Pakistan Geotagging: 004. Tombs of British soldiers fallen during the Battle of Gujrat, 1849.

It took the British almost one hundred years to conquer the whole of India. This process began in the 1740s with wars against the French and their local allies in the Carnatic region (not Karnataka, but a region in present-day Tamil Nadu) in the southernmost part of India, and ended at Gujrat in 1849.

After their defeat at Chillianwala, the Khalsa army, by then just a shadow of its former glory, camped outside Gujrat city. However, the British, unwilling to give the Sikh army under General Sher Singh any respite, quickly pursued them and took positions around the city.

Sher Singh tried to make a final stand here but was defeated on 21st February 1849. The Sikh army fled toward Rawalpindi but eventually surrendered near Rawat, probably at Humak, on 12th March 1849. The British formally annexed Punjab on 2nd April.

A ravine where the Sikh Army took defensive positions. (26.03.2009.)

Beneath this tomb lie

The REMAINS OF

CAPTAIN JOHN NICHOLSON

OF THE

BENGAL ARTILLERY

KILLED IN ACTION

Beneath this Tomb lie the remains of Captain John Anderson of the Bengal Artillery killed in action, on the 21st of February 1849. No man was more esteemed by the Officers and Men of his Regiment than he who sleeps in a Soldier’s Grave Dug on the Field of Battle in the Hour of Victory.

The British Cemetery, Gujrat. (26.03.2009.)

It is a small cemetery and contains the remains of fewer than ten British soldiers. Their condition is not good, the boundary wall is falling apart, the graves are in a dilapidated condition, and the whole yard is covered with overgrown vegetation.

Another view of the graves. (26.03.2009.)

The cemetery. (26.03.2009.)

The location of these graves is at 32° 34' 49.00" N, 74° 05' 53.55" E. The heart of the battlefield was probably a few hundred meters in the northeast. There is nothing else to commemorate this battle. These graves, as you can see, are in a very bad condition. I visited this place on 26th March, 2009. I wish we could not only preserve these graves, but also erect a monument in memory of the fallen soldiers of the Sikh army. After all, they were defending Punjab against a colonial power. You are right, I am asking for the moon. (But perhaps I could get a little support if I tell you that there were many Muslim soldiers in the Khalsa army, especially in the artillery).

I shall appreciate your comments on the above post. Similarly, I most welcome your suggestions to improve it or any more information on this subject, which I shall use with all due credit.

Tariq Amir

May 12, 2014.

Doha - Qatar

Update:13.09.2025.

Recently, I was searching for WW1 monuments in Punjab, when I found the following book on the net. You can download it at:

https://ia601403.us.archive.org/10/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.34672/2015.34672.A-List-Of-Inscriptions-On-Christian-Tombs-And-Monuments-In-The-Punjab-North-west-Frontier-Province-Kashmir-And-Afganistan_text.pdf

While casually browsing this book, I made a startling discovery. As you have already seen above, I visited the site of the Battle of Gujrat in 2009 and saw a few graves of the fallen British soldiers. Unfortunately, the graves were not in good condition and were in an advanced stage of deterioration, so much so that only one grave had some inscriptions visible and legible. All inscriptions on the other graves had completely disappeared. I could do nothing but feel sorry, and thought that any information about the occupants had been lost forever. But this book brought those dead back to our memory. I not only found their names but also many other details about the dead and the battle. I am sharing this information with my readers as follows.

GRAVES IN BATTLEFIELD CEMETERY,

SHAH JAHANGIR, GUJRAT

Beneath this Tomb lie the remains of Captain John Anderson of the Bengal Artillery killed in action, on the 21st of February 1849. No man was more esteemed by the Officers and Men of his Regiment than he who sleeps in a Soldier’s Grave Dug on the Field of Battle in the Hour of Victory.

To tbe Memory of 2nd Lieutenant E. W. Day Bengal Artillery, who fell in action at Goojrat, 2lst February 1849. "Erected by his Brother ofiicers."

Sacred to the Memory of Lieutenant Ambrose Lloyd, 14th Lt. Dragoons, who fell in action at Goojrat, February 21st, 1849. Erected by his Brother Officers

Sacred to the memory of Lieutenant George Hill Sprot, 2nd Bengal European Regiment, who was killed in the action of Goojrat. 21st February, 1849. This tomb was erected by his brother officers.

Sacred to the memory Lt. Robert Cox, 8th Regiment Bengal Native Infantry. Killed in Action at Goojrat, 21st February, 1849. Erected by his brother officers.

In memory of 2nd Lieutenant Benjamin Hutchinson Bengal Engineers, who died from the effects of a wound received in action at Goojrat, 21st February 1849. This Monument has been erected over his Remains by the Brother Officers of his Corps.

