ABSTRACT
At the time of writing The Field of Ferozeshah, R. W. Bingham was a sergeant in the 1st European Bengal Fusiliers; in 1848 he transferred to the 20th Bengal Native Infantry Regiment, and received his discharge in October 1855. The publication itself was a family affair: it was printed for Charles Edward Bingham; and a later book by another soldier, R. W. Bingham's General Gilbert's Raid to the Khyber: A Personal Narrative, uses quotations from 'The Field of Ferozeshah' as chapter headings. The title poem of the collection refers to the battle of Ferozeshah, during the first Anglo-Sikh war of 1845-1846. The two texts reprinted are 'Thoughts on a Tomb', another celebration of the British 'paternal rule' of India; and 'Juggernaut', anticipating the demise of the Hindu worship of Jagannath, and perhaps by extension of Hinduism more generally.
