'The House in which the ladies and children were massacred at Cawnpore. Taken from the gate of the compound Leading into the public Road'

Lithograph by Sydney Pearce, 'Lieut. C. V. G.' 1858.

On 6 June 1857, during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859), rebel forces under Nana Sahib laid siege to Cawnpore (Kanpur). The garrison of British and Indians, half of whom were women and children, held out for 20 days before surrendering on the promise of a safe conduct. As they embarked on the boats which were to carry them to safety, almost all the men were murdered, the remnant were later shot.

The women and children were returned as captives to Cawnpore, where they were later massacred on the approach of a British relief column. The sepoys who had earlier joined in the killing of British captives refused to participate in this new massacre, and fired their weapons into the ceiling. The tale of the massacre, horrible as it was, gained much in the telling, and was used to justify harsh and summary punitive measures by the British as they re-conquered rebel areas.

From an album containing 20 photographs and a lithograph, 1858-1945.