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

LUCKNOW
the main army. And, before the pools of blood accumulat-
ed in the streets in the course of the day's fight had dried
up, the freedom-loving city of Lucknow, discarding the
discouragement and despair caused by their defeat and the
victory of the English, again besieged and bottled up the
English power in Oudh.
It was not only the English army at Lucknow that was
placed in a fix by this firm and determined stand of the
Pandays in the War of Independence. The whole English
army from Peshawar up to Aligarh had to suffer a severe
strain. All the troops had been despatched under the
command of Havelock to fall upon Lucknow ; and when,
in spite of the help of these troops, not only the besieged
army in the Residency was not set free but the army was
beleaguered there, then, the English power in the pro-
vinces below Lucknow became considerably enfeebled.
Though, just then, Delhi had fallen and the English army
there was free, it had enough work on its hands in 'restor-
ing order' in the provinces around Delhi. In these cir-
cumstances, the English Commander-in-Chief left the
armies at Lucknow and Alam Bagh to fight it out them-
selves for the present with the Revolutionaries, and began
to attend to the lightening of the strain on the British
power as the more important task.
The new English Commander-in-Chief, Sir Colin
Campbell, had arrived at Calcutta on the 13th of
August. From that day till the 27th of October,
he was straining every nerve to prepare for the
vast campaign to reconquer Hindusthan from the
hands of the Revolutionaries. He portioned out the
English army as it arrived from Madras, Ceylon, and
China. He cast new guns in the Cassim Bazaar arsenal.
He made excellent arrangements as far as possible for
arms and ammunition, provision, clothes, and transport.
He spent two months in these preparations for the next
great campaign when the news arrived that Havelock and
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THE CONFLAGRATION
Outram were still shut up in the Residency at Lucknow.
Therefore, with the resolve to deal personally with the
obstinate town of Lucknow which fell but rose again, he
set out from Calcutta on the 27th of October.
About the same time, a naval brigade had been formed
under Colonel Powell and Captain William Peel and sent
up the river to Allahabad. From Calcutta right up to
Allahabad and Cawnpore, near all the big roads, small
bands of Revolutionaries were constantly harassing the
English army. If these bands had been found together,
the English could have possibly attacked them all ; but
the Panday forces, trained in the school of Kumar Singh,
hovered round the English army, always avoided battle,
never gave the English any indication of their existence
except when attacking them and, by these guerilla tactics,
had created consternation in the English camp in the
whole province. While trying to drive away such a band
from the Kajva river, the colonel of the naval brigade was
killed. On the day on which the Panday sword drank the
blood of Powell, the Commander-in-Chief arrived at Cawn-
pore. The Commander-in-Chief had himself had a terri-
ble experience as to how the Revolutionary bands harassed
the armies on their march.
Sir Colin Campbell was driving in a carriage from Allaha-
bad to Cawnpore. Though the English had tremendous
difficulties in obtaining transport and the Commander-in-
Chief had to sit in a third-class cart, on the same road
was marching a detachment of a Revolutionary regiment
of infantry mounted on about a dozen elephants. There
were, also, twenty-five horsemen accompanying them. Sir
Colin was alone. When the driver of the cart came near
Sher Ghati, he saw the Revolutionary band coming to the
same place by another road. Though the Pandays did not
pay any attention to the freight on the cart, because they
had no idea of it, still, the freight itself was considerably
anxious ! The commander-in-chief going towards Cawn-
368

