Lahore to Lucknow: Indian Mutiny Journals - Tapa dura

In September 1857, Arthur Lang, an inexperienced young Engineer officer, was given what turned out to be a key role at the turning point of the Indian Mutiny. He had to decide whether the breaches at the Kashmere bastion were wide enough to allow for the attack, and then had to lead the assault himself. To those who saw him then, "fighting like a paladin", through the recapture of Delhi, and later through the relief and final recapture of Lucknow, Lang seemed to bear a charmed life. He was the only Engineer officer to fight in all those major battles, and was three times recommended for the VC. As variously protegee, colleague and close friend, he fought alongside Campbell, Napier and Roberts - all of whom ended their careers as Commanders in Chief. The beau ideal of a fighting soldier, Lang seemed equally assured of fame and military fortune, but he received neither. At his own insistence he went back to building roads. He was awarded no VC, never published his own story. He only left behind him a reputation for kindness and contentment, and a journal of his life.