The Camp

In 1777 Fatehgarh Camp came into existence on the arrival of the temporary brigade, mobilized by the East India Company, for the defence of the Oudh. It was camp in the sense that living arrangements were temporary, officers and men living with their families in huts instead of tents. The huts gradually changed into houses of wretched description, and despite the arrival of planters and traders the name camp rightly described the station and it was not until 1790 that it became permanent. Camp however it continued to be called up to the Mutiny. In 1781 houses in Fatehgarh camp were being erected. The station, by then had begun to assume its present shape. Bungalows were strung in a line along the bank of the Ganges, and infantry lines formed along the edge of the parade ground.

The artillery was on the Fort road. The city was connected by the roads from Ghatia Ghat. There were few trees, and the country between the city and the camp was an arid plain, over which scoured bands of mounted robbers called Mewatties. In those early days there were few ladies, and the officers were content to live in the worst kind of huts. A tourist in 1783 named Hodges gives the plan of these residences as a large room in the center for eating and sitting and rooms at each corner for sleeping, the space between bedrooms being used as verandahs. Only mud was used for the walls.

Road Communication

The general appearance of Fatehgarh was that of any large present day village. Before 1836 there were no metalled roads. The station was traversed by lanes, just wide enough to allow two wheeled carriages to pass. The pre-mutiny boundaries of the cantonment did not include the park, where now the Officers Mess of The Rajput Regimental Centre is located. The Quarter Guard, War Memorial and half of Colonelganj were just inside the cantonment.

The Estate of Maharaja Dhuleep Singh

The estate of Maharaja Dhuleep Singh occupied an extent of 150 acres from Hospital Ghat (Rani Ghat) up to and including Bungalow No 4 and 5. The present Officers Mess of the Rajput Regimental Centre is shown as Bungalow No 5 in the Sketch. This whole area was full of houses up to 1850. The northern end of this area, overlooking Rani Ghat, was the enclosure of the Station Hospital. The foundations of the buildings can be made out. Rani Ghat or Hospital Ghat is approached by a track (GULLY) which was converted into a private road for Maharaja Duleep Singh's sister –in-low. It is said by tradition to have been a covered way, so that she could go to bathe in the Ganges without being seen.

Fatehgarh Park

The estate of Maharaja Dhuleep Singh was named as Fatehgarh Park. Dr Login, a britisher, bought all the bungalows within this area, and breaking down the compound walls removed the out houses, and converted all these small properties into one. In one of these houses Maharaja Dhuleep Singh lived himself. Ranee Duknu, the Maharaja's sister-in-law with her family resided in the present Rajput House, residence of The Commandant, Rajput Regimental Centre. Maharaja Duleep Singh remained here for four years until his departure to England in February 1854. On 25 December 1857, Lord Dalhousie the Governor General inspected the grounds and arrangements in the Cantonment.

Baptism of Maharaja Duleep Singh

The Maharaja had already expressed his intentions of becoming a Christian in early 1850's. On 08March 1853 he was baptized by the Chaplain in his residence in the Estate.

Bungalow No 5

As mentioned above the Officers mess of the Rajput Regimental Centre was on the site of No 5 bungalow and after the Mutiny of 1857, the Officer Commanding lived it it. Its compound was amalgamated and brought together by Duleep Singh in 1850. A road divided No 5 from No 4 bungalows, and started exactly where the officers mess gates now stand. This road ran across a bridge, the ruins of which can still be seen. Dr Login, the britisher is also recorded to have resided in the present Officer mess of the Rajput Regimental Centre.

The Old Church and Theatre

A picturesque landmark is the spine of the old church, which overlooks the parade ground. The church is presently called the 'All Souls Church'. This end of the station was outside cantonments, and the business center of Fatehgarh. The church was at length built in 1819 - 20 at a cost of Rs. 20, 700/- which was raised partly by Government grant and partly by private subscriptions. At the site of the church is an old defunct and filled up well were several british men, women and children who were murdered were dumped in the deadly mutiny of 1857. The long list of names in the epitaph built over the church bears testimony to the bloody event. In 1863, what was left of the Church was turned into a School. The present St Anthony's School is a successor of this school and is situated in the church compound. In 1870, the new civil Hospital was established in the compound by the efforts of Dr Reid the civil surgeon. Within a stone's throw of the old Church was the Theatre where stood the old Quarter Guard of the Rajput Regimental Centre. Amateur theatricals were one of the most popular amusements of old military stations. The Marquis Of Hastings makes several mentions of the theatre in his diary. His camp was pitched close to it.

The Nawab's Residence

The present Military Hospital, Fatehgarh was the palace of Nawab Hakim Mehdi Ali Khan. He was several times Vazir (Prime Minister) of Oudh. He raised himself from the condition of a soldier of fortune to the high post, and made himself a millionaire. The center room with its mass columns was used by Nawab Hakim Mehdi Ali Khan as his 'Tazia Khana' where he kept the tazias or models of the tomb of king Husain, for displaying at religious festivals. The Palace was self sufficient with all requirements for a Nawab including a bathing pool. The palace was converted to a military hospital on reoccupation of Fatehgarh by the British. The present MES godown was built by him in 1824 which also includes the suspension bridge at Khudaganj.

The Sarai

The square enclosure of the Military Works Engineer, of the british days, with angle turrets and a small mosque inside was a 'Sarai' (Transit Camp) constructed in 1824 for travellers by Nawab Hakim Mehdi Ali Khan. When Fatehgarh was retaken by the British, under Sir Colin Campbell, the Sarai was occupied as an Officer's Mess; and on 26 April 1858 Sir William Russell notes in his diary that he had breakfast just by the mosque in the centre. The Bhatiyaras or innkeepers were ejected after wards, and Government made the building into a storehouse. The Sarai is presently the location of the Garrison Engineer, Military Engineer Services, Fatehgarh. The watch towers and old mosque are largely well preserved even now.