LUCKNOW
pore to conquer the whole of India saw standing before
him, suddenly, the terrible Revolutionary band. He gave
up the route and turned back immediately. A word would
have done him ! A sign from the cartman would have
been enough ! And the man who could not have been
caught even after killing thousands of Englishmen would
have been made a prisoner by an ordinary cartman. It
was the difference of a moment. Sir Colin would have
been arrested and taken before Kumar Singh or sent at
once before the Angel of Death !
After escaping from this danger, Sir Colin arrived at
Cawnpore on the 3rd of November. As large a force as
possible had already been assembled there under Brigadier
Grant. The naval brigade mentioned before also arrived
there along with the new English troops. Greathed also,
with the Delhi army, came there having routed the Revo-
lutionaries of the province of Delhi on the way. After
the fall of Delhi, the bravery which Greathed exhibited
in restoring "peace" in the province around Delhi ab-
solutely surpassed that of Neill at Allahabad. It is un-
paralleled. Since the beginning of the Revolution, up till
November, this province was in the hands of the Revolu-
tionaries. But the people in the province were so little
harassed that the English themselves write : "The people
not only cultivated but in many districts as extensively as
ever. In fact, beyond supplying their necessity, the rebels
did not venture to assume the character of tyrants of the
country."⁷ The Pandays had treated this province as was
proper for volunteers fighting for the freedom of their
country—and the British who had set out to crush its
spirit of independence, destroyed it completely as befitted
the proclaimers of slavery ! And, all this, to restore peace!
Burning village after village, hanging on the gallows any
robust man found on the way, and killing the village
inhabitants en route with more recklessness than if they
7. Narrative of the Indian Mutiny.
369
24

THE CONFLAGRATION
were wild birds, Greathed's army came from Delhi to
Cawnpore! That army and the naval brigade effected a
junction with the other white troops there, and Brigadier
Grant began to go down the Ganges. O Ganges! How
many English armies have come to thy shores to proceed
to relieve Lucknow! And O you proud Ayodhya, are you
not now at least going to release the English army from
the dungeons of Lucknow when this new force has come
to terrorise you?
Brigadier Grant had about five thousand English troops
besides hundreds of camels, etc. He had also taken with
him plenty of provisions for the Lucknow army. When
the news came that this army of Grant had fought its
way up to Alam Bagh, Sir Colin Campbell left Cawnpore
and crossed the Ganges. To guard his rear, he left a
select English and Sikh army with a number of guns at
Cawnpore, under the command of Wyndham who had won
fame in several European wars. Sir Colin joined the chief
army at Alam Bagh on the 9th of November. He reviewed
the Alam Bagh forces and planned a combined attack
by the various regiments. He now gave the order to
make an assault on Lucknow on the 14th of November.
Before this, a daring Englishman, called Cavenagh, had
entered the Residency in company with an Indian at night,
evading the sepoy guards by blackening his face and put-
ting on Indian garb. He was sent there to get information
about the state of defences of the Residency and to discuss
plans about the coming attack. He had before this time
delivered the messages of Colin and Outram to each other.
In the Residency and in the English camp at Alam Bagh,
everyone was waiting anxiously for the 14th of November.
Havelock and Outram were to come out of the Residency
to attack the Revolutionaries from inside and Sir Colin
was to press them on the other side! At this time, in the
English camp were to be found most of the eminent
generals and warriors that made their name in 1857.
Havelock, Outram, Peel (of the naval brigade), Greathed,
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LUCKNOW
Hodson of Delhi, Brigadier Hope Grant, Eyre, and the
Commander-in-Chief Sir Colin himself—all were there.
There were fresh Highlanders, Outram’s Europeans
anxious to jump into the field from within the besieged
fort, “ loyal ” Panjabee youths, and still more loyal Sikhs,
with their swords still bespattered with the blood of the
Motherland shed at Delhi !
Such was the English army that started towards Lucknow
on the 14th of November. The whole day was spent in
skirmishes between the English and the Revolutionaries.
About the evening, the English army had advanced fight-
ing up to Dilkhwush Bagh. Sir Colin decided to spend the
night there and encamped in the garden. Though the
Revolutionaries led intermittent attacks even that night,
the English army did not heed them and spent the night
there. Next morning, Sir Colin arrayed all his troops and
gave the order to attack Lucknow again on the 16th.
Then, the English army advanced like a tidal wave and
fell upon Sikandar Bagh. Till it reached this place, it
had not met with serious resistance from the Revolutiona-
ries. But, whoever was the leader of the Revolutionaries
there, he did show some splendid fighting. When the
Highlanders, under Ewart, and the Sikhs, under Powell,
fell upon Sikandar Bagh yelling fiercely, it seemed as if
the undaunted dash of the English force would sweep
everything before it. The Sikh Subahdar, Gukul Singh,
waved his sword in the air and tried his utmost not to
let the Highlanders go before his own fellows. Oh ! Un-
fortunate Lucknow ! With the cruel emulation as to who
will drink her blood most, Sikh and Highlander swords
began grim work. But the strong boulders of Sikandar
Bagh would not move on any account. And when the
stones were destroyed, the heroes there would not move
back at all ! For, when some stones of the wall fell, the
English troops rushed there like arrows. Who goes first,
Sikh or Highlander ? Both are trying hard. But, at
last, the man who first reached the breach is a Sikh. To
371

