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Hugh Wheeler (British Army Officer)

Hugh Massy Wheeler
Hugh Massy Wheeler.jpg
Hugh Massy Wheeler by Charles D'Oyly
Born 30 June 1789
County Tipperary
Died 27 June 1857 (aged 67)
Cawnpore, India
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg East India Company
Service/branch Bengal Army
Years of service 1803-1857
Rank Major General
Battles/wars First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Sikh War
Second Anglo-Sikh War
Indian Rebellion of 1857
Awards Order of the Dooranee Empire
KCB

Sir Hugh Massy Wheeler KCB (30 June 1789 – 27 June 1857) was an officer in the army of the East India Company. He commanded troops in the First Anglo-Afghan War, and the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars, and in 1856 was appointed commander of the garrison at Cawnpore (now Kanpur). He is chiefly remembered for the disastrous end to a long and successful military career, when his defence of Wheeler's entrenchment and surrender to Nana Sahib during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 led to the annihilation of almost all the European, Eurasian and Christian Indian population of Cawnpore, himself and several members of his family included.

Wheeler came from an Anglo-Irish background. His father Hugh Wheeler was a captain in the East India Company Service; his mother Margaret was the daughter of Hugh Massy, 1st Baron Massy. Wheeler was born 30 June 1789 in Clonbeg, County Tipperary. He attended Bath Grammar School and was commissioned a cadet in the Bengal Army in 1803. Arriving in India in 1805, he joined the forces of Lord Lake.

In April 1805, aged just fifteen, Wheeler was posted as a lieutenant to the 24th Native Infantry. He was promoted to captain in 1819, transferred to the 48th Native Infantry in 1824, and was further promoted to major in 1829 and lieutenant-colonel in 1835. He formed a relationship with Frances Oliver (née Marsden), an Anglo-Indian woman who was married to another officer. The couple had a number of children together and eventually married when Frances was widowed.

Wheeler led the 48th Native Infantry during the Afghan War in 1838-9, taking part in the capture of Ghazni and Kabul. In December 1840 he returned to India, as part of the escort of the captive ruler of Afghanistan Dost Mohammad Khan who had been replaced by Shah Shujah Durrani. For his part in the campaign Wheeler was twice mentioned in despatches, made a companion of the Order of the Bath, and awarded the order of the Durani Empire.


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