Page 163

Chapter IV – George Lawrence and Rajputana

Rajputana

Rajputana – the country of the Rajputs – comprises eighteen native States78, seventeen of which were ruled by Hindus of the purest blood – the eighteenth, Tonk, by the Muhammadan descendant of the famous freebooter, Amir Khan. To most of these States was assigned a political officer, but the chief of all these, the Governor-General’s Agent for the general control of Rajputana, was Colonel George St. Patrick Lawrence, brother of Sir Henry and of Sir John Lawrence.

Colonel George Lawrence

To Colonel George Lawrence had been allotted many of the great qualities of his famous brothers. He was high-spirited, conscientious, decided, a lover of truth and justice, frank, and straightforward. He had seen a great deal of service. As a cavalry officer he had, in his younger days, earned distinction. As a political he had played a considerable part during the arrangements which followed the conquest of Afghanistan. After the murder there, which he witnessed, of the envoy, and the annihilation of our army, he had shared the captivity of Eyre, of Colin Mackenzie, and of the last survivors of General Elphinstone’s army.

His earlier career

Employed in the most responsible position at Peshawar after the first Sikh war, he was taken prisoner by the Afghan allies of the Sikhs during the second. Released after the peace conquered at Gujrat he continued to give to the Government able and conscientious service in the political department, latterly at Mewar in Rajputana. In March 1857,

Page 164

Is appointed to act as Agent for Rajputana

on the transfer of his brother Sir Henry to the higher post of Chief Commissioner of Oudh, Colonel George Lawrence was appointed to act for Sir James Outram as political agent to the Governor-General for the whole of Rajputana. It was a post for which he was extremely well fitted, for George Lawrence was not only a man of exceptional ability, but he possessed to an extent equal to that of his brothers, Henry and John, the power of quickness of decision under difficult circumstances, which is the true strength of a man exercising authority.

The Rajput dynasties favourable to British supremacy

In conformity with the prevailing custom Colonel Lawrence moved in the month of April to Abu, a mountain in the Sirohi territory upwards of five thousand feet above the sea. All was quiet then in Rajputana. Under the fostering suzerainty of the British the Rajput dynasties had been, during the preceding forty years, gradually recovering from the wounds inflicted upon them by the House of Taimur, and from the severer gashes they had suffered from the Maratha marauder and the Pindari plunderer. They were now protected, and they and their subjects were gradually reaping the benefits of that most efficient protection. If any of the officials holding high political and administrative office under the Government of India had reason to regard with a light heart the future as affecting his duties and his charge, that official was the Agent to the Governor-General in Rajputana.

April Colonel Lawrence hears of the mutiny at Mirath

Colonel Lawrence went to Abu in April, then, with serenity and confidence, nor had he any reason to feel uneasy until the account of the mutiny of the 10th of May at Mirath roughly startled him. The intelligence of this event reached Abu the 19th of May. Colonel Lawrence at once comprehended its importance in all its bearings. His long connection with the native army had not weakened a judgment naturally keen and searching. He saw that the Barhampur mutiny, the Barrackpur outbreak, the Mirath rising, were no isolated acts clue to some local grievance, but that each of these constituted a scene in one and the same tragedy. He saw at a glance, in fact, that the whole army was contaminated.

The condition of Rajputana

His first thought directed itself naturally to the province under his charge. What, in fact, was the condition of Rajputana.? Its population numbered ten

Page 165

millions of men subject to protected kings: it comprised an area of a hundred thousand square miles; within that area were five thousand native troops of all arms, belonging to the British army, all of whom Colonel Lawrence, in his inmost heart, knew would take the first favourable opportunity to mutiny: within that area, excluding some twenty sergeants attached to the native infantry regiments, there was not a single European soldier fit for duty. The nearest station held by English troops was the station of Disa, in the Presidency of Bombay, about a hundred and fifty miles from Abu.

The troops at the disposal of Colonel Lawrence

Such then was the position – a province inhabited by ten million natives, guarded by five thousand ill-disposed soldiers, presided over by a Colonel in the British army with some twenty or thirty British officers at his disposal, watching the certain approach of the wave of mutiny! It was a position to test the stuff that was in a man! How did Colonel Lawrence meet it?

