Battle of Jhelum - Indian Mutiny

Overview

During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 a column of troops led by the commander of the 24th Regiment of Foot was sent to disarm Bengal Native Infantry units believed to be at risk of mutiny in Rawalpindi and Jhelum. At Rawalpindi, the 58th Bengal Native Infantry was disarmed peacefully, however the two companies of the 14th Bengal Native Infantry resisted the attempt by force of arms. These two companies were quickly defeated by the British, loyal native troops and the local population. In Jhelum, also garrisoned by the 14th, the concurrently timed disarmament was much more violent. Thirty five British soldiers of the 24th Regiment of Foot were killed along with a number of Loyal Indian troops, by mutinous sepoys of the 14th Bengal Native Infantry. When the mutineers realised that they, except the Sikhs, were to be disarmed, they mutinied and made a vigorous defence against the force that had arrived from Rawalpindi to disarm them. The following night a significant number of mutineers managed to slip away but most were subsequently arrested by the Kashmir authorities, into whose territory they had escaped.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The engagement at Jhelum on 7 July 1857 formed part of a coordinated British effort to disarm Bengal Native Infantry units across the Punjab before they could join the wider rebellion. The operation yielded mixed results: at Rawalpindi the 58th Bengal Native Infantry was disarmed without violence, but the two companies of the 14th Bengal Native Infantry resisted and were quickly suppressed with the help of loyal native troops and the local population. At Jhelum, where the 14th also garrisoned the town, the disarmament turned sharply violent — thirty-five soldiers of the 24th Regiment of Foot were killed alongside a number of loyal Indian troops, making it one of the costlier disarmament actions in the Punjab. The mutineers' overnight escape into Kashmir territory and their subsequent arrest by Kashmir authorities underscored both the limits of British containment and the value of cooperative relationships with neighbouring powers in suppressing the rebellion.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)