THE CONFLAGRATION
reward this traitor's valour, a bullet entered right in his
breast ! He fell and immediately Cooper rushed in, and
behind him Ewart and Captain John Lumsden,—and then
Sikhs and Highlanders all quickly rushed in. The Sepoys
within were staggered for a moment on seeing the whole
army entering so quickly. But the hero who led the
Revolutionaries that day at Sikandar Bagh was no ordi-
nary leader. He does not think of retreat !
Victory or Death ! Death or Victory !! This cry fits only
the mouths of those who fight for freedom. Cooper is
the first man who has rushed into the Bagh ; therefore,
the Sepoy must try to kill him first. This cannot be done
except by the brave sepoy officer of the regiment which
revolted at Ludhiana. He looked out for Cooper and ran
straight at him. Clang! Clang! Clang of swords ! A
deep thrust, both simultaneously cut each other and both
fell dead ! Lumsden began to wave about his sword in
the air and shouted, " Come on, men, for the honour of
Scotland ! " How insolent ! For the honour of Scotland!
And has Hindusthan no honour ? Before any white man
came up for the honour of Scotland, a brown hero rushed
forth for the honour of Hindusthan—and blood began to
gush out of Lumsden's lifeless corpse ! While such a terri-
ble hand to hand fight was going on here, the English army
broke the wall on another side and rushed in from there
also. Now this Bagh had no hope of victory. Then, O
Sikandar Bagh, are you going to fight even after victory
is gone ? Fight on, fight on ! Let victory go but do
not lose honour, do not lose fame, jump into the battle as
a duty ! On every door; on every step, in every quadran-
gle, sword clashed with sword ! Blood was shed every-
where. Malleson says, " The fight for the possession of
the enclosure was bloody and desperate, the rebels fighting
with all the energy of despair. Nor did the struggle end
when our men forced their way inside. Every room,
every staircase, every corner of the towers was contested.
Quarter was neither given nor asked for ; and, when at
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LUCKNOW
last the assailants were masters of the place more than two
thousand rebel corpses lay heaped around them. It is
said that, of all who garrisoned it, only four men escaped,
but even the escape of four is doubtful."⁸
Oh, you two thousand martyrs that died fighting for inde-
pendence in Sikandar Bagh, let this grateful history be
dedicated to your memory ! The blood of two thousand
patriots ! This history is dedicated to that blood ! Who
were you that started to fight thus for the country ?
What were your names ? Who was the brave leader that
led you to the fatal battle ? The good fortune of relating
all this, the good fortune of pronouncing the names of you
who sacrificed your bodies in the hope of serving humanity,
has not fallen to our lot ! Let, then, this history be dedi-
cated to your nameless memory alone ! Victory was gone,
but you did not allow your fame to be tarnished ! Let
your blood and bravery purify and adorn the Past and
incite and inspire the Future !
You did not soil your fames, O Heroes of Independence,
but if your self-sacrifice in Sikandar Bagh had begun at
its proper time, victory also would have been yours !
Now, the might of your enemy has increased manifold.
Thousands of new soldiers have come to fight on their
side, their strain has become less after the fall of Delhi,
their moral strength has augmented by victory and yours
has diminished by defeat. Such a dry and lifeless soil,
even the blood of two thousand men will not fertilise.
If, however, as soon as the Revolution began, at the first
onslaught on the feeble Residency, you had rushed up
with the cry of “ Victory or Death ! ”—then, in half an
hour's time, the crown of independence would have shone
on the forehead of Hindusthan. You died as you should
die but the auspicious moment was gone ! Time and
opportunity were gone. In a war of Revolution, what is
8. Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV, page 132.
373

