Sir Hugh Massy Wheeler KCB (30 June 1789 – 27 June 1857) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the army of the East India Company. He commanded troops in the First Anglo-Afghan War, and the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars, and in 1856 was appointed commander of the garrison at Cawnpore (now Kanpur). He is chiefly remembered for the disastrous end to a long and successful military career, when his defence of Wheeler's entrenchment and surrender to Nana Sahib during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 led to the annihilation of almost all the European, Eurasian and Christian Indian population of Cawnpore, himself and several members of his family included.

Background and early life

Wheeler came from an Anglo-Irish background. His father, Hugh Wheeler, was a captain in the East India Company Service; his mother, Margaret, was the daughter of Hugh Massy, 1st Baron Massy. Wheeler was born on 30 June 1789 in Clonbeg, County Tipperary. He attended Bath Grammar School and was commissioned a cadet in the Bengal Army in 1803. Arriving in India in 1805, he joined the forces of Lord Lake.Hodson 1947: 437–8

First Anglo-Afghan War

In April 1805, aged just fifteen, Wheeler was posted as a lieutenant to the 24th Native Infantry.Hodson 1947: 437–8 He was promoted to captain in 1819, transferred to the 48th Native Infantry in 1824, and was further promoted to major in 1829 and lieutenant-colonel in 1835.Hodson 1947: 437–8 He formed a relationship with Frances Oliver (née Marsden), an Anglo-Indian woman who was married to another officer. The couple had a number of children together and eventually married when Frances was widowed.

Wheeler led the 48th Native Infantry during the Afghan War in 1838–9, taking part in the capture of Ghazni and Kabul. In December 1840, he returned to India as part of the escort of the captive ruler of Afghanistan, Dost Mohammad Khan , who had been replaced by Shah Shujah Durrani. For his part in the campaign, Wheeler was twice mentioned in despatches, made a companion of the Order of the Bath, and awarded the order of the Durani Empire.Moreman 2004

Amongst the British and Indian forces who remained in Kabul was Thomas Oliver, lieutenant-colonel of the 5th Native Infantry and the husband of Wheeler's partner Frances. He was killed in November 1841 while defending the city from attack by the supporters of Akbar Khan, the son of deposed Dost Mohammad Khan.Hodson 1945: 428–9 Also killed in November 1841 was Wheeler's son Frank, who was fighting in Shah Shujah Durrani's Army. A few months later, on 6 March 1842, Frances Oliver and Wheeler were married in Agra.Moreman 2004 On the same day, their three youngest children, Patrick, Margaret and Robert, were baptised. Another son, Francis, was born three months later.

Anglo-Sikh Wars

During the First Anglo-Sikh War , Wheeler commanded an infantry brigade composed of the 50th Foot and the 48th Native Infantry. At the Battle of Mudki in December 1845, he was wounded, but was able to take part in the Battle of Aliwal the following month as second in command to Sir Harry Smith. For his services, he was made aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria (an honorary appointment) and was posted colonel to the 48th Native Infantry. He stayed in the Punjab, commanding the forces in Jullunder Doab, the region surrendered by the Sikhs at the Treaty of Lahore.Moreman 2004

The Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1848-9 saw Wheeler leading forces involved in the capture of Rangar Nangal Fort, of Kalawala and of the heights of Dallah. He was twice mentioned in despatches and earned the praise of the governor-general: "Brigadier-General Wheeler, C. B., has executed the several duties which have been committed to him with great skill and success, and the Governor-General has been happy in being able to convey to him his thanks thus publicly."Obituary in The Annual Register or a view of the History and Politics of the year 1857, 360 Wheeler was amongst those named in a vote of thanks in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords in April 1849,House of Commons, 24 April 1849; House of Lords, 24 April 1849 and the following year he was made a KCB.Moreman 2004

At the end of the fighting, Wheeler resumed his command in Jullunder Doab, being promoted to major-general in June 1854, and visited Ireland on furlough in 1853–1855. Having returned to India, he was appointed in June 1856 to his final post as commander of the Cawnpore Division.Hodson 1947: 437–8

Cawnpore

By the time he was posted to Cawnpore, Wheeler was 67 years old and had spent some 50 years in India. He was a small, slight man, described by Captain Mowbray Thomson of the 53rd Native Infantry as: "short, of a spare habit, very grey, with a quick and intelligent eye; not imposing in appearance except by virtue of a thoroughly military gait... a first-rate equestrian".Thomson 1995: 141 He had made India his home, married the daughter of an Indian woman, spoke Hindi fluently and was popular with the sepoys.Yalland 1987: 242; Gupta 1963: 48

The garrison town of Cawnpore, situated on the Grand Trunk Road and the banks of the River Ganges, 800 river miles from the seat of government in Calcutta, had been set up in 1770 on the site of a small village called Kanhpur when British East India Company troops had been fighting with the Nawab of Oudh against the Maratha. The camp quickly expanded as traders and craftsmen followed the army. In 1801, when the town became British territory, they were joined by the East India Company's civil servants. Wives and families came out from England, and Cawnpore acquired all the amenities of an English town. By the time Wheeler took up his post as commander, Cawnpore was connected to Calcutta by telegraph and steamboats, and there were plans to bring the railway to the town.Yalland 1987: 19–22

