Paperback and Kindle, or the adventure of writing a guide book

It had long been my dream to provide to my readers a book. Something light and compact, which they can carry with them on their visit to the Residency.

Initially, I published an e-book for Kindle. It was nice but I was not happy with the result. The pictures did not work and the text was not easy to read. Besides, how many people will walk around the Residency with a Kindle? Possibly some, but after stumbling along through the bushes and possibly dropping the erstwhile machine it would be more of hinderance than a help.

So a book it had to be.

With the help of my partner, who did all the editing, the formatting and ultimately provided a map of the Residency drawn by himself for which I am eternally grateful, the book was published on Amazon as A Guide to the Lucknow Residency.

The book is divided not into chapters per say, but into posts, with each post having a separate description and where possible, a photograph. As many of you know, some posts have been obliterated. In this case, I chose pictures fitting to the place, so for Gubbins, there is what I presume is the tree that earned it's salt, for Grants' Bastion there is a marker.. the idea is that visitors can orientate themselves on something in the general area and then read the description.

The descriptions are set up in the same way as on this blog - what the post looked like before it was smashed to bits and anecdotes from those of the besieged who wrote of their experiences. It was unfortunately not possible for me to add all the information found on this blog into the book. That would have made it less of a guide and more of a tome, which, my dear readers,  would have been an ordeal to carry about.

The book is 146 pages long and contains as much information as is relevant to a guide book of the grounds. There is no guide to the museum which I feel is rather self-explanatory. Perhaps in a different version and after another visit, I could add such a description. Nor is there a detailed chapter on the graves. Again, this has to do with space. As much as I would have liked to have had an entire chapter devoted to just the gravestones, I felt it was not appropriate to this book. Again, this may be future project for another edition.

A Guide to the Lucknow Residency

I wish you happy travels and should you find yourselves in Lucknow, standing by the Bailley Guard Gate, I hope my humble offering will enrich your visit to the Lucknow Residency.

Anniversary

Memorial Well by Wheeler's Entrenchment (picture provided by Mark Probett from his collection)

161 years ago, on the 27th of June, the Cawnpore Garrison was slaughtered at Satichaura Ghat. Unlike other memorial days which are perhaps given a moment's notice or some commemoration, this day is much too obscure in history, too long ago and above all, steeped in controversy.

The world we live in today, we are meant to apologise for a colonial past, hang our heads in shame for perceived ills perpetrated by people from ages gone by and instead of remembering the dead, we should shun them. This may appear to be wisdom - a way to cure old ills and wrongdoings. However, history cannot be rewritten to serve a current agenda. To do so is to insult everyone.

The main criticism that anyone who writes about the mutiny hears, is the lament, "but the British wrote the history" so ergo, it must be biased. There is no doubt that many accounts of the mutiny were fabricated, especially in newspaper back in England to provide sensationalism to an already horrifying event. As was proved time and time again, the accounts of rape (defilement as the Victorians would say) of British women were discounted as were stories of roasting babies in boxes and skewering them on pikes. These were stories written with malice in mind; to sensationalise an already horrible time for means of profit, not unlike the stories we hear in the news today. We like to think we live in an enlightened world, but sadly, we do not. The essential evil behind them is the same. The cruel, wanton need to incite feelings of anger and revenge. 161 years later, we are still as gullible and as quick to judge as those men were then, acting on hearsay and outright lies.

The first soldiers who entered the Bibigarh do not recall the writings on the walls, like "Avenge Us Country Men" simply because they were not there. What was there was the sad little chronicle left by one of the Lindsay sisters, in which she lists the destruction of her family. The vengeful tomes were added later, by future visitors, malicious graffiti to fuel hatred.

We  know that very few accounts exist of the autrocious behaviour of the British and the army of retaliation. The few that are mentioned are done so in a fleeting, almost off hand in manner. This is pure arrogance - the destruction the British left in their wake and the horrors they perpetrated during their advances should not be swept away. After the siege, Delhi was a ghost town - city of the dead, with bodies rotting in the streets, eerily silent and empty. The native population fled after the fall of the rebel army, fleeing from the on coming British who had very little more in mind than plunder and revenge. Stories were rife that the city should be razed to the ground, the mosques blown up and the fort destroyed - fortunately,sense prevailed and at least some of the city was left standing. This was an unequal war fought on unequal grounds, it would be wrong to say "but look what the Indians did." Violence is not an excuse for more violence. The only equality we can give them is all sides were wrong. There was no reason to kill the Leeson children or murder the souls in the Bibigarh as there was no reason for the British to indiscriminately hang every Indian they came across or burn their villages.

There are some who are more invested in the story of Cawnpore than others - those who had ancestors who died in the entrenchment, at the ghat and in the Bibighar. I have, over time, come into contact with some who lost much of their families there - and even though in the light of our ever so modern world, we should not forget that all those that died, albeit 161 years ago, are lives that were destroyed and dreams never fulfilled. Somewhere, for someone, be they Indian or British, a future was never lived. What would their contributions have been? Would we perhaps live in a different world had they lived? Maybe their lives would not have been any more significant than our own, but these are musings we will never know the answer to.

Without further adieu, I have added here a short film, a tribute to Kanpur.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fugzn8PAM48

(All credit for the film to India Rising and my thanks for allowing me to link it to my site).

11th May, 1857, Delhi

The mutineers arrive in Delhi

Leaving Lucknow behind for a moment, I would like to take you, my fair readers, to Delhi. More specifically, St. James' Church at Kashmiri Gate.

St. James' Church with war damage

The first church to be built in Delhi in 1836, it was commissioned by Colonel James Skinner. He built the church at his own expense, spending the princely sum of 95,000 rupees. It was designed by Major Robert Smith and took ten years to complete.  It is constructed on a cruciform (Greek Cross) plan with three covered porches, highly decorated stained glass windows and a central, octagonal dome. The copper ball and cross are said to be copy of a church in Venice. In 1857, these were used as target practice by the Sepoys, sustaining irreparable damage and were finally replaced. The church itself was damaged by shellfire during the uprising.

The copper ball and cross, pockmarked with bullet holes

Today the building is being attacked again, not by war but by a different kind of monster - progress. Inevitable in the expansion of any city, the trains from the nearby Kashmiri Gate metro station are damaging the foundations of the church and the much revered Heritage Line, with a stop barely 5 minutes from the church is further undermining the construction. St. James' was built in gentler times, when its' architects never envisioned the sprawling behemoth that Delhi has become. The Delhi chapter of INTACH are doing their best to save the church and their efforts have not been without fruit.

On my last visit to St. James' Church, I decided to photograph the memorial plaques on the walls. In keeping with my own efforts to put a personal history to the many names I have found commemorated there I shall attempt to bring them to life.

