List of Indian Mutiny Victoria Cross recipients The Victoria Cross ( VC ) was awarded to 182 members of the British Armed Forces , British Indian Army and civilians under their command , during the Indian Mutiny ( also known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 ) . The VC is a military decoration awarded for valour " in the face of the enemy " to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories . It takes precedence over all other Orders , decorations and medals . It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and to civilians under military command . The VC is traditionally presented to the recipient by the British monarch during an investiture at Buckingham Palace , though in a large number of cases this was not possible and it was presented in the field by a prominent civil or military official . The VC was introduced in Great Britain on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War . The Indian Mutiny ( also known as India ' s First War of Independence , Revolt of 1857 , or the Sepoy Mutiny ) began as a mutiny of sepoy s 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 . The rebellion proved to be an important watershed in Indian history ; it led to the dissolution of the East India Company in 1858 , and forced the British to reorganise the army , the financial system , and the administration in India . 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 . There were only two posthumous recipients of the VC for actions during the rebellion ; the original Royal Warrant did not contain a specific clause regarding posthumous awards , although official policy was to not award the VC posthumously . Between 1897 and 1901 , several notices were issued in the " London Gazette " regarding soldiers who would have been awarded the VC had they survived . In a partial reversal of policy in 1902 , six of the soldiers mentioned were granted the VC , but not " officially " awarded the medal . In 1907 , the posthumous policy was completely reversed and medals were sent to the next of kin of the six officers and men ; Everard Phillipps and Edward Spence were decorated thus . The Victoria Cross warrant was not officially amended to explicitly allow posthumous awards until 1920 . The Indian Mutiny holds the record for the most VCs won in a single day ; 24 at the Second Relief of Lucknow on 16 November 1857 .