5th Bengal Light Cavalry was a military unit of the

Honourable 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 Southea ...

History

The 5th Bengal Light Cavalry was raised in 1800 as part of 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 Govern ...

of 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 Southea ...

. It participated in the occupation of Kabul in 1841, and part of the regiment was annihilated while serving as a rearguard during the disastrous

retreat from Kabul The 1842 retreat from Kabul, also called the Massacre of Elphinstone's army, during the First Anglo-Afghan War, was the retreat of the British and East India Company forces from Kabul. An uprising in Kabul forced the then commander, Major-Genera ...

. The remainder took part in the defence of Jellalabad under General

Robert Sale Major-General Sir Robert Henry Sale (19 September 1782 – 21 December 1845) was a British Army officer who commanded the garrison of Jalalabad during the First Afghan War and was killed in action during the First Anglo-Sikh War. Biography ...

(battle honour). The regiment later served in the Cabul campaign of 1842 (battle honour) and in both Anglo-Sikh Wars.

Battle honours

With 11 battle honors, the 5th BLC was the most highly decorated of any of the Light Cavalry regiments of the Bengal Army. *Jellalabad (with mural crown) *Cabool *Maharajpore *Punniar *Moodkee *Ferozeshuhur *Aliwal *Sobraon *Punjaub *Chillianwallah *Goojerat

Uniform

The 5th BLC wore the standard French grey (a shade of grey-tinged light blue) uniform of the regular Bengal cavalry regiments. The 5th however had the distinction of black

facings A facing colour is a common tailoring technique for European military uniforms where the visible inside lining of a standard military jacket, coat or tunic is of a different colour to that of the garment itself.René Chartrand, William Younghusba ...

, while the remaining BLC regiments all had orange. A high turban was worn by the sowers of the regiment from 1825 until it was replaced by a peakless

shako A shako (, , or ) is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a visor, and sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with an ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise; and often has a feather, plume (see hackle) ...

. At the time of the 1857 Rebellion the Indian troopers were wearing round forage caps, with white covers in hot weather.

Disbandment

In the course 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 fo ...

all the eight Bengal Light Cavalry regiments were lost to mutiny or disbandment. The 5th BLC, numbering at the time 500

sowars Sowar ( ur, سوار, also ''siwar'' meaning "the one who rides" or "rider", from Persian ) was originally a rank during the Mughal Empire and Maratha Empire. Later during the British Raj it was the name in Anglo-Indian usage for a horse-soldi ...

(Indian troopers), was stationed at

Peshwar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

when the rebellion broke out. Together with three regiments of

Bengal Native Infantry The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing int ...

, the 5th BLC were disarmed and disbanded on 15 May 1857 on suspicion that they were no longer to be trusted. The sowers laid down their weapons without resistance. Their British officers had retained confidence in the loyalty of their men and some threw their own swords on the pile of weapons.Surendra Nath Sen, page 332 ''"1857"'', Ministry of Information, Government of India

Notes

References

*Kempton, C (1996). ''A Register of Titles of the Units of the H.E.I.C. & Indian Armies 1666-1947.'' Bristol: British Empire & Commonwealth Museum. Honourable East India Company regiments {{India-mil-unit-stub