This is the memorial plaque to  the Reverend Jennings and his daughter, Annie Margaret, who were killed, together with Miss Clifford, Mr. Fraser and Mr. Douglas on the 11th of May in the apartments of Mr. Douglas at the entrance to the Red Fort. Annie had only recently arrived in India to keep house for her father, as her mother was in England overseeing the education of the younger Jennings' children.

Mary Jane Alicia Clifford, 24 years old, was in Delhi to help Annie prepare for her wedding to Mr. Charlie Thomason of the Bengal Engineers and son of the former Lieutenant Governor to the Punjab.  She had come out to India to keep house for her brother, Wigram Clifford, aged 23, of the Bengal Civil Service, Mewati Outpost, Gurgaon. They were the children of Captain M. Clifford, of Carn Cottage, County Cavan.

The girls were both said to be pretty and vivacious, Annie was very active in organizing the choir at St. James' Church and it seems, that during their time in Delhi, there was sudden rise in church attendance among the soldiers in the nearby cantonments, braving the lengthy, fiery sermons of the reverend to spend some time in the company of the pretty girls.

This probably was down to the prettiness and enthusiasm of the girls and  not the exertions of the Reverend. For exert himself he did, but not in a way designed to bring anyone any comfort. Reverend Midgley Jennings served as a chaplain to the East India Company from 1832, serving in Kanpur and other locations until his posting in Delhi in 1852. He was committed to converting India to Christianity and his views were seen as both brash and insensitive by the  residents in Delhi. Although Jennings was not the sole cause of the mutiny, he and his preaching brethren certainly did nothing to promote harmony among the people of India and the British. Describing the Mughal court of Bahadur Shah Zafar as the evil empire and unabashedly comparing Islam to the Antichrist in the scriptures and calling Hindus "Satanic pagans", Jennings used education as a front, fervently setting up the Delhi Mission and he made it his goal to offer education "of a superior kind" to the elite of Delhi. It goes without say that there were many British in India who did support Christian conversion - and it explains why no one stopped Reverend Jennings on his tumultuous trek of preaching in India for over 20 years.

The very public conversion of Dr. Chaman Lal indirectly led to the doctor's death at the hands of the mutineers in 1857. He had been the personal physician to the Mughal emperor and his baptism, along with that of the prominent mathematician, Master Ramchandra, on the 11th of July 1852, did not sit well with many of the citizens of Delhi. " Even the king  Bahadur Shah Zafar did not like their conversion and offered to convert them to Islam if they were not satisfied  with their own religion." (Delhi in 1857. N.K. Nigam, 1957, pp.17)

Reverend Jennings could not help crowing about the baptism to the SPG writing that it

"..consequentially caused  the greatest excitement throughout the city..The whole Hindu population assembled around the church on Sunday evening."

Dr. Chaman Lal had been attending to his patients at the hospital in Daryaganj on May 11th 1857, when he was pointed out to the mutineers as a Christian and shot outside the dispensary.

There are many myths attached to the deaths of Miss Clifford and Miss Jennings. In particular, they were used as objects to fuel feelings of hatred and revenge with wild exaggerations of their murders circulating in the papers of the day and spread throughout the length and breadth of India. What could have been going through the mind of the brothers of the girls  when they the heard stories of their having been stripped naked, insulted in a barbarous manner, (depending on the account), either cut to pieces bit by bit, or crucified and displayed naked on the ramparts of the fort? It is no wonder they were filled with a thirst for revenge and probably a maddening hatred for Indians.

These tales were  the vicious exaggerations of writers  whose only intent was to sell their rags to a gullible public and fan the flames of retribution. The public was at the mercy of this unscrupulous peddlers of smut and lies.

What is known is when the outbreak occurred, they were in the apartments of Mr. Douglas above the Lahore Gate in the Red Fort. They were found and murdered on the spot. Though one account has the girls hiding under a sofa or in a cupboard, it is ultimately of little consequence. What is important to note though, is contrary to the rags of the day, they were neither violated, paraded naked through the streets, chopped into pieces while still alive or crucified on the walls of Delhi.

Lahore Gate, Red Fort, Delhi 1857-1858
oldindianphotos.in
Source: National Gallery of Canada

A monument did exist to the Miss Clifford and her brother "A List of Christian Tombs and Monuments in the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir and Afghanistan Vol. II Inscriptions, 1910", the gravestone reads as follows:

"Sacred to the Memory of  M.J.A. CLIFFORD daughter on Captn R.M. Clifford, Carn Cottage County Cavan, aged 24 years who was cruelly murdered on the 11th of May 1857 in the palace of Delhie when on a visit at the Revd J. Jennings also to the memory of WIGRAM CLIFFORD brother of the above Bengal Civil Service, aged 23 years who having shared in all the dangers of the Siege of Delhie fell in an attack on an outpost of the Mewatties near the village of Alipore in the Goorgoan district on the 31st of October 1857. This Monument has been erected by their friends."

From C.J. Griffiths:

"C---d escorted his sister to Delhi on May 10.. He returned to Goorgaon, little thinking he would never see her again...It was not until May 12 that C----d heard of the mutiny and, fearing death from the populace of Goorgaon, who had also risen in revolt, he disguised himself as best he could and rode off into the country…" (A Narrative of the Siege of Delhi with an Account of the Mutiny at Ferozepore in 1857." Charles John Griffiths, 1910,  pp. 95)

In the book by Mark Thornhill, then magistrate at Mathura, we have the following description of Wigram Clifford:

"..he was quite a young man, armed with sword and revolver, and wore twisted around his hat a large native turban - he looked very tired and exhausted…"

He was on his way Agra to inform the officials there of the events. Wigram related the story of the uprising in Meerut to Thornhill, the events in his district, which had been overrun by insurgents, and the story of Delhi:

"When I inquired the names of the victims he broke down altogether, for among them was his only sister, a young girl of eighteen, who had but a few months previously arrived in India." (The Personal Adventures of a Magistrate During the Rise, Progress and Suppression of the Indian Mutiny. Mark Thornhill,  1884, pp. 5 - 6 Introductory).

C.J. Griffiths, a school friend of Wigram Cliffords', met him in Delhi.

"From what he hinted, I feel sure he had it on his mind that his sister, before being murdered, was outraged by the rebels. However this may be, my old school-fellow had become a changed being. All his passions were aroused to their fullest extent and he thought of nothing but revenge. Armed with sword, revolver and rifle, he had been present at almost every engagement with the mutineers since leaving Meerut. He was known to most of the regiments in the camp, and would attach himself to one or the other on the occasion of a fight, dealing death with his rifle and giving no quarter. Caring nothing for his own life, so long as he succeeded in glutting his vengeance on the murderers of his sister, he exposed himself most recklessly throughout the siege, and never received a wound." (Griffiths pp.97)

 Then follows a further encounter with Wigram, which horrified Griffiths and indeed would anyone, even today:

" On the day of the final assault I met him in one of the streets after we had gained entrance to the city. He shook my hands, saying he had put to death all he had come across, not excepting women and children, and from his excited manner and appearance of dress - which was covered with blood-stains - I quite believe he told me the truth."

