Inde

SIGNED CLOSE by GEORGE ANSON British Army major-general and Whig politician appointed Commander-in-Chief in India in 1856 with an ENGRAVED PORTRAIT.

1856 · réf. 33583 — circa 1856- 57. 1856- 57. Very good. - Signature on a piece of vellum approximately 1-3/4 inches high by 5-1/2 inches wide clipped from the close of a document. Signed "George Anson" beside his printed title "General / Commander-in-Chief / East Indies". Together with an engraved portrait of Anson 3-3/4 inches high by 2-1/4 inches wide. There is a tiny area of soiling to the portrait's bottom edge. Very good. British army officer George Anson 1797-1857 was promoted to the rank of C in 1853. The following year he was appointed to the command of the Madras Army and in early 1856 became Commander-in-Chief in India. He caused resentment by his bias against the Indian Army and its sepoys. He was quoted as saying that he could never see a sepoy sentry "without turning away in disgust at his unsoldierlike appearance". Anson's appointment coincided with the tensions leading up to the Indian Mutiny of 1857. In May 1857 he sent troops to secure the arsenals in the Punjab. He intended to join the Meerut Brigade and to press on to retake Delhi but four days into the march he died of cholera at the age of 59. circa [1856- 57]. hardcover