ABSTRACT
The first sixty years of the 19th century ended with two major military commitments for which the Army was poorly prepared: the Crimean War and the insurrection in India known as the Indian Mutiny. The number of Army officers awarded the newly instituted Victoria Cross (VC) for bravery in the field in the Crimea and in the Indian Mutiny is a measure of the gallantry and leadership displayed in regiments. The reoccupation of Delhi, involving four brigades, each with a British battalion, and two British cavalry regiments, was a major operation. The exceptional poor performance of one unit, the 63rd Foot, appears to have been due to the fact that a number of its officers, including the commanding officer, were newly arrived in the Regiment, inconsistent in their discipline and not always attentive to detail in their duties. In addition, a number of the unit's Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) had been killed.
