Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - After the Anglo-Sikh wars

Jens Nordlunde · 21st November 2016, 01:38 PM

In The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, Susan Stronge has written an article, and on p. 90 she writes.
"The most spectacular cannons were shipped back to Britain; the firearms and other weapons of the Khalsa army which remained in Lahore became Dr Login's responsibility, and the finest were sent to London or sold in Lahore. The rest, purely utiliarian pieces, were recycled. Login wrote to his wife: 'We are now working hard in the magazine, breaking up old arms as fast as we can... already I have supplied Napier with many tons of them for his work on the canals. I had the pleasure of having the first sword brought in converted into capital scythes for mowing the grass in the soldier's gardens.'"

It must have been a very big amount of weapons confiscated and recycled, and we can only guss of the 'small' number sold. To this comes, that the same had happened all over India over a longer period.
Some weapons were recycled, while others were dropped at sea (Coorg). We can only guess how many weapons were destroyed, but we must also remember the very big armies moving around an fighting each other over centuries. The ruler of South India eas said to be able to raise an army of more than one million men.

21st November 2016, 01:38 PM	#1
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,713	After the Anglo-Sikh wars In The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, Susan Stronge has written an article, and on p. 90 she writes. "The most spectacular cannons were shipped back to Britain; the firearms and other weapons of the Khalsa army which remained in Lahore became Dr Login's responsibility, and the finest were sent to London or sold in Lahore. The rest, purely utiliarian pieces, were recycled. Login wrote to his wife: 'We are now working hard in the magazine, breaking up old arms as fast as we can... already I have supplied Napier with many tons of them for his work on the canals. I had the pleasure of having the first sword brought in converted into capital scythes for mowing the grass in the soldier's gardens.'" It must have been a very big amount of weapons confiscated and recycled, and we can only guss of the 'small' number sold. To this comes, that the same had happened all over India over a longer period. Some weapons were recycled, while others were dropped at sea (Coorg). We can only guess how many weapons were destroyed, but we must also remember the very big armies moving around an fighting each other over centuries. The ruler of South India eas said to be able to raise an army of more than one million men.