What weapons did sepoys use?

What weapons did sepoys use?

Sepoys throughout India were issued with a new rifle, the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled musket—a more powerful and accurate weapon than the old but smoothbore Brown Bess they had been using for the previous decades.

What did the British do to the Sepoys?

The 85 sepoys were court-martialled and imprisoned. At the sentencing, the British humiliated the sepoys by stripping their uniforms and shackling their ankles in front of 4000 other sepoys. Shocked by the humiliation they had witnessed, the 4000 sepoys mutinied.

Who was the Sepoy who refused to use the cartridges?

When in March 1857, Sepoy Mangal Pandey attacked British officers at the military garrison in Barrackpore, he was arrested and then executed on 8 April. Later that month, Sepoy troopers at Meerut, Bengal, refused to use the new Enfield rifle cartridges, and, as punishment, were given long prison sentences.

How did the sepoys react to the new cartridges?

Answer: The sepoys refused to do the army drill using the new cartridges with some objections. They suspected that the cartridges were coated with the fat of cows and pigs. Both Hindus and Muslims felt insulted.

How did British soldiers respond to sepoys refusing to use their new weapons cartridges?

When ordered to load their weapons for firing drills, the sepoys refused. The troops’ British officers, either ignorant of the religious and cultural dilemma or simply not interested, responded by the book. They set fire to the British bungalows and turned their weapons on the hated British officers.

What were the Enfield cartridges?

The Sepoys in the East India Company were first issued with the Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket in 1857. Its cartridges consisted of a . 577 inch ball projectile and a charge of gun powder propellant wrapped in waterproofed cartridge paper.

What happened in Sepoy Mutiny?

Indian Mutiny, also called Sepoy Mutiny or First War of Independence, widespread but unsuccessful rebellion against British rule in India in 1857–59. Begun in Meerut by Indian troops (sepoys) in the service of the British East India Company, it spread to Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, and Lucknow.

What was the cause of Sepoy Mutiny?

Indian troops during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The rebellion began when sepoys refused to use new rifle cartridges, which were thought to be lubricated with grease containing a mixture of pigs’ and cows’ lard and thus religiously impure for Muslims and Hindus.

Why did sepoys not use new cartridge?

The soldiers felt that it was a move by the British to defame their religion because no Hindu would touch the beef and no Muslim would touch the pork. As a result, the Indian sepoys refused to use greased cartridges.

Why did the sepoys refuse to use the new cartridges?

The sepoys refused to use greased cartridge because a rumour spread that the cartridge is greased with fats of pigs and cows and it is used to open with mouth which the Hindus and the Muslims sepoys protested.

Why did the sepoys refused to use the cartridges?

What objections did the sepoys have to the new cartridges that were asked to use Class 8?

Objections the sepoys had to the new cartridges were:

• The cartridges were greased with the fat of cows and pigs.
• The sepoys had to use mouth to remove the covering of the cartridges.
• They termed the cartridges to be a violation of the religious sentiments.
• Hence, they rebelled.

Why did the Sepoy Mutiny start in 1857?

The sepoy mutiny was started for a number of reasons,”The traditional explanation of the offensive rifle cartridges causing the initial outbreak of mutiny is only part of the story. Many native infantrymen (sepoys) believed that these new cartridges introduced in early 1857 had been greased by cow and pig fat.

Where was the first shot fired in the Sepoy Mutiny?

On March 29, 1857, on the parade ground at Barrackpore, a sepoy named Mangal Pandey fired the first shot of the uprising. His unit in the Bengal Army, which had refused to use the new rifle cartridges, was about to be disarmed and punished.

What did Mangal Pandey do in the Sepoy Mutiny?

On March 29, 1857, on the parade ground at Barrackpore, a sepoy named Mangal Pandey fired the first shot of the uprising. His unit in the Bengal Army, which had refused to use the new rifle cartridges, was about to be disarmed and punished. Pandey rebelled by shooting a British sergeant-major and a lieutenant.

What was the punishment for the Sepoy Mutiny?

One common punishment was to tie mutineers to the mouth of a cannon and then fire the cannon, completely obliterating the victim. A popular American illustrated magazine, “Ballou’s Pictorial”, published a full-page woodcut illustration showing the preparations for such an execution in its issue of October 3, 1857.