A Brief History
On November 16, 1857, during the battle known as the Second Relief of Lucknow, British soldiers earned 24 Victoria Cross medals in a single day, the most in British history.
Digging Deeper
Lucknow, the capital of the Oudh, now called Awadh, province of India, housed a British settlement. The area was administered by the British East India Company, a situation distasteful to the local Indians.
The 1857 Indian Rebellion, May 1857 to November 1858, saw rebellion against the East India Company. Lucknow, defended by 1,729 troops, was beset by 5000 Sepoys, Indian soldiers that had been working for the British. During the May to November 1857 siege of Lucknow, British forces grew to 8,000 and Indian forces reached 30,000.
After two attempts at relief, the British garrison was evacuated. The British suffered 2,500 casualties during the siege, displaying incredible heroism in the defense and rear-guard action allowing the evacuation of troops and over 1,200 civilians, including women and children.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Rees, L.E.R. Siege of Lucknow. HardPress, 2018.
Richards, D.S. Cawnpore & Lucknow: A Tale of Two Sieges- Indian Mutiny. Pen & Sword Military, 2007.
The featured image in this article, a map showing the route taken by Colin Campbell in November 1857 in his relief of Lucknow, has been released into the public domain worldwide by the copyright holder of this work.
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