Siege of Lucknow

Siege of Lucknow
Part of Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Relief of Lucknow, by Thomas Jones Barker
Date 30 May – 27 November 1857 Location Lucknow, British India Result British relief and withdrawal
Belligerents
East India Company	Oudh Indian Rebels
Commanders and leaders
Sir Henry Lawrence † Brigadier John Inglis Sir Henry Havelock † Sir James Outram Sir Colin Campbell James George Smith Neill †	Various commanders including: Begum Hazrat Mahal Birjis Qadra
Strength
1,729 troops, rising to approx. 8,000	5,000 men, rising to approx. 30,000
Casualties and losses
2,500 killed, wounded, missing	unknown

Oudh

The Siege of Lucknow (Hindi: लखनऊ की घेराबंदी) was the prolonged defence of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was then abandoned.

The state of Oudh/Awadh had been annexed by the British East India Company and the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to Calcutta the year before the rebellion broke out. This high-handed action by the East India Company was greatly resented within the state and elsewhere in India. The first British Commissioner (in effect the governor) appointed to the newly acquired territory was Coverley Jackson. He behaved tactlessly, and Sir Henry Lawrence, a very experienced administrator, took up the appointment only six weeks before the rebellion broke out.

The sepoys (Indian soldiers) of the East India Company's Bengal Presidency Army had become increasingly troubled over the preceding years, feeling that their religion and customs were under threat from the evangelising activities of the Company. Lawrence was well aware of the rebellious mood of the Indian troops under his command (which included several units of Oudh Irregulars, recruited from the former army of the state of Oudh). On 18 April, he warned the Governor General, Lord Canning, of some of the manifestations of discontent, and asked permission to transfer certain rebellious corps to another province.

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