Greased cartridge for the 1853 Enfield, a major cause of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 or Indian Mutiny.

Greased cartridge for the 1853 Enfield, a major cause of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 or Indian Mutiny.

In 1853 Sepoys throughout India were issued with a new rifle, the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled musket. To load the new rifle, soldiers had to bite the cartridge open and pour the gunpowder it contained into the rifle's muzzle, then stuff the cartridge case, which was typically paper coated with some kind of grease to make it waterproof, into the musket as wadding, before loading it with a ball. It was believed that the cartridges that were standard issue with this rifle were greased with lard (pork fat) which was regarded as unclean by Muslims, or tallow (beef fat), regarded as sacred to Hindus.

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7966 x 2197 px | 50.1 MB

67.4 x 18.6 cm | 26.6 x 7.3 in (300 dpi)