The Battle of Ramnagar (sometimes referred to as the Battle of Rumnuggur) was fought on 22 November 1848 between
British 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 ...
and
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
forces during the
Second Anglo-Sikh War
The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company, British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab r ...
. The British were led by
Sir Hugh Gough
Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, (3 November 1779 – 2 March 1869) was an Irish officer of the British Army. After serving as a junior officer at the seizure of the Cape of Good Hope during the French Revolutionary Wars, Gough co ...
, while the Sikhs were led by
Raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
Sher Singh Attariwalla
Raja Sher Singh Attariwala was a royal military commander and a member of the Sikh nobility during the period of the Sikh Empire in the mid-19th century in Punjab.
He commanded the Sikh Khalsa army in the Second Anglo-Sikh War against the Brit ...
. The Sikhs repelled an attempted British surprise attack.
Background
Following the Sikh defeat in the
First Anglo-Sikh War
The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of ...
, British Commissioners and Political Agents had effectively ruled the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, using the
Sikh Khalsa Army
The Sikh Khalsa Army (), also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ran ...
to maintain order and implement British policy. There was much unrest over this arrangement and the other galling terms of the peace treaty, not least within the Khalsa which believed it had been betrayed rather than defeated in the first war.
The second war broke out in April 1848, when a popular uprising in the city of
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
forced its ruler,
Dewan Mulraj
Mulraj Chopra (1814 – 11 August 1851) was the Diwan (governor) of Multan and leader of a Sikh rebellion against the British which led to the Second Anglo-Sikh War.Bobby Singh Bansal, Remnants of the Sikh Empire: Historical Sikh Monuments in I ...
, into rebellion. The British Governor-General of Bengal,
Lord Dalhousie
James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), also known as Lord Dalhousie, styled Lord Ramsay until 1838 and known as The Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and co ...
, initially ordered only a small contingent of the
Bengal Army under General Whish to suppress the outbreak (partly for reasons of economy, and partly to avoid a major campaign during the Hot Weather and
Monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
seasons). He also ordered several detachments of the Khalsa to reinforce Whish. The largest detachment, of 3,300 cavalry and 900 infantry was commanded by ''Sardar'' (General) Sher Singh Attariwalla. Several junior Political Agents viewed this development with alarm, as Sher Singh's father,
Chattar Singh Attariwalla
General Raja Chattar Singh Attariwalla, also spelt Chatar Singh Aṭārīvālā, was Governor of Hazara province and a military commander in the army of the Sikh Empire during the reign of Maharaja Duleep Singh in the Punjab.
He fought in the S ...
, the Governor of
Hazara to the north of the Punjab, was openly plotting rebellion.
On 14 September, Sher Singh rebelled. Whish was forced to raise the siege of Multan and retire. Nevertheless, Sher Singh and Mulraj (the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
ruler of a largely
Moslem
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
city-state) did not join forces. The two leaders conferred at a temple outside the city, where both prayed and it was agreed that Mulraj would supply some funds from his treasury, while Sher Singh moved north to join his forces with those of his father. This was not immediately possible, as Chattar Singh's army was confined to Hazara by Moslem tribesmen fighting under British officers. Instead, Sher Singh moved a few miles north and began fortifying the crossings of the
Chenab River
The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul regi ...
, while awaiting developments. His army was swelled by deserters from those regiments of the Khalsa which had not yet rebelled, and by discharged former soldiers.
Battle
![Combat of Ramnuggur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Combat_of_Ramnuggur.jpg)
By November, the British had at last assembled a large army on the frontier of the Punjab, under the Commander-in-Chief, General
Sir Hugh Gough
Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, (3 November 1779 – 2 March 1869) was an Irish officer of the British Army. After serving as a junior officer at the seizure of the Cape of Good Hope during the French Revolutionary Wars, Gough co ...
. Gough had been criticised for his unvarying frontal attacks during the First Anglo-Sikh War, which had led to heavy British casualties and some near disasters.
In the early hours of the morning of 22 November, Gough ordered a force of cavalry and horse artillery, with a single infantry brigade, to move to the Chenab crossing near
Ramnagar Ramnagar may refer to the following places:
Bangladesh
* Ramnagar, Bangladesh, a village in Chittagong Division
* Ramnagar Union, Jessore Sadar
India Jammu and Kashmir
* Ramnagar, Udhampur, a town in Jammu and Kashmir
** Ramnagar Fort Udha ...
(In present day
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
), apparently intending to capture the position by surprise. The Sikhs occupied strong positions on both banks of the river and on an island in mid-stream. The river was only a narrow stream, but the wide bed it occupied during the monsoon season was treacherous soft sand, in which cavalry and artillery could become bogged down.
