The Siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was abandoned. Lucknow was the capital of the former state of Awadh. The prolonged defence there by the British proved to be one of the key episodes in the unsuccessful rebellion. Mainly there were issues of prestige and morale involved, but Lucknow also became the point at which the main forces of both the British and rebels were concentrated. The Honourable Julia Selina, Lady Inglis (19 April 1833 - 3 February 1904), was the daughter of Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford and the wife of Major-General Sir John Eardley Inglis who commanded the British troops at the Siege of Lucknow in 1857. She kept a diary of her life during the siege which was published as The Siege of Lucknow: a Diary.