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 nationality is uncertain, being given in various sources as Austrian, French, German, Luxemburger, or Swiss. One version is that he was born in a village called Ort Simmern near Trier. Only one place is documentarily supported in a Protestant church Register as Walter Reinhard's Birth Place: Eisenberg in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The register indicates, he was born at that place on January 27, 1723.
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. He was a turncoat, changing sides for advantage. Soon after his enlistment in the French Service, he went to Bengal, entered a Swiss Corps in Calcutta from which he deserted in 15 days, fled to the Upper Provinces and served some time as a private trooper in the cavalry of Sufdur Jung. This service, 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, in which Jats also served. In about 1767, when he was 42, he met and married a 14-year-old Nautch girl named Farzana, who became known as Begum Samru. Sumroo moved from Lucknow to Rohilkhand, then to Agra, Deeg and Bharatpur and back to the Doab. At one time, he was Governor of Agra. He attained a position from Shah Alam II, briefly held before his death, ruling Sardhana. He was General of Maharaja Jawahar Singh of Bharatpur
Death
Sombre died at Agra on 4 May 1778. He was buried in the Agra churchyard by his widow, Begum Samru. His burial place in the Roman Catholic cemetery is preserved to this day. His widow took over his mercenary army and succeeded to the rule of Sardhana.
Book
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.
