Second Battle of Cawnpore The Second Battle of Cawnpore was a battle of Indian rebellion of 1857 . It was decisive as it thwarted the rebels ' last chance to regain the initiative and recapture the cities of Kanpur ( Cawnpore ) and Lucknow . Background . During the 1857 uprising against the East India Company , Kanpur ( then spelled Cawnpore ) had fallen to the rebel leader Nana Sahib . The Company forces led by Major General Henry Havelock recaptured the town on 17 July 1857 . Soon after he arrived at Cawnpore , Havelock received news that Henry Lawrence , the British Resident in Awadh ( referred to at the time as " Oudh " ) had died , and that the Company forces were besieged and facing a defeat at Lucknow . Havelock decided to attempt to relieve Lucknow . He fought against the rebel forces blocking his way , winning victories at Unnao ( or Unao ) and Bashiratganj ( or Bashiratgunj ) , though at a high cost in casualties . However , he was soon informed that the Gwalior army had also rebelled against Company rule . Havelock realized that his forces were not strong enough to fight their way to Lucknow , and returned to Cawnpore on 13 August to await reinforcements . Once reinforced , the British forces began constructing a bridge over the Ganges River , but the rebel soldiers attacked the bridge from the northern bank . Havelock sent Brasyer ' s Sikhs regiment to cover the construction . The Sikh regiment forced the rebel soldiers to retreat , and the bridge was completed without further interference . The reinforced British army under Havelock and Lieutenant General Sir James Outram then set out for Lucknow . They were able to enter the city , but became besieged themselves . Another , larger , force under General Colin Campbell , the new Commander - in - Chief , India , gathered in Cawnpore to make a second relief of Lucknow . While he led his main force to Lucknow , Campbell left a detachment of about 1 , 500 men under Brigadier Charles Ash Windham to hold Cawnpore , the vital bridge of boats across the Ganges , and the entrenchment constructed to protect it . Windham had a reputation for bravery gained in the Crimean War , and was nicknamed " Redan " Windham , after a Russian fortification at Sevastopol . Meanwhile , the Nana Sahib ' s lieutenant , Tantya Tope , had gathered an army to recapture Cawnpore . The core of this army was the Gwalior Contingent . This was a body of troops in the service of the ruler of Gwalior , but which was recruited and organised on the same lines as the Bengal Presidency Army of the East India Company . The Gwalior Contingent had mutinied against their British officers in June and July . They had since remained undecided as to their next course of action until Tantya Tope took charge of them , and led them to Kalpi on 9 November , where they crossed the Jumna River and moved east on Cawnpore . Tantya Tope recaptures Cawnpore . By 19 November , Tantya Tope ' s advance guard of 6 , 000 dominated all the routes west and north - west of Cawnpore . Although Windham was aware that Campbell had gained success at Lucknow , he nevertheless decided not to wait for Campbell ' s force to return from Lucknow , but to attack Tantya Tope before he could threaten the entrenchment . On 26 November , Windham ' s force drove back Tantya Tope ' s advance guard . However , the rebels ' main body was close at hand . Windham tried to make an orderly withdrawal but some of his troops ( a battalion made up of a mixed bag of detachments of several regiments ) misbehaved , retreating without orders and looting drink and supplies when they reached the entrenchment . Meanwhile , Campbell was withdrawing from Lucknow with 3 , 000 troops and a convoy containing 2 , 000 sick , wounded and non - combatants who had been evacuated from Lucknow . Hearing that Cawnpore was in danger , he left his infantry to protect the convoy and moved ahead with his cavalry and horse artillery . To his relief , when he arrived on the north bank of the Ganges late on 27 November , the bridge was still intact . Windham held the entrenchment , but the Tantya Tope ' s army had occupied the city of Cawnpore and the ground between the city and the Ganges . Evacuation of civilians . Campbell crossed the bridge the next day . He deployed his artillery on the north bank of the river to fire on the rebels threatening the bridge , and then slowly filed the carts and other vehicles of the convoy across the bridge . The process took three days to complete . Although several officers urged Campbell to attack as soon as the north bank was evacuated , Campbell delayed for another five days while all the non - combatants were ferried down - river to safety . Campbell was later to be known for his caution and deliberation , becoming irreverently known as " Sir Crawling Camel " . Tantya Tope defeated . The rebels had continued to make some attacks on the British positions . An attack on 5 December was beaten off . Campbell was now ready to make his own attack , having received 5 , 600 reinforcements with 35 guns . On 6 December , Windham opened a violent bombardment from the entrenchment to deceive the rebels that Campbell was about to attack their left . The real attack was made on their right , curling around the city of Cawnpore to threaten the rebels ' links to Kalpiii . Campbell ' s artillery , which included many guns which were heavier than those possessed by the rebels , particularly the 24 - pounders manned by the sailors of the Naval Brigade , was the decisive factor . As the Gwalior Contingent broke and fled , the Nana Sahib ' s own retainers and adherents were defeated north of the city . The pursuit by Campbell ' s cavalry was pressed as hard as possible , capturing almost every gun and cart from the rebels . At Bithoor , the Nana Sahib ' s treasury was captured the next day , concealed in a well . Results . The rebels had attacked Cawnpore at the most favourable possible moment , under one of their most dynamic and charismatic leaders , and yet they had been defeated . From this point on , increasing numbers of British reinforcements were to arrive in India and the rebellion was doomed to defeat , although Tantya Tope and other determined leaders continued to resist for more than a year .