A fine Second Battle of Cawnpore casualty Indian Mutiny Medal 1857-1859, no clasp awarded to Private T. Treynor, 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot who had seen earlier service in the Crimean War being slightly wounded in the first attack on the Great Redan at Sebastopol on 18th June 1855. Having recovered, he would travel to India and would take part in the Mutiny being killed in action in the Second Battle of Cawnpore on 28th November 1857.
Indian Mutiny Medal 1857-1859, no clasp; (T. TREYNOR. 34TH REGT.)
Condition; minor contact wear, Good Very Fine
Terence Treynor was born at Carrickmacross and enlisted aged 20 on the 27th December 1841. He would see service as a Private (No. 2037) with the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and would participate in the Crimean War where he is listed as a casualty under the surname of ‘Trignor’ being slightly wounded in the first attack on the Great Redan on 18th June 1855 and is name being in the London Gazette lists of 3rd July and 9th July 1855.
With the successes of early June, it was decided to attempt a general assault against the whole Russian line. On 17 June the "fourth bombardment" silenced the Russian batteries and an assault on the 18th was proposed. Lord Raglan proposed a further two hours of bombardment to destroy any repairs that had been made during the night and suppress the defences. Pélissier proposed to attack at dawn (0300 hrs) without further preparation, and Raglan agreed to attack as soon as practicable after the French assault went in.
The British assault force consisted of three brigades, with the plan being to occupy the flanks of the Great Redan with 1st brigade, Light Division under Colonel Yea on the right and 1st brigade, 4th Division under Major General Sir John Campbell on the left. Then a brigade of the 2nd Division under Colonel Charles Trollop would assault the Redan proper. The other four brigades of these three divisions (2nd Division had three brigades at this time) were in reserve ready to attack past the Redan. On the left attack Sir Richard England's 3rd Division was ordered to make a demonstration against Redoubt No. 4, and the 1st Division was brought up as a final reserve.
The French dawn attack was a debacle. The Russians had, as Raglan predicted, repaired their works and manned them ready to receive the assault. The French unfortunately blundered their preparations, and were detected whilst still moving to their assembly areas. The aggressive Russians immediately sent heavy fighting patrols out to engage the French in their assembly areas and, knowing they had been discovered, the local French commanders launched their attack nearly an hour before the three signal rockets were fired at 0300 hrs to initiate the attack. Hence the majority of the French assaults units had not reached their start positions, which on the French right attack were 400-600 yards from the enemy because they had not dug forward. The French were being slaughtered in the wide open killing areas.
Raglan, seeing the French being slaughtered, launched his attack to divert Russian attention and allow the French to retreat. Only Yea's and Campbell's brigades (10 battalions) advanced, and they were caught in a crossfire and suffered heavy casualties, including both brigade commanders. The attack was aborted, and the British suffered 1,433 casualties, almost all in the two attacking brigades and almost all within a few dozen yards of the start line.
In the aftermath of the attack the French were unwilling to launch another attack until they had dug their way forward and secured a good start line. This took six weeks. The allies had used the distraction of the attack to move forces across the River Chernaya, which precipitated a Russian counterattack in August and a further bombardment (fifth) which lasted for ten days, but was not followed by an attack as French preparations were incomplete.
Having recovered from this wound, he travelled to India where he took part in the Mutiny where he would be killed in action at the Second Battle of Cawnpore on 28th November 1857.
During the 1857 uprising against the East India Company, Kanpur (then spelled Cawnpore) had fallen to the rebel leader Nana Sahib. The Company forces led by Major General Henry Havelock recaptured the town on 17 July 1857. Soon after he arrived at Cawnpore, Havelock received news that Henry Lawrence, the British Resident in Awadh (referred to at the time as Oudh) had died, and that the Company forces were besieged and facing a defeat at Lucknow. Havelock decided to attempt to relieve Lucknow. He fought against the rebel forces blocking his way, winning victories at Unnao (or Unao) and Bashiratganj (or Bashiratgunj), though at a high cost in casualties. However, he was soon informed that the Gwalior army had also rebelled against Company rule. Havelock realized that his forces were not strong enough to fight their way to Lucknow, and returned to Cawnpore on 13 August to await reinforcements.
Once reinforced, the British forces began constructing a bridge over the Ganges River, but the rebel soldiers attacked the bridge from the northern bank. Havelock sent Brasyer's Sikhs regiment to cover the construction. The Sikh regiment forced the rebel soldiers to retreat, and the bridge was completed without further interference.
The reinforced British army under Havelock and Lieutenant General Sir James Outram then set out for Lucknow. They were able to enter the city, but became besieged themselves.