Griffiths dined with Clifford the night Delhi was taken. Clifford told him was going to take part in an assault the next morning on a small village nearby.

"All my remonstrances at this were of no avail; he vowed to me he would never stay his hand while he had an opportunity of wreaking his vengeance…"  (Griffiths, pp.98)

Nor did he. Clifford  had become a fearsome, vengeful man, committing terrible acts of violence. Assisting in the suppression of the revolt in Mewat, Clifford burnt many villages and murdered the inhabitants and was finally killed by Meos in October.

Vengeance cannot justify the actions of men like Clifford who were so distraught and twisted by grief they no longer felt compassion or pity. They had turned into butchers and their own deaths were a relief not only for themselves but for everyone around them. We cannot allow ourselves to become blinded.  As Griffiths writes this was "the most cruel and vindictive war the world has seen," (pp. 99)and one that pitted men against each other regardless of caste or creed, Indian or English. Horrors were a feature on both sides and it would be incorrect to lay all of it on men like Clifford as many contemporary writers have done. Although one can argue that the British were wrong for being in India in the first place, that view point is much too simplistic as one would then have to argue of the righteous position of Emperor Bahadur Shah himself, seeing that Mughals were not the natural inhabitants of India either. None of this is any justification for the indiscriminate killing perpetrated during the mutiny by any side. Slaughter has no excuse.

The Cliffords had another brother who served in India, Robert Clifford. However, he missed the mutiny all together as the ship taking him to India broke down and was set down for lengthy repairs on the South American coast. He arrived in Calcutta too late. Born in 1839, he would have been 18 in 1857. He went on to serve with the Sam Brown Cavalry and later with the 2nd Punjab Cavalry, retiring from India in 1881 and died at Carn Cottage in 1930. Their other relative, a cousin, Richard Henry Clifford, the deputy collector of Mathura, survived the mutiny, having been hidden away by a loyal servant.

The Jennings family too have a son commemorated in Delhi, at St. James' Church. 

William John Jennings was on his way to India when the mutiny broke out and heard of the deaths of his father and sister while in transit in Malta. He joined the 2nd European Bengal Light Cavalry in 1858 and later transferred to Mayne's Horse and died in 1860, aged 22. Another Jennings brother, Robert, arrived in India in 1859, joining the 2nd European Bengal Light Cavalry the same year. He attained the rank of general in 1905 and received his knighthood in 1909, eventually dying in Bournemouth in 1922, at the ripe old age of 81.

As the next plaque relates once again to the Jennings and Clifford families, it is necessary to present a brief outline of what happened on the 11th of May in Delhi.

The mutineers from Meerut arrived in Delhi quite unexpectedly in the morning crossing the bridge of boats over the Yamuna. At first a lone rider made his way to the Lahore Gate but could not get in. Captain Douglas, Commandant of the Palace Guard, was informed of the man's arrival and on being informed by the rider that he had just arrived from the mutiny in Meerut and was demanding water and a pipe. Douglas immediately ordered the man's arrest but it was too late, the man put spurs to his horse and rode off. 

By the this time, the King, from his chambers, could see the arrival of the rest of the mutineers from Meerut. Advised to shut the gates below, he gave the order and sent for Captain Douglas. Some more of the mutineers soon arrived and began loudly to demand an audience with the King.

Afraid of letting Douglas open the gate and going down to meet the men, the King advised Douglas to speak to them from the balcony. Douglas told them, 

"Don't come here! These are the private apartments of the ladies of the palace. Your standing opposite them is disrespect to the King!"

On hearing this, the men moved off, heading to the Rajghat Gate in the south. 

The King instructed Douglas to close all the city gates, which Douglas proceeded to do, starting with the Calcutta Gate where he found the commissioner Simon Fraser, the magistrate John Hutchinson and Fraser's clerk, Mr. Nixon.

Mr. Fraser had received a late night message from Meerut the night before, informing him that the mutiny had occurred there and the troops were on their way to Delhi. But Mr. Fraser never looked at the note and went back to sleep. It was found the next day in his pocket,  unread.

The Calcutta Gate was already closed but the men received a message that they mutineers had entered the city via the Rajghat Gate and were already plundering the area known as Daryaganj, where most of the European populace lived. As if by command, a group of sowars now appeared from that direction, fired a volley at the gathered men, wounding Hutchinson in the arm and causing the rest to flee. Fraser, hiding himself in a sentry box, found a musket and shot dead one of the assailants, then, mounting his buggy, he sped off towards the fort. 

Douglas,  Hutchinson and Nixon followed Fraser by foot, but along the way, Nixon was killed. Seeing no other means of escape, Douglas and Hutchinson leapt into the ditch which surrounded the fort. However, the jump injured Douglas severely on his feet and his back. Only with the help of some loyal servants were they then carried back to Douglas' apartments above the Lahore Gate.

Here the injured men were tended to by Miss Jennings and Miss Clifford.  Meanwhile, Mr. Fraser attempted to send the two girls into the protection of the King's wife Zeenat Mahal, but it was too late. Armed only with a sword, Mr. Fraser went down to meet the mob.

"Mr. Fraser, seeing such marked feelings of hostility, began to return to Captain Douglas' quarters, and as he reached the foot of the stairs, Haji, lapidary, raised his sword and made a cut at him. Mr. Fraser, who had a sheathed sword in his hand, turned sharply around and thrust at him, with the sword in it's sheath, saying to the havildar of the gate guard,"What kind of behaviour is this?". Upon which the havildar made a show of driving off the crowd; but no sooner had Mr. Fraser's back turned, then the havildar nodded with this head to the lapidary, to signify to him that now he should renew the attack. The lapidary, thus encouraged, rushed upon Mr. Fraser, and inflicted a deep and mortal wound on the right side of his neck. Mr. Fraser at once fell, when three other men..rushed out and cut him with their swords over the face, head and chest until he was quite dead." ( Narrative of Jat Mall, Noah Alfred Chick, Annals of the Indian Rebellion, 1859, pp 137-138).

Talwar,1857-1859

Unhindered the mob rushed upstairs to Captain Douglas' apartments, and, armed with talwars, quickly killed Mr. Hutchinson, Reverend Jennings and the two ladies. One of the King's bearers, Mamdoh, grabbed a hold of Jokhun,Captain Douglas' mace bearer (who was trying to flee the apartments) and forced him back upstairs.

