List of Indian Mutiny Victoria Cross recipients

thumb|200px|right|Map showing the [[List of Indian Princely States|Indian Princely states during the rebellion of 1857]]

The Victoria Cross (VC) was introduced in Great Britain on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War. For the Indian Mutiny (also known as India's First War of Independence, Revolt of 1857, or the Sepoy Mutiny) the VC was awarded to 182 members of the British Armed Forces, the Honourable East Indies Company (HEIC) and civilians under its command. The VC is the highest British honour and is awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy". Created in 1856 for the British Army and Royal Navy, eligibility was extended in 1857 to members of the HEIC and in 1858 to non-military personnel bearing arms as volunteers.

Queen Victoria created the tradition of the British monarch presenting the VC to the recipient, personally presenting 74 of the 111 awards for the Crimean War. Many VCs for the Indian Mutiny were sent to India for presentation and while there is documentation for 42 presentations, the information on 51 presentations which were likely presented in India is vague and it not known if the medal was personally presented or received by post. There were 18 Indian Mutiny VCs sent to next of kin where the award was posthumous, or the recipient died before presentation. The Queen personally presented 63 Indian Mutiny awards after the recipients returned to the UK.

The Indian Mutiny began as a mutiny of sepoys of British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut. It soon erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to present-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern Madhya Pradesh, and the Delhi region. The rebellion posed a considerable threat to Company power in that region, and it was contained only with the fall of Gwalior on 20 June 1858. India was thereafter governed directly from London—by the British government India Office and a cabinet level Secretary of State for India—in the new British Raj, a system of governance that lasted until 1947.

Indian troops were not originally eligible for the VC, because since 1837 they had been eligible for the Indian Order of Merit—the oldest British gallantry award for general issue. When the VC was created, Indian troops were still controlled by the Honourable East India Company, and did not come under Crown control until 1860. European officers and men serving with the Honourable East India Company were not eligible for the Indian Order of Merit; the VC was extended to cover them in October 1857. The first citations of the VC varied in the details of each action; some specify one date, some date ranges, some the name of the battle and others have both sets of information. The Indian Mutiny holds the record for the most VCs won in a single day; 24 on 16 November 1857, of which 23 were at the Second Relief of Lucknow and one was for an action south of Delhi.

The original royal warrant did not address the question of posthumous awards, and a policy to avoid posthumous awards was adopted. Between the Indian Mutiny in 1857 and the beginning of the Second Boer War, the names of nine officers and men were published in the London Gazette with a memorandum stating they would have been awarded the Victoria Cross had they survived. A further three notices were published in the London Gazette in September 1900 and April 1901 for the Second Boer War. On 8 August 1902, as an exception to policy for the Second Boer War, a notice was published stating the Victoria Crosses were to be sent to next of kin of the three mentioned in the notices in 1900 and 1901. In the same notice the first official posthumous awards were announced. Five years later in 1907, the posthumous policy was reversed for earlier wars, and medals were sent to the next of kin of the six of nine officers and men whose names were mentioned in notices in the Gazette dating back to the Indian Mutiny. Prior to the reversal of policy It had been discovered that the crosses of three of the five Indian Mutiny memoranda names had been sent to next of kin shortly after the memoranda was gazetted. The Victoria Cross warrant was explicitly amended to allow posthumous awards in 1920, but one quarter of all awards for World War I were posthumous..

Recipients

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Portrait!!Name!!Unit!!Date of action!!Place of action

|100px||||04343rd Regiment of Foot||1859-01-022 January 1859||Kurrereah, India

|100px||||0044th Bengal Native Infantry||1858-03-011 March 1858||Amethi, India

|100px||||01313th Bengal Native Infantry||1857-06-3030 June 1857 to 22 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||0022nd Dragoon Guards||1858-10-088 October 1858||Sundeela Oudh, India

|100px||||08484th Regiment of Foot||1857-09-2828 September 1857, 16 November 1857||Bolandshahr, India Lucknow, India

|100px||||Bengal Military Police Battalion||1858-09-2727 September 1858||Suhejnee, Near Peroo, India