THE CONFLAGRATION
lost by a minute, sometimes, cannot be regained in an
epoch. A drop of blood could have given you victory
then, but, now, even fountains of blood will give you only
fame, but victory is difficult. In the whirlwind of Revo-
lutions, the loss of a single moment spoils the whole plan.
One step back means disaster. The momentary hankering
after life is sure to bring permanent death to the cause !
Blood was abundantly shed in other places also than in
Sikandar Bagh. Dilkhwush, Alam Bagh, and Shah Najaf
were giving a terrible battle to the enemy that day and
that night. In the early morning, all the bells of Lucknow
city began to peal, drums began to beat, and again the
wounded city began to give a fierce battle to the enemy.
The fight at Moti Mahal to-day is not a whit less fierce
than that at Shah Najaf yesterday. But, in the end, the
English got decidedly the upper hand and the English
army was enabled to relieve its compatriots so long shut
up in the Residency. On the 17th, 18th, 19th, right up
to the 23rd, the battle raged at Lucknow and, at last, the
besieged army and the relieving army met each other. The
Residency, over which so long hung the shadow of death,
now assumed a pleasant smile. But, even now, the Revo-
lutionaries did not heed the English victory. Though the
two armies had united and the whole city of Lucknow was
swimming in a sea of blood, they would talk neither of
surrender nor of retreat ! On account of this obstinate
courage on their part, it was always uncertain when the
fighting would be over. So, Sir Colin began again to re-
form the British army. He evacuated the Residency and
collected all the troops in Dilkhwush Bagh. He kept four
thousand men and twenty-five guns in Alam Bagh under
the command of Outram. He made all arrangements
necessary for the future struggle. And for the victory
that had been gained, he very properly praised the
army for its bravery, discipline, and . obedience. Of
this praise, the greatest portion was deservedly given
to Havelock.
374

LUCKNOW
But while the English army was rightly exulting over its
victory, Havelock who had the chief share in it suddenly
died !! By the exertions of the terrible battle-field of
Lucknow, by care and despair, the brave Havelock had
been sinking slowly. And he succumbed at the very
moment of victory. This death poisoned the joy of the
English on the 24th. However, it was not the time for
brooding in sorrow over the dead, but for carrying out
their uncompleted task. If Havelock fell while taking
Lucknow, to take Lucknow was the best way to remember
and do honour to his memory.
But before starting to conquer Lucknow, why these sudden
shocks of artillery near Cawnpore ? Oh, they might be
nothing ! So long as the brave Wyndham, with fame in
European wars, is there, the noise need not materially
disturb Sir Colin. Who is the Revolutionary that would
dare to face an English warrior like Wyndham ?
But these messengers say that Tatia Topé is also there !
Tatia Topé at Cawnpore ! Sir Colin at once understood
the meaning of the news of the cannonade he had heard ;
he sent Outram with the greatest haste against Lucknow
and marched at once towards Cawnpore to see what Tatia
Topé was doing there !
375

