१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

THE ERUPTION
of the guns at the Residency, the battle of Chinhut came
to an end. But, its results still remained. The Revolu-
tionaries now surrounded both Machi Bhawan and the
Residency. Sir Henry, therefore, decided to vacate Machi
Bhavan in order to render his defence more effective. The
arsenal there, containing a large quantity of ammunition,
was blown up, and all the Englishmen now came into the
Residency. This Residency had enough stores of provi-
sions, arms, and ammunition to stand a siege. There were
now, in the Residency, about a thousand Englishmen and
eight hundred Indian sepoys. They prepared to defend
themselves against the vast number of Revolutionaries
collecting outside. Seeing the preparations of the
English general to defend the Residency after the
battle of Chinhut, the Revolutionaries commenced a
regular siege. Thousands of the Revolutionaries were
mustering strong and chafing to put an end to the
slavery and foreign domination.
In this manner, the enraged Ayodhya beat and pursued
and imprisoned the English Power in this little Residency
of Lucknow.⁶
6. The well-known writer of the Red Pamphlet says :—" All
Oudh has been in arms against us. Not only the regular troops
but sixty thousand men of the army of the ex-king, the Zemindars,
and their retainers, the two hundred and fifty forts—most of them
heavily armed with guns—have been working against us. They have
balanced the rule of the Company with the sovereignty of their own
kings and have pronounced, almost unanimously, in favour of the
latter. The very pensioners who have served in the army have
declared against us and to a man joined in the insurrection."
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