"I said, 'you have yourselves killed all the gentlemen already,' but on reaching the room where Captain Douglas was, I saw that he was not quite dead. Mamdoh perceiving this also, hit him with a bludgeon on the forehead and killed him immediately. I saw the other bodies, including those of the two ladies. Mr. Hutchinson was lying in one room, and the bodies of Captain Douglas, Mr. Jennings and the two young ladies in another, on the floor, with the exception of that of Captain Douglas, which was on a bed." Chick, pp. 137).

We come now to the Collins' family.

Until now, I have not been able to find out very much about them, so please have some patience as I continue my humble research. For now, I have pieced together the following:

Thomas William Collins had been for many years,  the Deputy Collector of Delhi, having been appointed to the position in 1833. He had a very extensive family. I have found birth records of 3 of his younger children:

1838, Sept. 19 : COLLINS  At Delhi, the lady of Mr T W Collins, of a son.  (Parbury's Oriental Herald & Colonial Intelligencer, Bengal Births 1838-39)

1840: At Delhi on the 22d August the Wife of Mr Thomas William Collins of a Daughter.  

1842:  At Delhi on Tuesday the 12th July the wife of T W Collins esq., deputy collector of a daughter. ( Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce)

 

and then marriage records of older daughters:

"By License at St. James' Church Delhi on the 21st of August 1848  by the Revd W. Boyle, Mr. Hugh A. Brown Assist Delhi Bank, eldest son of Capt. T. Brown, Mayfield, Edinburgh, to Paulina, the second daughter of T.W. Collins, Esq.,Dy Collector Delhi." (Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, Marriages 1848)

 

Then an entry for the 11th of January, 1851:

"Delhi, a son to the wife of Mr. Hugh A. Brown." (Samuel Smith & Co., Directory for 1852, Birth Announcements)

Neither Paulina or her husband are mentioned on the family plaque at the church.

It would appear that Paulina died in Calcutta in 1872:

 

Brown - At Calcutta, March 27, Paulina M., wife of H. A. Brown, postal dept., aged 43. (Allens Indian Mail, All India Deaths 1872)

 

 in 1850, there is the following notice: :

"At St. James' Church on the morning of the 9th of April, by the Revd W. Boyle, Mr. John Leeson of the Commissioners Office late son of Major J. Leeson of the 42nd Light Infantry and Honorary ADC to the Governor General to Miss Winifred Rose, eldest daughter of T.W. Collins, Esq, Deputy Collector of Delhi." (Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce Marriages 1850)

There is another entry for the Leesons in 1848:

"At St. James' Church Delhi on the 23rd Oct by the Rev Wm Boyle, Mr J. Kane of the Magistrates Office to Miss Martha Leeson, youngest daughter of the late Major Joseph Leeson, 2d Irregular Cavalry and HADC to the Governor General." (Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce Marriages 1848).  Although this entry is perhaps not important to the scope of this writing as I have not investigated the Kane family any further, it might serve as link for anyone who is looking for them.

In 1851, Winfred Rose gave birth to her son:

"At Delhi on the 29th of March the lady of J. Leeson, Esq, Head Clerk of the Magistrates Office a son and heir". (Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce Births 1851)

This was followed in quick succession by three more children:

May 6th 1853, a son and on December 14th, 1855 a daughter. There is also a further son, on the 28th of September 1856.  The entry for Eveline A.R. Leeson, son of J. Leeson who died on the 14th of July 1854 aged 1 in Delhi, is probably the son born on the 6th of May 1853.

The children on the plaque are described as T.W. Collins' grandchildren:

John T.C., Josephine and Joseph O'R.C.

Their mother was the Mrs. Leeson who was brought to the Delhi Camp in 1857 having been saved by from death by residents of the city. She is no longer just the Eurasian or the woman who was mistaken for an Afghan boy, she is Mrs. Leeson, the lady of J. Leeson and the mother of three children, whose names forever rest on the plaque at St. James' Church.

We can start making a picture what befell the Collins family on that day in 1857.

Florence Wagentreiber writing about her family's escape from Delhi has an account of Mrs. Leeson. 

"The lady mentioned by Wilberforce in his book (a missing chapter of the Indian Mutiny) was a member of the Collins and Staines family who nearly all perished during that terrible time most of them on the morning of the outbreak.

"On the morning of the 11th of May, the members of this family, in common with all the Europeans in Delhi, were alarmed by the report that mutineers from Meerut had entered the city and were massacring Europeans. They consequently all assembled in a fine house which belonged to one of them near the Church, and close to the city wall. The house had a tyekanna or deep underground apartment made for coolness in the hot weather the floor of which, though much below the level of the ground within the city, was on a level with that on the outside of the walls, and with which it communicated by a small door pierced through the city wall. Tither they descended to the number of about thirty, including children and infants. There they remained during the whole of the 11th of May..."

On the 12th of May, they left their concealment, probably spurred on by the crying of the children who by this time must have been hungry and thirsty.

"Their house was close to the Water Bastion one face of which looked towards the ridge...while the other in which was the door mentioned, looked towards the river. Through this door they all passed, and went along between the wall and the river till they came to a small arched gateway, but without  a gate on it, in the city wall, and leading into the city. At this archway they found 2 Sepoys who said they had orders to bring them all to the palace before the king. They accordingly brought them inside the city wall again and led them up to what are now the Government College grounds which were then covered in dense bushes. As they were going up here in loose order, one of the Sepoys shot one of the women and her two little daughters crying out, "Oh they have shot mama!" ran away to hide themselves in the bushes...Mrs Leeson's account of what followed was most pathetic, but considering there were were several men in the party, most unaccountable..."

Florence continues the account, describing how the family were deliberately shot down by the escort "as they walked quietly along, none of them apparently except the first two little girls, making any attempt to escape, either by running away or by attacking the two Sepoys. They seemed overwhelmed by the idea of Kismet..." (Reminiscences of the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 - Florence Wagentreiber, 1911, pp 46)

The men were in fact a party of the King's servants who said they were taking them to the Fort.

 From here, one can piece together what happened to Mrs. Leeson. She was shot, the baby in her arms was thrown injured from her arms. As she lay on the ground badly wounded, her other two children were murdered before her eyes. As recorded by Mrs. Harriet Tytler who saw Mrs. Leeson after she was brought to Delhi:

"Before they had killed all the others, Mrs. Leeson's little boy of about six drew close to his mother and, raising her head, put it on his lap and began caressing her face. The little girl of three, running up to her wounded mother, laid herself down by her side..After those soldiers of the King had butchered the rest of the family they came up to her little boy and cut his throat...They then took the little girl and cut her from ear to ear through the mouth...That poor child was some some six hours before she died, all the time writhing away from her mother, in her agony, further and further from her mother till she heard one piercing shriek and then no more, so the mother supposed somebody must have killed her outright. There the poor baby lay on the ground, picking the grass and moaning pitifully, till he died too." ( The Indian Mutiny 1857, Saul David, 2002,  pp 286).

