The Thakurs of Bargi Join the Fray

Today nearly 500 sepoys under Ramadhir Singh, Pratap Singh, Debi Singh and Himmat Singh all Thakurs of Bargi area north of Narmada attacked and destroyed the Mijhauli Thana in Jabalpur.

Last Trip Home : Babu Kunwar Singh

After defeating Le Grand, Babu Kunwar Singh returned to his beloved Jagdishpur. He was exhausted and badly wounded, this was his last trip home. On this day, he passed into eternity.

Kunwar Singh Triumphs Against Heavy Odds

The news of the return of Babu Kunwar Singh to Jagdishpur took the British authorities at Arrah by surprise. Last night, i.e. April 22, Captain Le Grand, the British commander at Arrah moved out to attack the old chief with 300 men and two guns. He probably thought that it would be easy victory, after all, Kunwar Singh’s forces were disjointed, badly prepared and without guns, numbering at most a thousand with very few trained soldiers, but once more, the enemy was in for a nasty surprise; for in the battle that took place on this day, Kunwar Singh’s ill-equipped forces managed to defeat a far better trained and well rested British force, armed with guns and other more sophisticated weapons of war.

The British losses were heavy - their casualties amounted to 130 men including their commander Le Grand himself. This was one of the worst defeats suffered by the British in this war. The nationalists followed the retreating British forces till they were within three miles of Arrah!

țānŤŸ孀ǚed villagers and made his way to his ruined home at Jagdishpur.

A Supreme Act of Courage

Babu Kunwar Singh reached Shivpur Ghat today. Douglas, who was in hot pursuit of Kunwar Singh’s army, arrived at the river bank rather late because the loyal villagers had misled the British about the route taken by the “rebel” leader. So, by the time the enemy arrived, most of the boats carrying Kunwar Singh’s men had crossed the river. However he had time to sink the last of the boats. Something terrible happened at this stage, a stray bullet hit Kunwar Singh’s arm and shattered it! And what followed, left everyone stunned. Without showing the slightest emotion, Kunwar Singh looked at his mangled arm and realised that his only chance of survival was to amputate it. As his followers watched in shock and horror, the old warrior raised his sword in the undamaged hand and in one blow hacked off the wounded arm at the elbow and sacrificed it to the sacred river. Such an act of heroism is indeed unique in history.
Once in Bihar, Kunwar Singh was received by his brother Amar Singh with seven thousand armed villagers and made his way to his ruined home at Jagdishpur.

A Sad Ending of a Jharkhand Hero

A leading light of the nationalist forces in Jharkhand was extinguished today. Ganpat Rai Panre, a former Diwan of the Maharaja of Chhota Nagpur had been making surprise attacks on the enemy and making their life miserable. In another assault on the British, recently, Ganpat Rai, along with Thakur Biswanath Sai and their followers had entrenched themselves in Nawagarh hills, closed the Ghats and obstructed military movement. However, their luck seems to have run out Their attack on Lohardaga ended in their defeat and they were captured. Today was Ganpat Rai Panre’s last day on earth. He was hanged from one of the trees in the compound of the Commissioner’s office at Ranchi.

Support from the People from Kunwar Singh

After galloping on for miles, the enemy forces caught up with Kunwar Singh’s men at a village called Naghai. But in the encounter that ensued this day, they suffered a defeat. The gallant Kunwar Singh moved on towards Shivpur Ghat on the river Ganga. The whole countryside was in sympathy with him and furnished him with accurate news regarding the movement of the British troops while they misled and misinformed the British commander.

Lion of Jagdishpur Roars Again

Today General Lugard appeared on the opposite bank of the river Tons which flows past Azamgarh. He was heading three regiments of European infantry, 700 Sikh Cavalry and eighteen guns. Lugard probably thought that he was coming up with a clever strategy. Since he knew that Kunwar Singh had posted the cream of his troops on the bridge of boats on Tons river, he thought that the rebel leader intended to give a fight to sustain his hold on Azamgarh. But, of course the Lion of Jagdishpur proved to be far more clever.

