Herbert Benjamin Edwardes Major - General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes KCB KCSI DCL ( 1819 – 1868 ) was an English administrator , soldier , and statesman active in the Punjab , India . He is best known as the " Hero of Multan " for his pivotal role in securing the British victory in the Second Anglo - Sikh War ( 1848 – 49 ) . Early life . Edwardes was born at Frodesley in Shropshire on 12 November 1819 , the 2nd son of the Rev . Benjamin Edwardes ( 1790 / 1 - 1823 ) , rector of Frodesley , a younger son of Sir John Thomas Cholmondeley Edwardes , 8th Baronet , of Shrewsbury ( 1764 – 1816 ) . The Edwardes Baronetcy of Shropshire had been conferred on his ancestor Sir Thomas Edwardes by King Charles I in 1644 / 5 . Edwardes ' s mother died during his infancy , and from the age of four , following his father ' s death in 1823 , he was brought up in the household of a deeply religious aunt , from whom he developed his own strongly Protestant Christian faith . At the age of ten he was sent to a boarding school at Richmond , Surrey , where he did not early distinguish himself . He went on to study Classics and Mathematics at King ' s College , London , and developed there a great interest in modern literature , composing poetry and drawing . He played a prominent role in the debating society . Career in India . Having been prevented from going up to Oxford by pressure from his guardians , Edwardes determined himself on a career in India . He applied directly to Sir Richard Jenkins GCB ( 1785 – 1853 ) , of Bicton Hall , Salop . a deputy chairman of the East India Company , formerly of the Bombay Civil Service , Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury in 1837 , and family friend , for a cadetship in the Bengal Infantry . He landed at Calcutta early in 1841 , aged 22 , and from July 1842 served as a Second Lieutenant in the 1st Bengal European Regiment , first at Dinapore and then at Karnal , a frontier station . He remained with this regiment about five years , during which time he obtained a good knowledge of the Hindustani , Urdu and Persian languages , passing exams in all 3 subjects , which qualified him for the position of interpreter , which he obtained in November 1845 , aged 26 . He developed a deep understanding of military , political and social affairs in India , which showed itself in his many literary contributions to the " Delhi Gazette " entitled " " Brahmin ee Bull ' s letters to his Cousin John Bull " " , expressing bold political opinions often critical of British Indian policy . His essays became well - read throughout British India , and particularly impressed the Commander - in - Chief of the Indian Army himself , Sir Hugh Gough , who appointed Edwardes a member of his personal staff . First Anglo - Sikh War . Edwardes served as aide - de - camp to Gough during the First Anglo - Sikh War and fought at Mudki on 18 December 1845 , where he was wounded , and at the final bloody rout of the Sikhs at Sobraon on 10 February 1846 . Assistant Resident at Lahore . Following the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo - Sikh War ( 1846 – 47 ) , the Punjab came to be ruled by a British Resident seated at the historic capital of Lahore , supported by a Council of Regency acting for the infant Maharaja Duleep Singh . In 1846 , aged 27 , Edwardes was appointed by the new British Resident Sir Henry Lawrence , as Assistant Resident . After 3 months at Lahore he was posted to the court of the Maharaja of Jammu , recently established by the British as ruler of Kashmir , divested from Punjab territorial lands following the Treaty of Lahore in 1846 . Here he helped to suppress a local rebellion against the Maharaja , Gulab Singh . Founds Edwardesabad . In February 1847 , aged 28 , Edwardes was detached on special duty as Political Agent to the remote trans - Indus district of Bannu , where he was to improve the district ' s tax - revenue yield to Lahore , much lessened of late by evasion and non - payment . Here backed by a small force of Sikh troops , but largely on the strength of his own personality , he completely reformed the administration . He settled local feuds and demolished local fortresses , built roads and canals and encouraged agriculture . The town established by him was named after his death in his honour " Edwardesabad " , a name which gave way after independence to Bannu , unlike the surviving name of Abbottabad , which commemorates Edwardes ' s contemporary , General Sir James Abbott . Pivotal Role in Second Anglo - Sikh War . The events and disturbances which grew into the Second Anglo - Sikh War of 1848 – 49 started at Multan , in southern Punjab , under the governorship of Dewan Mulraj , near which fortified town Edwardes found himself at the time , devoid of military support . Sensing that time was of the essence to prevent the rebellion spreading rapidly to the whole of the Punjab , and having no senior officer to consult , Edwardes made his response at first on his own inititiative . He immediately raised a body of Pathan Irregulars and on 18 June 1848 , having been joined by a force of Sikh troops , at Kineyri he routed a rebel force loyal to Dewan Mulraj . Subsequently , on 3 July , with reinforcements from his neighbouring District Officer Lt . Lake , and with troops sent by the Nawab of Bahawalpur from south of Multan , he defeated the rebels a second time at Sadusam , near Multan . Here he permanently injured his right hand in an accident with his pistol . Edwardes then forced the rebels to retreat to the fort of Multan , where they remained contained until the arrival of General William Sampson Whish and the Bombay column , whereuopon , assisted by the further action of Edwardes ' s force , a siege was