May 10, 1857 · North India Theater
May 10, 1857
On May 10, 1857, Indian sepoys of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry and two infantry regiments at Meerut killed their British officers, freed 85 imprisoned troopers, and marched through the night to Delhi to restore the Mughal Emperor. The immediate trigger was the greased Enfield cartridges whose loading required biting paper sealed with beef-and-pork fat — ritually polluting to both Hindu and Muslim soldiers.
Commanders