|||||06060th Rifles||1858-05-066 May 1858||Bareilly, India

|100px||||0077th Queen's Own Hussars||1858-03-1919 March 1858||Lucknow, India

|100px||||0022nd Bombay Light Cavalry||1857-08-1212 August 1857, 23 October 1857||Neemuch, India Jeerum, India

|||||0022nd Dragoon Guards||1857-09-2828 September 1857||Bolandshahr, India

|||||07878th Regiment of Foot||1857-07-2929 July 1857||Oonao, India

|100px||||08484th Regiment of Foot||1857-07-1212 July 1857 to 25 September 1857||Khurkowdah, India Not known Shumshabad, India Meangunge, India

|100px||||0011st Bengal European Light Cavalry||1857-11-1212 November 1857, 25 February 1858||Alumbagh, India Jellalabad, India

|||||09090th Regiment of Foot||1857-11-1717 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||09393rd Regiment of Foot||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||0055th Regiment of Foot||1857-09-2424 September 1857||Alumbagh, India

|100px||||07575th Regiment of Foot||1857-09-1111 September 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||09090th Regiment of Foot||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||02323rd Regiment of Foot||1857-11-1818 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|100px||||Naval BrigadeNaval Brigade||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||0099th Queen's Royal Lancers||1857-06-1919 June 1857||Delhi, India

|||||Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery||1857-11-1414 November 1857 to 22 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||Naval BrigadeNaval Brigade||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||0099th Queen's Royal Lancers||1857-06-088 June 1857 10 October 1857||Delhi, India Agra, India

|100px||||01010th Regiment of Foot||1857-07-1616 July 1857||Cawnpore, India

|||||RifleRifle Brigade||1858-03-1111 March 1858||Lucknow, India

|100px||||05252nd Regiment of Foot||1857-09-1414 September 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||06060th Rifles||1857-06-00June to September 1857||Delhi, India

|||||0088th King's Royal Irish Hussars||1858-06-1717 June 1858||Gwalior, India

|||||09090th Regiment of Foot||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|100px||||Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery||1857-07-099 July 1857||Delhi, India

|||||0088th King's Royal Irish Hussars||1858-06-1717 June 1858||Gwalior, India

|100px||||07878th Regiment of Foot||1857-09-1626 September 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||08484th Regiment of Foot||1857-09-2525 September 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||09090th Regiment of Foot||1857-09-2626 September 1857||Lucknow, India

|100px||||Bengal Sappers and Miners||1857-09-1414 September 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||Bengal Sappers and Miners||1858-02-2323 February 1858||Sultanpore, India

|100px||||05353rd Regiment of Foot||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||02626th Bengal Native Infantry||1858-10-1414 October 1858||Baroun, India

|||||07878th Regiment of Foot||1857-09-2525 September 1857||Lucknow, India

|100px||||Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery||1857-11-1414 November 1857 to 22 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||08686th Regiment of Foot||1858-04-033 April 1858||Jhansi, India

|100px||||0099th Queen's Royal Lancers||1857-06-088 June 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||Bengal Civil Service||1857-11-099 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||Bombay ArtilleryBombay Artillery||1858-03-1717 March 1858||Chundairee, India

|||||0099th Queen's Royal Lancers||1857-09-2828 September 1857||Bolandshahr, India

|||||05353rd Regiment of Foot||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|100px||||02424th Bombay Native Infantry||1857-07-1010 July 1857||Kolapore, India

|||||01010th Regiment of Foot||1857-06-044 June 1857||Benares, India

|||||08484th Regiment of Foot||1857-07-2929 June 1857, 16 August 1857, 25 September 1857||Oonao, India Bithoor, India Lucknow, India

|||||Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery||1857-11-1414 November 1857 to 22 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||03232nd Regiment of Foot||1857-07-077 July 1857, 26 September 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||01414th Light Dragoons||1858-04-011 April 1858||Betwa, India

|100px||||07272nd Bengal Native Infantry||1858-05-2323 May 1858||Calpee, India

|||||09393rd Regiment of Foot||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|100px||||07878th Regiment of Foot||1857-09-2525 September 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||0011st Madras European Fusiliers||1857-09-2121 September 1857||Mungulwar, India

