Lieutenant-General Sir Colin Campbell's field glasses, 1858 (c)

Sir Colin Campbell used these brass and leather field glasses during the British re-conquest of Oudh in 1858. His slow and deliberate attack on Lucknow in March resulted in the capture of the city at the cost of only 127 of his men killed and 595 wounded. Yet his reluctance to cut off the rebels' line of retreat, or to pursue them with any vigour, meant that many lived to fight another day. The flames of revolt in Oudh and neighbouring Rohilkhand took another year to extinguish. Only then was the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859) finally over.