The arsenal at Ajmir

One of the first thoughts that occurred to him was that the arsenal at Ajmir must at all hazards be secured. Ajmir is a strip of British territory in the heart of Rajputana, separated from the British provinces of the North-West by Jaipur, Tonk, and other allied states. The capital, an ancient and famous city, bearing the same name, contains the mausoleum of the first Muhammadan saint of India, to whose tomb Akbar and his successors frequently made pilgrimages. Close to this city, and commanded by the heights outside it, was an old and dilapidated fort, and within the fort was an arsenal capable of furnishing a siege train of great strength, guns, muskets, and ammunition; and containing a large quantity of specie79.

Is garrisoned by disaffected troops

This arsenal was, when the mutiny broke out, under charge of the light company of the 15th Regiment of Native Infantry, a regiment notoriously disaffected.

Is now reinforced by other disaffected troops

But, after the bad news from Mirath, the military authorities at Nasirabad, acting on a curious principle, somewhat analogous to that of setting a thief to catch a thief80, had troops.

Page 166

strengthened the light company by adding to it the grenadier company of the same regiment. The arsenal at Ajmir, containing the matériel for the whole of Rajputana, was, then, when the news of the Mirath outbreak reached Colonel Lawrence, under the protection of two companies of a native regiment which all but its own officers knew to be disaffected.

Colonel Lawrence summons European troops from Disa

It was most important to place this arsenal as soon as possible in secure hands. As quick as thought, then, Colonel Lawrence despatched a requisition to the officer commanding at Disa to despatch a light field force to enable him at the same time to assure the safety of the arsenal and to overawe the regular native troops at Nasirabad.

Colonel Dixon’s happy inspiration

The force was despatched, but before it could arrive, the Commissioner of Ajmir, Lieutenant-Colonel Dixon, acting on the inspiration of a dying man – for he survived but a few days – had made the arsenal safe. This officer, feeling, as Colonel Lawrence felt, that the caste question was a most important factor in the movements of the native army – that it was in fact the question of the hour – bethought him of the regiment, of which, in fact, he was commandant, raised for civil duties and appertaining exclusively to Rajputana, composed entirely of low-caste men, men who had no sympathy with the Brahmanical prejudices of the regular army. This regiment was the Mairwara battalion, quartered at Biaur, a little place south-west of Nasirabad on the Disa road. Without the delay of a single day Dixon ordered Lieutenant Carnell, his second in command, to march at once with a hundred men of his battalion upon Ajmir.

Carnell’s promptitude

Carnell replied by acting with the most praiseworthy promptitude. Making a forced march of thirty-seven miles, he surprised the Sipahis before they had concerted their plans with their comrades at head-quarters.

Save the arsenal

The new arrivals at once took charge of the arsenal, and the regular troops were sent back to Nasirabad.

This movement saved Rajputana81. The low-caste Mairs

Page 167

continued to the end faithful to their European lords.

Colonel Lawrence raises a second battalion of Mairs

To show his appreciation of their good service and their loyalty, Colonel Lawrence raised on his own authority a second battalion from the men of their tribe. Subsequently he did even more. He recommended that both battalions should enjoy all the privileges of regular native regiments, and this recommendation was complied with.

To return. Colonel Lawrence, secure, on learning of Colonel Dixon’s successful action, regarding the arsenal and important position of Ajmir, turned his attention to the native princes with whom he was officially connected.

May 23

He addresses the native princes of Rajputana

Feeling. that it was above all things necessary to maintain before their eyes a sovereign position, and to insist upon their fulfilling the duties which protected princes owed to the paramount power, Colonel Lawrence on the 23rd issued to them a proclamation. In this proclamation he called upon them to preserve peace within their borders, to concentrate their troops on the frontiers of their respective States, so that they might be available to aid the British, to show zeal and activity in dealing with any body of rebels who might attempt to traverse their territories. Whilst thus requiring the co-operation of the native princes, Colonel Lawrence warned the commandants at the several stations to act with promptness and vigour, and he made the request to the Government of Bombay, that any European troops, returning from Persia, who might be required for service in the North-West Provinces, should be sent to Agra via Gujrat and Rajputana.

