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1 of 253523 objects
After Henry Martens (active 1825-65)
Charge of the 3rd King's Own Lt. Dragoons at the Battle of Chillienwallah 13th. Jany. 1849. published 18 Dec 1849
Etching with aquatint, hand-colouring | RCIN 750934
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An etching with aquatint showing a scene from the Battle of Chillianwallah in the Punjab, fought between the British Army and the Sikh Khalsa army during the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848-9. At an order given by Major General Sir Joseph Thackwell, a squadron of the 3rd King's Own Light Dragoons charges the Sikh cavalry. Captain Unett, in the middle-ground centre, holds his sabre aloft. Lettered below.
By the early nineteenth century the Punjab region of north-west India (in present day Pakistan) was the last remaining independent kingdom of India which had not been subjugated and claimed as part of the British Empire. There were fears that the powerful Sikh Khalsa army posed a serious threat to British territories neighbouring the Punjab. In additon, the British East India Company had long viewed north-west India and Afghanistan as an important buffer between India and Russia, fearing that the Russian Emperor Nicholas I had plans to expand his empire into Asia.
The First Anglo-Sikh War of 1845-6 had resulted in the surrendering of part of the Punjab territories to the British. In the city of Multan, 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.
On 13th January 1849 General Sir Hugh Gough led the British army into the first major battle of the Second Anglo-Sikh War at Chillianwallah, a village north-west of Lahore. The 24th Regiment of Foot and the 25th and 45th Regiments of Bengal Infantry advanced with fixed bayonets to attack the artillery of the Sikh Khalsa army. This brave but foolhardy action resulted in 515 British casualties, including 238. killed. The battle proved inconclusive, though both sides claimed victory, and the prestige and reputation of British military might was profoundly damaged. After the Battle of Multan (see RCIN 750931) and the succesful outcome for the British of the Battle of Gujarat (RCIN 750937, 750938) the Sikh army surrendered. On 14 March 1849, the young Maharaja of the Sikh empire, Duleep Singh, was forced to renounce all claims to rule of the Punjab, and the region was annexed to British India. -
Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Etching with aquatint, hand-colouring
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Alternative title(s)
The Battle of Chillianwallah, 13th January 1849
