'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎431] (450/622)

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
431
denuded of European troops, in response to the demand for
reinforcements up country, a chronic state of panic prevailed
d U rii)a' the month of June, which would have been greatly
intensified but for the sense of security afforded by the sight of
the ships of the Indian Navy lying in the river, and, even
more, by the presence of the greater part of their crews on
duty on shore.
Early in May, 1857, the European portion ot the garrison at
Fort William, consisted of only a weak wing of H.M.'s 53rd
Regiment, but, on the 15th of that month, when rumonrs were
rifbat Calcutta of the outbreak at Meerut and Delhi, the
Governor-General issued instructions for the remaining wing
of the regiment to march in from Dumdum. All through that
month and the early part of June, there was an uneasy feeling
among the European inhabitants of Calcutta, which was some
what "allayed when Lord Canning, after having refused their
services in May, consented to their enrolment as a Volunteer
Corps; great confidence was also reposed in the presence of
the sailors, parties of whom were landed from the ships in the
river and mounted guard over the public buildings. At length
the trepidation and alarm—which was chiefly rife among the
Eurasian class of the community, the English and their families
participating in it to a lesser degree—culminated on the 14th
of June, a day well known as " Panic Sunday."*
Mr. (now Sir John Peter) Grant,t one of the ablest of Lord
Canning's councillors, described the situation at Calcutta, on
* The late Sir Jolm Kaye graphically describes the scene presented by Calcutta
on Panic Sunday, in the third volume of his " Sepoy Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank. War." He says " On the
14th of June, there was a great excitement in Calcutta. It was reported that
the Sepoys Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank. at Barrackpore had risen in the night; and soon the rumour ran that
they were in full march upon Calcutta. There also went abroad the story, and
ready credence grasped it, that the Oude people at Grarden Keach were to rise at
the same time, and to join in the threatened massacre of the Christian people.
So the hearts of many failed them through fear, and some, terror-stricken and
bewildered, left their homes, seeking refuge wheresoever safety could be found.
From an' early hour in the morning a great shudder ran through the capital, and
soon the confused activity of panic flight was apparent. The streets, in some
parts of the city, were alive with vehicles. Conspicuous among them were those
great long boxes on wheels, known as ' palanquin carriages.' Within might be
seen the scared faces of Eurasians and Portuguese, men, women, and children ;
and without, piled up on the roofs, great bundles of bedding and wearing apparel,
snatched up and thrown together in the agonised hurry of departure. Rare
among these were carriages of a better class, in which the pale cheeks of the
inmates told their pure European descent. Along the Mall on the water-side, or
across the broad plain between the city and the fort, the great stream is said to
have poured itself. The places of refuge which offered the best security were the
fort and the river. Behind the ramparts of the one, or in the vessels moored on
the other, a safe asylum might be found. So these fugitives are described as
rushing to the gates of the fort, or disgorging themselves at the different ghauts,
calling excitedly for rowing-boats to carry them to the side of ship or steamer.
There was a prevailing feeling that the enemy were on their track, and that swiit
destruction would overtake them if they did not find shelter within the earthworks
of Fort William or the wooden walls of the shipping on the Hooghly.
t Afterwards Lieutenant-Grovernor of Bengal and Grovernor ol Jamaica.