CHAPTER VI
TATIA TOPE
WHEN the army of the "mutineers" had been
defeated at Cawnpore on the 16th of July,
Srimant Nana left Cawnpore and proceed-
ed to Brahmavarta. That night—the 16th
of July—was spent by Nana in his palace
there, in deliberation as to his future plans; and
the very next morning saw Nana Sahib approaching the
boats waiting on the river Ganges with his youngest
brother Bala Sahib, his nephew Rao Sahib, his aide-de-
camp Tatia Topé, with all the ladies belonging to the
royal household, and with his treasure and a few supplies.
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TATIA TOPE
Nana was going to Fatehpur in the Lucknow province.
Chowdhuri Bhopal Singh, an intimate friend of Nana
Sahib, received them there very cordially and entertained
them in his house. While Havelock with all his army
was besieging Cawnpore and was thinking of pressing on
to Lucknow, Nana also was deliberating in full Durbar
as to the best means of opposing Havelock.
To find a satisfactory solution to this problem, one person
in this Durbar was eminently fitted by his extraordinary
intellect. His subtle intellect seemed to be ever on the
look-out for difficult problems which awaited solution.
So far, Tatia Tope had done nothing higher than the work
of a clerk ; but then, there was nothing beyond the work
of a clerk, so far, to be done at Nana's Durbar. But one
glimpse of the spirit of liberty—and the Durbar of Nana,
too, showed the characteristic intelligence, alertness, and
brilliance of the old Raigarh Durbar. New aspirations
were now struggling for fulfilment, fresh thrones had to
be established, new armies had to be formed, fresh battle-
fields had to be fought and won. Now, the joy of victory
had gladdened the Durbar but, then, the grief consequent
on defeat produced a reaction. But, in close succession
comes a profound calm ; for, vengeance for past insults
is being planned ; and this calm is being disturbed alone
by the still and silent deliberations in the Durbar as to
the future plan of the Revolutionary party. It was but
natural that the ability, so long latent for lack of scope,
should now step forward boldly, that clever schemes, so
long only suggested to the mind, should now be readily
formulated for action. And it must be admitted that for
clever, deep-laid, successful scheming, an equal of Tatia
Topé would be hard, indeed, to find.
Tatia’s idea was to reorganise the bands disorganised on
account of the defeat at Cawnpore. The splendid logic,
the intimate acquaintance with the most secret springs
of human nature, and the undaunted daring of this extra-
377

THE CONFLAGRATION
ordinary man were so superb that whole regiments of
rude Sepoys would be ready to rise in his favour with one
mind in the course of a single day. When the necessity
for reinforcements arose, Tatia had gone straight to Sheo-
rajpur and enlisted the 42nd regiment—lately risen—for
the new cause. Meanwhile, Havelock had been preparing
to cross the Ganges and advance on Lucknow ; so, Tatia
decided to harass his rear. How the English commander
was, thus, dragged back to Cawnpore, how on his return
he saw, to his surprise, the extraordinary Mahratta ruling
in his palace at Brahmavarta, how the English army was
forced to give battle at this place, and how, in the en-
counter, the army of the Revolutionaries was defeated on
the 16th of August—all this has been described in a pre-
vious chapter. After the defeat, Tatia swam the Ganges
with his whole army and joined Nana at Fatehpur. Re-
inforcements were again necessary. The same problem
rose again. But why need Nana worry about reinforce-
ments so long as Tatia Topé was there? The army in
the cantonments of Gwalior—anxious to meet the Feringhi
in battle—had so far been obliged to keep quiet, because
of the ‘loyalty’ of the Scindia. To Gwalior, then, some-
one must be sent—and who fitter than the wily Mahratta
who, like the magician who weaves a spell round his au-
dience, had seduced and kept within the hollow of his
hand whole regiments of Sepoys? Tatia, then, went to
Gwalior incognito. And shortly after, he had seduced the
whole army—infantry, cavalry, artillery and all—at
Morar, and had even brought them as far as Kalpi. From
a military point of view, Kalpi would have been of great
help to the Revolutionaries. As the river Jumna flowed
between Kalpi and Cawnpore, it could serve as a cover
against the English army. Tatia realised, then, that after
Cawnpore no better base could be secured than the fort
of Kalpi and so he took the fort. When Nana heard that
he had got a good army and the fort of Kalpi, he consent-
ed to make Kalpi his base and sent Shrimant Bala Sahib,
as his representative, to occupy the fort and look after it.
378

