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William Stephen Raikes Hodson

William Stephen Raikes Hodson (19 March 1821 – 11 March 1858) was a British leader of irregular light cavalry during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, commonly
William Stephen Raikes
referred to as the Indian Mutiny or the Sepoy Mutiny. He was known as "Hodson of Hodson's Horse".
Hodson
His most celebrated action was to apprehend Bahadur Shah II, the king of Delhi (also referred to as emperor of India). The following day he rode to the enemy camp,
heavily outnumbered by the rebels, and demanded the surrender of the Mughal princes who were leading the rebellion around Delhi and subsequently shot his
prisoners.[1]

Hodson's career received praise from a number of senior military commanders, such as General Hugh Gough,[2] but there were dissenting voices from other members of
the military. There were also politicians who felt the killing of Mughal princes by Hodson had been 'dishonourable'.[3] However, Hodson's career received praise from more
senior politicians including the prime minister and the secretary of state for India.[4]

Hodson is credited with being jointly responsible for the introduction of the khaki uniform.

Contents William Hodson, engraving printed

Early life as frontispiece to his biography
Indian rebellion Rider on a Grey Horse, by B. J.
Cork (1958)
Accusations of corruption
Financial matters Born 19 March 1821
Maisemore Court,
Death
near Gloucester,
Legacy
England
See also
Died 11 March 1858
Notes
(aged 36)
Further reading
Lucknow, Oudh,
External links
British India
Allegiance United

Early life Kingdom

Service/ Bengal Army
William Hodson was born on 19 March 1821 at Maisemore Court, near Gloucester, third son of the Rev. George Hodson, later Archdeacon of Stafford. His older brother
branch
was Rev. Dr James Stephen Hodson who served as Rector of Edinburgh Academy.[5]
Rank Brevet Major
He was educated at Rugby School under Thomas Arnold and at Trinity College, Cambridge.[6] He accepted a cadetship in the Indian Army at the age of twenty-three, and Commands Corps of Guides
after joining the 2nd Bengal Grenadiers he went through the First Anglo-Sikh War in which he was wounded. He was soon after transferred to the 1st European Bengal held Hodson's Horse
Fusiliers.
Battles/wars First Anglo-Sikh
A contemporary described him as "a tall man with yellow hair, a pale, smooth face, heavy moustache, and large, restless, rather unforgiving eyes… a perfect swordsman, War
nerves like iron, and a quick, intelligent eye". Hodson delighted in fighting and his favourite weapon was the hog spear. He was a brilliant horseman with the capacity to
Indian Mutiny
sleep in the saddle. He was described as 'the finest swordsman in the army'.[7]

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The initial assistance he gave in organising the newly formed Corps of Guides in December 1846 had been one of Sir Henry Lawrence's projects in which Hodson excelled. The Guides Corps had Lt Harry Burnett
Lumsden as its commandant and Lt Hodson as adjutant. One of his duties was equipping the new regiment, including choosing the regiment's uniform. With Lumsden's approval, Hodson decided upon a lightweight
uniform of Khaki colour - or 'drab' as it was then referred to. This would be comfortable to wear and 'make them invisible in a land of dust'. Accordingly, in May 1848 he liaised with his brother Rev. George H.
Hodson, in England, to send 'drab' cloth for 900 men as well as 300 carbines.[8] As a result, Hodson and Lumsden had the joint distinction of being the first officers to clothe a regiment in Khaki, which many view as
the precursor of modern camouflage uniform.

Later on, he was transferred to the Civil Department as Assistant Commissioner in 1849 and stationed at Amritsar. From there he travelled in Kashmir and Tibet. In 1852 he was appointed commandant of the Corps
of Guides.