Needless to say, the children of Mrs. Leeson died terrible deaths and on my life I cannot imagine how anyone could be so motivated to subject children to such torture. If the murder of the Leeson children moves you to tears as it does me 161 years too late, then why do the murders which are perpetrated daily on countless other innocents barely warrant a shrug from most of us? Where is our outrage? How hypocritical we have become. Maybe one day, someone will give all the murdered children their names back, but for now, I can only name John, Josephine and Joseph.

I have digressed long enough and I apologise for my momentary lapse of focus.

Mrs. Leeson was rescued by two kindly Afghans and hidden in the city until August when she was brought by them in disguise to the British camp. They refused any reward for her rescue saying they had saved her for humanity's sake. She was later reunited with her husband John. Although I have as yet been unable to discover how he managed it (although it appears he was not in Delhi at all at time but away on business outside of the city), John Leeson spent the mutiny in the fort at Agra and was reunited with his wife later in 1857. They returned to the college grounds to look for the remains of their murdered children but they never found them.

College Building in Delhi, damaged in 1857. Picture by John Murray, 1858
oldinidianphotos.com

Source:  British Library

Now let us get back to the bewildering Collins and Staines family.

In 1843, three sisters married in Kasauli.

"At Kussowlee, Mr. G. Hunt,Sergeant Major, Sappers and Miners, to Amelia Margaret Staines, Mr. T.H.W. Johnstone, Sergeant, Sappers and Miners to Matilda Staines; and Mr. G.R. White, acting assistant overseer Public Works, to Augusta Staines, third, fifth and sixth daughters of the Mr. W. Staines." (Allens India Mail, Bengal Marriages 1843).

These were the sisters of Eleanor Collins, the wife of T.W. Collins. It is from here, we have the connection to G.R. White and Mrs. White on the plaque and Mrs. Hunt and the depressing list of names of their children.

Amelia Margaret Hunt, and Augusta White who married in Kasauli were murdered along with their children, George S., Margaret and Mary Hunt, and James, Henry, Edward  and Christiana White and their infant brother. G.R. White, the husband of Augusta is also on the list. I have often wondered if Margaret and Mary Hunt were the girls who ran away to hide in the bushes when their mother was shot.

J.W. and E.W. Staines were the brothers of Eleanor Collins. Her sisters Christiana Staines and Eliza Cochrane are also there.

J.W. Staines is listed as having had 4 sons, born in 1840, 1844,1846, 1848. The same J.W. Staines loses a son named Charles Henry, aged 5 months and 24 days in 1848. I believe William C. and Lewis C., who are on the plaque, may very well have been his sons.

A death for Mr. William Staines is listed in 1841 at Delhi, presumably the W. Staines mentioned in the marriage notice.

The Corbett family is something of a mystery. The most I have been able to find is they were related to the Jim Corbett of the national park fame and there is a story that Thomas Bartholomew was burned to death on the walls of the Red Fort but again, I cannot put much stock into this. Charlotte and Harriet Corbett are listed as being among the prisoners murdered in the Red Fort.

"Their names, as far as I and my children have been able to recollect them, are...

Mrs Scully and three children; Mrs Glynn, Mrs. Edwards and two children, Mrs. Molony and two children; Mrs. Sheehan and child; Mrs. Corbet and daughter, Mr. Staines, Mrs. Staines, Mrs. Cochrane, Miss Staines, Miss M. Hunt, Miss E. Berresford, Miss L. Riley, Master Richard Shaw, Miss Alice Shaw, Miss Ann Shaw, Mr. Roberts and son; Mr. Crow, Mr. Smith..." (Mrs. Aldwell, Annals of the Indian Rebellion, pp.145)

And so we come to the  Berresfords (or, alternately, Beresford)

George Berresford was the manager of the Delhi and London Bank. The building still stands, albeit is it it is hard to find and it is harder to imagine it was once a bank. Today it is the home of a famous electrical and hardware market in Chandni Chowk, known as Bhagirath Palace (or Place). The building itself had once been a palace, belonging to the famous Begum Samru. It is here that the Berresfords made their stand.

Delhi Bank, before the 1857

On the 11th of May the family had gathered at the bank with a few clerks. From the roof of the bank George, the clerks and his wife, Sarah, attempted to defend themselves but were eventually overpowered. Mrs. Berresford as armed with hog spear and with this rather formidable weapon she managed to skewer one or two of her assailants but ultimately it was for naught. One of their daughters either remained  the outhouses behind the bank or made it back there,  but she was captured and taken to the fort, where she was killed along with the rest of the Europeans.

The Bank of Delhi, photographed by Major and Harriet Tytler in 1857

One of the stories, popular at the time and still often repeated, is the Berresfords had their throats cut by broken glass. According to Gulab, a witness,

"I was witness to the murder of Mr. Beresford and his family. When the bank was attacked by the mutineers and the rabble, Mr. Beresford and his family retired to one of the out-offices for concealment, but when discovered, were on the roof of the building. Mr. Beresford was armed with a sword and Mrs. Beresford had a spear. The mutineers, being afraid to approach them by the staircase in front, two of the rabble suggested that they should go around and scale the wall in the rear of the house. Mrs. Beresford struck one the assailants with a spear, and killed him; they were, however, overpowered and all killed. I don't know what number of persons were killed at the bank, but there were several..." ( Annals of the Indian Rebellion, pp 141)

I do not believe the story of the glass - the mob who attacked the Berresfords was in an uncontrollable frenzy and doubtlessly, hacking their way from one site to the next. One can only hope their end was swift.
Their bodies were found after the end of the siege of Delhi and buried in the grounds of  St. James' Church.

Another view of the bank

A further tablet is the one of Frederick  Taylor, principal of the Delhi College. Master Ramchandra takes up the story:

"As it was the summer season, we attended the Delhi College at 6 a.m.; so the next day, the 11th of May, I went to the College early in the morning. At about 8 o'clock a.m., when I was teaching my class in the yard of the upper room, some students told me that the mutineers from Meerut had come to the city. I threatened the students who had said such things, not in the least believing the report. At last some servant of Mr. Roberts brought the news that the mutineers from Meerut had actually arrived, and had killed an European officer in charge of the bridge. Then Mr. Taylor, our Principal, thought it proper to give leave to the whole College though he still did not consider this a very serious matter. I went to the College hall, and sat down with Mr. Taylor, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Stewart , junior, and were talking on the subject. Mr. Taylor wrote a letter to the Captain of the magazine, to be informed whether these reports about the mutineers had foundation. The Captain wrote only these words in reply - 'Come quickly.' No sooner were these words read by Mr. Taylor, than we were struck with horror. Mr. Taylor, Mr. Heatley, the editor of the Delhi Gazette, Mrs. Heatley, Mr. Roberts and all the European teachers of the College went over the the magazine immediately." (Chick, pp.210)

It is uncertain what happened to Mr. Taylor next. If he managed to make it to the magazine, then he was killed when it was blown up by Willoughby as was asserted by an Urdu newspaper published in Delhi in 1857.  If not, then the other account, which tallies more with the words on his plaque, could be closer. After leaving the College, he was given shelter by an Indian friend, but when trying the flee the city in disguise on the 12th of May he was discovered and beaten to death in the street.



