Early 19Th Century Khalistani Cannon Technology

HSD1 · July 13, 2011

Arguably the most potent symbols of Sikh military power in the early 19^th century were the cannon manufactured for the Khalsa Durbar Army. Between 1801 and 1839, Maharaja Ranjit Singh transformed the Sikh Khalsa from a semi-feudal force into the most modern army the East India Company (EIC) faced in battle. Only a few years after his death almost all material evidence of this once formidable army had been destroyed, save a handful of captured cannon and battle standards, packed off to Britain as trophies of war. Ironically, the artillery which formed such a crucial part of this modern army was almost certainly developed at first with the tacit approval of the British and later with their unwitting help. The full extent of this process was never clearly understood at the time. Although Sikhs were familiar with artillery and used cannon at various times in the 18th century, at the beginning of Ranjit Singh’s reign Sikh artillery was 'awkwardly managed and its uses ill-understood'.[1] In the first years of the 1800’s, Ranjit Singh is believed to have had only 35-40 guns [2] yet by 1845, the British faced a modern field army using over 250 cannon. In all the Sikhs may have had well in excess of 500 cannon, the majority of which had been developed and produced during Ranjit Singh’s reign. This was the Maharaja’s military legacy that faced the EIC in the two Sikh Wars.

Ranjit Singh readily appreciated the crucial role of artillery in modern warfare and took every opportunity to develop and increase his artillery train. At first this was through the acquisition of existing Indian pieces, but as early as 1807 he established a workshop for the repair and casting of guns. From the outset, Ranjit Singh cannily and persistently exploited the good relations he established with the British. In 1809, mortars were produced based on models sent for from Ludhiana. One of Ranjit Singh’s own chief engineers, Mian Qadir Bakhsh, studied the British military workshops there and later wrote a book in Persian on the subject [3]. Contrary to the stated policy of keeping native states ignorant of such technology, the EIC appeared quite happy for the Sikhs to learn from them [4]. The British remained largely ignorant while Panjabi engineers and craftsmen used this technology to effect major changes in their foundries, producing ordnance in ever increasing quantities.

In 1810, Gopal Singh Jamadar made a pair of horse drawn artillery pieces in imitation of the Company's own designs. Thereafter horse artillery remained an important section of the Sikh ordnance under the command of Mir Mazhar Ali Beg. By the time Lord William Bentinck presented Ranjit Singh with two EIC 6prs as a diplomatic gift in 1831 [5], Ranjit Singh boasted he already had 100 horse drawn artillery pieces [6]. The main thrust of later technical development occurred after 1822 with the arrival of European military advisors, Allard and Ventura, and later Avitabile and Court. Working alongside a corps of largely unknown Muslim, Hindu and Sikh engineers, Claude Auguste Court was instrumental in the mass-production of ordnance on a large scale for the first time in the Sikh Kingdoms. The noted engineer, Lehna Singh Majithia, was also heavily involved, not just in cannon manufacture, but in the development of shrapnel shells (1831) and other ammunition types.

Development was undoubtedly accelerated by periodic diplomatic gifts of modern cannon from the British on which the Sikhs modeled their new artillery. The industrial base that developed was considerable. Altogether six foundries and numerous workshops, gunpowder mills, and shot and shell makers were manufacturing artillery components. The earliest dated Sikh howitzer was produced in 1835, predating a presentation of two EIC 9pr howitzers by 3 years, suggesting that Sikh engineers not only appreciated the importance of this weapon, but were also rapidly closing the developmental gap. By the Sikh wars, two thirds of the howitzer types captured were of the modern long barreled type then in use with the Company. In the early 1840’s the Sikhs were working on other specialized artillery types such as Mountain howitzers based on French patterns undoubtedly introduced by Allard in 1836.

256 guns were captured in the First Sikh War alone. Those guns in the field army not already captured were surrendered under the terms of the subsequent Treaty of Lahore, confiscated in a blatant attempt to “pull the teeth” of the Sikh Lion, making further organized resistance impossible. However, it is clear the British had little idea of the true number of Sikh guns. Despite losing every cannon from 5 out of their 7 divisions in the First Sikh War, the Sikhs still managed to mobilize over 100 cannon only two years later. On March 3rd 1847, the captured guns were paraded with great ceremony in front of Government House in Calcutta. It was a carefully orchestrated public relations exercise designed to dispel rumors of defeat at the hands of the Sikhs and overawe other Indian states [7]. Their final fate is still unclear, but it seems the majority of guns were melted down at the nearby Company gun foundry at Cossipore. A few probably remain in India and Pakistan, but further research is needed to account for them all. A handful of the most ornate pieces were dispatched to Europe and presented to persons and institutions linked with the campaign. These became known as 'Sutlej Guns' after the campaign. A pair of cannon were even sent to Berlin and presented to Prince Waldemar of Prussia.

Crucial to our understanding of the captured pieces are detailed observations made by Captain Ralph Smyth of the Bengal Artillery. He compiled technical information on all 203 brass cannon and 33 howitzers, 5 mortars and 11 iron guns. [8] (Four guns were lost en route from the Panjab). He identified 96 distinct types, took weights and measurements and drew plans of the barrels and elevations of the more interesting carriages and limbers. His data not only illustrates what these cannon looked like but enables a direct comparison to be made between Sikh artillery and its European counterparts. Far from being dominated by large and heavy cannon as implied in most contemporary accounts, the majority of guns he recorded were 6prs (almost 90% of these of just one pattern) [9]. The other most numerous types were between 6pr and 12pr in size, then the most common sizes for field artillery, and again dominated by only a few patterns. The other sizes, from the smallest, a 1pr, to the largest, 'Fateh Jang', a 38.5pr, (the largest fielded by the Sikhs), accounted for only a small fraction of the total numbers of cannon captured.