On 5 January 1852,[9] he married Susan Annette (died 27 November 1884), daughter of Capt C. Henry, RN and widow of John Mitford of Exbury, at Calcutta Cathedral, whom he had known prior to her first
marriage. A daughter, Olivia, was born in 1853 but died in July 1854.[10][11]

While it was unusual at that time for a British soldier in India to be a Cambridge graduate, William further differed from the norm by enjoying classical literature for relaxation. He was also a keen linguist, and had
an interest in learning the main languages of his host country at that time. On his arrival in India he started first learning Hindustani and later Persian, with the help and encouragement from his mentor, Sir Henry
Lawrence.[12] This apparently was of intellectual and cultural interest to him, particularly as his army quarters offered him little in the way of culture or reading matter, save for the "usual copy of the Bible and works
of Shakespeare". He even asked for “a formidable collection of classics" from his brother, although he probably did not see anything unusual in spending three hours a day studying Persian. He even "found it
relaxing to read untranslated Xenophon”.[13]

Indian rebellion
At the outset of the Indian Mutiny, Hodson made his name by riding with dispatches from General Anson from Karnal to Meerut and back again (a distance of 152 miles in
seventy-two hours) through areas full of hostile cavalry. Following this feat, the commander-in-chief empowered him to raise and command a new regiment of 2,000
irregular cavalrymen, which became known as "Hodson's Horse", and placed him at the head of the Intelligence Department.

In his double role of cavalry leader and intelligence officer, Hodson played a large part in the reduction of Delhi. His major achievement at this time was the capture[14] of
the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II. His major discredit was the execution of three Mughal princes: Bahadur's sons Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizr Sultan, and his
grandson Mirza Abu Bakr.[15]

The British knew that the old king of Delhi (also referred to as emperor of India) was proving to be a focus for the uprising and the mutineers. The king, his sons, and their
army were camped just outside Delhi at Humayun's Tomb. The General in command said he could not spare a single European. Hodson volunteered to go with 50 of his
irregular horsemen. This request was turned down but after some persuasion Hodson obtained from Colonel (later General) Archdale Wilson permission to ride out to
where the enemy was encamped. Hodson rode six miles through enemy territory into their camp, containing some 6,000 or more armed mutineers, who are said to have
laid down their arms when he ordered them to.[16] Some have seen this surrender as symbolic of the decline of the Turks and Mughals in India, [17] which had started after
Aurangzeb. However, the mutineers (or rebels) at Delhi were simply demoralised after their hard-fought defeat and severe privations.[18]

Hodson accepted the surrender of Bahadur Shah II, the last of the Moghul emperors of India, promising him that his life would be spared. [19] The capture of the emperor
in the face of a threatening crowd dealt the mutineers a heavy blow. As a sign of surrender the emperor handed over his arms, which included two magnificent swords, one
with the name ‘Nadir Shah’ and the other with the seal of Jahangir engraved upon it, which Hodson intended to present to Queen Victoria.[20] The talwar and scabbard of
Jahangir he received from the emperor were presented by Hodson's widow to the queen and is still in the Royal Collection.[21] "Hodson and his boar spear" from
Heroes of the Indian Mutiny; stories
The sons of the king had refused to surrender, demanding guarantees of safety.[22] On the following day, with a few horsemen, Hodson went back and demanded the of heroic deeds (1914)
princes' unconditional surrender. Again a crowd of thousands of mutineers gathered, and Hodson ordered them to disarm, which they did. He sent the princes on with an
escort of ten men, while with the remaining ninety he collected the arms of the crowd.[23] The princes were mounted on a bullock-cart and driven towards the city of Delhi.
As they approached the city gate, a crowd of people again started to gather around them, and Hodson ordered the three princes to get off the cart and to strip off their top garments. He then took a carbine from one
of his troopers and shot them dead before stripping them of their signet rings, turquoise arm bands and bejewelled swords. Their bodies were ordered to be displayed in front of a kotwali, or police station, and left
there to be seen by all.[24] The gate near where they were killed is still called the Khooni Darwaza, or 'Bloody Gate'.

The actions were controversial even at the time.[25] The future Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, then a junior officer serving in the Delhi campaign, would later call it a "blot" and criticised "an otherwise brilliant

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officer" for exposing himself to criticism.[26] Other first hand accounts, such as William W. Ireland,
also questioned the exigency of his actions. Hodson's service record showed that he had often
behaved in arbitrary fashion before, and he had previously been removed from civil duties by the
then Governor General of India, Lord Dalhousie.

