A Personal Narrative of the Siege of Lucknow: From Its Commencement to Its Relief by Sir Colin CampbellAccount by British businessman of siege of Lucknow 1857; criticism of East India Company rapacity in Oudh as cause of Sepoy Rebellion. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
13th Native Infantry 1st Madras Fusiliers 32nd Regiment 48th Native 71st Native Infantry 78th Highlanders 7th Light Cavalry afterwards Alumbagh arrived Artillery attack Bailey-guard bayonet brave Brigade Mess Brigadier Inglis bullet Calcutta cantonments Captain Fulton Cawnpore battery children one child Chinhutt Colonel command Commander-in-Chief danger death defence Deprat enemy engineer entrenchments escape European force gallant Gubbins Gubbins's guns Havelock honour horse hospital Hugh Wheeler insurgents iron bridge Judicial Garrison July JUNE Kothee ladies Lieut Lieutenant Lucknow Madras Fusiliers Muchee Bhawn murder musket musketry mutineers Native Infantry wounded night Oude Irregular outpost party poor position prisoners Punjaub rebels Residency retreat rifle road round shot rupees Sago's scarcely sepoys SEPT Sergeant shell siege SIEGE OF LUCKNOW Sikhs Sir Colin Campbell Sir Henry Lawrence Sir James Outram soldiers sortie succeeded three children troops Uncovenanted Service Volunteer Cavalry wall wife and child
Popular passages
Page 311 - Umroula, a village two miles this side of the chief's camp, to inform a friend of the death of his brother by a shot from the British entrenchment at Lucknow, and they told us the road. They appeared to be greatly relieved on discovering that it was not their terrible foe, who was only a few miles in advance of them. We went in the direction indicated by them, and after walking for half an hour we got into a jheel or swamp, which are numerous and large in Oude.
Page 290 - ... feet of gallery, have been executed. The enemy advanced twenty mines against the palaces and outposts : of these they exploded three which caused us loss of life, and two which did no injury ; seven...
Page 310 - I was not annoyed, as such accidents were not unfrequent even when there was no danger to be avoided. It was now about midnight. We endeavoured to persuade a cultivator, who was watching his crop, to show us the way for a short distance, but he urged old age and lameness ; and another, whom I peremptorily told to come with us, ran off screaming, and alarmed the whole village. We next walked quickly away into the canal running under the Charbagh, in which I fell several times, owing to my shoes being...
Page 309 - I was in great spirits when we reached the green fields, into which I had not been for five months. Everything around us smelt sweet, and a carrot I took from the road-side was the most delicious I had ever tasted.
Page 307 - Here we undressed and quietly forded the river, which was only about four feet and a half deep and about a hundred yards wide at this point. My courage failed me while in the water, and if my guide had been within reach, I should perhaps have pulled him back and abandoned the enterprise. But he waded quickly through the stream, and, reaching the opposite bank, went crouching up a ditch for three hundred yards to a grove of low trees on the edge of a pond, where we stopped to dress.
Page 308 - ... on the edge of a pond, where we stopped to dress. While we were here a man came down to the pond to wash, and went away again without observing us. " My confidence now returned to me, and with my tulwar resting on my shoulder, we advanced into the huts in front, where I accosted a matchlockman, who answered to my remark, that the night was cold, ' It is very cold ; in fact, it is a cold night.
Page 352 - Sir J. Outram, GCB, and Sir H. Havelock, KCB " 2. The persevering constancy of this small garrison, under the watchful command of the Brigadier, has, under Providence, been the means of adding to the prestige of the British Army and of preserving the honour and lives of our countrywomen.
Page 32 - There were soldiers, sepoys, prisoners in irons, men, women, and children, hundreds of servants, respectable natives in their carriages, coolies carrying weights, heavy cannons, field-pieces, carts, elephants, camels, bullocks, horses, all moving about hither and thither, and continual bustle and noise were kept up from morning to night. Tents were pitched; and in fact there was scarcely a corner which was not in some way occupied and turned to account.
Page 312 - Lall for the courage and intelligence with which he had conducted himself during this trying night. When we were questioned he let me speak as little as possible. He always had a ready answer, and I feel that I am indebted to him in a great measure more than to myself for my escape. It will give me great satisfaction to hear that he has been suitably rewarded.
Page 312 - ... there was any one in the grove who would tell him where we then were. " We had not gone far when I heard the English challenge, ' Who comes there ? ' with a native accent. We had reached a British cavalry outpost ; my eyes filled with joyful tears, and I shook the Sikh officer in charge of the picket heartily by the hand.