Another, larger, force under General Colin Campbell, the new Commander-in-Chief, India, gathered in Cawnpore to make a second relief of Lucknow. While he led his main force to Lucknow, Campbell left a detachment of about 1,500 men under Brigadier Charles Ash Windham to hold Cawnpore, the vital bridge of boats across the Ganges, and the entrenchment constructed to protect it. Windham had a reputation for bravery gained in the Crimean War, and was nicknamed "Redan" Windham, after a Russian fortification at Sevastopol. However, Campbell left Windham with very precise instructions which appeared to deprive him of any opportunity to exercise his own initiative.
Meanwhile, the Nana Sahib's lieutenant, Tantya Tope, had gathered an army to recapture Cawnpore. The core of this army was the Gwalior Contingent. This was a body of troops in the service of the ruler of Gwalior, but which was recruited and organised on the same lines as the Bengal Presidency Army of the East India Company. The Gwalior Contingent had mutinied against their British officers in June and July. They had since remained undecided as to their next course of action until Tantya Tope took charge of them, and led them to Kalpi on the Jumna River on 10 November. Tantya Tope left a garrison of 3,000 men and 20 guns in Kalpi, while he himself crossed the river with 6,000 men and 18 guns and moved east on Cawnpore.
By 19 November, Tantya Tope's advance guard dominated all the routes west and north-west of Cawnpore, and had cut off all supplies to the city. Windham was aware on 20 November that Campbell had gained success at Lucknow, but on 22 November he also had an erroneous report that a rebel force had captured a bridge over Bani River, which lay on Campbell's line of withdrawal from Lucknow, and sent a small force including two guns to recover it. By 24 November, without communications with Campbell, he nevertheless decided to ignore Campbell's instructions and attack Tantya Tope before he could threaten the entrenchment.
On 26 November, a rebel advance guard of 2,500 men, 500 cavalry and 6 heavy guns had reached a river, the Pandu Nadi, west of Cawnpore. Windham moved forward to attack them with 1,200 infantry, 200 cavalry and 12 guns. He drove back the rebels, capturing three of their guns but then discoved that Tantya Tope's main body of 20,000 troops and 40 guns was close at hand. Windham tried to make an orderly withdrawal but some of his troops (a battalion made up of a mixed bag of detachments of several regiments) misbehaved, retreating without orders and looting drink and supplies when they reached the entrenchment. By midday of 27 November, Windham had been driven back into his entrenchments. The rebels captured all the baggage and stores which had been left outside the entrenchments in a building on the road to Bithoor and were threatening the vital bridge of boats over the Ganges.
Meanwhile, Campbell was withdrawing from Lucknow with 3,000 troops and a convoy containing 2,000 sick, wounded and non-combatants who had been evacuated from Lucknow. On 26 November, he heard artillery fire from the direction of Cawnpore. Fearing for the safety of the bridge and Cawnpore, Campbell left his infantry to protect the convoy and moved ahead with his cavalry and horse artillery. To his relief, when he arrived on the north bank of the Ganges on 28 November, the bridge was still intact. Windham held the entrenchment, but the Tantya Tope's army had occupied the city of Cawnpore and the ground between the city and the Ganges.
Campbell crossed the bridge the next day. He deployed his artillery on the north bank of the river to fire on the rebels threatening the bridge, and then slowly filed the carts and other vehicles of the convoy across the bridge. The process took three days to complete. Although several officers urged Campbell to attack as soon as the north bank was evacuated, Campbell delayed for another five days while all the non-combatants were ferried down-river to safety. Campbell was later to be known for his caution and deliberation, becoming irreverently known as "Sir Crawling Camel".
Meanwhile, Campbell was withdrawing from Lucknow with 3,000 troops and a convoy containing 2,000 sick, wounded and non-combatants who had been evacuated from Lucknow. On 26 November, he heard artillery fire from the direction of Cawnpore. Fearing for the safety of the bridge and Cawnpore, Campbell left his infantry to protect the convoy and moved ahead with his cavalry and horse artillery. To his relief, when he arrived on the north bank of the Ganges on 28 November, the bridge was still intact. Windham held the entrenchment, but the Tantya Tope's army had occupied the city of Cawnpore and the ground between the city and the Ganges.
Campbell crossed the bridge the next day. He deployed his artillery on the north bank of the river to fire on the rebels threatening the bridge, and then slowly filed the carts and other vehicles of the convoy across the bridge. The process took three days to complete. Although several officers urged Campbell to attack as soon as the north bank was evacuated, Campbell delayed for another five days while all the non-combatants were ferried down-river to safety. Campbell was later to be known for his caution and deliberation, becoming irreverently known as "Sir Crawling Camel".