As well as technical data, Smyth recorded 80 inscriptions [10]. These have provided valuable dating and production evidence for about 30% of the types. Sadly, the majority of cannon are otherwise completely plain. Consequently, we are unlikely ever to fully understand the true history of their development. What is clear is that traditional cannon types manufactured in the Mughal style continued to be produced until ca.1830 in centres such as Multan and Lahore, alongside more European inspired types. Five of the so-called ‘Sutlej guns’ are of just one pattern, Type 43, twelve of which were captured. The pattern appears to have been modeled closely on the EIC 6pr, though it is of slightly smaller calibre and slightly heavier than its British counterpart. A single inscription for that type records that the pattern was produced in Lahore in 1838 on the orders of General Kushal Singh.

The Sutlej Guns are quite distinct from other Indian ordnance, combining a modern, functional barrel design with a handsomely decorated block trail horse artillery carriage based on the Congreve pattern for the EIC. Despite the elaborate and highly decorative appearance they were fully functional weapons that were captured in the heat of battle. In all over 20 guns have survived, half of which are on their original carriages and many with limbers and gun tools. Of these, four cannon were brought back to Britain by Governor General Henry Hardinge. Two of these were presented to Queen Victoria and displayed at Windsor castle in 1848. The Windsor guns were described in detail in an Illustrated London News article in October that year [11]. In the early 1900's they moved from Windsor to the Tower of London [12], finally transferring to Woolwich in September 1927 to become II.273 and II.274 [13]. One of these was exhibited in the V&A's exhibition 'The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms' in 1999 [14]. It can now be seen at Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum.

Traditionally thought to have been captured at Mudki, the Return for that battle clearly states that all the captured cannon carriages were destroyed [15]. The most likely candidates appear to be decorated 6prs captured at Aliwal, which were singled out for specific mention [16]. The second pair of guns were retained by the Hardinge family until 1955 when they were presented to the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regimental Museum in Maidstone [17]. One remains there while the other is on display at Dover Castle. Both barrels are embellished with cast on plaques and ornament commemorating their presentation to Lord Hardinge by the Court of Directors. This work was presumably carried out at Cossipore, since the neo-classical ornamentation is very European in character.

Lord Gough, CinC of the Army of the Sutledge [sic], was also presented with four guns, which he had transported to his family seat at Lough Cautra in Ireland [18]. A pair of howitzers were lent to the National Museum of Ireland until the 1920's [19]. They are now on loan to the Irish Defence Force and parked in front of the McKee barracks in Dublin [20]. Supposedly captured at Gujarat during the Second Sikh War, they correspond with two howitzer patterns recorded from the First Sikh War [21]. The second set of guns were retained by the Gough family until they were finally sold in the 1980's [22]. A howitzer is now in private ownership in the United States. The remaining gun, a 6pr, was acquired by the Royal Armouries in 1984. It was exhibited at the Raj Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in 1990 [23] and now resides at the Royal Armouries Museum of Artillery at Fort Nelson, near Portsmouth.

The Illustrated London News of Oct 1848 described the Windsor Guns as 'Striking and beautiful specimens of oriental art'. The Sutlej guns have many similar features in decoration, most notably the use of applied and inlaid copper, brass and steel with common decorative themes to the fittings. The portefire cutters are cast in the form of peacocks with fishtails and the limber hooks as elephant heads. Even small fittings such as lifting handles and the armrests on the gunners' seats are cast in elaborate animal forms and 'the general style of ornamentation is characterised by excessive prettiness.' None of the paired carriages are identical. There is variation throughout, from the general shape down to the smallest fittings demonstrating that many craftsmen were involved.

Decorations on Sutlej Canons Source: Neil Carleton

Decorations on Sutlej Canons Source: Neil Carleton

Indeed, a whole host of workshops must have grown up around the foundries to satisfy the almost insatiable demand for high quality metalwork. The carriages and limbers are all of Padouk, a form of Burmese teak, and the Rotunda examples even use mother of pearl inlay. The Maharaja was clearly prepared to range far and wide for materials to lavish on his artillery. Smyth also identified two Howitzer patterns as belonging to 'The Orderly Battery of His Late Highness the Maha Rajah Runjeet Sing' [sic]. Following Mughal and Maratha practice, Ranjit Singh is known to have had 'Artillery of the Stirrup', among his household troops. The walls of Lahore would often shake to thunderous gun salutes at festivals and public events as they had done in the Mughal period.

The similarity in decorative schemes and exceptionally high quality of the 'Sutlej guns' suggests that some, if not all may have originally seen service with the Fauj-I-Khas. This prestigious brigade would have been equipped with only the very best, most highly decorated equipment to impress visiting foreign dignitaries. Alternatively they may have been specially commissioned as part of the lavish preparations for the marriage of Prince Nau Nihal Singh in 1838. In either case, the Company, either by accident or design, unwittingly preserved the crème de la crème of Sikh artillery for future generations. Today the ‘Sutlej Guns’ have a significance in the history of the Sikh Kingdoms far beyond their purely military function. They are a unique blend of technical expertise and artistic virtuosity. They are no longer simply curiosities or exotic trophies of war, but rare and tangible evidence of the industrialisation of the Panjab, began by Ranjit Singh some twenty years before the British annexed the region.