|||||Bengal Civil Service||1857-07-3030 July 1857||Arrah, India

|||||Royal Regiment of Artillery||1857-09-2525 September 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||Naval BrigadeNaval Brigade||1857-11-2222 November 1857||Dacca, India

|100px||||09393rd Regiment of Foot||1858-03-1111 March 1858||Lucknow, India

|100px||||Bengal Civil Service||1857-07-3030 July 1857||Arrah, India

|||||0011st Bengal European Fusiliers||1857-06-2323 June 1857||Delhi, India

|||||0011st Bengal European Fusiliers||1857-09-1414 September 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||0055th Regiment of Foot||1857-10-022 October 1857, 22 December 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||Madras Engineers||1857-11-2121 November 1857||Mundisore, India

|||||0022nd Punjab Cavalry||185-00-001857 to 1858||Agra, India

|||||0099th Queen's Royal Lancers||1857-06-1919 June 1857||Delhi, India

|||||05353rd Regiment of Foot||1857-11-1717 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||Bengal Veterans Establishment||1857-05-1111 May 1857||Delhi, India

|||||06161st Regiment of Foot||1857-09-1414 September 1857||Delhi, India

|||||09090th Regiment of Foot||1857-09-2121 September 1857, 25 September 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||Bengal Horse Artillery||1857-09-1616 September 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||03434th Regiment of Foot||1859-04-2727 April 1859||Kewane Trans-Gogra, India

|100px||||Bengal Horse Artillery||1858-01-022 January 1858||Khodagunge, India

|||||0099th Queen's Royal Lancers||1857-09-2828 September 1857||Bolandshahr, India

|||||Naval Brigade||1858-03-1313 March 1858||Lucknow, India

|100px||||Bengal Army||1858-09-2727 September 1858||Kuthirga, India

|||||07171st Regiment of Foot||1858-06-1616 June 1858||Marar, India

|||||03737th Bengal Native Infantry||1857-06-044 June 1857||Benares, India

|||||0099th Queen's Royal Lancers||1858-03-1919 March 1858||Lucknow, India

|||||0011st Madras European Fusiliers||1857-09-2626 September 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||0011st Bengal European Fusiliers||1857-09-1414 September 1857||Delhi, India

|||||Bengal Sappers and Miners||1857-09-1414 September 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||Naval Brigade||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||Rifle Brigade||1858-06-1313 June 1858||Lucknow, India

|100px||||06060th Bengal Native Infantry||1857-09-1414 September 1857||Delhi, India

|||||04242nd Regiment of Foot||1858-04-1515 April 1858||Fort Ruhya, India

|||||08484th Regiment of Foot||1857-10-066 October 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||Corps ofCorps of Royal Engineers||1858-04-033 April 1858||Jhansi, India

|||||05252nd Regiment of Foot||1857-09-1414 September 1857||Delhi, India

|||||0011st Madras European Fusiliers||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

|||||Bengal Sappers and Miners||1857-09-1414 September 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||0099th Queen's Royal Lancers||1858-01-1717 January 1858||Shumsabad, India

|||||04242nd Regiment of Foot||1858-04-1515 April 1858

|100px||||Bengal Horse Artillery||1857-07-099 July 1857||Delhi, India

|||||0022nd Bengal Native Infantry||1857-07-00July 1857||Indore, India

|||||06060th Rifles||1857-06-1919 June 1857||Delhi, India

|100px||||06666th Bengal Native Infantry||1858-02-1010 February 1858||Choorpoorah, India

|100px||||07575th Regiment of Foot||1857-07-1717 July 1857||Delhi, India

|||||06060th Rifles||1857-09-1414 September 1857, 18 September 1857||Jhansi, India Lohari, India

|100px||||Rifle Brigade||1858-03-1111 March 1858||Lucknow, India

|100px||||01717th Lancers||1858-10-1919 October 1858||Sinwaho, India

|100px||||Naval Brigade||1857-11-1616 November 1857||Lucknow, India

References

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