Walter Reinhardt Sombre

Walter Reinhardt Sombre was a European adventurer and mercenary in India from the 1760s.

Early life

Sombre is thought to have been born in Strasbourg or Treves. His birthplace and nationality, being given in various sources as Austrian, French, German, Luxemburger, or Swiss, are uncertain. Another version is that he was born in a village called Simmern near Trier.
Only one location has documentary support as Walter Reinhard's birthplace in a Protestant church register: Eisenberg in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The register indicates he was born there on 27 January 1723. He grew up among the Sinti Family Pfisterer who spoke a language similar to Hindi until he was 14 and went to France.

Career

He entered early into the French Service assuming the name of Summer, but due to the darkness of his complexion, he received the French nickname Sombre. His nickname was a nom de guerre and is more commonly used for him in Indian sources.
Sombre worked for the Faujdars of Purnea in Bihar soon after his arrival in India. The Faujdar hired him to recruit and train a battalion of infantry troops in the European style. Soon after he moved to Bengal.
He was a turncoat, changing sides as per his advantage. Soon after his enlistment in the French Service, he went to Bengal, entered a Swiss Corps in Calcutta which he deserted in 15 days, fled to the Upper Provinces and served some time as a private trooper in the cavalry of Safdar Jung. This post he also quit and became attached to the service of Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal. While in the Nawab's service he was blamed for a massacre of English captives at Patna.
In The Fall of the Mogul Empire of Hindustan, H. G. Keene describes this massacre:

Personal life

Later on, Walter Reinhardt formed his own mercenary army. Around 1767 when he was 42 he met and married a 14-year-old Tawaif named Farzana, who became known as Begum Samru. Sumroo moved from Lucknow to Rohilkhand, then to Agra, Deeg, Bharatpur and back to the Doab. At one point of time he was the Governor of Agra. He attained a position from Shah Alam II, briefly held before his death, ruling Sardhana. He was the General of Maharaja Jawahar Singh of Bharatpur.

Death

Reinhardt died on 4 May 1778 in Agra. His burial place in the Roman Catholic cemetery in Agra is still preserved today. The grave bears the Portuguese inscription: "Aqui jaz o Walter Reinhard morreo aos 4 de Mayo no anno de 1778". His widow took over his mercenary army and succeeded to the rule of Sardhana.

In popular culture

A modern novelist, Vikram Chandra, has used the character of Sumroo in his book "Red Earth and Pouring Rain". In this book, fiction intermingles with history and myth. The dramatis personae include the historical adventurers, the Frenchman Benoit de Boigne, the German Walter Reinhardt and the Irishman George Thomas.