Bahadur Shah II was put on trial. However, as Hodson had previously guaranteed his life, he was
exiled to Rangoon, Burma, where he died in November 1862 at the age of 87.[27][28]

Accusations of corruption
In 1855, two separate main charges were brought against Hodson. The first was that he had
arbitrarily imprisoned a Yusufzai Pathan chief named Kader Khan, as well as his young son, on
"British & Native Officers of Hodson's Horse" suspicion of being involved in the murder of Colonel Mackeson.[29] The man was acquitted, and Lord
(1858) by Felice Beato Dalhousie removed Hodson from his civil functions and remanded him to his regiment because of "Capture of the king of Delhi by Captain Hodson"
his lack of judgment and gross negligence.[30] from The Indian Empire (1857) by Robert
Montgomery Martin
The second charge was an accusation of misappropriation of the funds of his regiment. He was tried by a court of inquiry, who found that his conduct to
natives had been unjustifiable and oppressive, that he had used abusive language to his native officers and personal violence to his men, and that his system
of accounts was calculated to screen peculation and fraud. However, a subsequent inquiry was carried out by Major Reynell Taylor: 'Taylor's investigation
took two months, during which time he went through every item received or paid out by Hodson over the two years of his command'. [31] By the end of his
investigation into the record of Hodson's accounts Taylor found 'it to be an honest and correct record from beginning to end - It has been irregularly kept, but
every transaction, from the least to the greatest, has been noted in it, and is traceable to the individual concerned'.[32][33]

During a tour through Kashmir with Sir Henry Lawrence he kept the purse and Sir Henry could never obtain an account from him; subsequently, Sir Henry's
younger brother Sir George Lawrence accused him of embezzling the funds of the Lawrence Asylum at Kasauli; while Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain in a
published letter says of the third brother, John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, "I am bound to say that Lord Lawrence had no opinion of Hodson's integrity
in money matters. He has often discussed Hodson's character in talking to me, and it was to him a regret that a man possessing so many fine gifts should
have been wanting in a moral quality which made him untrustworthy." Finally, on one occasion Hodson spent £500 of the pay due to Lieutenant Godby, and
under threat of exposure was obliged to borrow the money from a local banker named Bisharat Ali through one of his officers.
Hodson's grave in La Martiniere College in
Financial matters Lucknow

Throughout his career Hodson was dogged by accusations of financial impropriety. He was investigated on more than one occasion but nothing was ever
proved. His detractors claim he was a looter; his supporters say that these accusations came from those who disliked his manner and his military success. The Rev. G. H. Hodson states in his book that he obtained
the inventory of his brother's possessions made by the Committee of Adjustment and it contained no articles of loot, and Sir Charles Gough, president of the committee, confirmed this evidence. This statement is
totally incompatible with Sir Henry Daly's. Sir Henry Norman stated that to his personal knowledge Hodson remitted several thousand pounds to Calcutta which could only have been obtained by looting. On the
other hand, again, Hodson died a poor man, his effects, which included a ring, watch, Bible and Prayer book, and a miniature, were sold for only £170. General remarked "there was nothing in his boxes but what an
officer might legitimately and honourably have in his possession." His widow did not have money enough to pay for her passage home and she had to apply to the Compassionate Fund for assistance, which was
granted. She was offered the use of an apartment by Queen Victoria at Hampton Court Palace,[34] and left only £442 at her death.[35]

Death
On 11 March 1858 Hodson's regiment was in Lucknow and while storming the Begum's palace (Begum Kothi) he was shot. His last words were "I hope I have done my duty".[36]

On the evening of 12 March 1858, his body was buried in the garden of La Martiniere Lucknow. His grave is still located within the grounds of La Martiniere College. The memorial bears the inscription "Here lies all
that could die of William Stephen Raikes Hodson".

