Second Battle of Cawnpore

Part of Indian rebellion of 1857

Date	19 November - 6 December 1857
Location	Cawnpore, India
Result	British-EIC victory

Belligerents

United Kingdom

East India Company

Sepoy mutineers

Commanders and leaders

Sir Colin Campbell

Tantya Tope
Rao Sahib

Strength

10,000 men
65 guns

14,000 men
40 guns

Casualties and losses

99 killed and wounded

Unknown; but heavy
32 guns captured

The Second Battle of Cawnpore was a battle of Indian rebellion of 1857. It was decisive as it thwarted the rebels' last chance to regain the initiative and recapture the cities of Kanpur (Cawnpore) and Lucknow.

During the 1857 uprising against the East India Company, Kanpur (then spelled Cawnpore) had fallen to the rebel leader Nana Sahib. The Company forces led by Major General Henry Havelock recaptured the town on 17 July 1857. Soon after he arrived at Cawnpore, Havelock received news that Henry Lawrence, the British Resident in Awadh (referred to at the time as Oudh) had died, and that the Company forces were besieged and facing a defeat at Lucknow. Havelock decided to attempt to relieve Lucknow. He fought against the rebel forces blocking his way, winning victories at Unnao (or Unao) and Bashiratganj (or Bashiratgunj), though at a high cost in casualties. However, he was soon informed that the Gwalior army had also rebelled against Company rule. Havelock realized that his forces were not strong enough to fight their way to Lucknow, and returned to Cawnpore on 13 August to await reinforcements.

Once reinforced, the British forces began constructing a bridge over the Ganges River, but the rebel soldiers attacked the bridge from the northern bank. Havelock sent Brasyer's Sikhs regiment to cover the construction. The Sikh regiment forced the rebel soldiers to retreat, and the bridge was completed without further interference.

The reinforced British army under Havelock and Lieutenant General Sir James Outram then set out for Lucknow. They were able to enter the city, but became besieged themselves.

Another, larger, force under General Colin Campbell, the new Commander-in-Chief, India, gathered in Cawnpore to make a second relief of Lucknow. While he led his main force to Lucknow, Campbell left a detachment of about 1,500 men under Brigadier Charles Ash Windham to hold Cawnpore, the vital bridge of boats across the Ganges, and the entrenchment constructed to protect it. Windham had a reputation for bravery gained in the Crimean War, and was nicknamed "Redan" Windham, after a Russian fortification at Sevastopol.

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Wikipedia