John Campbell Erskine MacNabb was the first European officer to be killed when the mutiny broke out at Meerut on 10 May 1857. Cammy, as he was called by his family, was born on 5 June 1838 and had not reached his 19th birthday when he was hacked to death by a mob.
He was from a Highland family that had served the East India Company since the late 18th century. His father was a civil servant who had been private secretary to the Governor-General, Lord Hastings, and his two elder brothers did good work in the Punjab during the Mutiny. Mcnabb’s nephew, Archibald Corrie Macnab became the 22nd Chief of the Clan Macnab. After training at Addiscombe, John joined the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry stationed at Meerut. He shared a bungalow with Lt Alfred Mackenzie who described him as being very tall. He made a good impression on fellow officer Hugh Gough who wrote about him in his ‘Old Memories’.
‘In the early morning I drove to church with young Macnabb of my regiment, a very fine young fellow who had lately joined us, full of bright youth and vigour. How well I remember that Sunday morning — even to noticing Macnabb’s frock-coat! We were in undress summer uniform, frock-coats and white overalls, the former made of very light material. Macnabb’s was of alpaca, but with the wrong lace. I drew his attention to this, telling him he must be sure to correct it or the colonel would find fault. The very noticing of this helped me afterwards to identify him. ..When we separated, Macnabb left me to spend the day with some friends in the Bengal Artillery. It was the last time I ever saw him alive.’
While he was with his Artillery officer friends Macnabb heard the outbreak of trouble and borrowed a horse to go and help quell the disturbance. He was met by a mob who dragged him from his horse and hacked at his face with their tulwars. His body was later discovered in a ditch by Hugh Gough and could not be recognised except by the incorrect lace and braid on his frockcoat.
In the early hours of that Sunday, Macnabb wrote a letter to his mother in which he gave his interpretation of the events that led to the Mutiny of his regiment. He was sure that the CO Lt-Col Carmichael-Smyth had made fatal errors in his handling of the cartridge incident days earlier. The letter was never sent. It remained unseen for 38 years until it was found in his writing case by his brother in February 1895.
The photo shows John Macnabb in the undress summer uniform of the 3rd BLC. It consists of French grey jacket and trousers, with silver lace and orange-red collar and cuffs. His sword is slung from a black leather waist-belt fastened with a silver snake clasp. He has a white leather undress pouch-belt and holds a blue forage cap which has a silver button on top and red braid above the silver cap band forming three divergent lines. This pattern of braid is repeated on each side of the cap. He has a broad white stripe down the sides of his grey trousers. He would have been wearing this uniform when he was killed.
