February 22. Sir H. Hardinge concludes a convention with the Danish governor for the purchase of the Danish possessions in India.

1845.

December 11. The Sikh army begins to cross to the southern bank of the Sutlej, and take up an entrenched position at the village of Ferozeshah, about ten miles in advance from Ferozepoor, and the same distance from the village of Moodkee. In this camp the Sikhs had placed 108 pieces of cannon protected by breastworks, and a force of more than 50,000 men, expecting to intercept the British force advancing from Umballah, under the commander-in-chief, Sir Hugh Gough, in order to relieve Ferozepoor, which was held by Sir J. Littler, and had been threatened, and partially invested. The British army reached Moodkee, December 18, and in the evening repulsed an attack of the Sikhs, and captured 17 guns. This was the Battle of Moodkee, in which Sir Robert Sale was wounded. He died February 28, 1846. On the 19th the army was concentrated at Moodkee, and on the 21st moved towards Ferozepoor, on the march forming a junction with Sir J. Littler, who had 5,000 men and 21 guns. The British force then consisted of 16,700 men and 69 guns, chiefly horse artillery. Sir Henry Hardinge, who accompanied Sir Hugh Gough, offered his services as second in command, and took an active part in the battle.

December 21, 22. Battle of Ferozeshah. Sir Hugh Gough attacked the Sikhs in their entrenched camp in the evening of the 21st, and the fight continued till dark, and was renewed on the morning of the 22nd. The Sikhs were defeated, and retreated across the Sutlej, leaving behind 74 guns and large quantities of ammunition and other warlike stores. Their loss in men was very large. The British total loss was 2,415.

1846.

January 28. Battle of Aliwal. Major-General Sir Harry Smith having formed a junction with the troops at Loodiana, the Sikhs retreated down the Sutlej, but having been reinforced, again advanced, and entrenched themselves near the village of Aliwal, in order to cut off Sir H. Smith's communication with the main army. Sir H. Smith, with 12,000 men and 32 guns, attacked them. The Sikh camp was carried by storm, the whole of the enemy's cannon and munitions of war captured, and his army driven headlong across the Sutlej by a difficult ford. The loss of the Sikhs was upwards of 5,000 men, and 56 guns taken and 11 sunk in the river. The British loss was only 589 killed and wounded.

February 10. Battle of Sobraon. The Sikhs had entrenched themselves strongly on the southern bank of the Sutlej, near the village of Sobraon, and constructed a good bridge of boats across the river. Sir Hugh Gough having been joined by the army under Sir Harry Smith, and received a siege-train from Delhi, attacked the Sikhs, numbering about 35,000 men, with 67 guns of large calibre. The Sikhs were dislodged from their entrenchments, and retreated across the bridge, which, unable to bear the weight of the masses, broke, and vast numbers were drowned. The loss of the Sikhs was upwards of 13,000 men and 67 guns; that of the British was 2,383 men killed and wounded.

February 20. Occupation of Lahore. The British army crossed the Sutlej, and occupied Kussoor, on the road to Lahore. There they were met by the Maha-Raja and the chiefs on the 15th, when the terms of a treaty were arranged, and on the 20th Dhuleep Sing was conducted back to the city of Lahore by the governor-general, who was with the army.

March 9. Treaty of Lahore signed. Dhuleep Sing was continued in the relation of a friendly sovereign, but 1,500,000l. were exacted as indemnity for the expenses of the war; and the Jullindar Doab, that is, the country between the Beas and the Sutlej, was annexed to the British possessions. March 16. Treaty of Amritsir, by which Gholab Sing, in consideration of paying 1,000,000l. of the indemnity required from Lahore, was invested with the sovereignty of the great province of Cashmere.

1847.

January 13. The Vizier Lal Sing deposed, on evidence of treasonable correspondence with insurgent Sikhs.

August 4. Earl of Dalhousie appointed governor-general.

1848.

