Capture of Lucknow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Capture of Lucknow
Part of Indian Rebellion of 1857
Date 1 March – 21 March 1858 Location Lucknow, Awadh, India Result East India Company victory
Belligerents
East India Company	Oudh rebels supported by rebel sepoys
Commanders and leaders
Sir Colin Campbell	Begum Hazrat Mahal
Strength
31,000 104 guns	100,000 (?) unknown number of guns
Casualties and losses
127 killed 595 wounded	Unknown

The Capture of Lucknow was an important battle during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The British army took back the city of Lucknow. They had left it the winter before after rescuing their soldiers and families who were surrounded there. This victory helped the British stop the main resistance from rebels in the Kingdom of Awadh.

Why Lucknow Was Important

The East India Company had taken over the region of Oudh just one year before the big rebellion started. This takeover caused a lot of anger. The Company took land from the local rulers and landowners. They often did this by saying taxes weren't paid or that people couldn't prove they owned their land.

Many sepoys, who were Indian soldiers in the Company's army, came from Oudh. They felt their rights and status were threatened. This made them very unhappy.

When the rebellion began in May 1857, it spread quickly. Oudh became a major center for the rebels. The unhappy rulers and landowners joined forces with the rebelling soldiers. This turned into a widespread uprising.

From July to November 1857, the British were trapped in the Residency building in Lucknow. The British commander, Sir Colin Campbell, finally rescued them. He then moved everyone out of the Residency because his supply lines were in danger.

Campbell went back to Kanpur. But he left 4,000 soldiers behind. These soldiers, led by Sir James Outram, stayed at the Alambagh. This was a walled park a few miles south of Lucknow.

Planning the Attack

Over the next few months, Campbell got his army ready. He received more soldiers from Britain. He also gathered a lot of supplies and transport. After capturing Fatehgarh in January 1858, Campbell controlled the area between Kanpur and Delhi.

Campbell first thought about leaving Oudh alone for a while. He wanted to focus on another rebel-held area called Rohilkhand. However, the Governor General, Lord Canning, insisted that Oudh must be taken back. Canning believed that Oudh was the main gathering place for the rebels. He felt that if Oudh was recaptured, it would discourage other rebels.

Campbell's Army Advances

A map showing how the armies moved during the siege and capture of Lucknow.

Campbell's army was very large. It had seventeen groups of foot soldiers, twenty-eight groups of cavalry (soldiers on horseback), and 134 cannons and mortars. They also had a huge amount of baggage and many Indian helpers.

The army crossed the Ganges River in late February. They met up with Outram's soldiers at the Alambagh on March 1. The army was then divided into three main groups of foot soldiers. These were led by Outram, Brigadier Walpole, and Brigadier Lugard. There was also a cavalry group led by James Hope Grant.

Another force of 9,000 Nepali soldiers, led by Brigadier Franks, was also coming towards Lucknow from the north.

The rebels defending Lucknow were said to be around 100,000 strong. This number might be too high. The defenders were not well organized. Many were personal guards of landowners or small groups of fighters. They had different reasons for fighting and different weapons. The British couldn't get exact numbers.

However, the rebels had many cannons. They had also built strong defenses around the Charbagh Canal, the city, and the palaces near the Residency. But they had not fortified the northern side of the city, along the Gumti River. This area had not seen fighting before.

Campbell started his attack by moving to the east of the city. He captured the Dilkusha Park. His soldiers faced fire from rebel cannons until their own cannons could be set up.

On March 5, Campbell's engineers built two temporary bridges across the Gumti River. Outram's soldiers crossed to the north side. By March 9, they were set up north of the city. Outram's cannons fired to cover his soldiers. His group then captured the King of Oudh's racecourse grandstand. Meanwhile, Campbell's main army captured La Martiniere, a former school. They then pushed across the Charbagh Canal with few losses.

Taking the Main Defenses

Begum Kothi, also known as the Queen's House, in Lucknow, 1858.

By March 11, Outram's soldiers captured two bridges across the Gumti River near the Residency. These were an iron bridge and a stone bridge. However, heavy rebel cannon fire forced them to leave the stone bridge.

At the same time, Campbell took over a walled palace called the Secundrabagh and a mosque called the Shah Najaf. There was not much resistance here. These places had seen heavy fighting in November.

In front of Campbell's army was a group of palace buildings known as the Begum Kothi. There was fierce fighting for these buildings on March 11. About 600 or 700 rebels died there.

Over the next three days, Campbell's engineers and gunners worked to break through the buildings. They used explosives and dug tunnels to reach the main rebel position. This was the King of Oudh's palace, the Kaisarbagh. Meanwhile, Outram's cannons fired on the Kaisarbagh from the north.

The main attack on the Kaisarbagh happened on March 14. Campbell's and Frank's forces attacked from the east. But Campbell surprisingly did not let Outram cross the Gumti River to attack the Kaisarbagh from two sides. Because of this, the Kaisarbagh was captured easily, but its defenders were able to escape without much trouble.

Lucknow is Finally Captured

Most of the rebels started leaving Lucknow and spreading out into the countryside. Campbell failed to stop many of them. He sent his cavalry after some rebels who had left earlier. The fighting stopped for a short time while the British reorganized. Many soldiers then started taking things from the captured palaces.

On March 16, Outram's soldiers finally crossed the Gumti River again. His group then attacked and took the Residency. There were some uncoordinated rebel attacks on the Alambagh and the British positions north of the Gumti, but they failed.

A rebel force, which was thought to include Begum Hazrat Mahal, the wife of the former Nawab of Oudh, and her son Birjis Qadr, was driven from the Musabagh. This was another walled palace a few miles northwest of Lucknow.

The last rebels were 1,200 men led by Ahmadullah Shah, also known as the Maulvi of Faizabad. They were driven from a fortified house in the city center on March 21. The city was declared fully cleared on this date.

What Happened Next

Campbell had moved carefully and captured Lucknow with few losses. But because he didn't stop the rebels from escaping, he had to spend much of the next summer clearing them from the Oudh countryside. As a result, his army suffered many losses from heatstroke and diseases.

Outram also did not argue against his orders not to advance on March 14. This allowed most rebels to get away. Outram was also a civil leader for Oudh, not just a military commander. He might have hoped for peace and agreement, which affected his decisions as a soldier.

It was hard to know how many rebels were lost. British soldiers often executed any prisoners they caught. A notable British soldier who died was Major William Hodson. He led a special cavalry unit and worked as an intelligence officer. He was killed during the capture of the Begum Kothi on March 11.

Images for kids

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  Begum Kothi or Queen's House, Lucknow, 1858