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1 of 253523 objects
After Henry Martens (active 1825-65)
Charge of H.M. 14th Light Dragoons at the Battle of Ramnuggar. 22 Nov 1848 published 25 Jan 1851
Etching with aquatint, hand-colouring | RCIN 750929
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An etching with aquatint showing an engagement between the British 14th Light Dragoons and the Sikh Khalsa army at the Battle of Ramnagar, 22nd November 1848; with Brigadier General Cureton, foreground right; with Colonel Havelock, middleground, centre. Lettered below.
Following the defeat of the Sikh Khalsa army in the First Anglo-Sikh War of 1845-6, the British East India Company had used the Khalsa to maintain order and promote British policy in the Sikh Punjab homelands of north-west India (present day Pakistan). Within the Khalsa there was much disquiet and upset over this arrangement and the unfair terms forced upon them by the peace treaty. See RCIN 750916-750919, RCIN 750922 & 750923.
The city of Multan in the Punjab had been ruled by the British since the First Anglo-Sikh War. A dispute over taxes resulted in the British East India Company's decision to replace the Diwan (governor) of Multan, Mulraj Chopra, with a compliant Sikh ruler, Sirdar Khan Singh. A British political agent, Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew, and Lieutenant William Anderson who accompanied Khan Singh to Multan, were murdered by men in league with Mulraj's troops. This was the trigger for open rebellion against the British, and the Second Anglo-Sikh war of 1848-9.
The Battle of Ramnagar (present day Rasulnagar) was fought on the banks of the Chenab river, in the Punjab. General Sir Hugh Gough was commanding officer of the British and Bengal troops. The Sikh army was led by Sher Singh Attariwalla. Gough had intended a surprise attack in order to capture the Chenab crossing near Ramnagar which had been fortified by Sher Singh. Following an early success in driving some Sikh troops across the river from their positions on the east bank, Sikh batteries opened fire, outgunning Gough's horse artillery which was forced to retire. The Khalsa cavalry took this opportunity to press their advantage at which point Gough ordered the 14th Light Dragoons and the 5th Bengal Cavalry to attack them. The commanding officer of the dragoons, Colonel William Havelock, was killed leading a charge. General Charles Robert Cureton, commander of the cavalry division, also met his death having galloped forward to order a retreat. -
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Etching with aquatint, hand-colouring
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The Battle of Ramnagar
