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The 4th Bengal European Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British East India Company, created in 1858 and disbanded in 1867. [1]

The regiment was raised in Bengal by the East India Company in 1858, for service in the Indian Mutiny; the "European" in the name indicated that it was manned primarily by British soldiers and some other west Europeans, not Indian sepoys. The regiment was composed of officers drawn from Indian units which had mutinied and been disbanded.

As with all other "European" units of the Company, they were placed under the command of the Crown following the end of the Mutiny in 1858. When it was proposed that the "European" units be transferred into the British Army there was a period of considerable unrest, known as the "White mutiny". The mutiny successfully achieved concessions from the British Government, allowing men to opt for free discharges and passage home as an alternative to transferring into the British Army, and many men took advantage of the scheme.[2]

The regiment was reduced to cadre strength in 1861, and disbanded in 1867.

George Fosbery won his Victoria Cross with the regiment in 1863.

References

  1. ^ "4th Bengal European Regiment". regiments.org. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  2. ^ Anglesey, Lord. A History of the British Cavalry 1816-1919: Volume 2: 1851-1871. p. 235.