established . On 22 January 1849 Dewan Mulraj surrendered , following negotiations directed by Edwardes . Sir Henry Lawrence praised Edwardes ' s pivotal role in the war , stating that " Since the days of Clive no man had done as Edwardes " . All had been achieved by personal initiative , without formal military training . He was commended by Gough and the Government , promoted brevet major in September 1848 and made a Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB ) , in October 1849 . The East India Company awarded him a specially struck gold medal for services in the Punjab . He returned to a hero ' s welcome in England and Shropshire , was thanked by both Houses of Parliament and on 12 June 1850 was awarded the degree of Doctor of Civil Law ( DCL ) by Oxford University . He was entertained at civic banquets in London and Liverpool , and made many well received public speeches . Whilst in England , on 9 July 1850 , aged 31 , he married Emma Sidney , da . of James Sidney of Richmond , Surrey . It was most probably at this time his portrait was painted by Henry Moseley , showing him dressed as an Indian nobleman , which was presented by his widow in 1905 to the National Portrait Gallery . He published in 1851 an account in 2 vols . of his experiences during the war entitled " A Year on the Punjab Frontier . " Urges Treaty with Afghanistan . Edwardes believed that the security of British India against the designs of Russia would be improved on the North - Western Frontier by the existence of a strong and independent Afghanistan and he urged the signing of a British Treaty of Friendship with the Amir Dost Mohammad Khan . Although opposed by Sir John Lawrence , then Chief Commissioner of the Punjab , as the new ruling magistrate was known following the 1849 British annexation of Punjab , Edwardes ' s suggestion received the approval of the Governor General of India Lord Dalhousie . The treaty was signed by Lawrence and the Amir on 30 March 1855 . It contained a strict non - interference clause which turned out to be vital in maintaining calm in the Punjab during the Indian Mutiny 2 years later , thus allowing Punjab troops to be sent away to assist in the relief of Delhi and in subsequent operations . A second treaty was signed in January 1857 . Indian Mutiny . On the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny in 1857 at far away Meerut and Delhi , Edwardes received the sanction of Sir John Lawrence , the successor in the chief magistracy of the Punjab to his elder brother Sir Henry Lawrence , to raise native troops in the Punjab to form a moveable column to maintain order in the Punjab . Lawrence later sent the large part of these troops and other units previously raised by his brother and new units raised by himself to assist in the Siege of Delhi . It was this decisive action of Sir John Lawrence ' s , in taking the risk to leave the Punjab undefended , a policy opposed by Edwardes , which earned for him the sobriquet " The Saviour of India " . Second Return to England . Aged 40 , in mid - 1859 Edwardes once more returned to England , his health so greatly impaired by the continual strain of arduous work that it was doubtful whether he could ever return to India . During his stay he was created KCB , with the rank of brevet colonel ; and the degree of LL . D . was conferred upon him by the University of Cambridge . Commissioner of Ambala . Early in 1862 , aged 43 , with improved health he again returned to the Punjab , and was appointed to the presigious Commissionership of Ambala and as agent for the Cis - Sutlej states . After holding the posts for 3 years , the health of both himself and his wife deteriorated and on 1 January 1865 , aged 46 , he left India for the last time . Final Return to England . Following his final return to England he was made Knight Commander of the Star of India ( KCSI ) on 24 May 1866 and promoted Major - General on 22 February 1868 . He received a " good conduct " pension of £100 . Death . He had been engaged for some time on writing a biography of his old chief Sir Henry Lawrence , and high expectations were held for the work , which he did not however live to complete , which task was performed by Herman Merivale . He suffered a bad attack of pleurisy in March 1868 from which he temporarily recovered , upon which he was offered the post of Lieutenant - Governor of the Punjab in March 1868 . His recovery however relapsed and he died of pleurisy in London on 23 December 1868 , aged 49 , after a severe haemorrhage . He was buried in Highgate Cemetery and is commemorated by a mural tablet in Westminster Abbey and a stained glass window in the chapel of King ' s College , London . He was survived by his wife . Christian Evangelism . Edwardes was a devout Christian of the Protestant anti - ritualist variety . Perhaps one of the major criticisms of his career could be stated to be his propensity to evangelise amongst the indigenous populations of India . After the Indian Mutiny of 1857 – 8 , caused in some measure by the sepoys ' belief that their ancient religions were under attack with the sanction of the British - Indian regime , he continued , on his return to India in 1862 , to enthusiastically urge the Government of India to publicly support the propagation of Christianity in India . Reputable biographers have gone so far as to call this attitude of his " a considerable lack of common sense " , which is in stark contrast to the superior diplomatic and political instincts he displayed throughout his career . He shared his strong evangelical Christian attitudes with his brother officer and close friend Brigadier - General John Nicholson . During his final period in England , he served as vice - president of the Church Missionary Society .