Kunwar Singh knew that he stood no chance against such a formidable enemy. He therefore decided to abandon Azamgarh, take the road to Ghazipur, cross the Ganga and return to his beloved Jagdishpur. With this objective in view, he resorted to a clever stratagem. He stationed some of his best soldiers on the bridge of boats who could give a tough fight and he himself with the bulk of his troops would then move on and would be as farther as possible from Azamgarh before his flight could be discovered by the enemy.

The stratagem of Kunwar Singh was eminently successful. His troops held the bridge of boats with great resolution and it was not until they had, by their long resistance, ensured the safety of their leader , they fell back and as planned beforehand succeeded in joining their chief. But they were pursued and harried by a detachment of European Cavalry under Brigadier Douglas.

Another Brave Leader of Rohilkhand

Our hopes are now pinned on Narpat Singh of Ruya, a fearless Rajput leader of Rohilkhand. He has been doggedly battling the British and is determined to fight the enemy to the very end.
Narpat Singh’s jungle fort near the village of Ruramau, has been attacked by the 93rd Highlanders under the command of General Walpole today. Narpat’s men fought with tremendous courage and managed to kill some of the outstanding enemy officers; the most notable one being Brigadier Adrian Hope. The total casualty on the British side was more than one hundred.
We got the information that the enemy troops were very upset with the death of Adrian Hope, who was a very popular officer, and they blamed it on the inept handling of the whole affair by General Walpole. We further learnt that the Highlanders were so incensed that, had they been free to do so, they would have hanged the General on the spot!

In the mean time, Narpat Singh, finding his position unsafe, slipped away. We will always remember that he defeated the best equipped movable column in India.

Kunwar Singh’s Shocks the Enemy

Babu Kunwar Singh’s continued occupation of Azamgarh was a source of great consternation to Lord Canning, The Governor-General. who was then camping at Allahabad , immediately ordered Lord Mark Kerr, a Crimean War veteran to march against Kunwar Singh.and relieve Azamgarh. In an encounter that took place at a location fourteen kilometres short of Azamgarh on the morning of April 6, Babu Kunwar Singh’s left flank kept up an incessant fire of musketry from some buildings on the road which they had occupied. Though he had no guns, still Kunwar Singh managed to bring his army to the rear of the enemy. This sudden attack was so unexpected that it upset the plan of the enemy totally and they fell back. This was the signal for the revolutionaries to rush forward with a triumphant war cry. Kunwar Singh had, by this time, tightened his grip on the English rear so firmly that the English elephants began to run amuck. Seeing his rear endangered, Lord Mark Kerr pressed ahead and sought refuge in the entrenchment at Azamgarh .

Let us pray at the Ganesh Temple at Jhansi

Ganesh is the god of obstacle removers; with bad news coming from Betwa, we can use all the help we can.

Here is a picture of the Ganesh temple at the fort

News from Tatya Tope’s forces is that they are retreating! How can that be? They are 20,000 men strong.

Please, lord ganesh, please help us.

Fierce battle at the Betwa River

Tatya Tope’s forces are engaged in a fierce battle with the British at Burwa Sagar.

We hear that the Tatya has chosen to attack in two lines and hopefully he has a plan to use the second line to help end the Jhansi fort siege.

There is some talk in the fort to burst out of the fort and attack the British while they are fighting Tatya’s forces. But the bombardment at the fort has not diminished any and frankly that worries us.

But we trust Tatya Tope. He has 28 guns with him and with enough man power, he will be able to overcome whatever obstacles he encounters.

Breaking News Tatya Tope to the rescue at Betwa River

We have just heard that Tatya Tope is at the Betwa river, and guess how strong his army is! 20,000 men! and 28 guns!

At least in Jhansi, the end for the British is near now! We are all getting ready to burst out of the fort and start fighting the British.

The siege will not last very long and victory for us is with in hand.

Of course we expected Nana Sahib to help, but we thought he might send a contingent of 4-5,000. But 20,000 men and elephants and horses, and strong guns and fresh supplies is more then what we could have hoped.

Rose’s can not contain and keep the siege on the fort and fight Tatya Tope’s army.

