Khelat-i-Ghilzai, 1879 (c)
Watercolour sketch from the disbound album by Lieutenant John Frederick Irwin, 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment. Military career and life from RMC Sandhurst 1866 to the 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880).
The fort at Khelat-i-Ghilzai, located on a rocky outcrop some 200 feet above the surrounding plain, was occupied by Lieutenant-General Sir Donald Stewart's Kandahar Field Force on 21 January 1879. His force of 4182 officers and men and 5119 camp followers met little resistance. This was in contrast to the British experience during the 1st Afghan War (1839-1842) when a garrison under Captain Craigie of the 43rd Bengal Light Infantry was besieged there by the Ghilzais for six months.
NAM Accession Number
NAM. 1997-11-107-21
Copyright/Ownership
National Army Museum, Out of Copyright
Location
National Army Museum, Study collection
Object URL
https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1997-11-107-21