HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Vellore mutiny, or Vellore Revolution, occurred on 10 July 1806 and was the first instance of a large-scale and violent
mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among memb ...
by Indian
sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its ot ...
s against the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...
, predating the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...
by half a century. The revolt, which took place in the
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n city of
Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separa ...
, lasted one full day, during which mutineers seized the
Vellore Fort Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in heart of the Vellore city, in the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, India built by Vijayanagara Empire, Vijayanagara kings. The fort was at one time the headquarters of ...
and killed or wounded 200 British troops. The mutiny was subdued by cavalry and artillery from
Arcot Arcot (natively spelt as Ārkāḍu) is a town and urban area of Ranipet district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Located on the southern banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, betw ...
. Total deaths amongst the mutineers were approximately 350; with
summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes includ ...
s of about 100 during the suppression of the outbreak, followed by the formal
court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
of smaller numbers.


Causes

The immediate causes of the mutiny revolved mainly around resentment felt towards changes in the sepoy dress code, introduced in November 1805. Hindus were prohibited from wearing religious marks on their foreheads while on duty, and Muslims were required to shave their beards and trim their moustaches. In addition General Sir John Craddock, Commander-in-Chief of the
Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government ...
,Philip Mason, page 238, ''A Matter of Honour – an Account of the Indian Army'', ordered the wearing of a round hat resembling that associated at the time with both Europeans in general and with Indian converts to Christianity. The new headdress included a leather
cockade A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. Eighteenth century In the 18th and 19th centuries, coloured cockades were used in Europe to show the allegi ...
and was intended to replace the existing
turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promin ...
. These measures offended the sensibilities of both Hindu and Muslim sepoys and went contrary to an earlier warning by a military board that sepoy uniform changes should be "given every consideration which a subject of that delicate and important nature required". These changes, intended to improve the "soldierly appearance" of the men, created strong resentment among the Indian soldiers. In May 1806 some sepoys who protested the new rules were sent to
Fort Saint George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further s ...
(Madras then, now
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
). Two of them – a Hindu and a Muslim – were given 90 lashes each and dismissed from the army. Nineteen sepoys were sentenced to 50 lashes each but successfully gained pardon from the East India Company. In addition to the military grievances listed above, the rebellion was also instigated by the sons of the defeated
Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...
, confined at Vellore since 1799. Tipu's wives and sons, together with numerous retainers, were
pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...
s of the East India Company and lived in a palace within the large complex comprising the Vellore Fort. One of Tipu Sultan's daughters was to be married on 9 July 1806, and the plotters of the uprising gathered at the fort under the pretext of attending the wedding. The objectives of the civilian conspirators remain obscure but by seizing and holding the fort they may have hoped to encourage a general rising through the territory of the former Mysore Sultanate. However, Tipu's sons were reluctant to take charge after the mutiny arose.