TATIA TOPÉ IN THE BATTLE AT KALPI
Tatia Topé's career as a general bears the
stamp of a great military genius. He was well
skilled in military tactics and had made the
old predatory system of Maratha warfare
his study. His success lay in the celerity of his
marches, his knowledge of the country, and the
free-booting manner he adopted to obtain sup-
plies. He carried along with him neither bag-
gage nor commissariat, compelling the coun-
tries through which he passed to provide him
with everything his army required. With an
enemy less perseverent than the British, Tatia
might have founded a great State and rebuilt
the Maratha power. He seemed to mock at
defeat and, at the time, his name became more
familiar to Europe than that of most of the
English Generals. His reputation was by no
means undeserved. The problems before him
were not easy. He had to keep together an
army of beaten soldiers, bound by no tie to
his person and bound to each other by one
common hate—the hate of the British name.
He had to keep this ill-assorted army in constant motion, at a
pace which would baffle not only the enemies who pursued but
enemies who streamed down at right angles to his line of march. He
had, while thus urging his half-disciplined host to mad flight, to
take some dozen cities, obtain fresh stores, collect new cannon and
above all induce recruits to join voluntarily a service which pro-
mised only incessant flight at sixty miles a day. That he ac-
complished these ends with the means at his disposal indicates
ability of no mean kind. He was of the class to which Hyder
Ali belonged and had he carried out the plan attributed to him
and penetrated from Nagpur to Madras, he might have been as
formidable as his proto-type. He gave no mercy and he sued for
none, stern and relentless to the last, he yielded up his life without
a murmur or a struggle, betraying little symptoms of nature or
humanity on the scaffold at Sipri. He seemed to feel that the end
was come and it was easy to perceive in his general demeanour, that
he was quite prepared to yield up the life he had hazarded upon
the cast of the die. While imprisoned in the camp, although heavily
fettered, his bearing was dignified and consistent. Sentenced to be
hanged, by the court martial, he mounted the ricketty ladder of the
scaffold with as much firmness as handcuffs would allow him, and
deliberately put his head into the noose.

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TATIA TOPE
While Bala Sahib was holding the fort, Tatia began to
think of attacking the English army.
At this time, General Wyndham who had earned fame in
the battle-fields of Europe was the chief commander of the
Cawnpore regiments. Sir Colin had gone towards Luck-
now leaving this small army to protect Cawnpore. Tatia,
then, had got his opportunity. The Revolutionaries of
Lucknow were engaging the huge army of Sir Colin and
keeping it busy ; it would be difficult for general Wyn-
dham to get help from outside ; and hence, this was the
time to surprise him, engage him, and, if possible, to get
rid of him. Such was the plan of Tatia. Bala Sahib
thought well of this plan and Tatia himself was made com-
mander of the forces. A mere clerk yesterday, this poor
Brahmin of the Durbar of Nana was the commander of
to-day. He crossed the Jumna and engaged openly in
battle with General Wyndham who had spent a lifetime
on the battlefields of Europe ! And with what means ?
With the recently risen unorganised Sepoy mass and with
the peasant rabble who had accompanied them ! He stood
face to face with the English army which had all the ad-
vantages that organisation, military training, and disci-
pline could give. It was instructive to watch such an
encounter, to see how the spirit of independence could
meet all the overwhelming advantages on the opposite
side. It was a living example and lesson showing to what
extent an army without the advantages of discipline but
with the spirit of liberty could fight, illustrating with what
success it might have fought had it all the advantages of
discipline. With the troops of Gwalior which had joined
him, Tatia had reached Kalpi on the 9th of November.
Kalpi is situated about forty-six miles from Cawnpore.
Having accurately ascertained the exact whereabouts of
the English army, he left Kalpi, crossed the Jumna, enter-
ed the Doab, and, leaving all his treasure and other things
at Jalna, occupied some villages adjoining Cawnpore. He
was playing a deep game in not rushing on to Cawnpore
379

