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{{Short description|British Soldier and Statement in Punjab region of British India}}{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = '''Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes'''
| image = HerbertEdwardesByMoseley.jpg
| caption = Major Herbert Benjamin Edwardes, CB, DCL (1819–1868), ''The Hero of Multan'', dressed as an Indian nobleman, by Henry Moseley, c.1850. National Portrait Gallery, London, (NPG 1391)
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1819|11|12}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1868|12|23|1819|11|12}}
| placeofburial = [[Highgate Cemetery]]
| birth_place = [[Frodesley, Shropshire]], [[United Kingdom]]
| death_place = [[London]], United Kingdom
| nickname =
| birth_name =
| spouse =
| allegiance = [[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg|22x25px]] [[East India Company]] {{flagicon|British India}} [[British India]]
| branch = [[Bengal Army]]
| serviceyears = 1842–1868
| rank = [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]]
| servicenumber =
| unit = [[1st Bengal European Regiment]]
| commands =
| battles = [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] [[Indian Mutiny]]
| battles_label =
| awards = [[Order of the Bath|Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] [[Order of the Star of India|Knight Commander of the Star of India]] [[Doctor of Civil Law]]
| relations =
| laterwork = Commissioner of Ambala (1862–1865)
}}

[[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] '''Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|KCB|KCSI}} [[Doctor of Civil Law|DCL]] (12 November 1819 – 23 December 1868) was a British administrator, soldier, and statesman active in the [[Punjab region|Punjab]] region of [[British India]]. He is best known as the "Hero of Multan" for his pivotal role in securing British victory in the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]].

==Background and 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 [[Edwardes baronets|Sir John Thomas Cholmondeley Edwardes, 8th Baronet]], of Shrewsbury (1764–1816). The [[Edwardes baronets|Edwardes Baronetcy]] of Shropshire had been conferred on his ancestor Sir Thomas Edwardes by King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] in 1644/5.The baronetcy eventually became dormant on the death of the 10th Baronet Sir Henry Hope Edwardes to extant with Edwardes-Iddon which Edwardes are descended claiming succession to the title.

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 [[Protestantism|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|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.

==Early service in India==
Having been prevented from going up to [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] by pressure from his guardians, Edwardes determined himself on a career in India. He applied directly to [[Richard Jenkins (MP)|Sir Richard Jenkins]] GCB (1785–1853), of Bicton Hall, Salop.<ref>thePeerage.com</ref> a deputy chairman of the [[East India Company]],<ref>''India Lists & India Office List'', at Google books</ref> formerly of the Bombay Civil Service,<ref>http://www.glosters.tripod.com {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108055339/http://glosters.tripod.com/ |date=8 November 2012 }} (funerary inscriptions of Indian Service officers)</ref> Member of Parliament for [[Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Shrewsbury]] in 1837, and family friend, for a cadetship in the [[Bengal Army|Bengal Infantry]]. He landed at [[Calcutta]] early in 1841, aged 22, and from July 1842 served as a [[Second Lieutenant]] in the [[101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers)|1st Bengal European Regiment]], first at [[Danapur|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 language|Hindustani]], [[Urdu]] and [[Persian language|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 [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] himself, [[Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough|Sir Hugh Gough]], who appointed Edwardes a member of his personal staff.

==First Anglo-Sikh War==
{{See also|First Anglo-Sikh War}}
Edwardes served as [[aide-de-camp]] to Gough during the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] and fought at [[Battle of Mudki|Mudki]] on 18 December 1845, where he was wounded, and at the final bloody rout of the Sikhs at [[Battle of Sobraon|Sobraon]] on 10 February 1846. Following the British victory, the Punjab came to be ruled by a British [[Resident (title)|Resident]] seated at the historic capital of [[Lahore]], supported by a Regency Council acting for the infant Maharaja [[Duleep Singh]]. In 1846, aged 27, Edwardes was appointed by the new British Resident [[Henry Montgomery Lawrence|Sir Henry Lawrence]], as Assistant Resident. After three months at Lahore he was posted to the court of the [[Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir|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 of Jammu and Kashmir|Gulab Singh]].

==Founding of Edwardesabad==
In February 1847, aged 28, Edwardes was detached on special duty as Political Agent to the remote trans-[[Indus River|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, [[James Abbott (Indian Army officer)|General Sir James Abbott]].<ref>In fact, after Abbott was posted away in April 1853 from [[Hazara, Pakistan|Hazara]] region, Edwardes became the second/next Deputy Commissioner of this district and was responsible for formally naming the region's newly founded town after his predecessor. See Harold Lee, ''Brothers in the Raj: The Lives of John and Henry Lawrence'', Karachi: Oxford UP, 2002, p.320, {{ISBN|0-19-579415-X}}; and [[Charles Allen (writer)|Charles Allen]], ''Soldier-Sahibs: The Men who made the North-West Frontier'', London: Abacus/Time Warner UK, 2002 ed, p.206, {{ISBN|0-349-11456-0}}</ref>

==Second Anglo-Sikh War==
{{See also|Second Anglo-Sikh War}}
[[File:HerbertEdwardesByCrowquill.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes by Alfred Crowquill, c.1850. Etching, National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG D36073)]]
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 initiative. He immediately raised a body of [[Pashtun people|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 Lieutenant Lake, and with troops sent by the Nawab of [[Bahawalpur (princely state)|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, whereupon, 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 [[Robert Clive|Clive]] no man had done as Edwardes".<ref name=DNB/> 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.<ref>Medal illustrated in Puddester, R.P. Medals of British India with Rarities and Valuations, vol.1</ref>

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, daughter 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.<ref>NPG 1391</ref> He published in 1851 an account in 2 volumes of his experiences during the war entitled ''A Year on the Punjab Frontier.''

