Major Herbert Benjamin Edwardes
(1819 - 1868)
A Year on the Punjab Frontier in 1848-49 [2 Volumes]
Major H B Edwardes, A Year on the Punjab Frontier in 1848-49, London: Richard Bentley, 1851, 2 Volumes
Volume I: xxiii + 608 pages, including an engraved frontispiece of Sir Henry Lawrence, 4 engraved black-and-white plates, folding panorama of the Fort of Duleepgurh, 2 plates, and a folding map of Punjab in the rear pocket. 24 advertisement pages at the back.
Volume II: xiv + 734 pages, including 1colour chromolithographic portrait frontispiece of Nuwab Bhawul Khan and Dewan Moolraj, 2 colour chromolithographed plates heightened in gold with Kowruh Khan (Khosuh), a beloved chief of the lower Derajet (on left), and Kaloo Khan (Gundapoor), a Puthan chief of the Upper Derajet (at right) on one of the plates and Foujdar Khan Buhadoor (Ahzye), a Mooltaniee Puthan (on left), and Gholam Surwur Khan (Khagwanee), a Mooltanee Puthan (at right), and 1 folding facsimile letter from Vans Agnew to General Van Cortlandt, 1 folded plan of Fort of Multan.
Original red pictorial blind stamped cloth gilt, rebacked spine with gilt text (each)
9 x 6 in (23 x 15 cm) (each)
Edwardes classic account of the 1848 Punjab rebellion, also known as the second Anglo-Sikh War.
In 1848 on the Punjab frontier an "insurrection rapidly grew into a national movement against the English occupation" (Bright, History of England, 192). That spring, following the murder of officers Agnew and Anderson at Multan, by order of the Mulraj, the young Lt. Edwardes, who had arrived in India as a cadet in 1841, "raised a body of armed tribesmen, and rapidly formed a fairly disciplined and faithful force… He routed the rebel troops at Kineyri… and inflicted on the enemy a second defeat at Sadusam, in front of Multan…Young, alone, untrained in military science and unversed in active war, [Edwardes] had organized victory and rolled back rebellion" (DNB). "For his services he received the thanks of both houses of parliament, was promoted major by brevet, and created C.B. by special statute of the order… After the conclusion of peace Major Edwardes returned to England… and wrote and published his fascinating account of the scenes in which he had been engaged, under the title of A Year on the Punjab Frontier" (Britannica).
Herbert Benjamin Edwardes (1819-68)
Herbert Benjamin Edwardes was initially dispatched to India in 1841 as a cadet in the Bengal infantry. He soon distinguished himself in the native languages and was appointed as an interpreter at Sabathu in 1845. He was appointed to the personal staff of Sir Hugh Gough, the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian army, whom he served during the first Anglo-Sikh War (1846-47).
He captivated the attention of Sir Henry Lawrence, the Resident at Nepal and later Lahore, and acquired military experience in the Punjab. With the stirrings of a second rebellion, Edwardes, despite any military training, raised a body of soldiers and defeated rebels loyal to Diwan Mulraj in 1849. The local governor surrendered after negotiations with Edwardes, following numerous conflicts throughout the region. He achieved significant fame and popularity in England as a consequence of his actions. Edwardes served as a political appointee in the Punjab on numerous occasions, with the responsibility of ensuring the region's stability. He is referred to as the "Hero of Multan" due to his contribution to the British victory during the War.
During the 1850s, Edwardes negotiated a treaty with Dost Mohammed that stabilized relations with Afghanistan in the lead-up to the Mutiny.
In 1866, he was appointed KCSI and passed away in 1868.
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