Battle of Ramnagar

Battle of Ramnagar
Part of the Second Anglo-Sikh War
Date 22 November 1848 Location Ramnagar, Gujranwala district, Punjab 32°19′N 73°50′E / 32.317°N 73.833°E / 32.317; 73.833Coordinates: 32°19′N 73°50′E / 32.317°N 73.833°E / 32.317; 73.833 Result Sikh victory British cavalry repulsed with heavy losses.
Belligerents
Sikh Empire	East India Company
Commanders and leaders
Sher Singh Attariwalla	Sir Hugh Gough
Strength
10,000 20 guns	15,000 50 guns
Casualties and losses
22 killed and 15 wounded	26 killed or missing 59 wounded

Sikh victory

The Battle of Ramnagar was fought on 22 November 1848 between British and Sikh forces during the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The British were led by Sir Hugh Gough, while the Sikhs were led by Sher Singh Attariwalla.

Following the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo-Sikh War, British Commissioners and Political Agents had effectively ruled the Punjab, using the Sikh Khalsa Army to maintain order and implement British policy. There was much unrest over this arrangement and the other galling terms of the peace treaty, not least within the Khalsa which believed it had been betrayed rather than defeated in the first war.

The second war broke out in April 1848, when a popular uprising in the city of Multan forced its ruler, Dewan Mulraj, into rebellion. The British Governor-General of Bengal, Lord Dalhousie, initially ordered only a small contingent of the Bengal Army under General Whish to suppress the outbreak (partly for reasons of economy, and partly to avoid a major campaign during the Hot Weather and Monsoon seasons). He also ordered several detachments of the Khalsa to reinforce Whish. The largest detachment, of 3,300 cavalry and 900 infantry was commanded by Sardar (General) Sher Singh Attariwalla. Several junior Political Agents viewed this development with alarm, as Sher Singh's father, Chattar Singh Attariwalla, the Governor of Hazara to the north of the Punjab, was openly plotting sedition.

On 14 September, Sher Singh rebelled. Whish was forced to raise the siege of Multan and retire. Nevertheless, Sher Singh and Mulraj (the Hindu ruler of a largely Moslem city-state) did not join forces. The two leaders conferred at a temple outside the city, where both prayed and it was agreed that Mulraj would supply some funds from his treasury, while Sher Singh moved north to join his forces with those of his father. This was not immediately possible, as Chattar Singh's army was pinned in Hazara by Moslem tribesmen fighting under British officers. Instead, Sher Singh moved a few miles north and began fortifying the crossings of the Chenab River, while awaiting developments. His army was swelled by deserters from those regiments of the Khalsa which had not yet rebelled, and by discharged former soldiers.

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