Nasirabad and Nimach are garrisoned wholly by native troops

The two military stations garrisoned by the native regular army, in the province under Colonel Lawrence’s control, were Nasirabad and Nimach. The regiments and batteries at these stations being entirely native, it was not to be expected, and Colonel. Lawrence did not expect, that they would escape the general infection. Hence the precaution he had taken to send to Disa for troops. It was a wise and prudent precaution, but unfortunately the troops could not march so quickly as the rumour which heralded” their approach. Before they could

Page 168

arrive the mischief had been accomplished. They were able, however, to a great extent to repair it.

The disposition of the Nasirabad garrison

The garrison of Nasirabad consisted of the 15th and 30th Regiments of Native Infantry, a battery of native Artillery, and the 1st Bombay Lancers. Reports regarding the bad disposition of the men of the 15th had been circulated in the station very soon after the arrival of the news of the Mirath outbreak. But their officers considered these reports greatly exaggerated, believing that, although their men might follow the lead of others, they would not show the way. The result showed that they were mistaken.

Precautions there taken

In consequence of the prevalent rumours every possible precaution for the safety of the station had been taken. The cantonment was patrolled every night by parties of the 1st Lancers – believed to be faithful – the guns were kept limbered up and loaded with grape.

May 28

The Sipahis there mutiny

But about 3 o’clock on the afternoon of the 28th of May some men of the 15th suddenly rushed to the guns, with loaded muskets, and declared themselves in revolt. The guns almost simultaneously opened fire. The officers galloped down to the lines and attempted to bring their men to reason, but in vain. Muskets were pointed, in some cases fired, at them, and they were warned to be off. The 30th Regiment, which till then had remained quiescent, apparently in a state of hesitation, joined the revolters about 4 o’clock. There still remained the Lancers. These at least, it was hoped, would remain true. In this belief the infantry and artillery officers joined them, intending with them to charge the rebels.

Disaffection of the cavalry

They did charge, or rather, they pretended to charge. The first discharge of the gun loaded with grape made them falter and break their ranks. Their gallant officers, hoping to incite them by their example, galloped on, charging home; only, however, in many cases, to be wounded or killed. One of them, Newbery, was cut down and hacked to pieces, Captain Spottiswoode also was killed, and two officers, Captain Hardy and Lieutenant Lock, were badly wounded.

The officers, ladies, and children are forced to evacuate the station

Then it was that, feeling all their efforts useless, the surviving officers resolved to retreat and accompany the ladies to Biaur. These had been sent outside the cantonments when the first shot was fired. There the officers found them, and escorted them all that night and till 11 o’clock the next morning to their destination.

Page 169

There was but one casualty – Colonel Penny of the Lancers dying of heat apoplexy on the road.

Nimach

Nimach lies about a hundred and fifty miles south of Nasirabad. The troops at this station consisted of the 72nd Regiment of Native Infantry, the 7th Regiment of the Gwaliar contingent, and the wing of the 1st Bengal Cavalry. Sudden firing of houses, reports from the lines, and the unwonted presence of strangers, had foreshadowed for some time past a rising at this station. Yet the men loudly protested their fidelity and their indignation at the conduct of their brethren. All remained quiet till the 3rd of June. That day, full information was received of the events at Nasirabad on the 28th. That night about 10 o’clock the firing of two guns announced to the officers that the men had risen.

June 3

The rising there

Fortunately at Nimach there was a fortified square, which had been prepared as a place of refuge in case of an emergency. Its defence, however, had been entrusted to the men of the 7th Regiment of the Gwaliar contingent. The officers on the first sound of mutiny rushed to this square, and found the left wing of that regiment entering it, whilst the men of the right wing were lining the ramparts. The officers spoke cheerfully and encouragingly to the men. These promised fidelity, many declaring that they would rather die than surrender. Delusive were their promises. At 4 o’clock in the morning the Sipahis guarding the fort mutinied despite the protestations of their officers, and filed out to join their comrades in the plunder of the station. No officers lost their lives, but there were some hair-breadth escapes. The wife of a sergeant and her three children were murdered before they could reach the fort.

