ATKINSON, Captain George Francklin

A dramatic military scene depicting the 1st Bengal Fusiliers descending the steep road from Dugshai (Dagshai) in the Himalayan foothills during the opening stages of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. British troops, camp followers, pack animals and mounted officers negotiate the precipitous mountain pass en route to reinforce the Delhi Field Force. Atkinson, himself a captain in the Bengal Engineers, based the composition on sketches executed on campaign, making it an important contemporary visual record of the mobilisation of British forces during the Mutiny.