North of Cawnpore was the small town of Bithoor, where, at the end of the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the captured Peshwa, Baji Rao II, had been installed by the British with his entourage and a large pension. After Baji Rao died in 1851, his adopted son Nana Sahib stayed on in Bithoor. In spite of his disagreement with the British over his entitlement to inherit the pension, he was on friendly terms with them and frequently entertained Company officers and civilians.Yalland 1987: 202–9

Rebellion

When the Indian Rebellion of 1857 broke out in Meerut, near Delhi, on 10 May 1857, Cawnpore was home to the 1st, 53rd and 56th Native Infantry and the 2nd Bengal Cavalry. These regiments, in common with the other regiments of the East India Company Army, consisted of British officers and Indian soldiers (called sepoys in the case of infantrymen and sowars in the case of cavalrymen). The total number of native troops in Cawnpore in 1857 was about 3,000, compared to about 300 British soldiers (the officers of the Native Regiments, a small number of men of the 84th Regiment, some invalids from the 32nd Regiment, and a few Artillerymen and Madras Fusiliers).Gupta 1963: 47–8

As news spread of more disturbances, the atmosphere in Cawnpore became tense, although the hope was still that Wheeler's experience and popularity would be enough to prevent an uprising amongst his troops.Gupta 1963: 49 Wheeler sent daily telegrams to the governor-general in Calcutta. For example, on 20 May, he wrote: "All well here and excitement less..." and on 24 May ", All is quiet here, but it is impossible to say how long it will continue to be so". At the same time, he gave orders for the entrenchment of a barracks in order, if the need arose, to provide shelter for the European, Eurasian and Indian Christian population of the town.Gupta 1963: 50, 55

Wheeler has sometimes been criticised for selecting a position that would prove difficult to defend, rather than the fortified magazine on the Delhi road several miles away from Native lines. Others have sought to justify his decision, suggesting that a withdrawal to the magazine might have provoked an uprising, and that he could not have foreseen the rebellious troops remaining in Cawnpore or being joined by Nana Sahib.Gupta 1963: 56–7 Nana Sahib's biographer concludes:

At the beginning of June, Wheeler felt confident enough to send two officers and about fifty men from his small British force to help Henry Lawrence at Lucknow.Gupta 1963: 60 But on the night of 5 June, the 2nd Bengal Cavalry and the 1st Native Infantry rose and left the barracks, although, unlike at other places such as Meerut and Delhi, they did not harm their officers. The following morning, amidst some confusion, they were joined by most of the 53rd and 56th Native Infantry Regiments, although some sepoys joined Wheeler in the entrenchment.Gupta 1963: 60–3

Siege of Cawnpore

At first, the rebellious soldiers acted as Wheeler had anticipated and set off on the road to Delhi. However, the following day, 6 June, they returned to Cawnpore, with Nana Sahib at their head. The role Nana Sahib took in planning the rebellion in Cawnpore has never been established. He would, after the rebellion was over, claim that he was forced to, join the rebels.Gupta 1963: 68–71 That morning, Nana Sahib sent a note to Wheeler announcing his intention to attack the entrenchment, and his forces soon opened fire.

Wheeler's entrenchment contained two large barracks buildings (one used as a hospital) and various outlying buildings. A trench had hastily been dug, and the earth from it formed a wall about four feet high. Several batteries of guns were set up. In all there were about 1,000 people in the entrenchment, but only about 300 were soldiers, the rest being civilians and, mainly, women and children. The entrenchment was ill-equipped for a long siege. Food was not plentiful, water was a particular problem as the only well was in an exposed position, guns were in short supply, and the hospital building burned down when hit by a missile. Disease and heat, as well as enemy bombardment, took their toll. Amongst the soldiers killed was General Wheeler's son, Godfrey. Nevertheless, the entrenchment held out for three weeks and repelled several attempts to seize it.Gupta 1963: 71–94 According to Mowbray Thomson, one of the very few British survivors of Cawnpore, the original plans for defending the entrenchment had been made by Wheeler and Captain John Moore, who was in command of the invalids depot of the 32nd Foot.Thomson 1995: 64 As the siege progressed, it was Captain Moore who took the more active role in defence: "Sir Hugh Wheeler was invariably consulted, but the old General was quite incapacitated for the exposure and fatigue involved in the superintendence of all the posts of defence".Thomson 1995: 140

Wheeler managed, via a messenger, to send a request for 200 reinforcements to Lucknow. "The whole Christian population", he wrote, "is with us in a temporary entrenchment, and our defence has been noble and wonderful, our loss heavy and cruel. We want aid, aid, aid..." The reply came back from Sir Henry Lawrence that, since the rebels controlled the banks of the Ganges, any attempt to send reinforcements would be futile.Gupta 1963: 98–9

Death at the Satichaura Ghat

On 25 June, nearly three weeks after the beginning of the siege, Nana Sahib sent a messenger to the entrenchment with the offer of safe passage to Allahabad in return for surrender. According to Mowbray Thomson, Wheeler was against surrender:

At that very moment, Henry Lawrence was penning a letter to Wheeler, urging him to hold out as Henry Havelock was marching from Allahabad to Cawnpore with four hundred British soldiers and three hundred Sikhs, and warning him not to trust Nana Sahib.Gupta 1963: 101–2 But Wheeler never received the letter.