The officers escape to Udaipur

Ultimately the Europeans succeeded in making their escape to a village some fifty miles from Udaipur. Thence, many of them being women and children, they to P despatched two of their party, Barnes of the artillery and Rose of the infantry, to solicit aid from the Rana, in consultation with the political agent, Captain Showers. That prince promptly complied; Captain Showers himself, accompanied by the Rao of Bedla and by Captain Barnes, at once set out with a party of the Mewar horse, to bring in the fugitives. The village was duly reached, and the fugitives were escorted to Udaipur by the gallant Rao of Bedla. Meanwhile the rebel Sipahis at Nimach, after burning all the houses in the station but one, and plundering

Page 170

the treasury, had made, by way of Agra, for Dehli. Their operations on the rear of our force, there and their sudden assault on Agra, will be related presently.

June 1

Colonel Lawrence starts for Biaur

Intelligence of the mutiny at Nasirabad reached Colonel Lawrence at Abu on the 1st of June. He started at once for Biaur so as to be close to the scene of action.

He is nominated Brigadier-General

On his arrival at Biaur he found himself nominated Brigadier-General in command of all the troops in Rajputana. Almost his first act was to crier cane al direct the repair of the dilapidated fort82 of Ajmir, and to store it with provisions.

His scanty resources

But a general can do nothing without an army, and at the moment of receiving his grade, General Lawrence had not fifty European soldiers at his disposal. The native regular troops had mutinied and taken themselves off. The contingent corps attached to several of the native courts were, as a rule, not to be trusted. Unlike the men of the Mairwara battalion they were composed of Hindus – with whom food is a religion.

Troops from Disa arrive

But very soon the results of the earlier inspirations of General Lawrence began to manifest themselves. On the 12th of June there arrived at Nasirabad the force for which he had made a requisition on Disa. This force consisted of four hundred men of Her Majesty’s 83rd; the 12th Bombay Native Infantry; and a troop of European Horse Artillery.

Re-occupation of Nasirabad

He at once ordered a hundred men to Ajmir to reinforce the Mairs stationed there. General Lawrence then made that place his head-quarters, making constant visits, however, to Biaur and Nasirabad83.

Page 171

and of Nimach

After the revolt of the native troops at Nimach, General Lawrence had caused that place to be occupied by detachments from the contingents of Mewar, Kota, and Bundi. He had no choice, for at the moment no other troops were available. A few indications, however, soon showed him that these men were as little to be trusted as were their brethren in the line.

By European troops

He took, then, an early opportunity of replacing them by a detachment from the troops but just arrived from Disa

The lieutenants of General Lawrence

But it was impossible for General Lawrence to be everywhere; it was impossible that he should be able to demonstrate personally to all the native sovereigns and chieftains with whom he was officially connected that the knell of British rule had not sounded; it was impossible for him to enact at each native capital the policy which had been so successful at Ajmir. It is essential, therefore, to record that, whilst General Lawrence by his personal exertions and prompt action saved the great arsenal of Ajmir and recovered the two military centres of Nasirabad and Nimach, his lieutenants at Jaipur, at Jodhpur, and at Bharatpur, nobly seconded his efforts. To the action of these, and of one other, I propose now to devote a few pages.

The agent at Jaipur was Major William Eden, an officer possessing ability, firmness, and discretion.

Ram Singh, Rajah of Jaipur

The reigning Rajah of Jaipur, Maharajah Ram Singh, owed his throne, his education, it might almost be said his life, to the British. He had been extremely well educated, was naturally intelligent, and, being well acquainted with the history of Rajputana during the latter days of the Mughul sway and the entire period of Maratha oppression, he was profoundly convinced that his own safety, the permanence of his rule, and the prosperity of his subjects, were bound up in the maintenance of the British suzerainty.

His reasons for being attached to British over-rule

The tale of the oppressions and tyrannies suffered by his ancestors and their subjects during the short period which had elapsed between British the withdrawal of that suzerainty and its restoration – the period between 1805 and 1818 – was still fresh in the minds of the prince and of his people. Major Eden then experienced

Page 172

no difficulty with the Maharajah. He was as eager to show his loyalty as Major Eden was to demand it. The same spirit animated his people generally. Unhappily it was not so with his army. The Sipahis composing it had come, for the most part, from the recruiting grounds which had supplied the British native army, and they were influenced by the same feelings of distrust and hostility.