THE CONFLAGRATION
immediately after crossing the Jumna. He did not want
to annoy Wyndham until news came that Sir Colin had
begun to engage in the fight at Lucknow. When that
news did reach him, he advanced on Sheorajpur, occupying
important positions on the way. About the 19th of No-
vember, Tatia, by these clever tactics, was able to cut off
all supplies from the British army. Meanwhile, the
famous commander of the English forces was certainly
not idle at Cawnpore. The stream of the English army
flowing from Calcutta was stopped at Cawnpore, and
Carthew was sent with a division to establish himself on
the road to Kalpi. Wyndham coolly awaited Tatia's
movements. Would Tatia go on to Ayodhya to cut off
the rear of Sir Colin's battalions or would he attack him
in Cawnpore itself ?
But Wyndham was not a commander who would wait for
ever. His daring nature ever pressed him forward. More-
over, he thoroughly believed in the superstition that Eng-
lish troops were superior not only to Indian troops but
all Asiatic troops in general and that the best means of
defeating Asiatics was to attack them boldly on the front
with one heavy charge. " Strong though you may be, the
least hesitation on your part to attack, the least delay,
and the Asiatic becomes proud and conscious of power,
and becomes aggressive. Thus, even if you are weak,
hesitate not, but charge boldly with one united charge,
and the Asiatics would be bewildered and fly before you
through mere fright." Such was the thorough belief of
the English and, out of the many occasions on which they
had acted on this belief, they had been successful on most.
It was considered, therefore, quite a rule well-established
by experiment, that it was not proportion of numbers but
bluff and bullying that was the sure road to victory ;
hence, the advisability of a handful of European troops
charging a large mass of Asiatics straight like an arrow !
Every English soldier coming out to India was made to
learn this rule by heart and every English historian who
380

TATIA TOPE
wrote a book brought this fact prominently before all.
General Wyndham, trained as he was in such warfare and
with such ideas, was not likely to allow Tatia to make his
movements unhampered. He left Cawnpore immediately
and moved towards the bridge over the canal near Kalpi.
Tatia, meanwhile, moved from Srikhandi to the river
Pandu on the 25th of November. When the daring enemy
approached so near, the English army prepared for battle
and the thoroughly-tried antidote against Asiatic courage
just referred to was used on the 26th. On that date,
Wyndham started his straight-as-an-arrow attack. The
Revolutionaries were ambushed in a thick jungle and they
began their cannonade on the English army. After a good
deal of exchange of shots, the English took three of the
guns of Tatia and Wyndham almost believed that,
once again, owing to his bold charge, his army was success-
ful. His army, too, felt the assurance of victory. But
it was a vain hope. For, soon the English troops were
forced to retire steadily. In an instant, the hope of victory
was changed into certain defeat and Tatia pursued him
until he had retreated up to Cawnpore. The Revolu-
tionary cavalry at their back would neither attack them
nor leave them! They wheeled round and round the
enemy, forced the enemy back, and themselves reached
the gates of Cawnpore. Instead of taking fright at the
charge of Wyndham, Tatia himself began the aggressive,
meeting charge with charge.
Says Malleson : “The leader of the rebel army was no
fool. The blow dealt by Wyndham, far from frightening
him, had disclosed to his mind the weakness of the British
leader. . . . Tatia Topé read, then, the necessities of Wyn-
dham's position as he would have read an open book and,
with the instincts of a real general, he resolved to take
advantage of them.”¹

1. Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV., page 167.
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THE CONFLAGRATION
Tatia ordered his army which had fought Wyndham for
twenty-four hours without a minute’s rest that they were
to be ready by the morning to march against the enemy.
But they were not to start the attack until another conting-
ent of the Revolutionaries coming from Shewoli and Sheo-
rajpur opened fire on the right flank of the English army.
As soon as that began, however, they were to begin the
attack in right earnest. Wyndham meanwhile had led
forth his army ready for battle ; but when, even after nine,
the army of the Revolutionaries did not begin the attack,
and not a sign of them was visible, the English army
returned to camp for breakfast. At eleven, the army was
made ready for battle. A vague uncertainty as to the
real intention of Tatia pervaded the atmosphere.
This was soon made known, however, in a terrible manner;
for, cannon-balls were sent flying from the Revolutionary
guns against the right wing of the English. The vanguard,
too, was attacked by Tatia. Directly after this, Wyndham
sent Carthew with six guns to the road to Brahmavarta
to protect that part of Cawnpore. And now a regular
cannonade began. Soon it appeared that the English
artillery-men were falling back. Tatia had arranged his
army in a semicircle and his game was to close on the
enemy from the front and the flanks. Wyndham tried
his best to break through the circle but the guns of Tatia
would not allow him to advance even a step. It seemed
they could not even maintain their position, and the Eng-
lish, within a short time, began to show signs of retiring.
Seeing that the left wing had retired leaving their guns
behind, the right wing held on for a time and tried to
keep the guns. But they could not hold much longer. As
they too retreated, the semicircle of the Revolutionaries
closed on them more tightly. By six in the evening, the
English army was thoroughly demoralised. A short while
more and the rout was complete. Thousands of tents
and oxen, a great quantity of provisions and clothing fell
into the hands of the Revolutionaries. Half of Cawnpore
382

