Our Bones are Scattered

Book excerpt: This is the first full account of the siege and massacre at Cawnpore. In the maelstrom of India's Great Mutiny of 1857, the European garrison at Cawnpore survived starvation and bombardment only to die brutally on the eve of rescue. To avenge their deaths and reassert imperial will, thousands of Indians were hanged along the British line of march or tied to guns and blown to pieces. Courage, folly, rage, fanaticism, horror, fortitude - all can be found here. But this is not just a saga of bloodshed following upon bloodshed; it is a demonstration of an essential rite of imperial progress. The cycle of massacre and retribution at Cawnpore advanced the empire by drowning out its critics in the fire and brimstone of British vengeance.