, and repeatedly drove their assailants back. Our people did not forget the bayonet, and all those rebels who were more daring than the rest got it with a vengeance; they soon began to get tired of it, and wanted to be off to Delhi.
All who fell into Nana Sahib’s hands met with a horrible death. He was told by more than one lady that their countrymen would avenge all this useless slaughter, for none ever before were known to kill women and children. But this brute was beneath all feeling. On the 12th of June, some 126 fugitives from Futteghur—men, women, and children—were dragged before this monster, and were ordered to be cruelly murdered in cold blood. Day after day rolled on, and Gen. Wheeler nobly held out, although the host around him was being daily augmented, and all were panting for the blood of the Feringhees. Almost every day poor fugitives from other stations, not knowing that Cawnpore was in the hands of the rebels, came rushing into the very jaws of death; the men were at once shot down, while the poor women were reserved for a fate worse than death at the hands of a mob, who were now in a state of madness on account of the noble stand that a mere handful of men were making. Some of the poor defenceless women begged hard for the lives of their little ones; but the order had gone forth that every man, woman, and child of European blood had to die, and every device that could be thought of to work upon the poor deluded natives to deceive and animate them to the most fiend-like deeds, was carried out. The following is a copy of one of the false proclamations that this arch-fiend—Nana Sahib—had posted up all over the city of Cawnpore:—
A traveller just arrived in Cawnpore from Calcutta, states that, in the first instance, a Council was held to take into consideration the means to be adopted to do away with the religion of Mohammedans and Hindoos by the distribution of cartridges. The Council came to this resolution: that, as this matter was one of religion, the services of seven or eight thousand European soldiers would be necessary, as 50,000 Hindostanis Would have to be destroyed, and then the whole of the people of Hindostan would become Christians. A petition, with the substance of this resolution, was sent to the Queen Victoria, and it was approved. A Council was then held a second time, in which English merchants took a part, and it was decided that, in order that no evil should arise from mutiny, large reinforcements should be sent for. When the despatch was received and read in England, thousands of European soldiers were embarked in ships as speedily as possible, and sent off to Hindostan. The news of their being dispatched reached Calcutta. The English authorities there ordered the issue of the cartridges; for the real intention was to Christianise the army first; and this being effected, the conversion of the people would speedily follow. Pigs’ and cows’ fat was mixed up with the cartridges; this became known through one of the Bengalese who was employed in the cartridge-making establishment. Of those through whose means this was divulged, one was killed and the rest imprisoned. While in this country these counsels were being adopted, in England the vakeel of the sultan of Roum sent news to the sultan that thousands of European soldiers were being sent for the purpose of making Christians of all the people of Hindostan. Upon this the sultan issued a firman to the king of Egypt to this effect:—‘You must deceive the Queen Victoria; for this is not a time for friendship, for my vakeel writes that thousands of European soldiers have been dispatched for the purpose of making Christians the army and people of Hindostan. In this manner, then, this must be checked. If I should be remiss, then how can I show my face to God; and one day this may come upon me also; for if the English make Christians of all in Hindostan, they will then fix their designs upon my country.’ When the firman reached the king of Egypt, he prepared and arranged his troops, before the arrival of the English army at Alexandria, for this is the route to India. The instant the English army arrived, the king of Egypt opened guns upon them from all sides, and destroyed and sunk their ships, and not a single soldier escaped. The English in Calcutta, after the issue of the order for our cartridges, and when the mutiny had become great, were in expectation of the arrival of the army from London; but the great God, in his omnipotence, had beforehand put an end to this. When the news of the destruction of the army of London became known, then the governor-general was much afflicted and grieved, and he lamented. In the night, murder and robbery; in the morning, neither head upon the body nor crown upon the head. The blue sky makes one revolution; neither Nadir nor trace of him remains.
Done by order of the Peishwa Bahadoor.—13 Zekaida, 1273 Hijra.