the East India Company. The Gwalior Contingent had mutinied against their British officers in June and July. They had since remained undecided as to their next course of action until Tantya Tope took charge of them, and led them to Kalpi on 9 November, where they crossed the Jumna River and moved east on Cawnpore. Tantya Tope recaptures Cawnpore By 19 November, Tantya Tope's advance guard of 6,000 dominated all the routes west and north-west of Cawnpore. Although Windham was aware that Campbell had gained success at Lucknow, he nevertheless decided not to wait for Campbell's force to return from Lucknow, but to attack Tantya Tope before he could threaten the entrenchment. On 26 November, Windham's force drove back Tantya Tope's advance guard. However, the rebels' main body was close at hand. Windham tried to make an orderly withdrawal but some of his troops (a battalion made up of a mixed bag of detachments of several regiments) misbehaved, retreating without orders and looting drink and supplies when they reached the entrenchment. Meanwhile, Campbell was withdrawing from Lucknow with 3,000 troops and a convoy containing 2,000 sick, wounded and non-combatants who had been evacuated from Lucknow. Hearing that Cawnpore was in danger, he left his infantry to protect the convoy and moved ahead with his cavalry and horse artillery. To his relief, when he arrived on the north bank of the Ganges late on 27 November, the bridge was still intact. Windham held the entrenchment, but the Tantya Tope's army had occupied the city of Cawnpore and the ground between the city and the Ganges. Evacuation of civilians Campbell crossed the bridge the next day. He deployed his artillery on the north bank of the river to fire on the rebels threatening the bridge, and then slowly filed the carts and other vehicles of the convoy across the bridge. The process took three days to complete. Although several officers urged Campbell to attack as soon as the north bank was evacuated, Campbell delayed for another five days while all the non-combatants were ferried down-river to safety. Campbell was later to be known for his caution and deliberation, becoming irreverently known as "Sir Crawling Camel". Tantya Tope defeated The rebels had continued to make some attacks on the British positions. An attack on 5 December was beaten off. Campbell was now ready to make his own attack, having received 5,600 reinforcements with