A Narrative of the Siege of Delhi

A Narrative Of The Siege Of
Delhi
by Charles John Griffiths

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Title: A Narrative Of The Siege Of Delhi With An Account Of The
Mutiny At Ferozepore In 1857
Author: Charles John Griffiths
Release Date: January 28, 2004 [EBook #10856] [Date last updated:
July 5, 2006]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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A NARRATIVE OF THE SIEGE OF DELHI WITH AN ACCOUNT
OF THE MUTINY AT FEROZEPORE IN 1857
BY CHARLES JOHN GRIFFITHS LATE CAPTAIN 61ST
REGIMENT
EDITED BY HENRY JOHN YONGE LATE CAPTAIN 61ST
REGIMENT
WITH PLANS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 1910

INTRODUCTION
The ever memorable period in the history of our Eastern Empire known
as the Great Indian Rebellion or Mutiny of the Bengal army was an
epoch fraught with the most momentous consequences, and one which
resulted in covering with undying fame those who bore part in its
suppression. The passions aroused during the struggle, the fierce hate
animating the breasts of the combatants, the deadly incidents of the
strife, which without intermission lasted for nearly two years, and
deluged with blood the plains and cities of Hindostan, have scarcely a
parallel in history. On the one side religious fanaticism, when Hindoo
and Mohammedan, restraining the bitter animosity of their rival creeds,
united together in the attempt to drive out of their common country that
race which for one hundred years had dominated and held the
overlordship of the greater portion of India. On the other side, a small
band of Englishmen, a few thousand white men among millions of
Asiatics, stood shoulder to shoulder, calm, fearless, determined, ready
to brave the onslaught of their enemies, to maintain with undiminished
lustre the proud deeds of their ancestors, and to a man resolved to
conquer or to die.
Who can recount the numberless acts of heroism, the hairbreadth
escapes, the anxious days and nights passed by our gallant countrymen,
who, few in number, and isolated from their comrades, stood at bay in

different parts of the land surrounded by hundreds of pitiless miscreants,
tigers in human shape thirsting for their blood? And can pen describe
the nameless horrors of the time--gently nurtured ladies outraged and
slain before the eyes of their husbands, children and helpless infants
slaughtered--a very Golgotha of butchery, as all know who have read of
the Well of Cawnpore?
The first months of the rebellion were a fight for dear life, a constant
struggle to avert entire annihilation, for to all who were there it seemed
as though no power on earth could save them. But Providence willed it
otherwise, and after the full extent of the danger was realized, gloomy
forebodings gave way to stern endeavours. Men arose, great in council
and in the field, statesmen and warriors--Lawrence, Montgomery,
Nicholson, Hodson, and many others. The crisis brought to the front
numbers of daring spirits, full of energy and resource, of indomitable
resolution and courage, men who from the beginning saw the
magnitude of the task set before them, and with calm judgment faced
the inevitable. These were they who saved our Indian Empire, and who,
by the direction of their great organized armies, brought those who but
a few years before had been our mortal enemies to fight cheerfully on
our side, and, carrying to a successful termination the leaguer of Delhi,
stemmed the tide of the rebellion, and broke the backbone of the
Mutiny.
The interest excited amongst all classes of our countrymen by the
events which happened during the momentous crisis of 1857 in India
can scarcely be appreciated by the present generation. So many years
have elapsed that all those who held high commands or directed the
councils of the Government have long since died, and the young
participants in the contest who survived its toils and dangers are all
now past middle age. But the oft-told tale will still bear repetition, and
the recital of the achievements of Englishmen during the great Indian
rebellion will fill the hearts of their descendants for all time with pride,
and incite them to emulate their actions. In the hour of danger the heart
of the nation is stirred to its profoundest depths, the national honour is
at stake, and that heritage bequeathed to us by our ancestors must at all
hazards be preserved.