At dawn, the British force assembled opposite the fords. The
3rd Light Dragoons
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
and 8th Bengal Light Cavalry drove some Sikhs back across the river from positions on the east bank. At this point, hitherto concealed Sikh batteries opened fire. The British cavalry had difficulty extricating themselves from the soft ground. Gough's horse artillery was outgunned and forced to retire, leaving behind a 6-pounder gun which had become bogged down.
The brigade commander,
Sir Colin Campbell, called up troops to retrieve the gun but was over-ruled by Gough.
Sher Singh sent 3,000 horsemen across the fords to take advantage of the British check. Gough ordered the main body of his cavalry (the
14th Light Dragoons and the 5th Bengal Light Cavalry) to attack them. These drove back the Sikh horsemen but as they pursued them down the river bank, they were hit by heavy artillery fire. The Sikh cavalry also turned about and hit the 5th Light Cavalry, causing heavy casualties.
The Commanding Officer of the 14th Light Dragoons, Colonel
William Havelock
William Havelock, KH (1793–1848) was a cavalry officer in the British Army, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
Life
He was the eldest son of William Havelock of Ingress Park, Kent, and brother of Sir Henry Havelock and of Colonel Charl ...
, led another charge, apparently without orders.
[Farwell, p.53] He and his leading troopers were surrounded and cut down. After a third charge failed, Brigadier
Charles Robert Cureton, the commander of the cavalry division to which the troops belonged, galloped up and ordered a retreat. He himself was then killed by musket fire.
Results
![Death of Brigadier-General Cureton at Ramnuggar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Death_of_Brigadier-General_Cureton_at_Ramnuggar.jpg)
Official British casualties, including Brigadier General Cureton, were 26 killed or missing, 59 wounded.
This may have referred to the 14th Light Dragoons only. Sikh casualties were not recorded.
Sher Singh had skillfully used every advantage of ground and preparation. Although the Sikh forces had been driven from their vulnerable positions on the east bank of the Chenab, their main positions were intact, they had undoubtedly repulsed a British attack, and the morale of Sher Singh's army was boosted.
On the British side, several shortcomings were obvious. There had been little reconnaissance or other attempts to gain information on the Sikh dispositions. Gough and Havelock had both ordered foolish or reckless charges. Cureton had a reputation from the First Sikh War as a steady and capable officer, and ought to have been in command from the start.
Order of battle
British regiment
*
3rd King’s Own Light Dragoons
*
9th Queen’s Royal Light Dragoons (Lancers)
*
14th the King’s Light Dragoons
*
24th Foot
*
29th Foot
*
61st Foot
British Indian Army regiments
*
1st Bengal Light Cavalry
*
5th Bengal Light Cavalry
*
6th Bengal Light Cavalry
The 6th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1842 and in 1921 was amalgamated with the 7th Hariana Lancers to form the 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry.
History
The 6th King Edward's Ow ...
*
9th Bengal Light Cavalry
*
2nd European Light Infantry
*
6th Bengal Native Infantry
*
15th Bengal Native Infantry
*
20th Bengal Native Infantry
*
25th Bengal Native Infantry
*
30th Bengal Native Infantry
*
31st Bengal Native Infantry
*
36th Bengal Native Infantry
*
45th Bengal Native Infantry
*
46th Bengal Native Infantry
*
56th Bengal Native Infantry
*
69th Bengal Native Infantry
*
70th Bengal Native Infantry
Notes
References
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External links
BritishBattles.com includes troop strength, casualties and events of the battle.
{{Sikh Empire
History of Sikhism
Ramnagar Ramnagar may refer to the following places:
Bangladesh
* Ramnagar, Bangladesh, a village in Chittagong Division
* Ramnagar Union, Jessore Sadar
India Jammu and Kashmir
* Ramnagar, Udhampur, a town in Jammu and Kashmir
** Ramnagar Fort Udha ...
Ramnagar Ramnagar may refer to the following places:
Bangladesh
* Ramnagar, Bangladesh, a village in Chittagong Division
* Ramnagar Union, Jessore Sadar
India Jammu and Kashmir
* Ramnagar, Udhampur, a town in Jammu and Kashmir
** Ramnagar Fort Udha ...
Conflicts in 1848
1848 in India
Ramnagar Ramnagar may refer to the following places:
Bangladesh
* Ramnagar, Bangladesh, a village in Chittagong Division
* Ramnagar Union, Jessore Sadar
India Jammu and Kashmir
* Ramnagar, Udhampur, a town in Jammu and Kashmir
** Ramnagar Fort Udha ...
November 1848 events