Outbreak

The garrison of the Vellore Fort in July 1806 comprised four companies of British infantry from H.M.
69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot The 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Formation T ...
and three battalions of Madras infantry: the 1st/1st, 2nd/1st and 2nd/23rd Madras Native Infantry. The usual practice for sepoys having families with them in Vellore was to live in individual huts outside the walls. However the scheduling of a field-day for the Madras units on 10 July had required most of the sepoys to spend that night sleeping within the fort so that they could be quickly assembled on parade before dawn. Two hours after midnight on 10 July, the sepoys killed fourteen of their own officers and 115 men of the 69th Regiment, most of the latter as they slept in their barracks. Among those killed was Colonel St. John Fancourt, the commander of the fort. The rebels seized control by dawn, and raised the flag of the
Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...
Sultanate over the fort. Retainers of Tipu's second son Fateh Hyder emerged from the palace part of the complex and joined with the mutineers.Philip Mason, pages 240–241, ''A Matter of Honour – an Account of the Indian Army'', However, a British officer, Major Coopes, had been outside the walls of the fort that night and was able to alert the garrison in
Arcot Arcot (natively spelt as Ārkāḍu) is a town and urban area of Ranipet district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Located on the southern banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, betw ...
. Nine hours after the outbreak of the mutiny, a relief force comprising the British 19th Light Dragoons,
galloper gun The Galloper gun is an artillery piece used circa 1740 in British colonies (later the United States). It has 1½, 2, 3, 4 and rare 6 pound shell variants. The gun and carriage weighs around 600 pounds. The gun was designed to be pulled by one hor ...
s and a squadron of Madras cavalry, rode from Arcot to Vellore, covering in about two hours. It was led by Sir
Robert Rollo Gillespie Major-General Sir Hugh Robert Rollo Gillespie (21 January 1766 – 31 October 1814Dictionary of Indian Biography; Charles E Buckland p166 (1906)) was an officer in the British Army. The Army's historian Sir John Fortescue called him "The bravest ...
(one of the most capable and energetic officers in India at that time), who reportedly left Arcot within a quarter of an hour of the alarm being raised. Gillespie dashed ahead of the main force with a single troop of about twenty men. Arriving at Vellore, Gillespie found the surviving Europeans, about sixty men of the 69th, commanded by NCOs and two assistant surgeons, still holding part of the ramparts but out of ammunition. Unable to gain entry through the defended gate, Gillespie climbed the wall with the aid of a rope and a sergeant's sash which was lowered to him; and, to gain time, led the 69th in a bayonet-charge along the ramparts. When the rest of the 19th arrived, Gillespie had them blow open the gates with their galloper guns, and made a second charge with the 69th to clear a space inside the entrance to permit the cavalry to deploy. The 19th and the Madras Cavalry then charged and sabred any sepoy who stood in their way.Philip Mason, page 241, ''A Matter of Honour – an Account of the Indian Army'', About 100 sepoys who had sought refuge inside the palace were brought out, and by Gillespie's order, placed against a wall and shot dead. John Blakiston, the engineer who had blown in the gates, recalled: "Even this appalling sight I could look upon, I may almost say, with composure. It was an act of summary justice, and in every respect a most proper one; yet, at this distance of time, I find it a difficult matter to approve the deed, or to account for the feeling under which I then viewed it". The prompt and ruthless response to the mutiny snuffed out any further unrest in a single stroke and provided the history of the British in India with one of its true epics; for, as Gillespie admitted, with a delay of even five minutes, all would have been lost for the British. In all, nearly 350 of the rebels were killed, and about the same number wounded before the fighting had finished. Surviving sepoys scattered across the countryside outside the fort. Many were captured by local police; to be eventually released or returned to Vellore for court-martial.


Aftermath

After formal trial, six mutineers were blown away from guns, five shot by
firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
, eight
hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...
and five transported. The three Madras battalions involved in the mutiny were all disbanded. The senior British officers responsible for the offending dress regulations were recalled to England, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army, John Craddock, the company refusing to pay even his passage. The orders regarding the 'new turbans' (round hats) were also cancelled. After the incident, the incarcerated royals in Vellore fort were transferred to
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...
. The Governor of
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, William Bentinck, too was recalled, the Company's Court of Directors regretting that "greater care and caution had not been exercised in examining into the real sentiments and dispositions of the sepoys before measures of severity were adopted to enforce the order respecting the use of the new turban." The controversial interference with the social and religious customs of the sepoys was also abolished. There are some parallels between the Vellore Mutiny and that of the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...
, although the latter was on a much larger scale. In 1857 the sepoys proclaimed the return of Mughal rule by re-installing Bahadur Shah as Emperor of India; in the same way mutineers of Vellore, nearly 50 years before, had attempted to restore power to Tipu Sultan's sons. Perceived insensitivity to sepoy religious and cultural practices (in the form of leather headdresses and greased cartridges) was a factor in both uprisings. The events of 1857 (which involved the
Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...
and did not affect the Madras Army) caused the British crown to take over company property and functions within India through the
Government of India Act 1858 The Government of India Act 1858 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) passed on 2 August 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company (who had up to this point been ruling ...
which saw the total dissolution of the East India Company.It was also widely believed that the quick supression of the Vellore Mutiny might be the reason for The Madras army not participating in the
Revolt of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...
. The only surviving eyewitness account of the actual outbreak of the mutiny is that of Amelia Farrer, Lady Fancourt (the wife of St. John Fancourt, the commander of the fort). Her manuscript account, written two weeks after the massacre, describes how she and her children survived as her husband perished.


In literature

English poet Sir
Henry Newbolt Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH (6 June 1862 – 19 April 1938) was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a role as a government adviser with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps best remembered for his poems "Vit ...
's poem "Gillespie" is an account of the events of the Vellore mutiny. The novel ''Strangers in the Land'' (1976; ) by
George Shipway George Shipway (25 May 1908–1982) was a British author best known for his historical novels, but he also tried his hand at political satire in his book ''The Chilian Club''. Military career George Frederick Morgan Shipway was born on 25 May 1 ...
centers on the Vellore mutiny, from the perspectives of both British and Indian participants.


See also

* Barrackpore mutiny of 1824 *
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...
*