His loyal feeling is not shared by his troops

Here, too, as at Gwaliar, as at Indur, it was plainly shown that, when the fanaticism of an Oriental people is thoroughly aroused, not even their Rajah – their father as all consider him, their god as some delight to style him – not even their Rajah can bend them against their convictions. Five thousand of the Maharajah’s troops were indeed put in the field:– they even marched towards the districts of Mathura and Gurgaon with the avowed mission to maintain order and re-establish civil government.

who refuse to wage war for the English

But it quickly appeared that, if the maintenance of order and the re-establishment of civil government were to involve the necessity of fighting the revolted Sipahis, the Jaipur troops would neither maintain the one nor re-establish the other. Like the Sihor cavalry, they were prepared to defend European fugitives, but they would not wage an aggressive warfare. Their views in this respect having been practically established, the five thousand Jaipur troops were recalled to their own territory.

Jodhpur

At Jodhpur, the agent was Captain Monck-Mason, highly gifted, energetic, and possessing tact and judgment. The position of Jodhpur was peculiar.

Rajah Takht Singh

Its Rajah, Takht Singh, transferred in 1843 from the throne of Idar to that of Jodhpur, on the failure of hereditary issue in the family of the deceased ruler of the latter State, had not succeeded in conciliating the respect or the affections of his subjects.

His misgovernment

He had shown himself avaricious, careless of affairs, difficult of access. Many of his thakurs, or nobles, were extremely ill-disposed towards him; some were in veiled, others even in open, rebellion. The Maharajah himself had no love for his Suzerain. Still he was not blind to the fact that, in the state of ill-feeling that existed between him and his nobles, it behove him to cling to the British as his surest anchoring ground.

Places a small contingent at the disposal of the British

He placed, therefore a small contingent – two thousand men and six guns – at the agent’s disposal. Up to the end of June, then, matters

Page 173

looked well in Jodhpur. The events that succeeded belong to a subsequent period of this history.

Bharatpur

At Bharatpur, the agent was Major Nixon. The prompt action of the Durbar of the minor Rajah, and the mutiny of the troops of this principality, have been already related84.

Alwar

At Alwar there was no political agent. The Rao Rajah, Benei Singh, at once placed a small contingent at the disposal of the British. His death, however, almost immediately afterwards, and the complications that ensued in his own State, rendered the proffered aid for all practical purposes nugatory.

Udaipur

There remains to be noticed Udaipur, the most ancient and the most venerated of all the States of Rajputana. The name of the Rana was Sarup Singh. He, like the Rajah of Jodhpur, was not on good terms with his nobles.

Captain Lionel Showers

The British agent at this court was Captain Lionel Showers. When the news of the Mirath mutiny reached Rajputana, Captain Showers was at Abu, with other officers the guests of Colonel Lawrence. Captain Showers was ordered to leave Abu and to return to his post at Udaipur. In the opinion of his chief, however, his movements in that direction had not been sufficiently rapid85. Nor did his subsequent proceedings meet more with General Lawrence’s approval, and at a later date that officer was under the necessity of reporting to the Government Captain Showers’s “repeated acts of disobedience and defiance of his authority.”

Disapproval of his conduct by Colonel Lawrence and its consequences

The ultimate result was the removal of Captain Showers from political employment; the immediate consequence, a jar in the communications which it was necessary that the agent for the Governor-General Rajputana should maintain with the staff of officers through whom he worked with the native princes86.

Page 174

Summary of Colonel Lawrence’s conduct in Rajputana

I have endeavoured thus briefly to describe the condition of Rajputana up to the end of June, 1857. We see the shock of the mutiny broken, the great arsenal saved, the principal native chiefs confirmed in their loyalty, by the vigorous and decided action of Colonel Lawrence. It is true that the regular regiments located in the two military centres had revolted. But Colonel Lawrence had recovered those centres. In Rajputana, in a word, defiance had been met by defiance, force by force. Events proved this principle to be a sound one. Compare the instant relief of the regular garrison at Ajmir by troops who could be trusted, with the hesitation evinced at Agra, Allahabad, Banaras, Danapur, and Barrackpur. The policy first mentioned saved British interests without imperilling a single life; the second led through a sea of slaughter to the same results.

which was saved by his promptness, decision, and foresight

Had Rajputana risen, it is difficult to see how Agra could have held out, how our force before Dehli could have maintained its ground. And that Rajputana did not rise, is due to the prompt, decided, and far-seeing action of Colonel George St. Patrick Lawrence.

