‘Kandahar Gate, Kelaat’, 1839 circa (coloured lithograph)

‘Kandahar Gate, Kelaat’, 1839 circa. Coloured lithograph from ‘Views in Affghaunistaun etc from sketches taken during the Campaigns of the Army of the Indus’, by W L Walton after Captain Sir Keith A Jackson, Bt, 4th (Queen’s Own) Light Dragoons, published by W H Allen and Co and T McLean. After installing Shah Shuja as Emir in place of Dost Mohammed in August 1839, the British made preparations to withdraw the majority of their soldiers from Kabul, believing that the 1st Afghan War (1839-1842) was won. On their way back to India, Sir John Keane’s Army of the Indus inflicted punishment on the Baluchi Khans of Khelat. This was because of their constant attacks on British supply lines. After fierce fighting in the surrounding hills, the walls of Khelat were successfully stormed and the city captured.