TATIA TOPE
was now in the hands of Tatia. Thus, the second crown
of victory crowned this brave and stalwart Mahratta.
Yesterday’s battle gave him a victory which was but in-
direct and partial, but to-day’s victory was complete and
direct. For he had not merely defeated the clever and
famous commander of the English in a battle which lasted
a whole day, but he had routed the English army thorough-
ly ; he had captured the whole camp, tents and all ; he
had driven them out of a portion of Cawnpore and him-
self retaken the city. Even English historians admit that,
if his army had been as disciplined as he was capable, he
would have been able to destroy Wyndham’s army
completely.
And now the cannonade of Tatia had reached Sir Colin’s
ears. When Tatia came to Cawnpore, he believed as cer-
tain that Sir Colin would be engaged at Lucknow at least
for a month. But soon, Tatia heard that, in some un-
foreseen way, the Revolutionaries had been got rid of by
Sir Colin, and it seemed now pretty certain that Sir Colin
would attack him, and try to close him in by attacking
him from both the sides of the Ganges. Tatia’s face cloud-
ed with anxiety at this news. Wyndham felt very hopeful.
That very night, Wyndham resolved to win back the glory
he had lost during the day. But his men were all tired
and therefore, giving up the idea of the night attack, he
began to prepare for giving another battle the next morn-
ing. He tried to repair the mistakes of the previous day
and determined on an attack. The fight began early in
the morning. The Revolutionaries aimed their artillery
on both flanks of the enemy. The fight went on as on the
previous day till midday. But this day, the English did
not retire. They assumed the aggressive and began a
determined, united, formidable and, as they thought, ir-
resistible, charge.
Irresistible indeed ! The right wing is absolutely shatter-
ed ! Brigadier Wilson is down ! Captain M’Crea is no
383

THE: CONFLAGRATION
more ! Morphy, Major Stirling, Lieutenant Gibbins, all
are down ! Aye, Asiatics can produce a Tatia, after all !
The third day, then, saw a victory for Tatia and his
followers, for they fought hotly and well till late in the
evening and they had routed what remained of the Eng-
lish army. The English army was more completely routed
than even on the day before, both the wings having been
actually driven from the field on this last day. And Tatia
had now captured the whole of Cawnpore and thus the
third crown was shining on the sword of the brave
Mahratta.²
Just when the English army was being routed, the com-
mander-in-chief, Sir Colin, arrived in their camp. He
realised the extent of the injury done to British prestige
by Tatia ; he saw, with his own eyes, the English troops
flying for their very life and the victorious troops of the
Revolutionaries pursuing them ; and he heard, with his
own ears, the trumpets and drums proclaiming the victory
of the Revolutionaries ! He saw the importance of the
struggle Tatia was carrying on at Cawnpore.
Tatia on his part realised that Sir Colin was enabled to
march back to Cawnpore, just at this juncture, to the help
of the English army, only through the utter failure of the
Revolutionary party to hold their own at Lucknow. But
he did not get disheartened. He smashed the bridge near
Ayodhya to render it impossible for the English army to
cross the Ganges ; he also stationed guns near the place.
2. The following graphic picture is given of the defeat by an
English officer : " You will read the account of this day's fighting
with astonishment ; for it tells how English troops, with their tro-
phies and their mottoes and their far-famed bravery, were repulsed,
and they lost their camp, their baggage and position to the scouted
and despised natives of India ! The beaten Feringhis, as the enemy
has now a right to call them, have retreated to their entrenchments
amidst overturned tents, pillaged baggage, men's kits, fleeing camels,
elephants and horses, and servants. All this is most melancholy
and disgraceful."—Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 190.
384