The mutinous regiments are hurrying out of Rajputana. It is time now that I should bring back the reader to the fortress which they are hoping to surprise and capture.

Footnotes

78. These states are Udaipur or Mewar, Jaipur, Jodhpur or Marwar, Bundi, Kota, Jhalawar, Tonk, Karauli, Kishnagarh, Dholpur, Bharatpur, Alwar, Bikanir, Jaisalmir, Sirohi, Dongarpur, Banswari, and Partabgarh.

79. The Mutinies in Rajputana, by Iltudus Prichard.

80. “When the excitement began, in consequence of the news from Mirath, the grenadier company of the 15th Native Infantry was sent, ostensibly to reinforce the light company in the foot, in reality to act as a check upon it. This may appear a curious arrangement to some of my readers, as, if the protection of the fort was the object aimed at, it could scarcely be attained by doubling the strength of a traitorous garrison; but the grenadier company was generally supposed to be less tainted, or rather, I should say, more free from suspicion than the rest, and, in those days, we were all deceived alike.” – The Mutinies in Rajputana. The author belonged to the 15th Native Infantry.

81. It cannot be doubted that if the arsenal at Ajmir had fallen into the hands of the mutineers, and with it the city, Rajputana would have been lost for the time. – Prichard’s Mutinies in Rajputana, pages 39, 40.

82. It should be stated that on the summit of the hill commanding Ajmir, and commanding the magazine and the city, was another and a smaller fort close to a shrine of the Muhammadan saint already spoken of. Not having at his disposal a sufficient number of men to guard the fort, General Lawrence entrusted the defence of this post to the Muhammadan of the shrine, the chief priests of which had satisfactorily proved that it was their interest as its guardians to remain faithful to the British. They were true to the end, performing the garrison duties with zeal and fidelity till the danger had passed away.

83. “During June and July I resided alternately between Ajmir, Bigur, and Nasirabad, as I deemed my presence necessary at each place with reference to my military as well as civil and political duties. My head quarters were, however, at Ajmir, where I resided in the Daolat Bagh, close to the city, with a native officer’s party of the Mairwara battalion as my only guard. When at Ajmir I never once allowed the routine of civil duties to be interrupted, but held open court, almost daily visiting the city, where, although fierce and sullen faces were always to be seen, I was always treated with the greatest respect.” – Forty Years’ Service in India, by Lieutenant-General Sir George Lawrence.

84. Vide page 101.

85. “He was my guest at Abu when the news of the Mirath outbreak reached us, and, when every officer hurried to his post, he alone loitered there and en route, and my orders to hasten to Udaipur were disregarded.” – Sir George Lawrence to Sir John Kaye.

86. Captain, now General, Lionel Showers having protested, in the manner natural to him, against this brief criticism of his conduct, I am constrained to place on record the official opinion, formed, after a patient investigation of the case of Captain Showers, by the Council of the Governor-General of India, presided over by the merciful and lenient Lord Canning. Having read and considered the charges brought against Captain Showers by his official superior, and the replies to those charges by that officer, the Governor-General in Council addressed, the 24th February, 1860, a letter to the Governor-General’s Agent for Rajputana, which, after reviewing Captain Showers’ conduct in detail, thus concluded: “On a full review of all the proceedings set forth in the correspondence, and especially of the particular instances above adverted to, His Excellency cannot avoid the conclusion that Captain Showers, notwithstanding his good abilities and his zeal for the public service, does not possess either the judgment or the temper required in an officer entrusted with political duties. His conduct has been marked by an unjustifiable opposition to the orders of his superior, needless disputes with other officers, and a desire to meddle with the duties which do not belong to him. He has failed to profit by the warning formerly addressed to him on this head. His Excellency therefore dismisses Captain Showers from the Rajputana Agency, and directs that his services be placed at the disposal of the Military Department. You will accordingly take measures to relieve Captain Showers at once.”

This order was never cancelled, and, though Lord Lawrence subsequently gave Captain Showers another trial by allowing him to act for a few months as Political Agent at Gwaliar, he assured me that “he bitterly repented his kindness.” For a further notice of this officer see Appendix A.

This collection transcribed by Chris Gage
hosted by ibiblio Support Wikipedia