General Sir John Inglis

A carte-de-visite portrait of General Sir John Inglis (1814-1862).

Born John Eardley Wilmot Inglis in Nova Scotia on 15 November 1814, his father was the Right Reverend John Inglis, Bishop of Nova Scotia. He entered the army as an ensign of the 32nd Foot on 2 August 1833. He served in the Canadian rebellion of 1837 and in the Punjab campaign of 1848-1849, including the storming of Mooltan and the battle of Gujerat. By the time of his greatest hour, the Indian Mutiny of 1857, he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He succeeded Sir Henry Lawrence in Command of the garrison at Lucknow and was created K.C.B. on 21 January 1858 for his enduring fortitude and persevering gallantry in defence of the residency, for 87 days against an overwhelming force of the enemy. In January 1862 he was appointed commander of the forces in Corfu, but he died at Bad Homburg on 27 September 1862, while convalescing from illness resulting from the Siege of Lucknow. He was buried there but there is a memorial to him in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Photographed by Camille Silvy of London on 28 March 1861.