1 (Delhi in 1857. N.K. Nigam, 1957, pp.17)

The Story of Private Murphy and his Escape from Satichaura Ghat

My main intent with this blog was to show lives. I did not start out with the idea that I would regale you, dear readers, with lengthy tomes of strategy and battles and the deeds of great men. There are others whose understanding and imaginations are more vivid than mine and are estimably better equipped to relate those tales. I have instead  turned my attention to finding out the smaller man, the less eloquent man, the forgotten man.Tales of the survivors of Cawnpore are few and far in between which is not surprising considering the circumstances. There is the much dissected text of Amy Horne, the account of the grieving Jonah Shepherd and the riveting tale of Captain Mowbray Thomson and the rather bewildering words of Lieutenant Delafosse. However there is nothing from Gunner Sullivan – he did not live long enough to leave anything behind, succumbing to cholera just two weeks after his rescue. Then there is Private Murphy. I have searched endlessly to find out anything about this man. It was long and confusing search and I am no where near the end – but I am determined that he should have his well deserved moment in my writings. After all, he was one of the survivors of Satichaura Ghat and his tale could not be less interesting that that of Captain Thomson.  My search led me to this link:

https://search.wellcomelibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1933445?lang=eng

(If you cannot access the link, please let me know).

And the reward was a memorandum of Private Murphy, written in his own hand – his story of Cawnpore and the aftermath.I have, faithfully as possible, transcribed the pages, and leave it to my reader’s discretion to step into the mind of Private Murphy. He writes breathlessly, almost rambling from event to event, as if he was once again reliving the days as he wrote.  There is perhaps nothing spectacular in this text, but it provides with another view point  - the words are from the pen of a genuine survivor, a man of Cawnpore. (I have kept the same page numbers so if my readers would like to look at the original document, as provided in the link above, it will be easier to find the text. There are some words I was unable to fathom though not from lack of trying and would be grateful for any input in this regard. I would also point out at this time, that Private Murphy appears to have been somewhat distracted at the time of his writing as he erroneously writes he left Barrackpore in June – it is my belief, he meant May.  He also states that a Mrs. Brown brought the message from the Nana Sahib to the Cawnpore defences and I have no compunction to contradict him. The punctuation, for sake of clarity, is mine. Illegible words I have inserted a (…) for reference that there is something missing).

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Royal Victoria Hospital 15th February 1869

Enlisted in the city of Cork in the month of June 1853 at the age of 18 years and went from there to Chatham where I joined my depot which was the gallant 84^th Regiment.I was a very short time there when I went to join my regiment which was at the time in Madras. Going to Rangoon, where we were stationed for very near 4 years when there was a sudden rout came for the removal of the Regt. to Calcutta at a very short notice which we did accordingly and landed in Calcutta in the month of April 1857 and proceeded to Barrackpoor, where the Regt had only hard duty to do and to content with a very large and determined body of enemy at the time until General Heresy KCB ordered one of the ringleaders to be hung which was Mango (al) Pandey. I do believe at the time that he belonged  to the 19^th Native Infantry and shortly after this the 19^th Native Infantry was disbanded and allowed to go about their business which they did, according to their own words,  were very proud of the opportunity.  When they proceeded to the different large stations where they joined and formed large brigades during the mutiny. It was on or about the 22^nd or 23rd of (June) 1857 when we left (…)  drawn in Garrys to go to Cawnpoore. There was  only so many could leave at a  time it might be 12 of 14 per diem until there was  companies of the Regt. on their way to Cawnpoore.  There was the 6^th company which led off first, got to Benares and remained there until they were relieved by the F Company of the same Regt. and they proceeded to Cawnpoore and in a few days after the “F Company were relieved by a company of the 10^th Regt of Foot and then we started for Cawnpoore in Horse dak and arrived there at about 11.06 on the following evening  at Cawnpoore. It was a beautiful moonlit night and we were conveyed to the old hospital as it was then called and as soon as we got there, there was 6 men and a corporal mounted guard which I shall never forget.  And  at about 1 or 2 o’clock  there was  a man rode by the gate where the sentinel was posted on the main road leading from Cawnpoore to  Allahabad. The sentinel challenged him

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but he made no answer so he rode by as fast as he could, but at different intervals there was (…) sentinels posted under trees which were the 4^th Light Cavalry and when they challenged this man fired at them and went off like lightning. So the next morning the General came to the hospital and was accompanied by another officer. The two officers were mounted and inquired of the guard what had occurred during the night previous. It was explained to him and the General said “Never mind men, I know who it was but you keep the very good work up and do not fire until I give you an order.” So the following night the E Company was ordered off to Lucknow in charge of Captain O’Brien of the same regiment and as soon as they left the barracks where they were stationed this “G” Company was ordered to replace them. It was done accordingly.
This night there was no sign of anything extra until the next morning when the General ordered some waggons to go out to the different stores and bring in all the arms and accruements they could find which was done unmolested. At the same time there was a great number of the inhabitants collecting in the barracks and about 12 or 1 o’clock the General  ordered a gun to be fired so as to acquaint the inhabitants to get into the entrenchments as quick as they could. In a very short time, they came flocking from all direction, but I am very sorry to say there was a great many failed in doing so and met with an untimely  death. This occurred I am sorry to say on the 12^th of June or as near that date as I can recollect.  And on that day the General and Captain Moore of the 32^nd Regiment assembled all the Europeans who were in the entrenchment including the women and children and told them off to their posts and after this we were order to go and bring all the furniture there was such as tables and beding (…), boxes and everything that could be got to place all around to prevent the Cavalry from charging upon us. So at about 7 o’clock the same night there was about 90 or 100 Sepoys  in the entrenchment as it was called and I was on sentry on the main entrance, such as it was. So these people came to me and wanted to force their way out. I would not allow them out as it was my orders from the General to let no person out but to let all who could, come in. These men were so bent upon getting out that I was fully determined when firing on them but in a short time the General heard of this and he and Captain Moore of the 32^nd Regt. and other officers and  allowed them to go. So off they went. And at the same time there was a great number of horses - in fact nearly the whole of them - tied outside. They made to the horses and carried them