April 20. Mr. Vans Agnew and Lieut. Anderson, with a small body of troops, arrived in the city of Mooltan on the 19th of April, accompanied by the newly-appointed governor. Mr. Agnew and Lieut. Anderson were murdered on the following day, by order of Moolraj, the ex-governor, who immediately began preparations for a war with the British. Lieut. Edwardes, who was then on the west bank of the Indus, having made a junction with the troops under General Cortland, they descended by the western bank of the Indus, while 10,000 troops sent by Moolraj descended by the eastern bank. Edwardes crossed the Indus with 3,000 irregular troops and about 80 cavalry, but no artillery, in order to make a junction with the army of the Nawab of Bahwulpoor, leaving Cortland to procure boats and bring over the rest of the troops and guns. Before this could be done, the troops of the Nawab were defeated, and Edwardes, with his small body of men, was attacked by Moolraj's force of 10,000 men and 10 guns. Edwardes resisted the reiterated assaults of the enemy, till at length Cortland got over gun after gun and gradual reinforcements of men. The Sikh forces were then defeated, and fled to the city of Mooltan. This was the battle of Kennyree, June 18, which lasted nine hours.

July. Lieut. Edwardes and the Nawab of Bahwulpoor invest the city of Mooltan.

August 18. General Whish arrives with additional troops before Mooltan, and a bombardment is commenced on the 12th of September.

September 22. General Whish, in consequence of the desertion of Shere Sing with 5,000 troops and a quantity of artillery, is obliged to raise the siege, and take up a position in the vicinity, waiting for reinforcements. November, December. Various movements by the Sikh forces under Shere Sing and Chuttur Sing, and the British under Lord Gough and Major-General Thackwell. The Sikhs are driven from an advantageous position at Rhamnuggur by Thackwell, November 2, who again defeats them, December 3, below Vizierabad.

December 27. Reinforcements having arrived, the entrenchments of Mooltan are again attacked.

1849.

January 2. The city of Mooltan taken by storm.

January 13, Battle of Chillianwallah, between the forces under Lord Gough and the Sikhs. In this battle Lord Gough attacked precipitately, and though the enemy suffered great loss, and retired, the loss of the British was 2,357, and the Sikhs were still in force, and expecting to be joined by Chuttur Sing with a large force of insurgents from Attock. Lord Gough, in his despatch, said the victory was complete, but the Duke of Wellington and the British Government thought otherwise, and on the 7th of March Sir Charles Napier was appointed to supersede Lord Gough as commander-in-chief.

January 22. Practicable breaches having been made in the citadel of Mooltan, and preparations made for storming, Moolraj surrendered himself and the garrison unconditionally.

January 14 to February 16. After the battle of Chillianwallah there were several movements of the Sikh forces and the British.

February 17. General Whish crosses the Chenab, and brings his forces into communication with those of Lord Gough.

February 21. Battle of Googerat. By this battle the brave old General Gough retrieved his character and won additional fame. The Sikhs, under Chuttur Sing and Shere Sing, were strongly posted at the village of Googerat, with 60,000 men and 59 pieces of artillery. The British force was 24,000 men and 97 pieces of artillery. The battle lasted from six o'clock in the morning till four in the afternoon, when the Sikhs were in

F

full retreat, which the British cavalry and horse-artillery soon converted into a rout. They were pursued fifteen miles. The two leaders escaped with about 8,000 men into the Salt Range Hills. The final result was that 53 of their guns and all their ammunition and warlike stores fell into the hands of the British, whose loss was 807 killed and wounded.

March 14. Chuttur Sing, Shere Sing, and the principal chiefs of the Sikhs, together with 16,000 men of the Sikh army, surrender, with all their arms and 41 guns, to Major-General Gilbert, at Rawul Pindee.

March 29. Proclamation by the governor-general, announcing the annexation of the Panjab to the British possessions in India. Dhuleep Sing, the deposed Maha-Raja of Lahore, retires to Poonah, on a pension of 40,000l. a-year.

May 6. Sir Charles Napier arrives at Calcutta as commander-in-chief. September. Moolraj having been condemned to death in August, for the murder of Agnew and Anderson, is sentenced to transportation for life. 1850.

