Disarmament of a Sepoy regiment at Barrackpore, West Bengal, India, during the Indian Rebellion of 1857

• Contributor: Historical Images Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
• Image ID: P7R4RA
• File size: 22.5 MB (2.9 MB Compressed download)
• Releases: Model - no | Property - no
• Dimensions: 3241 x 2429 px | 27.4 x 20.6 cm | 10.8 x 8.1 inches | 300dpi
• Date taken: 7 July 2018

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This image could have imperfections as it’s either historical or reportage.

Illustration by William Heysham Overend (1851-1898) from Cassell's Century Edition History of England, pub circa 1901. Info from wiki: In 1857, Barrackpore was the scene of an incident that some credit with starting the Indian rebellion of 1857: an Indian soldier, Mangal Pandey, attacked his British commander, and was subsequently court-martialed. His regiment was disbanded, an action which offended a number of sepoys and is considered to have contributed to the anger that fueled the rebellion. In 1857, the Bengal Army had 86, 000 men, of which 12, 000 were European, 16, 000 Sikh and 1, 500 Gurkha. There were 311, 000 native soldiers in India altogether, 40, 160 European soldiers and 5, 362 officers.[94] Fifty-four of the Bengal Army's 74 regular Native Infantry Regiments mutinied, but some were immediately destroyed or broke up, with their sepoys drifting away to their homes. A number of the remaining 20 regiments were disarmed or disbanded to prevent or forestall mutiny. In total, only twelve of the original Bengal Native Infantry regiments survived to pass into the new Indian Army.[95] All ten of the Bengal Light Cavalry regiments mutinied.