More as the information being available.

The unsung hero of Kotah

Today Kotah was captured by the British troops under Gen Roberts after a very heavy artillery bombardment. Fifty-seven brass guns fell into the British hands. The defenders had, however, fought to the last man with conspicuous bravery. But the one that will standout like a beacon in the memory of the nationalists is one nameless soldier who rode to the top of a fortification with great difficulty in order to get a clear view of the position of the British troops. To his consternation he found that the English were pressing into the town and that before he could descend, the enemy would be upon him.

He chose death rather than the disgrace of falling alive into the British hands. And this nameless hero, spurred his horse to the rampart and even as the enemy watched in awe, he took a mighty leap, the horse rose bravely and jumped to a fall of 120 feet. Both were smashed to smithereens in one mangled mass. But the tragedy is that there was no one to bury the corpse with the reverence such valour deserved. Instead, it was left to be desecrated by stray animals.

The fire power british are using - Jhansi report

From what we can tell, British are using immense fire power. We have been able to confirm the following so far:

Two 24 pounders to attack the mound and the wall of the fort

Two 18-Pounders to dismantle the defenses of the Fort.

Two 10-inch Mortars

Two 8-inch Mortars and one 8-inch Howitzer to act on the mound and adjacent wall and City.

Those 18 pounders are murderous.

Here is what an 18 pounder looks like; well, they weigh 18 pounds with diameter of 5 inches. Imagine a hot ball of this size coming at you!

Have you ever seen an 18 pounder shell coming at you? When it hits the wall, things start crumbling. 24 pounders are too heavy to reach us but those 18 pounders make it through.

We are working very hard and all our guns are stable and working properly and thankfully have not seen any direct hit.

We have also been able to repair some damage and I wouldn’t say that we are answering each of the shot with one of ours, we are keeping pace with the enemy’s firepower and

Enemy number one - Hugh Rose - pounding away at the Jhansi fort

Here is the man we are facing.

Look at all the decorations he has around his neck - more than what the rani wears!

Something wrong in the universe when a hindu housewife woman, Laxmi Bai, Jhansi ki Rani, has to face a highly decorated war hero like Hugh Rose.

Rose has been pounding at the Jhansi fort, near the mound and our defenses are strong.

Hey Britishers, go pick on somebody of your own size, like France may be; leave Hindustan alone.

Canons of Jhansi defense - Bhavani Shankar Canon

This canon is being operated by Moti Bai. Having a good working canon is very important for the defense of Jhansi.

Location of British attack in relationship to the Rani’s palace

Location of British attack in relationship to the Rani’s palace

Babu Kunwar Singh Poses a Threat to the British

While the battle in Jhansi continues, Babu Kunwar Singh occupied the city of Azamgarh. The British remained holed up in their entrenchment. Even though Kunwar Singh, has no guns, his reputation is such that he has managed to create apprehension and terror in the British forces. The Governor-General Lord Canning who we are told, is encamping at Allahabad has instinctively understood the military and political implication of the situation. If Kunwar Singh is left unchecked in Azamgarh, he would cut off the communication between Benares, Allahabad and Calcutta.
So, now the Governor-General has ordered Lord Mark Kerr, a Crimen war veteran, to move against Kunwar Singh.

Jhansi siege has started. first canon fire from British heard

Here is a picture of the mound where Rose’s forces are attacking. it seems that the attack is from both left and right side.

The mound is 500 yards east of the Orcha gate and half a cos (a mile from the lake.

Babu Kunwar Singh’s surprise attack - brilliant

Babu Kunwar Singh, who had occupied the village of Atraulia (32 kilometers from Azamgarh) on March 17, 1858 was today defeated by Colonel Milman, the British Commandant at Azamgarh, and appeared to be retreating.

However, when Milman’s hungry troops were having their breakfast, they were suddenly attacked by Kunwar Singh. In the encounter that followed, Milman’s forces suffered a route and were driven back; first to Koelsar and then forced to retreat all the way to Azamgarh where they sought refuge in the entrenchment that the British had built there.