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a) "An etching with aquatint showing the Battle of Sobraon between British East India Company forces and the Sikh Khalsa army, which took place on 10th February 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh war. The 31st Regiment of Foot and the 50th Regiment of Foot advance past the Sikh earthworks, thrown up to protect their artillery. Sergeant Bernard McCabe, having mounted the nearest earthwork, holds the regimental colour. Fierce close combat ensued as... a) "An etching with aquatint showing the Battle of Sobraon between British East India Company forces and the Sikh Khalsa army, which took place on 10th February 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh war. The 31st Regiment of Foot and the 50th Regiment of Foot advance past the Sikh earthworks, thrown up to protect their artillery. Sergeant Bernard McCabe, having mounted the nearest earthwork, holds the regimental colour. Fierce close combat ensued as the Khalsa bravely endeavoured to repel the British advance. Lettered below.

Hard-fought battles claimed as victories by the British against the Khalsa army in December 1845 and January 1846 had forced the Sikh army to retreat. In the last major battle of the First Anglo-Sikh War, Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Gough engaged the main Sikh force at Sobraon on the banks of the Sutlej River. After an intense bombardment, the entrenched Sikh position was stormed, and the bridge-their only means of secure retreat-collapsed. The Sikh army suffered around 10,000 casualties, with the British and Bengal Regiments also suffering heavily. After this defeat the Treaty of Lahore, signed in March 1846, ceded much of the Sikh territory in northwest India to British control.

This etching was produced after a watercolour by Henry Martens, which was in turn based upon drawings by Major George Francis White. White served in India between 1825 and 1846, with the 31st Regiment of Foot which is represented in action in this print. He was an amateur artist as well as author and illustrator of 'Views in India Chiefly among the Himalyas', 1886-7. The Tate Gallery hold some of his drawings." (Source: Royal Collection Trust)

b) London: Published by Rudolph Ackermann, at his Eclipse Sporting and Hunting Gallery

“An etching showing a crowded battle with British infantrymen advancing to the left upon a Sikh artillery battery, and massed troops; with snipers perched in the trees. Representing a scene from the Battle of Mudki during the First Anglo-Sikh war, fought on 18th December 1845, between the forces of the British East India Company, and the Sikh Khalsa army of the Punjab. Lettered below.

The Maharaja Ranjit Singh had held sway over the Sikh Empire of the Punjab, in northwest India, since 1799. He had upheld cordial relations with the East India Company, who held territories adjoining the Punjab, while maintaining the fearsome professionally trained Khalsa army of around 60,000 men. When he died in 1839, no statesman or military figure emerged to take his place and the Sikh empire became increasingly disordered. In September 1845 Sir Henry Hardinge, Governor-General of the Bengal Presidency, received reports that the Khalsa were preparing to invade British territory. He dispatched 5,000 extra troops to the region south of the Sutlej River, the border between the Sikh and British territories. It was believed that the future of British India depended on the defeat of Raja Lal Singh's Khalsa army, the equal of the British in training, discipline, and weaponry.

The British and Bengali regiments of the East India Company reached the village of Mudki on the afternoon of 18th December 1845, where they rested after an exhausting march. Initially caught off-guard by the Sikh cavalry, the attack was repelled, and General Sir Hugh Gough ordered a general advance directly into fierce Sikh artillery and musket fire. Shortly after midnight the last Sikh troops were driven from the battlefield. It is estimated that both armies at Mudki numbered around 12,500 men. Two generals were among the approximately 215 British and Bengali soldiers killed. The number of Sikh casualties is not known.” (Source: Royal Collection Trust)

c) "An etching with aquatint showing exhausted British East India Company troops sleeping in rows and scattered about the foreground of a battlefield: with Governor-General Lord Henry Hardinge and General Sir Hugh Gough with several officers, mounted and on foot, in the middle ground; with fires burning in the distance. Lettered below. Representing the night following the first day of battle at Ferozeshah, in the Punjab (northwest India) between the British and the Sikh Khalsa army, during the First Anglo-Sikh War of 1845-6.

On 18 December 1845, the advance guard of Raja Lal Singh's Khalsa army had been defeated at the Battle of Mudki. The Khalsa retreated and regrouped at Ferozeshah where they were sighted on 21 December by the British, commanded by General Sir Hugh Gough. An artillery duel ensued, with the heavier Sikh guns inflicting many casualties. Gough stuck to his habitual tactic in ordering persistent offensives, repeatedly storming the Ferozeshah defenses at the cost of casualties unprecedented in any previous Indian campaign. As evening fell Sir Harry Smith's British battalions launched a renewed attack, penetrating the Sikh encampment, before being driven back by counterattacks. The survivors of the offensive spent the bitterly cold night in the open, as shown in this etching. By dawn it became apparent that the British held most of the camp, and by noon Raja Lal Singh's army had been driven from the field. The Sikh General Tej Singh might have routed the depleted British force with a Khalsa counterattack, but inexplicably, he retired, and Gough's army could claim a costly British victory. For a print showing the second day of battle.

This etching was produced after a painting by Henry Martens, which was in turn based upon drawings by Major George Francis White. White served in India between 1825 and 1846, with the 31st Regiment of Foot. He was an amateur artist as well as author and illustrator of 'Views in India Chiefly among the Himalyas', 1886-7. The Tate Gallery hold some of his drawings." (Source: Royal Collection Trust)

d) “An etching with aquatint showing a scene from the Battle of Chillianwallah in the Punjab, fought between the British Army and the Sikh Khalsa army during the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848-9. At an order given by Major General Sir Joseph Thackwell, a squadron of the 3rd King's Own Light Dragoons charges the Sikh cavalry. Captain Unett, in the middle-ground centre, holds his sabre aloft. Lettered below.

