Fort White (Kuki-Chin: Thangmual) was a small military station in Chin State, Myanmar. It was built by the British Army under Field Marshal Sir George Stuart White; it was the site of many local battles. It is located in Tedim Township. Remains can still be found at the site.[1]
History
editWhile originally the base of Siyin chief Thuk Kham, George White and his troops established Fort White during British expedition of the Chin Hills on 9 April 1889.[2][3] It was named after Field Marshal Sir George White, the first invading British Army officer.[4]
It was garrisoned and a post and telegraph office was established there on 13 January 1889 to be linked with their rearward Kalemyo of Sagaing Division, and other parts of the country, such as Yangon.
On 9 October 1892, Siyins rebelled against British authority and started at the site of Fort White.[5]
A heliograph station was constructed on the Letha range west of the stockade at a distance of about four furlongs. It belonged to the Chin Hills Bn (BFF) of Falam and communicated with other outstation such as, Kalemyo, No. 3 Stockade (Natang), Dimlo-Tiddim, Lungpi-Falam and Haka.
British soldiers killed in action against the Chin forces were buried at a nearby cemetery locals dub "the white cemetery".[1]
In 1944, during World War II, the fort was almost entirely destroyed. The remains of the fort and the nearby cemetery still mark the locality.[6]
Rendering
editReferences
editCitations
edit- 1 2 Kha, Kyaw (14 February 2015). "Ghosts of Old Battles". The Irrawaddy.
- ↑ Davis & Martin 1971, p. 89.
- ↑ Hau 1963, p. 227.
- ↑ Hau 1963, p. 6.
- ↑ Hau 1963, p. 8.
- ↑ Hau 1963, p. 4.
Sources
edit- Carey, Bertram S. (1897). "The Chin Hills: A History of the People, Our Dealings with Them, Their Customs and Manners, and a Gazetteer of Their Country". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 26: 205. doi:10.2307/2842305. ISSN 0959-5295.
- Davis, Gerald; Martin, D. R. (1971). Burma: Postal History. Robson Lowe. ISBN 9780853970309.
- Hau, Vum Ko (1963). Profile of A Burma Frontier Man. Kilatmadju Press.