November

1785-1877

Colonel of the Sikh Artillery

This colourful character was born on the shores of Lake Superior in the Duluth/Superior area of what is now the state of Wisconsin to an Irish/Spanish mother and a Scottish surgeon. In 1817, his adventures drifted him to Afghanistan where he took up service under Amir Habibullah Khan, the nephew of Dost Mohammad Khan. The following year he was summoned to Lahore where he became an artillery officer in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army with the rank of colonel. Gardona Sahib, as he was popularly known, served in several military campaigns when Raja Dhyan Singh Dogra took him over from the Maharaja’s service and placed him in full command of his own artillery. This colourful character witnessed all the intrigues and assassinations that continued after the demise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, eventually bringing the mighty Sikh Empire to an abrupt end. However, he had been retained by Rani Jinda as Garrison Commander at Lahore and discharged from the Lahore Durbar in 1847, but returned to the services of Maharaja Gulab Singh of Kashmir as commander of his regiment of infantry and artillery. He passed his final days meeting old Khalsa army soldiers reminiscing the glory days of the Sikh reign. His career had been seriously challenged by contemporary historians, describing him as a fake, who never really occupied any position of consequence in the Sikh army and drew upon his imagination woven with fictitious narratives. Yet, Gardona Sahib, the last of the European officers died in Jammu at the age of 92 and was buried at a military cemetery in Sialkot.