author
W. S. R. (William Stephen Raikes) Hodson
1821–1858
Remembered as "Hodson of Hodson’s Horse," he was a bold and deeply controversial British cavalry officer whose short life became bound up with the violence of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. His letters and later biographies helped fix his reputation as both a daring soldier and a troubling imperial figure.
1 Audiobook
Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India Being Extracts from the Letters of the Late Major W. S. R. Hodson, B. A.
by W. S. R. (William Stephen Raikes) Hodson
About the author
Born near Gloucester on 19 March 1821, William Stephen Raikes Hodson was educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge before going to India. He served in the Bengal Army and became best known for founding Hodson’s Horse, an irregular cavalry regiment that earned a fierce reputation during the uprising of 1857.
Hodson took part in major events of the rebellion, including operations around Delhi. He became especially notorious for the capture of the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II and for the killing of the emperor’s sons, actions that made his name famous but also left his legacy heavily disputed. Even in his own time, accounts of his conduct were mixed, with admiration for his energy and criticism of his severity and judgment.
He was killed near Lucknow in March 1858, just before his thirty-seventh birthday. Much of what later readers know of him comes from collections of his letters and memoir-style accounts published after his death, which helped preserve both the legend and the controversy surrounding him.