author

William Forbes-Mitchell

A Scottish soldier turned memoirist, he wrote a vivid first-hand account of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 that brings military history close to the reader. His best-known book stands out for its direct voice and sense of lived experience.

1 Audiobook

Reminiscences of the Great Mutiny 1857-59 Including the relief, siege, and capture of Lucknow, and the campaigns in Rohilcund and Oude

Reminiscences of the Great Mutiny 1857-59 Including the relief, siege, and capture of Lucknow, and the campaigns in Rohilcund and Oude

by William Forbes-Mitchell

About the author

Born in Aberdeenshire in 1836, William Forbes-Mitchell served with the 93rd Highlanders in both the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. Later in life he became known as the author of Reminiscences of the Great Mutiny, 1857–1859, a personal narrative drawn from those experiences.

The book was published in the 1890s and is valued as a soldier's-eye view of the campaigns around Lucknow and northern India. Its appeal comes from the plain, immediate way it records events he had seen for himself rather than from any polished literary pose.

After the Mutiny, Forbes-Mitchell settled in Calcutta, where he started a rope factory. He died there in 1905, leaving behind a memoir that remains a useful and engaging primary account of a major 19th-century conflict.