Battle of Fatehpur

It may be recalled that General Havelock had left Allahabad in the evening of July 7. In the mean time, the British had dispatched an advance force under Major Sydenham Renaud. General Havelock met up with the advance force at 2 AM on July 12. At the time they were four miles short of Fatehpur.

A little later, when the British troops had settled down for their breakfast, a 24 pound shell fell into their camp. At about the same time, the troopers of the rebellious 2nd Light Cavalry were also seen approaching the camp.. Abandoning their breakfast, the British troops retaliated and there was a brief skirmish. Unfortunately we had to retreat out of Fatehback.

Actually, we had expected to face only a small detachment of the advance guard but were taken by surprise at having to face the combined army of Major Sydenham Renaud and
General Havelock.

We probably outnumbered the British forces, but in this battle field, its not about numbers. If sheer numbers mattered, we wouldn’t even be in this positiion.

One of the reasons why the British won the day was because of their Enfield rifles and cannons. The Enfield rifle is far more effective than our smooth bore muskets.

This is a picture of our smooth bore Enfield musket. Click on it to see it in its full glory.

We have already told you so much about the Enfield Rifle.

Besides on the side of the sepoy’s, only the cavalry fought well.
After the battle, the town of Fatehpur was sacked by the Europeans, Sikhs and camp followers, some of the principal houses were blown up and thatched houses burnt.

In this battle, the sepoys were commanded by Jwala Prasad, one of Nana Sahib’s chief advisor and a military leader, now elevated to the rank of Brigadier. Jwala Prasad had underestimated the strength of the British army.

Hope Havelock doesn’t think he is invincible.

British east-west connection between Punjab and Calcutta cut.

After the Aligarh rebellion, the British connection between Punjab and Bengal has been cut.

Samrat Bahadur Shah Zafar proclaimed the King of India

The great king, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the son of Mughal king Akbar and his Hindu wife Lalbai, has been proclaimed as the Emperor of the whole of India.
After discussions with the Sepoys, ministers, and the other dignitaries, the King Bahadur Shah Zafar, signed the proclamation taking charge of the rebellion.

He will be our commander in chief. The Emperor will issued coins in his name and his name will be added to the Khutbah as the king of India.

All the kingdoms in India will unite under the Samrat Bahadur Shah Zafar till the British are defeated.