By the early nineteenth century the Punjab region of north-west India (in present day Pakistan) was the last remaining independent kingdom of India which had not been subjugated and claimed as part of the British Empire. There were fears that the powerful Sikh Khalsa army posed a serious threat to British territories neighbouring the Punjab. In addition, the British East India Company had long viewed north-west India and Afghanistan as an important buffer between India and Russia, fearing that the Russian Emperor Nicholas I had plans to expand his empire into Asia.

The First Anglo-Sikh War of 1845-6 had resulted in the surrendering of part of the Punjab territories to the British. In the city of Multan, a dispute over taxes resulted in the British East India Company's decision to replace the Diwan (governor) of Multan, Mulraj Chopra, with a compliant Sikh ruler, Sirdar Khan Singh. A British political agent, Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew, and Lieutenant William Anderson who accompanied Khan Singh to Multan, were murdered by men in league with Mulraj's troops. This was the trigger for open rebellion against the British, and the Second Anglo-Sikh war of 1848-9.

On 13th January 1849 General Sir Hugh Gough led the British army into the first major battle of the Second Anglo-Sikh War at Chillianwallah, a village north-west of Lahore. The 24th Regiment of Foot and the 25th and 45th Regiments of Bengal Infantry advanced with fixed bayonets to attack the artillery of the Sikh Khalsa army. This brave but foolhardy action resulted in 515 British casualties, including 238. killed. The battle proved inconclusive, though both sides claimed victory, and the prestige and reputation of British military might was profoundly damaged. After the Battle of Multan and the successful outcome for the British of the Battle of Gujarat the Sikh army surrendered. On 14 March 1849, the young Maharaja of the Sikh empire, Duleep Singh, was forced to renounce all claims to rule of the Punjab, and the region was annexed to British India.” (Source: Royal Collection Trust)

e) London: Published by Rudolph Ackermann, at his Eclipse Sporting and Hunting Gallery

“An etching with aquatint of a view of the Battle of Gujarat (in the Punjab, present day Pakistan) fought on 21 February 1849, between the forces of the British East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa army with their Afghan allies. Showing the advance of the 3rd Brigade led by Brigadier Penny who is represented in the foreground, left, along with other mounted British officers; with Sikh cavalrymen on the right; with the village of Kalra (Burra Kalra?) in the distance, left, towards which the British are advancing. Lettered below.

On 13th January 1849 General Sir Hugh Gough led the British army into the first major battle of the Second Anglo-Sikh War at Chillianwallah. The battle proved inconclusive, though both sides claimed victory, and the prestige and reputation of British military might was profoundly damaged. After Chillianwallah Raja Sher Singh and the Sikh army withdrew to Gujarat, north of Lahore, where they hastened to construct defensive positions. What became known as the `Battle of Guns' began on 21st February with an artillery duel lasting nearly three hours. General Sir Hugh Gough's British and Indian troops advanced against fierce Sikh resistance around the villages of Burra Kalra and Chota Kalra, but under fire from the advancing British artillery the Sikh forces began a retreat which turned into a rout as British and Indian cavalry division ruthlessly pursued the Khalsa. The next day a division led by Major General Sir Walter Gilbert took up the pursuit, and after eleven days Sher Singh was finally forced to agree to the British terms for surrender. On 14 March 1849, the young Maharaja of the Sikh empire, Duleep Singh, was forced to renounce all claims to rule of the Punjab, and the region was annexed to British India.” (Source: Royal Collection Trust)

f) London: Published by Rudolph Ackermann, at his Eclipse Sporting and Hunting Gallery

“An etching with aquatint showing an engagement between the British 14th Light Dragoons and the Sikh Khalsa army at the Battle of Ramnagar, 22nd November 1848; with Brigadier General Cureton, foreground right; with Colonel Havelock, middle ground, centre. Lettered below.

Following the defeat of the Sikh Khalsa army in the First Anglo-Sikh War of 1845-6, the British East India Company had used the Khalsa to maintain order and promote British policy in the Sikh Punjab homelands of north-west India (present day Pakistan). Within the Khalsa there was much disquiet and upset over this arrangement and the unfair terms forced upon them by the peace treaty.

The city of Multan in the Punjab had been ruled by the British since the First Anglo-Sikh War. A dispute over taxes resulted in the British East India Company's decision to replace the Diwan (governor) of Multan, Mulraj Chopra, with a compliant Sikh ruler, Sirdar Khan Singh. A British political agent, Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew, and Lieutenant William Anderson who accompanied Khan Singh to Multan, were murdered by men in league with Mulraj's troops. This was the trigger for open rebellion against the British, and the Second Anglo-Sikh war of 1848-9.

The Battle of Ramnagar (present day Rasulnagar) was fought on the banks of the Chenab River, in the Punjab. General Sir Hugh Gough was commanding officer of the British and Bengal troops. The Sikh army was led by Sher Singh Attariwalla. Gough had intended a surprise attack to capture the Chenab crossing near Ramnagar which had been fortified by Sher Singh. Following an early success in driving some Sikh troops across the river from their positions on the east bank, Sikh batteries opened fire, outgunning Gough's horse artillery which was forced to retire. The Khalsa cavalry took this opportunity to press their advantage at which point Gough ordered the 14th Light Dragoons and the 5th Bengal Cavalry to attack them. The commanding officer of the dragoons, Colonel William Havelock, was killed leading a charge. General Charles Robert Cureton, commander of the cavalry division, also met his death having galloped forward to order a retreat.” (Source: Royal Collection Trust)

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