Description
An Army of India, Bhurtpoor – 6th Native Infantry.
Army of India 1799-1826, clasp, Bhurtpoor, Serjt Major T. Coughlan, 6th N.I.( short hyphen reverse), officially impressed naming.
Timothy Coughlan was born in the Parish of Ballyclogh, near Mallow, Co. Cork.
He attested for unlimited service in the H.E.I.C. infantry, 19 January 1815, aged 18, and embarked for Bengal on the William Pitt, 27 March 1815, disembarking at Calcutta on 23 August. Coughlan was originally posted to the Bengal European Regiment with whom he served for the next five or six years, rising to the rank of Sergeant.
In the muster roll of July 1824 he is shown as Quarter-Master Sergeant in the 6th Bengal Native Infantry, and in the list of July 1825, as Sergeant-Major in the same unit. Coughlan remained in the latter rank until invalided to Europe, 21 September 1837.
He was admitted to pension on the Lord Clive Fund, 31 May 1838, and died in Ireland, 22 April 1856.
Following the usurpation of the throne by Durjan Sal in March 1825, the British East India Company deployed a massive besieging force to reduce Bharatpur (Bhurtpoor) —a fortress legendary across northern India for having repulsed Lord Lake’s assaults two decades earlier. Arriving at the perimeter in early December 1825, the 6th Native Infantry took up positions in the surrounding encirclement. The sepoys established cordon lines, constructed siege redoubts, and secured key approach roads to prevent enemy sorties and outside relief forces from reaching the garrison.
Throughout late December 1825 and early January 1826, the 6th BNI endured harsh conditions in the siege trenches facing the fortress’s massive mud ramparts. Their operational responsibilities included:
Covering British engineering parties and Bengal Sappers while digging parallels and mine galleries toward the outer defenses.
Suppressing frequent Jat infantry counter-attacks and cavalry probes launched from the surrounding jungle terrain.
Maintaining disciplined positions under heavy bombardment directed by Jat gunners and renegade European artillerymen positioned on the citadel walls.
The Storming of the Fortress (January 18, 1826)
The climax of the campaign arrived on the morning of January 18, 1826, when a massive mine containing over 10,000 pounds of gunpowder was detonated beneath the northeast bastion. The 6th Native Infantry operated in support of the primary storming columns under Major-General Sir Thomas Reynell and Major-General Jasper Nicolls. As assault troops poured through the breached ramparts, elements of the 6th BNI helped clear enemy strongpoints along the curtains, secured interior streets, and prevented garrison forces from regrouping.
Provenience – Montagu Collection, Glendining’s, November 1926; Captain J. Batty, M.M. Collection, Sotheby’s, October 1971; A. Wolfe Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, December 2005.
Condition – minor edge bruising, good very fine