February 27. Sir Charles Napier, by a general order, disbands the 66th Bengal native infantry, for mutiny.

May 25. Embassy from the Raja of Nepaul arrives in England.

July 2. Sir Charles Napier resigns his office of commander-in-chief, and e arrives in London, March 19, 1851.

1851.

January 28. Death of Bajee Rao, ex-Peishwa of the Mahrattas, at Bithoor. He enjoyed, by treaties June 13, 1817, and June 1, 1818, a pension of eight lacs of rupees (80,000l.) a-year. Sreemunt Nursee Punt, Nana Sahib, eldest son of Bajee Rao's brother, was adopted by his uncle as his heir, and on the death of Bajee Rao, claimed the continuance of the s pension, which was refused by the Supreme Government of India, and the refusal was confirmed by the Court of Directors.

September 1. Prince of Wales Island, Singapore, and Malacca, formed into a separate government, independent of the supreme government of Bengal.

October 29. A British naval force arrives before Rangoon, in conse- 2 sequence of disputes between the government authorities of the Birman Empire and the Supreme Government of India.

1852.

January 4. The viceroy of Rangoon erects stockades and batteries, to prevent the British vessels from communicating with the shore or leaving the harbour. The British commodore destroys the batteries, and forces the passage of the river Irawaddy.

April 5. Martaban stormed by the troops sent from Hindustan.
April 14. Rangoon stormed and captured by General Goodwin.
June 4. Capture of Pegu. Afterwards evacuated.

July 9. Capture of Prome. Afterwards evacuated.

October 9. Prome recaptured.

November 21. Pegu recaptured.

December 3. Pegu invested by a Birmese army. A British force of 2,400 men sent from Rangoon defeats the besiegers, and relieves the garrison.

December 20. A proclamation of the Governor-General of India annexes the province of Pegu, which formed a part of the Birman empire, to the British possessions in India.

1853.

June 20. Proclamation by the Governor-General of India announcing the termination of the war with Birma.

The charter of the East India Company, granted in 1833, being to terminate in April, 1854, an Act was passed, August 20, 1853, "to provide for the government of India." The following is the substance of the most important clauses.

August 20. Act 16 & 17 Vict., c. 95. 1. Until Parliament shall otherwise provide, the British territories in India are continued under the government of the East India Company. 2. After April 1854 there are to be only eighteen directors of the said Company, any ten of whom are to form a council. 5. The Crown is to appoint six of the directors. 9. Six of the twelve elected directors must have resided at least ten years in India, as must also (sect. 3) three of the six appointed by the Crown. 30. The person appointed by Her Majesty to be commander-in-chief of her forces in India is also to be commander-in-chief of the Company's forces.

December 11. Death of the Raja of Nagpoor, whose territories were then added to the British possessions in India.

1855.

March 31. Treaty with Dost Mahomed, who is afterwards reinstated on the throne of Cabul.

1856.

February 7. The Governor-General announces by a proclamation the deposition of the King of Oude, and the annexation of the kingdom of Oude to the British possessions in India. The King of Oude is granted an annual pension of twelve lacs (120,000l.).

February 29. Viscount Canning assumes office as Governor-General, in place of the Marquis of Dalhousie, who arrives in England, May 13.

In the latter part of the year 1856 another dispute occurred between the British and Chinese authorities at Canton. A small vessel, with a British register, and bearing the British flag, was boarded by a Chinese force on the 8th of October, while at anchor near Canton, and twelve of the crew were seized. This led to a demand for apology by the British plenipotentiary, which was refused by Yeh, the Chinese governor of Canton. Hostile proceedings followed. The forts in the Canton river were attacked and taken, the fortifications of Canton stormed, and a large number of war-junks burned. Lord Elgin has been sent out as Her Majesty's Commissioner, with a fleet and troops, for the purpose of entering into negotiations with the Emperor of China. Meantime the troops have been required to assist in quelling the Indian mutiny, and the quarrel with the Chinese remains undecided.

