Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook275 pages3 hours
The Devil's Trap: The Victims of the Cawnpore Massacre During the Indian Mutiny
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
The Indian Rebellion of 1857-58 was the most ferocious explosion of violence in the history of the British Empire. It tested Britain’s colonial resources to the limit, and nearly brought about the downfall of its rule in India.
As the rebellion spread the strategic garrison at Cawnpore came under siege from rebels. The British inhabitants, including many noncombatant males and women and children, were caught up in the terrible events and spent nearly two months under profound threat which put them in fear for their lives and the likelihood of a brutal death; but they could not have imagined how dreadful that death would be. They suffered from thirst and starvation, and heat-stroke from the relentless scorching sun, holed up in a makeshift entrenchment, riddled with disease caused by the lack of sanitary provisions, and their numbers being seriously depleted from continuous bombardment by cannon balls and bullets from rebel snipers.
On being promised safe passage out of the city by boats, most of the men were treacherously massacred at the Sati Chaura Ghat, a landing-stage on the banks of the River Ganges, and the surviving women and children were imprisoned in a house known as the Bibighar to await their fate. That came on 15 July 1857, when they were slaughtered with cleavers in a murderous frenzy. On the following morning their naked remains were unceremoniously thrown down a well. At least six of them were still clinging on to life, including three children.
Much has been written about the siege of Cawnpore and the political events which caused it, but there less known about the people who suffered the ordeal. Who were they, and where did they come from? James Bancroft is well-known for the depth of research he carries out, and during this project he has followed the lives of many of the victims. For instance, one had worked with the engineer Brunel; a member of a family of one of the victims later became a well-known cricketer and footballer, and another was a descendant of an Anglo-Norman West Country family.
The author has tried to redress this by consulting official documentation and establishments, studying primary sources and contacting descendants, then cross-referencing and checking the information as much as possible. To try to understand opinions on both sides, he also studied documents and contacted individuals who believe the events at Cawnpore were India’s first steps in the freedom struggle towards eventual independence, and they have no misgivings concerning what happened.
On a visit to the Sati Chaura Ghat, Sir Frederick Treves, the prominent Victorian surgeon who witnessed the hurtful sufferings of the Elephant Man, referred to is as: ‘This Devil’s Trap!’
As the rebellion spread the strategic garrison at Cawnpore came under siege from rebels. The British inhabitants, including many noncombatant males and women and children, were caught up in the terrible events and spent nearly two months under profound threat which put them in fear for their lives and the likelihood of a brutal death; but they could not have imagined how dreadful that death would be. They suffered from thirst and starvation, and heat-stroke from the relentless scorching sun, holed up in a makeshift entrenchment, riddled with disease caused by the lack of sanitary provisions, and their numbers being seriously depleted from continuous bombardment by cannon balls and bullets from rebel snipers.
On being promised safe passage out of the city by boats, most of the men were treacherously massacred at the Sati Chaura Ghat, a landing-stage on the banks of the River Ganges, and the surviving women and children were imprisoned in a house known as the Bibighar to await their fate. That came on 15 July 1857, when they were slaughtered with cleavers in a murderous frenzy. On the following morning their naked remains were unceremoniously thrown down a well. At least six of them were still clinging on to life, including three children.
Much has been written about the siege of Cawnpore and the political events which caused it, but there less known about the people who suffered the ordeal. Who were they, and where did they come from? James Bancroft is well-known for the depth of research he carries out, and during this project he has followed the lives of many of the victims. For instance, one had worked with the engineer Brunel; a member of a family of one of the victims later became a well-known cricketer and footballer, and another was a descendant of an Anglo-Norman West Country family.
The author has tried to redress this by consulting official documentation and establishments, studying primary sources and contacting descendants, then cross-referencing and checking the information as much as possible. To try to understand opinions on both sides, he also studied documents and contacted individuals who believe the events at Cawnpore were India’s first steps in the freedom struggle towards eventual independence, and they have no misgivings concerning what happened.
On a visit to the Sati Chaura Ghat, Sir Frederick Treves, the prominent Victorian surgeon who witnessed the hurtful sufferings of the Elephant Man, referred to is as: ‘This Devil’s Trap!’
Unavailable
Author
James W Bancroft
In the four decades JAMES W. BANCROFT has been writing he has produced more than 100 books and articles, the subjects of which reflect his varied interests. He contributed a number of articles for The New Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and his book Rorke's Drift: The Zulu War, 1879 has been re-printed seven times. When he is not writing, James enjoys singing and playing and listening to music.
Read more from James W Bancroft
The Rorke's Drift Commanders: Gonville Bromhead and John Chard Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Devil's Trap: The Victims of the Cawnpore Massacre During the Indian Mutiny Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTitanic: 'Iceberg Ahead' Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Victoria Crosses of the Crimean War: The Men Behind the Medals Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsZulu War VCs: Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Zulu War, 1879 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Titanic Disaster: Omens, Mysteries and Misfortunes of the Doomed Liner Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Early Years of the FA Cup: How the British Army Helped Establish the World's First Football Tournament Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Great Redan at Sebastopol: The Most Victoria Crosses Awarded for a Single Action Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRorke's Drift Men: Heroes of the Zulu Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEchelon: The Light Brigade Action at Balaclava - A New Perspective Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Devil's Trap
Related ebooks
The Manchester Martyrs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Murder of Pearl Bryan: Or, The Headless Horror Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlorida Lore: The Barefoot Mailman, Cowboy Bone Mizell, the Tallahassee Witch and Other Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lazarus Curse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLegends of the Chiefs: The True Legends Passed Down by Native Americans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Joplin Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Blue Dragon A Tale of Recent Adventure in China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Experience of a Slave in South Carolina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Vancouver, Washington Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Lynching: How a Gruesome Mass Murder Rocked a Small Georgia Town Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Same Sex Love, 1700–1957: A History and Research Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBrothers of the Buffalo: A Novel of the Red River War Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5George Borrow, the Man and His Work Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Monroe County, Michigan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuarterly Essay 35 Radical Hope: Education and Equality for Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCall of the Raven Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six Miles to Charleston: The True Story of John and Lavinia Fisher Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5John Brown: 1800-1859: A Biography After Fifty Years Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Violence of Britishness: Racial Bordering and the Conditions of Citizenship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProphet John Wroe: Virgins, Scandals and Visions Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Grim Almanac of Old Berkshire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Adventures of William F. Drannan: 31 Years on the Plains and in the Mountains & Chief of Scouts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Promise: Love and Loss in Modern China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecollections Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGhosts of the Insurrection: a novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAssassins: The Story of Medieval Islam's Secret Sect Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lady Byron Vindicated: A history of the Byron controversy from its beginning in 1816 to the present time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSins of My Brothers: Suffering an Uncivil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Chinese Atlantic: Seascapes and the Theatricality of Globalization Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSlave Insurrections in the United States, 1800-1865 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Modern History For You
The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Notebook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All But My Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-1962 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Mother, a Serial Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 2]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Profiles in Courage: Deluxe Modern Classic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Red Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A History of the American People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of the Trapp Family Singers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Titanic Chronicles: A Night to Remember and The Night Lives On Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Devil's Trap
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews