Highland Jessie (an incident during the Siege of Lucknow 26 September 1857)

Oil on canvas, attributed to Frederick Goodall (1822-1904), 1858 (c).

The painting, also called 'The Campbells are coming' and 'Jessie's Dream' depicts the moment the 78th Highlanders arrived at the besieged Residency at Lucknow. It shows Jessie Brown, a corporal's wife, who had heard the bagpipes of the approaching force in her dream. The painting is a typical example of the Victorian romanticisation of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859) as a savage native attack on defenceless British women. Many similar works were produced during and after the uprising which had generated unprecedented interest in Britain. Ordinary people followed its events with fascinated horror, a phenomenon that has prompted some historians to call it a 'national-popular' war.