The year 1857 is sadly distinguished by the mutiny of the native army of Bengal. In January, February, March, and April, there were mutinies of single regiments at Barrack poor, Berhampoor, and Lucknow, which were suppressed; but on the 10th of May the 3rd regiment of Bengal cavalry broke out into open mutiny, and was joined by the 11th and 20th regiments of native infantry. After committing murders and appalling atrocities, they marched to Delhi, where they were joined by other native regiments, and where similar acts of barbarity were perpetrated. There the mutineers fixed their head-quarters, and proclaimed the old King of Delhi Emperor of Hindustan. Other native regiments broke out into mutiny at various places, but were mostly disarmed and dispersed, till the native army of Bengal had ceased to exist, at least as the soldiers of the East India Company.

1857.

January 24 to May 6. Mutinies at Barrackpoor, Berhampoor, Lucknow, and Meerut.

May 10, 11. Mutiny at Meerut, and march of the mutineers to Delhi. May 11. Mutineers arrive at Delhi, and are joined there by three

native regiments of infantry and a battalion of infantry. Lieut. Willoughby blows up the magazine containing large quantities of ammunition, and escapes.

May 12. King of Delhi proclaimed Emperor by the insurgents.

May 13 to May 31. Mutinies at various places.

May 20. General Anson arrives before Delhi with a body of British troops, whom he places in cantonments on a ridge about a mile from the city. He dies on the 27th of May, of cholera.

May 31. Mutiny at Lucknow of three natives regiments of infantry and one of cavalry. They are attacked by the British under Sir Henry Lawrence, and dispersed.

June 5. Mutiny at Allahabad. The Europeans secure themselves in the fort, where they are besieged.

June 6. Mutineers under Nana Sahib attack Sir Hugh Wheeler's small force in their entrenchments at Cawnpoor, but are driven back.

June 8. Sir H. Barnard enters the cantonments before Delhi with about 4,000 troops and succeeds General Anson in the command. He entrenches himself on a ridge about a mile from Delhi.

June 8 to 19. Mutinies at various places.

June 26. Sir Hugh Wheeler having been wounded in making a sally on the 20th of June, died on the 21st; the small force at Cawnpoor surrender by capitulation to Nana Sahib. On the 17th of June they are embarked in boats, but are fired upon, and nearly all murdered.

July 1. General Havelock marches from Allahabad towards Cawnpoor, with a force of 2,000 Europeans.

July 2. Sir Henry Lawrence, wounded in a sortie at Lucknow, dies on the 4th of July. He is succeeded by Major Banks in the command of the European force, which maintains itself in the Residency and fort.

July 5. Sir H. Barnard dies of cholera before Delhi, and is succeeded in the command by General Reid.

July 12. General Nicholson, with the Bombay flying column, routs the mutineers at Sealcote on his road to join the force at Delhi.

July 16. General Havelock defeats the insurgents under Nana Sahib before Cawnpoor.

July 17. Nana Sahib blows up the magazine, and retires to Bithoor, General Havelock enters Cawnpoor.

July 19. General Havelock attacks Nana Sahib at Bithoor, defeats him, takes 20 guns, and sets fire to the place.

July 22. General Reid, obliged to resign from illness, is succeeded in the command of the force before Delhi by General Wilson,

August 2. The Maha-Raja Gholab Sing dies at Cashmere,

August 10. General Nicholson arrives at the camp before Delhi in advance of his column, which arrives in a day or two.

August 16. General Havelock, operating with his small force against the insurgents between Cawnpoor and Lucknow, gains his ninth victory. September 14 to 20, General Wilson, having received reinforcements and a siege-train, takes Delhi by assault, the fight being maintained in the city from the 14th to the 20th. On the 21st the British forces had entire possession of the city of Delhi. The loss in killed and wounded is stated as 1,178.

September 25. General Havelock, with 2,500 troops, arrives at Lucknow and relieves the Europeans besieged in the Residency. On the following day he took the enemy's entrenchments.