Presidency armies
| Presidency armies | |
|---|---|
.svg) |
|
| Active | 1774–1895 |
| Country | India |
| Allegiance | East India Company |
| Branch | Army |
| Headquarters | GHQ India |
| Motto(s) |
Auspicio Regis et Senatus Angliae "By command of the King and Parliament of England" |
| Mascot(s) |  |
| Engagements |
Battle of Plassey Battle of Buxar Carnatic Wars Anglo-Mysore Wars Anglo-Maratha Wars Vellore Mutiny Anglo-Nepalese War Anglo-Burmese wars First Anglo-Afghan War Anglo-Sikh wars Anglo-Persian War Indian Rebellion of 1857 |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Stringer Lawrence Eyre Coote Robert Clive Charles Napier Charles Cornwallis Arthur Wellesley Archibald Campbell Gerard Lake James Outram Hugh Gough |
The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India. The presidency armies were named after the presidencies: the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army. Initially, only Europeans served as commissioned or non-commissioned officers. In time, Indian Army units were garrisoned from Peshawar in the north, to Sind in the west, and to Rangoon in the east. The army was engaged in the wars to extend British control in India (the Mysore, Maratha and Sikh wars) and beyond (the Burma, Afghan, First and Second Opium Wars, and the Expedition to Abyssinia).
The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the Company until the Indian Rebellion of 1857, when the Crown took over the Company and its three armies. In 1895 the three presidency armies were merged into a united Indian Army.
The origin of the British Indian Army and subsequently the army of independent India lies in the origins of the Presidency Armies which preceded them. The first purely Indian troops employed by the British were watchmen employed in each of the Presidencies of the British East India Company to protect their trading stations. These were all placed in 1748 under one Commander-in-Chief, Major-General Stringer Lawrence who is regarded as the "Father of the Indian Army".
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