Adjutant General Henry Havelock had recently led a recapture of Cawnpore (Kanpur) 48 miles from Lucknow. His men were exhausted and were only strong enough to march to Lucknow when Lieutenant General James Outram arrived with reinforcements.
By 25 September 1857 Havelock and Outram had fought off fierce opposition and reached the Residency.
Having already endured 87 days under siege, the defenders welcomed the relief force; while the scale of casualties prevented them from evacuating the city, Havelock and Outram’s forces provided a boost, both to fighting numbers and morale.
Headline Image: Model of Captain Bernard McCabe of the 32nd Regiment leading an attack