Lady Florentia Sale, on retreat from Kabul, The Kabul Disaster, 1842 (oil on canvas)

The 1842 Kabul Retreat (or Massacre of Elphinstone's Army) took place during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Following an uprising in Kabul, Major General Sir William Elphinstone negotiated an agreement with Akbar Khan, one of the sons of King Dost Mohammad Khan of Afghanistan, by which his army was to withdraw to the British garrison at Jalalabad, more than 90 miles (140 km) away. As the army and its numerous dependents and camp-followers began its march, it came under attack from Afghan tribesmen. Many of the column died of exposure, frostbite or starvation or were killed during the fighting. Lady Sale (1790-1853) had been part of that humiliating retreat. She, along with the wives and children and a few men had been captured as hostages during the flight by Akbar Khan, the self-styled `Sirdar' (General) of the Eastern Ghilzyes tribes.