-
1 of 253523 objects
After Edward Armitage (1817-96)
Battle of Meeanee. 17 Feb 1843.
Engraving with etching | RCIN 750901
-
An engraving after a painting of the Battle of Miani (or Meeanee), 17 February 1843 (RCIN 407185). A tumultouos battle scene from foreground to background, as cavalry and infantry engage in combat. Commanders are seen on horseback on raised ground in the background, left. Buildings in the background, centre. Open letters below.
In the foreground men of a flank company of the 22nd Cheshire Regiment are shown charging the mass of Baluchi warriors in the dried-up bed of the River Fullaillee. The mounted figures on the river bank are, according to tradition, Lt.-Col. William Pattle, commanding the 9th Bengal Light Infantry; Lt.-Col. J. L. Pennefather, commanding the 22nd; Major P. McPherson, Military Secretary to Sir Charles Napier; Sir Charles Napier; Ali Akhbar, an interpreter. In the distance is the village of Kattree, on which the Baluchis' right rested.
Since the late eighteenth-century the Sindh (now a province of Pakistan) had been gradually penetrated and controlled by the British East India Company initially for reasons of trade, and later as military strategy. After the disastrous Anglo-Afghan war (1839-42) the Governor-General of India, Lord Ellenborough favoured annexation of Sindh, a vital frontier province, on the edge of British India. Warmongers were spurred by reports indicating that the amirs, the Talpur rulers of the Sindh, were fomenting disaffection in preparation for a general uprising to avenge the Company's recent incursions. The ambitious veteran general Sir Charles Napier was instructed to forestall the imagined insurrection. On 17th February 1843, at Miani, near Hyderabad, Napier's 3000 strong army met the Sindh army of 8000 commanded by Mir Nasir Khan Talpur. A professionally trained British regiment and several units of Indian soldiers, armed with modern weaponry and supplies, met wave after wave of Sindh Baluchi cavalry resulting in 5000 dead. British casualties were estimated at just 260. In 1843 after the Battles of Miani and Dubbo, Sindh was annexed to the British East India Company's Bombay Presidency. -
Creator(s)
Subject(s)
-
Medium and techniques
Engraving with etching
Category
Object type(s)
Subject(s)