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Legacy
In parliamentary speeches made on 14 April 1859 the Prime Minister Earl of Derby, and the Secretary of State for India Lord Stanley, paid tribute to Hodson. Lord Stanley is quoted as saying:

"Major Hodson, of the Guides, who, in his short but brilliant military career, displayed every quality which a cavalry officer should possess. Nothing is more remarkable in glancing over the biography
of Major Hodson that has just appeared than the variety of services in which he was engaged, unless it be the energy and versatility with which he turned from one to the other. At one time displaying
his personal courage and skill as a swordsman in conflict with the Sikh fanatics; then transferred to the Civil Service, the duties of which he performed as though he had passed his whole life at the
desk; afterwards recruiting and commanding the corps of Guides, and, lastly, taking part in the operations before Delhi, volunteering for every enterprise in which life could be hazarded or glory could
be won; he crowded into the brief space of twelve eventful years the services and adventures of a long life. He died before the reward which he had earned could be received, but he attained that reward
which doubtless he most coveted — the consciousness of duty nobly done, and the assurance of enduring military renown."

[4] The prime minister said of him

"Doubtless many have fallen who, if they had been spared, might have risen to greatest eminence and have held the highest stations in public service. I allude to Hodson a model of chiefs of irregular
forces. By his valour, his rigid discipline, and careful attention to his men's real wants, comforts, desires, and even prejudices, he had obtained an influence which was all but marvellous. This enabled
him to lead his troops so formed and disciplined into any danger and into any conflict as if they had been British soldiers. He has met a soldier's death. It will be long before the people lose the memory
of Hodson".[4]

General Hugh Gough said of him,

"A finer or more gallant soldier never breathed. He had the true instincts of a leader of men; as a cavalry soldier he was perfection; a strong seat, a perfect swordsman, quick and intelligent".[2]

This recognition of Hodson by the prime minister was reflected in the special pension granted his widow by the secretary of state for India in Council, who declared it was 'testimony of the high sense entertained of
the gallant and distinguished services of the late Brevet-Major W.S.R. Hodson'. In 1860 Queen Victoria honoured him by granting his widow a grace-and-favour apartment at Hampton Court Palace "in
consideration of the distinguished service of your late husband in India".[34]

A large monument to Major Hodson was erected in Lichfield Cathedral, near his father's memorial. It was carved by Thomas Earp to the designs of George Edmund Street.[37]

He features as one of the main characters in James Leasor's novel about the Mutiny, Follow the Drum (1972), which describes his part in these events and his death in some detail.

See also
Chhibramau for Hodson's Adventure

Notes
1. LJ Trotter, A Leader of Light Horse, pages 200-202 6. "Hodson, William Stephen Raikes (HT840WS)" (http://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search-
2. Old Memories 1897 memoirs published by H. Gough 2016.pl?sur=&suro=w&fir=&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&z=all&tex=HT840WS&sye=&eye=&col=all&
maxcount=50). A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
3. From a speech delivered by Thomas Perronet Thompson, MP for Bradford, in the House of
Commons, February 1858. Cited in Michael Edwardes, Red Year: The Indian Rebellion of 1857, 7. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hodson, William Stephen Raikes". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13
London: Cardinal Books, 1975, p.165 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 558–559.
4. Hansard; 14 April 1859 (http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1859/apr/14/thanks-to-the- 8. pages 50-51 from Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India, published 1859 - first edition of the
government-and-army-in#S3V0153P0-02194) biography on Hodson by his brother George
5. http://www.anatpro.com/index_files/James_Stephen_Hodson.htm 9. Lionel James Trotter A Leader of Light Horse (W. Blackwood and sons 1901) p. 129

