Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Sam Lawrence. It mounted two 18-pounders and a 9-pounder which commanded the road up to the Iron Bridge.
Such was the disposition of troops on the south-side of the river.
15. Three miles north of the Residency, across the river, was the old Cantonment of Mariaon. Here the officers resided in thatched bungalows, while the European and Native troops occupied thatched barracks. At a further distance of a mile was the new Cantonment at Mudkipur, where the 7th Regiment Native Cavalry was stationed, the 2nd Regiment of O. I. Cavalry being also located on the left bank of the Gumti, on the site now occupied by the Upper India Couper (Paper) Mills.
The whole force in Mariaon and Mudkipur Cantonments is given below:—
| European Artillery | .. | 1 | light horse battery. |
| Regular Native Artillery | ... | 1 | ,, bullock ,, |
| Oudh Irregular,, | .. | 2 | ,, horse batteries. |
| Regular Native Cavalry | .. | 1 | regiment. |
| ,, ,, Infantry | .. | 3 | regiments,viz, the 13th, 48th and 71st. |
16. This faulty and irregular distribution of troops was chiefly due to the fact, as before stated, that, when Oudh was annexed, barracks had not been built; and as the near approach of the annual rains made the speedy construction of new buildings impossible, the places found most capable of adaptation to military requirements had been occupied. Such was the state of things at the beginning of May 1857. At this period the condition of the province was comparatively tranquil.
17. On the 3rd May the mutiny of the 7th Oudh Irregular Infantry was the first startling event.[1] This regiment was stationed at Musa Bagh, a garden-residence of one of the late King's wives, which formed one of the prettiest suburban retreats of King Asuf-ud-daula. The men refused to use their cartridges on the plea that they had been tampered with. Their officers found it necessary to assemble the men, in order to point out to them the absurdity of the fears they entertained for their religion. They used every effort to convince the incredulous sepoys of the falsity of the pretences by which their religious prejudices had been aroused, and told them that if they still refused to trust the Government, and allowed suspicion
- ↑ The mutiny broke out, in Lucknow, on 30th May; Bareilly, 31st; Seetapore, 3rd June; Mullaon, 4th; Mohumdee and Fyzabad, 8th; Sultanpore and Daryabad, 9th; Selone, Secrora, and Gonda, on 10th June, 1857.