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away to their own lines and no attempts was made to prevent them.  At about 9 o’clock ,the General gave the artillery the order to fire into the enemy’s lines which was done and in a very short the time the enemy commenced to return our fire with a vengeance from every direction. At the time the Mutiny broke out there was not a morsel of European provisions in the camp; only a little grain and such like which was in stores for the cattle. The provisions came in daily on an elephant from the Commissariat so we were very badly prepared indeed. We only had 4 or 5 small guns which were very soon dismounted and disabled as there was no cover for them.  There was a considerable quantity of ammunition and that was the only thing we could boast of.  And certainly that was but of little service to the large Guns for we could only use it with the muskets and after the first three or four days there was very few men to man the guns. They were all killed or wounded. So women and children had to do the duty which they were scarcely able to do, such as carrying ammunition to and fro, between life and death. In performed the above duty there was a great numbers got slain both women and children. There was but one well in the entrenchment which supplied the whole with water and in a short time it became quite impossible to get water from there as there was a constant fire kept on it day and night and it was impossible to obtain a bag of water even for 10 or 15 rupees. The only chance of obtaining it was at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning. At this time, there was four men and a sergeant constantly employed at night to bury the dead and they only had to carry the bodies about 20 yards from where they fell as there was holes dug for that purpose as convenient as possible. Every day there was sorties and charges made on them and each time considerable loss on our side as our party was very weak indeed and it was a great deal more to their advantage.  There was the new barracks which was not finished at the time and two barracks at which we always kept a small party to keep rebels off as well as they could.  Some days we might get a little to eat and at other times we would be for two or three without any.  Every man was in good spirits, expecting relief daily - still no sign of relief came and we were falling off like flies for want of food.  The few horses there were in the entrenchment were served out to all and in very small quantities to man, woman and child and it was quite impossible to get it cooked so you had to use it as it was given.

Wheeler's Entrenchment

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So you can see it was very acceptable even in even in its raw state. Certainly it was very hard on the ladies and the gentry who thought it could never come their turn to eat raw horse flesh but I am sorry to say they was very thankful to get it, besides endure the hardships they had to endure in the month of June which is one of the warmest months in season in central India. And when the Nana Sahib found that we were starved out - in fact starved to death almost  - he sent a woman to us by the name of  Mrs Brown to the new barracks. She had a young child in her arms. She was escorted by a troop of the Fourth Light Cavalry to see if the General would surrender and Captain Moore 32^nd Regiment and some other officers went to see what she came for and she told them the message she brought from the Nana Sahib. At the time there was a white flag at both sides and there was not a single shot fired during the time and everything was as silent as possible. So they returned to the entrenchment unmolested and told the general the Nana’s terms  and what he intended to do.  So the next morning at about 12 o’clock the General came to all the men and asked them their opinion in the matter. All the men, women, children were against it so he went away and on the next morning at about 11 o’clock there was a small tent pitched. There Captain Moore and five other officers went to send a treaty, it was going on for about four hours when they returned unmolested. During the time there was a sepoy told Captain Whiting of the Royal Artillery that there would not be one man, woman or child go safe to Allahabad, so when they returned, the General told Captain Moore of it and he said, “ It is all rubbish, all will go safe.” But we all had our own opinion. Still it was of no use, I am sorry to say it proved too true to our sorrow. The treaty ran thus, “That all Europeans could go safe to Allahabad except any one that was serving under Lord Dalhouseys Government”. There was one man that this did affect by the name of Mr. J (…) who died a few days previous of the smallpox. It was agreed that we were to take sixty rounds of ball ammunition each and our rifle, and to give up all the treasury and all that was in the entrenchment. And that we were to hold

Sati Chaura Ghat

5.

ourselves in readiness to embark at six o’clock and that we were to get all conveyances to take all the sick and wounded to the beach. The next morning came. We were in readiness but to our sorrow, we was disappointed. We did not go until the next day which was on the morning of the 27^th of June.  At the time they were getting the guns down to the river and were hid behind parapets and marched within twenty yards of them and could not see them. They were hid in the long grass. Certainly we were supplied with all sorts of conveyances to the wharfe. We were allowed to get in the river and some on board of the boats when they opened fire from all the Batteries at both banks of the river. I happened to be one of the rear guard, myself with the General and his family, and partly in the water when the firing commenced. The General did not get to any of the boats.  He was seized and brought out of the water and what became of him after I cannot say. I threw any clothes of(f )me and I began swimming to the next boat with was about one hundred yards from me . I was attacked by several of the Cavalry and they came quite close to me. So when they came within about 10 yards of me I dived and got on the bottom and commenced crawling on the bottom as long as I could remain under water. When I rose again to the surface I was about two hundred yards away from them when they gave whip and spur to their horse and after me again. All this time their horses were swimming and the carbines and ammunitions got wet which providence sent at the time and all this time I had a pair of drawers on me and I could not get time to take them of(f). I was thinking at the time that it was all over with me. Still I trusted to my Maker and it did not fail. And after a long struggle I got my drawers off and after that I had good hopes. After this I had a chance. Still at the same time in about half a mile from here the river was crammed with dead and red with blood, both cavalry and infantry cutting down both men, women and children. At length, their horse and themselves got tired and they returned to where the slaughter was going on. This gave me a chance of a start.

Escape in the boats

6.

I proceeded down the current between life and death and the men following me on both banks of the river and kept up a continued fire at me all the time.  I had a small cap pouch on my leg which was tied with a silk handkerchief round my calf and could not spare time to take it off. I swam all that day until 5 o’clock in the evening when I overtook a boat that got away the first thing in the morning and got into her and shortly after we were overtaken by another boat belonging to the enemy and they wanted to capture us and bring us back to Cawnpoore to be slaughtered but as the Lord ordered it there was twenty-five or thirty-five men in this boat and about forty or fifty women and children. There was also muskets and ammunition in it which proved us very good friends. They commenced firing and so did we. It lasted until about 5 o’clock in the morning when they went away. And shortly after this, there was about twelve troopers seen riding after us and going to every village giving the alarm. They used to meet us on the banks of the river and give us a very warm salute from guns as well as from the muskets. So at about 8 o’clock the same morning our boat got stranded on account of the all the water which got into it from the gunshots and no way of getting it out. So on the left bank of the river there was a large village about one mile and from there came a large party of men some in regimental and some in native costume and they came within about one hundred yards of our boat. They commenced firing at us. There was a civil officer in the boat by the name of Wilbert - he gave orders that there was two officers, twelve men to go and face the party. At the time we had no clothes.  We got a piece of cloth and wound it round our waists and carried with us about 30 rounds of ammunition. We drove them back about 600 yards and returned to the boat to see if we could get her off the bank and at the same time everyone that could got into the river to see if we could get her off but it was impossible to do as she was half full of water.  So they came so close two at

