Charge of the Highlanders before Cawnpore under General Havelock Major General Henry Havelock

This engraving depicts the charge of the Highlanders’ 78th unit before the city of Cawnpore (now Kanpur) during the revolt of 1857.

Cawnpore (now Kanpur) in Uttar Pradesh was an important fortified town for the East India Company’s forces. Kanpur was the site of a massacre on June 27, 1857, when the city’s besieged population, including women and children, succumbed to the rebelling forces. It became a watershed moment in the rebellion of 1857-1858. The British officials made it a priority to retake the town and avenge those who had been slain. The city was reclaimed on July 16, 1857.

This illustration appeared in Charles Ball’s book The History of the Indian Mutiny, which was published in parts in 1858 and 1859. The book depicts several fictional and theatrical scenes, particularly in relation to British officers’ operations in Kanpur and other North Indian cantonments.

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