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10. Twelve years of a soldier's life in India: being extracts from the letters of the late Major W. S. R. 25. And remained so for quite some time later too. Much can be said on both sides, for the situation
Hodson (http://www.ibiblio.org/britishraj/Hodson/pt01ch07.html) ed. by his brother, the Rev. George during the Mutiny/Rebellion remained very volatile and considerable violence was done on both
H. Hodson; p119 sides. In the matter of the princes' execution, it is quite certain that Hodson was earlier negotiating
11. At Murree, and is buried there in the Christian cemetery. See Charles Allen, (2000) Soldier Sahibs, with an agent of the Queen of Delhi, Zeenat Mahal, for the surrender of the Mughal king/emperor, as
pp. 230 and 235 well as herself and her young son Jawan Bakht, and a few other members of the Royal Family.
However, the executed princes were not mentioned or included in this 'deal' and a lot of speculation
12. Trotter, Hodson of Hodson’s Horse
is also attached to Zeenat Mahal's own possible ulterior motives, although this in no way exonerates
13. pp.40 B. Joynson Cork, Rider on a Grey Horse
Hodson. See Edwardes, p. 58, and T. G. Metcalfe, Two Narratives of the Mutiny in Delhi, London,
14. Or, more probably, the astute negotiation of the surrender of Bahadur Shah, his favourite wife Zeenat 1898, which mentions some of the court intrigues in Delhi, briefly, too.
Mahal, her young son Jawan Bakht, and a few other members of the Royal Family. See Edwardes, 26. See also his Letters Written During the Indian Mutiny, London, 1924.
Red Year, p. 58.
27. Bhatia, H. S. Justice System and Mutinies in British India. p. 204.
15. For a detailed study of this issue, which became very controversial in 19th century England and
28. Charges against Mahomed Bahadoor Shah, ex-King of Delhi reprinted in Perth Inquirer &
India, see Appendix N of T. R. Holmes's History of the Indian Mutiny, London, 1898, pp. 591–617.
Commercial News, 7 April 1858.
16. Edwardes, pp. 58–59.
29. See Charles Allen (2000), Soldier-Sahibs, p.237, for these and various other, minor charges brought
17. Including Holmes (1898), Kaye (1880), and others. against Hodson
18. Edwardes, pp. 60–61. 30. Allen, pp.236-237
19. Hansard; 11 December 1857 (http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1857/dec/11/the-ex-
31. page 85, Barry Joynson Cork, Rider on a Grey Horse: Life of Hodson of Hodson's Horse.
king-of-delhi-question#S3V0148P0-01950)
32. page 126, LJ Trotter, 'Hodson of Hodson's Horse'
20. Illustrated London News; 20 March 1858 (http://www.harappa.com/engr/mughal.html)
33. The life of Hodson of Hodson's horse (https://archive.org/details/lifeofhodsonofho00trotiala)
21. "Talwar and scabbard" (https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/67062/talwar-and-scabbard).
34. Grace & Favour; A handbook of who lived where in Hampton Court Palace, 1750 to 1950 Sarah E
Royalcollection.org.uk/. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
Parker, p39
22. Which Hodson refused, see Edwardes, p. 59.
35. Probate notice for 1884
23. Edwardes, p. 59.
36. The Spectator (Literary Supplement), Nov. 2, 1911 - article: 'Hodson of Hodson's Horse, pp.631-632.
24. It was later confirmed that Hodson wrongly believed that some Englishmen had been killed at this
37. Noszlopy, George Thomas; Fiona Waterhouse. Public Sculpture of Staffordshire and the Black
place. Edwardes, p. 59.
Country. p. 230. |access-date= requires |url= (help)

Further reading
Twelve years of a soldier's life in India: being extracts from the letters of the late Major W. S. R. Hodson ed. by his brother, the Rev. George H. Hodson
Lionel James Trotter A Leader of Light Horse: Life of Hodson of Hodson's Horse (W. Blackwood and sons 1901)
James Leasor The Red Fort, (Werner Laurie 1956, James Leasor Ltd 2011)
Barry Joynson Cork, Rider on a Grey Horse, A life of Hodson of Hodson's Horse, (Cassells 1958)
James Leasor Follow the Drum (Heinemann 1972, James Leasor Ltd 2011)
Charles Allen Soldier Sahibs, the Men who made the North-West Frontier, (John Murray 2000)
Saul David, The Indian Mutiny, (Vicking 2002)
Julian Spilsbury, Indian Mutiny, (Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2007).
Perth Inquirer & Commercial News, 7 April 1858

External links
Hodson of Hodson's Horse (http://www.oocities.org/hodson_of_hodsons_horse/hodsonofhodsonshorse.htm)
Works by W. S. R. Hodson (https://www.gutenberg.org/author/Hodson,+W.+S.+R.) at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about William Stephen Raikes Hodson (https://archive.org/search.php?query=
%28%22William+Stephen+Raikes+Hodson%22+OR+%22Hodson%2C+William+Stephen+Raikes%22+OR+%22W.+S.+R.+Hodson%22+OR+%22Hodson%2C+W.+S.+R.%22%29) at Internet Archive

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