3-057-334 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Picket officers at the Alambagh, Lucknow, during the Indian Mutiny, 1858. The siege of Lucknow was one of the major engagements of the uprising against British rule in India which began in 1857. The mutiny had many underlying causes, but was sparked by the introduction of cartridges which were greased with animal fat. This outraged both Muslim and Hindu soldiers, who made up the majority of the Indian army at the time. The uprising was defeated, but led to the administration of India passing from the East India Company to the British Crown. The Alambagh was a large house with a walled enclosure south of the besieged city.