==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 [[Earl of Dalhousie|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 Rebellion of 1857]] 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 Rebellion of 1857==
{{See also|Indian Rebellion of 1857}}
On the outbreak of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 at far away [[Meerut]] and [[Delhi]], Edwardes received the sanction of [[John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence|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".

==Interlude in England==
[[File:HerbertEdwardesByKilburn.jpg|thumb|300px|Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes by William Edward Kilburn. Carte-de-Visite, 1860s. National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG x45342)]]
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 [[Order of the Bath|KCB]], with the rank of brevet colonel; and the degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref>{{acad|id=EDWS860HB|name=Edwardes, Herbert Benjamin}}</ref> In 1860, he was invited to speak at the [[Wenlock Olympian Games]], when he praised their founder [[William Penny Brookes]] and the local Olympian Society's work but showed disagreement with the Greek influence of the name by publicly suggesting the games be called "'The Shropshire Class of British Work and Play', or anything else you will; but let it tell of English men and women."<ref>{{cite book|last=Beale|first=Catherine|title=Born out of Wenlock, William Penny Brookes and the British origins of the modern Olympics|year=2011|publisher=DB Publishing|pages=42–43|isbn=978-1-85983-967-6}}</ref>

==Commissioner of Ambala==
Early in 1862, aged 43, with improved health he again returned to the Punjab, and was appointed to the prestigious Commissionership of [[Ambala]] and as agent for the [[Cis-Sutlej states]]. After he had held the posts for 3 years, the health of both him and his wife deteriorated and on 1 January 1865, aged 46, he left India for the last time.

==Later life and death==
Following his final return to England he was made [[Order of the Star of India|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.

He had been engaged for some time on writing a biography of his old chief [[Henry Montgomery Lawrence|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 in London on 23 December 1868, aged 49, after a severe haemorrhage.

He was buried in ''the Meadow'' on the western side of [[Highgate Cemetery]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cansick |first1=Frederick Teague |title=The Monumental Inscriptions of Middlesex Vol 2 |date=1872 |publisher=J Russell Smith |page=115 |url=https://archive.org/details/acollectioncuri03cansgoog/page/n38/mode/2up |access-date=9 April 2021}}</ref> and is commemorated by a mural tablet in [[Westminster Abbey]] and a stained glass window in the chapel of King's College London.
[[File:Grave of Herbert Benjamin Edwardes in Highgate Cemetery.jpg|thumb|Grave of Herbert Benjamin Edwardes in [[Highgate Cemetery]]]]
He was survived by his wife, Emma (nee Sydney), whom he had married in 1850.

==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.<ref>He rather saw himself as a 'pioneer of Christian civilisation', Allen, p.11</ref> After the Indian Rebellion 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.<ref>Indeed, it is said that the 'triumphant outcome of the Rebellion' further convinced him of the righteousness of his cause and that 'the Giver of Empires is indeed God'; Allen, p.340</ref> Reputable biographers have gone so far as to call this attitude of his "a considerable lack of common sense",.<ref name=DNB>Moreman, T. R.,'' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''.</ref> He shared his strong evangelical Christian attitudes with his brother officer and close friend [[John Nicholson (East India Company officer)|Brigadier-General John Nicholson]].<ref>Allen, p.221</ref> During his final period in England, he served as vice-president of the [[Church Missionary Society]].

On 19 December 1853, a meeting was arranged under the Commissioner of Peshawar, Sir Herbert Edwardes, to discuss a Christian Mission to the city. The very first school in the province was established in 1853 by one of the first missionaries, Robert Clarke, under the patronage of Edwardes, today the High School, Kohati Gate Peshawar, Pakistan.

==Literary works==
* ''A Year on the Punjab Frontier'', 2 vols., 1851.
* ''Political Diaries of Lieut. H. B. Edwardes, Assistant to the Resident at Lahore 1847 – 1849'', Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore, Pakistan 2006 (Reprint version) {{ISBN|969-35-1770-9}}

==Commemorations==
* [[Edwardes College]], [[Peshawar]], [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|North West Frontier Province]] (NWFP), [[Pakistan]].
* Edwardesabad (now [[Bannu]]), NWFP, Pakistan.
*'''Edwardes High School''' kohati gate Peshawar Pakistan.(S.Qaisar Kazmi)

==Further reading==
* ''Memorials of the Life and Letters of Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes'', by his wife Emma Simpson (2 vols., London, 1886)
* T. H. E. Holmes, ''Four Soldiers'' (London, 1889)
* [[John Ruskin]], ''Bibl. pastorum, iv. A Knight's Faith'' (1885), passages from the life of Edwardes.

==References==
{{reflist}}
A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the baronetage of the British empire,burnard Burke,Harrison.P838
Edwardes-Iddon baronets of Shrewsbury,article and list.
Shropshire libraries and archive.

==Sources==
*{{ODNBweb|id=8528|last=Moreman|first=T. R.|title=Edwardes, Sir Herbert Benjamin}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle = Edwardes, Sir Herbert Benjamin|volume=8 }}
*{{cite DNB|wstitle = Edwardes, Herbert Benjamin|volume=17}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwardes, Herbert Benjamin}}
[[Category:1819 births]]
[[Category:1868 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of King's College London]]
[[Category:Fellows of King's College London]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Sikh War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:British East India Company Army officers]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Shropshire]]
[[Category:Burials at Highgate Cemetery]]

Herbert Benjamin Edwardes - Revision history

Bot at 08:25, 27 November 2022