 The Bengal Army was the armed forces of Bengal Presidency and one of the three major Presidency Armies in British India. The British Presidency Armies belonged to the British East India Company until the Great Revolt of 1857, also known as Sepoy Mutiny. Later the British Empire took control over the British East India Company and the three Presidency Armies, namely the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army. In the year 1895, the three separate presidency armies were united to form the combined British Indian Army. Even though the Bengal Army was based in the province of Bengal in eastern India, it extended over the northern Indian Himalayan Mountains and to the North West Frontier Province (now known as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).
The Bengal Army included the most prominent units in British India such as the Corps of Guides on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Gurkhas from the Himalayas and Skinner's Horse from Bengal. The Government of India Act 1858, which was authorized after the Sepoy Mutiny in the year 1857, transferred the authority of the three Presidency Armies to the British Empire in India. During the late 19th century, the presence of Bengali members in the army was decreased due to their perceived role as rebels and participation in the Indian rebellion of 1857. Later in the year 1903, the three Presidency Armies in British India were amalgamated in order to form the unified British Indian Army. Origin of Bengal Army The Bengal Army originated with the establishment of a European Regiment in 1756. When the East India Company had previously maintained a small force of Dutch and Eurasian mercenaries in Bengal, this was destroyed when Calcutta was captured by the Nawab of Bengal on 30th June in the same year. In 1757 the first locally recruited unit of Bengal sepoys was created in the form of the Lal Paltan battalion. It was recruited from Bhumihar, Bihari, Rajputs and Pathan soldiers that had served in the Nawab's Army from Bihar and the Awadh (Oudh) as well as Bengal. Drilled and armed along British army lines, this force served well at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and twenty more Indian battalions were raised by 1764. The EIC steadily expanded its Bengal Army and by 1796 the establishment was set at three battalions of European artillery, three regiments of European infantry, ten regiments of Indian cavalry and twelve regiments (each of two battalions) of Indian infantry. Units of Bengal Army The Bengal Army of British India consisted of several regiments including Cavalry, Artillery, Engineering, Infantry and others. These are discussed below: Cavalry of Bengal Army: Cavalryhad two regiments- regular and irregular regiments: Regular Regiments: • Governor General's Bodyguard • 1st to 10th Bengal Light Cavalry Regiments. • 1st to 4th Bengal European Light Cavalry Regiments. Irregular Regiments: • 1st Irregular Cavalry (Skinner's Horse) • 2nd to 18th Irregular Cavalry Regiments • Jodhpore Legion Cavalry • Bundelkhand Legion Cavalry • Gwalior Contingent Cavalry • Kotah Contingent Cavalry • Bhopal Contingent Cavalry • United Malwa Contingent Cavalry • Ramgarh Irregular Cavalry • Nagpore Irregular Cavalry • 1st to 3rd Oudh Irregular Cavalry Regiments • 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regiments of Hodson's Horse • 1st to 4th Sikh Irregular Cavalry Regiments • The Jat Horse Yeomanry • Rohilkhand Horse • The Muttra Horse • Alexander's Horse • Barrow's Volunteers • Behar Irregular Cavalry • Belooch Horse • Benares Horse • Bengal Yeomanry Cavalry • Calcutta Volunteer Guards • De Kantzow's Irregular Cavalry • Graham's Horse • 2nd Gwalior Cavalry • 2nd Gwalior Mahratta Horse • H.H. The Guicowar's Horse • Jackson's Volunteer Horse • Jellandhar Cavalry • Lahore Light Horse • 1st Mahratta Horse • Meerut Light Horse • Peshawar Light Horse • Rajghazi Volunteer Cavalry • The Volunteer Cavalry • Lind's and Cureton's Risalahs of Pathan Horse • 2nd Mahratta Horse • Fane's Horse • The Corps of Guides, Punjab Irregular Force • 1st to 5th Regiments of Cavalry of the Punjab Irregular Force  Artillery of Bengal Army:
• Bengal Horse Artillery- First Troop, Bengal Horse Artillery; Second Troop, Bengal Horse Artillery; Third Troop, Bengal Horse Artillery; Shah Sujah's Troop, Bengal Horse Artillery; The Rocket Troop, Bengal Horse Artillery; Bengal European Foot Artillery; Bengal Native Foot Artillery; 5 Company, Third Battalion, Bengal Artillery; Punjab Horse Artillery, Punjab Irregular Force. • Bengal European Foot Artillery • Bengal Native Foot Artillery- 5 Company, 3rd Battalion, Bengal Artillery • Punjab Horse Artillery. Engineers of Bengal Army: • Corps of Bengal Sappers and Miners • Sebundy Sappers and Miners Infantry of Bengal Army: Infantry also has regular and irregular regiments: Regular Regiment: • 1st Bengal (European) Fusiliers • 2nd Bengal (European) Fusiliers • 3rd Bengal (European) Light Infantry • 4th, 5th and 6th Bengal European Regiments • 1st to 74th Regiments of Bengal Native Infantry. Irregular Regiment: • Alipore Regiment • Ramgarh Light Infantry • 3rd Local Battalion • Sirmoor Rifle Regiment • Kamaoon Battalion • 1st Assam Light Infantry • 11th Sylhet Local Light Infantry • The Mhairwara Battalion • 2nd Assam Light Infantry • Joudpore Legion • Oudh Irregular Force • Narbudda Sebundy Corps • Shekhawati Battalion • Harianna Light Infantry • Regiment of Khelat-i-Gilzie • Malwa Bheel Corps • Kotah Contingent • Mehidpore Contingent • Gwalior Contingent • Malwa Contingent • Bhopal Contingent • Regiment of Ferozepore • Regiment of Ludhiana • Camel Corps • Nusseree Battalion • Nagpore Irregular Force • Deoli Irregular Force • Regiment of Lucknow • Mhair Regiment • Kamroop Regiment • Landhoor Rangers • Kuppurthala Contingent • 1st and 2nd Gwalior Regiments • Allahabad Levy • Shahjehanpur Levy • Cawnpore Levy • Fatehgarh Levy • Moradabad Levy • Mynpoorie Levy • Sealkote Infantry Levy • Bareilly Levy • Goojramwallah Levy • Meerut Levy • Kumaon Levy • Agra Levy • Cole and Sonthal Levy • Rajpoot Levy • Loyal Purbeah Regiment • Corps of Guides, Punjab Irregular Force • 1st to 4th Sikh Infantry Regiments of the Punjab Irregular Force • 1st to 6th Punjab Infantry Regiments of the Punjab Irregular Force • 7th to 24th Regiments of Punjab Infantry  Black Hole Tragedy
The Black Hole of Calcutta was a small prison inside the Fort William complex, where army of Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, captured the British prisoners of the war, which took place on 20th June 1756. According to John Zephaniah Holwell, one of the British prisoners and an employee of the East India Company, after the fall of Fort William, the surviving British soldiers, Anglo-Indian soldiers, and Indian civilians were imprisoned overnight in a very small prison. 143 prisoners out of 164 were died due to extreme suffocation and exhaustion of heat in that prison. This became a historical event that is recalled even today in Bengal history. |
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