To the memory of the undermentioned men of the 2nd Troop 2nd Brigade, Horse Artillery who fell in action at Goojrat on the 21st February 1849.

John Fitzgerald                      Corporal
George Jones                            Corporal
Richard Clayton                      Gunner
William Flynn                            Gunner
Edward Barrett Hoare              Gunner
James Pringle                            Gunner
George Streete                      Gunner

This Tablet has been placed here by their Comrades. This troop (now the 52nd Field Battery, Royal Artillery) was attached to Gilbert’s Division and sustained heavier losses than any other artillery unit.

Besides providing the names of those killed in action in this battle, the writer has described the battle in some detail, as well.

For a month after the battle of Chillianwala Lord Gough, remained encamped in the vicinity of that place, awaiting reinforcements which were to join him on the fall of Multan, it having been arranged that the First Division of the Army of the Punjab, under Major-General Whish, and part of the Bombay troops employed on the same service, were to join him immediately on the termination of the siege. Before the arrival of these troops, however, Sher Singh, who had. been reinforced by the army of his father, Chattar Singh, and by a considerable Afghan force, contributed by the Amir Dost Muhammad Khan, began withdrawing from Rasul, and. within a few days he had established himself in a fresh. position about a mile to the south of the town of Gujrat. On the 15th February, Lord Gough marched after him from Chillianwala and on the 18th encamped at Shadiwal, within three miles of Sher Singh’s position; by the 20th, he had. been joined by the whole of the troops expected from Multan, and on the following day he moved forward to attack the enemy, who, in numbers over 50,000 (including 1,500 Afghas. horse), with nearly sixty guns, had entrenched themselves in a strom; position, with their right covered by the Dwara nullah and their left by the Katela rivulet, while their centre was formed up behind the villages of Bara Kalra and Chotai Kalra, both of w'hich they held in great strength. In his arrangements for the attack. Lord Gough placed on his right the Division under the command of Major-General Whish, composed of the brigades of Hervey (the 10th Foot) and the 8th and 52nd Native Infantry) and Markham (the 32nd Foot and the 51st and 72nd Native Infantry); on the left of this Division was Gilbert’s, composid of the brigades of Penny (the 2nd European Regiment and the 3 1 st and 70th Native Infantry) and lilountain (the 29th Foot and the 30th and 5Gth Native Infantry); still further to the left came Campbell’s Division, composed of the brigades of Carnegy (the 24th Foot and the 25th Native Infantry) and McLeod (the Gist Foot and the 36th and 46th Native Infantry); on the' extreme left was the Bombay brigade, commanded by Brigadier the Hon’ble H. Dnndas and composed of the 60th. Rifles, the 1st Bombay European Regiment, and the 3rd and 19th Bombay Rative Infantry Th^ right flank was protected by the Cavalry brigades of Lockwood and Hearsey and a troop of Horse Artillery, and the left by the Cavalry brigade of White and another troop of Horse Artillery; the heavy guns, eighteen in number, were placed between Mountain’s and Camegy’s brigades the rest of the arrtillery batteries being distributed over various parts of the line The battle was begun with a heavy bombardment of the Sikh position, which, was kept up steadily for three hours; the enemy for a long time replied gun for gun but their artillery was eventually overpowered and silenced, and they were compelled to fall back; on this being perceived the Divisions of Whish and Gilbert were pushed forward to the attack, and though they met with a most determined resistance, they stormed the Kalra villages and carried that part of the Sikh position. At the same time, Campbell advanced on the left with ...........................................................................

At this point, several lines are missing from the book. However, Copilot has reconstructed the following passage, which it describes as a "historically grounded reconstruction."

...with equal vigour, driving the enemy from their entrenchments and capturing the villages on the left. The advance was supported by the steady progression of the heavy artillery, which continued to fire with great effect as it moved forward in successive bounds. The Sikh resistance began to crumble under the combined pressure of infantry and artillery, and by midday their entire line was in retreat. The British cavalry was then launched in pursuit, cutting down fugitives and capturing guns and baggage over a distance of nearly fifteen miles.

In this decisive engagement, the Sikhs lost 56 out of the 59 guns they brought into the field; their loss in men was never ascertained, but in the circumstances, which included the slaughter of a pursuit of fifteen miles from the field of battle, it must have been extremely heavy. That of the British was comparatively small, amounting to no more than 96 killed, 706 Wounded, and 4 missing,—806 in all.

The name of this cemetery is given as Shah Jahangir. Shah Jahangir was a Muslim saint, and his tomb is located in or near the battlefield. Shah Jahangir lived during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb and died in 1100 AH (1688/1689 AD). The graves are just 30 meters to the north of this mausoleum.