7.
a time that we were ordered to face them again. So we followed them so far that we were cut off from the boat altogether and we had to retire by the bank of the river for about seven miles and all the time the party after us firing at us. So they capture the boat and brought her back to Cawnpore were they kept and tortured until the advanced party of General Havelock KCB when they were strangled and slaughtered and then threw into a well which lay in the compound. They separated the men from the women and children. They sent the men to a long bungalow which lay on the plain about 600 yards from where the barracks were. They remained there for some days and shortly before the advance of General Havelock they were brought out of the bungalo(w) and placed in a large ditch which was in the compound and were shot and cut up like dogs. So the fourteen of us had to retire and keep as close to the bank of the river as possible until we reached a small temple about six miles from where we left the boat.  All this time there was a party of the enemy firing at us as fast as they could and during that time we had muskets and ammunition with us. Still we got to the temple and on trying the enter it, it was with great difficultly on account of a mob which lay waiting for us to give us a salute which they did by killing one sergeant and one man severely wounded in the thigh. They surrounded us and brought a large gun and loaded it with ammunition and commenced operations. They brought large bundles of dry brushwood and placed it across the entrance of the temple which they set fire to and threw large bags of gunpowder into the blaze for the purpose of  stiffling (stifling) us and burning us out. During the time we kept the wood off as well as  we could while others were employed firing at the blood thirsty mob which were outside.  And  it was a considerable time when the Rajah of the place came mounted and about one hundred with him and he immediately gave orders for the temple to be pulled down to the ground and if possible take us alive. t the time we were utterly exhausted from hunger and thirst and could not hold out any longer so we proposed  at first to shoot each other,2ndly to have so many at a time to make a charge at the enemy through

Captain Mowbray Thomson, Delafosse and others swimming for their lives

8.

the fire which extended about  four yards  from the door of the temple and on a wall that was about five feet high. But before leaving we threw our rifles and the rags we had into the fire and as soon as they were consumed we left the (…) house.  At the first there was seven of us started to get over the wall and to make a charge at the river which was about eight hundred yards from the temple and out of seven there was four at the river one of which was wounded in the head that was Major Thomson, Gunner Sullivan, and Major Delfosse fell into the fire and was severely burned. I was severely wounded in the shoulder. At the time we were going to the river the only  thing we had to defend ourselves with was some bricks and stones which was laying in the (…) house. The other poor fellows were cut up like dogs before our faces and we could not assist them. So we commenced to swim to Allahabad which was distance of about ninety miles from here.  After being almost starved to death as we did not break our fast for four days only the water we drank. We persevered on our journey swimming between life and death until about four o’clock in the evening when we discovered a large party of natives on the left bank of the river and they were all armed with matchlocks and they hailed us to come to the shore and said that they were friendly to the government. Still we could not trust them on account of the way we were served.  The officers spoke to them and they said that the Rajah was loyal and that if we were to come out of the water  they would take us to the Rajah and we would be taken care of. So at last we consented to go ashore and we decided one way or another.  So when we got into shallow water where we could stand we were trying to go ashore, but we were not able,  for as fast as we stood up we fell down again with weakness and fatigue.  So some of the natives on the beach came to our assistance and we got out onto the bank.  We sat on the grass our feet were so sore we could not stand on them. At this time we were as naked as God brought us into the world. I had 30 rupees hidden about me (tied around his leg in a handkerchief) and I presented it along with a ring which I had on my finger, to the chief of the party, at least I took him to be such.  They then conveyed us

9.to a village which was about one mile from the river, it became very wet and cold but we were still naked so we sat under a large tree which was in the village and shortly after this there was a very old woman came up to us some  saris (?)which at the time we could not make use of on account of being so weak and fatigued so at last thus took and tore a sheet and made five parts of it and gave us our equal share to cover our nakedness. So we remained there about three hours when they sent a message to the Rajah about us. So we were to proceed to the Rajahs at once, but before this they consulted together about casting me adrift on the river so that I could not tell the Rajah that they took the money from me. All this time I could not tell what they were saying, but the officers did and they told them that we were very sorry we could not do more for them at present, so after much persuasion they let me off and did not send me adrift. So in a short time we got an order to proceed to the Rajah and we started. So we went about hundred yards and were obliged to sit and could not proceed any further. So there was an elephant and pony come to meet us. We then proceeded to the Rajahs palace about ten or eleven o’clock at night when he and his (lines?) and soldiers were in waiting for us. So when we got there we dismounted and got into the centre of a large square which was formed. We were to sit down and we did so.  The Rajah then looked at us and appeared to feel very much for us. At the time he asked the officers a great many questions concerning the outbreak and other affairs so that we were sitting there about  two hours when he served us up to a large empty house where there was little dry grass sprinkled on the ground for which we were very thankful for it was a long time since we had the opportunity of having any sleep. So in the morning the Rajah came to us and remained with us about four hours. He allowed us plenty of food and he got us some native clothes and shoes made and very glad we were for to get these. He sent servants through the country to have a look out so the enemy should not come upon us. We remained there during the month of July when word came that Nana Saheb

10.
was coming with two companies of infantry and some cavalry so we were sent to a village about eight miles from there, where we remained about a week. We were sent from there to another Rajah across the river where we remained for five or six days and he sent us to Allahabad. We were on our way when we saw a party of our men on there (their) way to Cawnpore commanded by Lieut. Woolhouse and Lieut. Smith of the Royal Artillery which we joined and marched with them to Cawnpore where we joined General Havelocks force and went with him to Lucknow where we were besieged, until we were relieved by the Commander-in-Chief and then remained there at Allambaugh for four months until the Commander-in-Chief came over a second time and there commenced at Lucknow the second time - this was the final fall of Lucknow. After that I formed a part of General Lugards force through ---and (f..)pore and all other minor engagements. Her Most Gracious Majesty was pleased to grant me one year’s service for the Defence of Cawnpore and one year’s service for the defence of Lucknow. I have continued to soldier up to the present day until my wounds broke out again and my health is commencing to breakdown. When the 84^th Regt. came from India they were stationed at Sheffield and in a very short time after the Commander-in-Chief came with his staff and the Colonel of my Regt. which was then Colonel Lightfoot ,brought me to  his Royal Highness’ notice who requested me to give a detail of the matter and I did so.  And he told me he was very sorry to see me in such a delicate state of health as I was there in. He said that I was not fit to solider any longer but on account of my being a young soldier and without any home or habitation I was permitted to remain in the service which I am sure had I have been discharged at the time I might have received some benefit from HM government which would have enabled me to go through life with credit to HM service and to myself. And I hope and trust it will be kindly taken into consideration now that I consider myself unfit for further service I sincerely hope that  Her Majesty's

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Government will be so kind as to grant me a favourable situation as will enable me to maintain myself and family with credit.
 I beg to subscribe myself
 SirYour most obedient humble servant
  (...)Murphy Pte 2/20 Regt.Late HM 84^th Regt. of Foot. 

An application has been made to get Pte Murphy into the Corps of Commissionaires