The
Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three presidencies of British India. Although based in
BengalBengal , is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent...
in north-eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
all the way to the
North-West Frontier ProvinceThe North-West Frontier Province is the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan...
. The Bengal Army included some of the most famous units in India: Skinner's Horse from Bengal, the Gurkhas from the
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
and the
Corps of GuidesThe Corps of Guides was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It was a unit with a formidable reputation for excellence, innovation, individual initiative, endurance, daring and toughness in battle.-History:...
on the North-West Frontier.
The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the
East India CompanyEast India Company was a historical English company, founded in 1600, and chartered with the monopoly of trading with Southeast Asia, East Asia, and India...
until the
Indian Rebellion of 1857The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May, 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, when the British Crown took over all three presidencies.
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The
Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three presidencies of British India. Although based in
BengalBengal , is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent...
in north-eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
all the way to the
North-West Frontier ProvinceThe North-West Frontier Province is the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan...
. The Bengal Army included some of the most famous units in India: Skinner's Horse from Bengal, the Gurkhas from the
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
and the
Corps of GuidesThe Corps of Guides was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It was a unit with a formidable reputation for excellence, innovation, individual initiative, endurance, daring and toughness in battle.-History:...
on the North-West Frontier.
The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the
East India CompanyEast India Company was a historical English company, founded in 1600, and chartered with the monopoly of trading with Southeast Asia, East Asia, and India...
until the
Indian Rebellion of 1857The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May, 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, when the British Crown took over all three presidencies. Of the 67,000 Hindus in the Bengal Army in 1842, 28,000 were identified as Rajputs and 25,000 as
BrahminBrahmins have historically been the class of educators, scholars and preachers in Hinduism. They are considered as belonging to the "forward castes" of the four varnas of Hinduism....
s, a category that included
Bhumihar BrahminBhumihar or Babhan or Bhuin-har is a upper caste mainly found in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. The Bhumihars are classified in the Brahmin varna of Hinduism but this claim has been contested by some...
s. The
BrahminBrahmins have historically been the class of educators, scholars and preachers in Hinduism. They are considered as belonging to the "forward castes" of the four varnas of Hinduism....
presence in the Bengal Army was reduced in the late nineteenth century because of their perceived primary role as mutineers in the
Indian MutinyThe Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May, 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, led by
Mangal PandeyMangal Pandey was a sepoy in the 34th Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry of the English East India Company. He is widely seen in India as one of its first freedom fighters...
.
In 1903 all three presidency armies were merged into the
Indian ArmyThe Indian Army , now sometimes called the British Indian Army to distinguish it from the modern army of the Republic of India, was the principal army of the British Raj in India during the last half-century before the partition of India in 1947.The Indian Army served both in India and,...
.
Cavalry
- Governor General's Bodyguard
- 1st to 5th Bengal European Light Cavalry Regiments
- 1st to 10th Bengal Light Cavalry 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
The Corps of Guides was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army.-Formation:Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Brereton Rivers was one of the first of a small band of Canadian Military Intelligence officers serving in an organization that was in effect the forerunner of Canadian Forces Intelligence...
, Punjab Irregular Force
- 1st to 5th Regiments of Cavalry of the Punjab Irregular Force
Artillery
- Bengal Horse Artillery
- Bengal European Foot Artillery
- Bengal Native Foot Artillery
- Punjab Horse Artillery, Punjab Irregular Force
Infantry
- 1st Bengal (European) Fusiliers
- 2nd Bengal (European) Fusiliers
- 3rd Bengal (European) Light Infantry
- 4th to 6th Bengal European Regiments
- 1st Regiment of Punjab Bengal Native Infantry
- 2nd to 74th Regiments of Bengal Native Infantry (including Goorkha
Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha or Ghurka, are people from Nepal and northern India who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. His disciple Bappa Rawal, born Prince Kalbhoj/Prince Shailadhish, founded the house of Mewar, Rajasthan...
66th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry)
- The Alipore Regiment The Ramgarh Light Infantry
- 3rd Local Battalion
- The Sirmoor Rifle Regiment
- The 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
The Corps of Guides was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army.-Formation:Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Brereton Rivers was one of the first of a small band of Canadian Military Intelligence officers serving in an organization that was in effect the forerunner of Canadian Forces Intelligence...
, Punjab Irregular Force
- 1st to 4th Sikh Infantry Regiments of the Punjab Irregular Force
- 1st to 6th Infantry Regiments of the Punjab Irregular Force
- 7th to 24th Regiments of Punjab Infantry, of which the 15th and 24th were pioneer regiments
Further reading
- Cardew, F. G., Sketch of the Services of the Bengal Native Army: To the Year 1895 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, 1903, reprinted by Naval and Military Press Ltd., 2005, ISBN 1845741862) Contents: Chapter I: 1599–1767; II. 1767–1796; III. 1797–1814; IV. 1814–1824; V. 1824–1838; VI. 1838–1845; VII. 1845–1857; VIII. 1857–1861; IX. 1862–1979; X. 1878–1881; XI. 1882–1890; XII. 1891–1895; Appendix: I. A Chronological List of the Corps of the Bengal Army, Showing particulars of their origin and their subsequent history; II. Existing Corps of the Bengal Army, Showing Dates of Raising and Changes in their Titles; III. Commanders-in-chief of the Bengal Army; IV. Chronology list of the Services of the Bengal Native Army; Index.