Presidency armies

Presidency armies
Active	1774–1895
Country	India
Allegiance	East India Company
Branch	Bombay Army Bengal Army Madras Army
Headquarters	GHQ India
Motto(s)	Auspicio Regis et Senatus Angliae "By command of the King and Parliament of England"
Engagements	Battle of Plassey Battle of Buxar Carnatic Wars Anglo-Mysore Wars Anglo-Maratha Wars Vellore Mutiny Anglo-Nepalese War Anglo-Burmese wars First Anglo-Afghan War First Anglo-Sikh War Second Anglo-Sikh War Anglo-Persian War Indian Rebellion of 1857
Commanders
Notable commanders	Stringer Lawrence Eyre Coote Robert Clive Charles Napier Charles Cornwallis Arthur Wellesley Archibald Campbell Gerard Lake James Outram Hugh Gough

The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India, composed primarily of Indian sepoys. The presidency armies were named after the presidencies: the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army. Initially, only Europeans served as commissioned or non-commissioned officers. In time, Indian Army units were garrisoned from Peshawar in the north, to Sind in the west, and to Rangoon in the east. The army was engaged in the wars to extend British control in India (the Mysore, Maratha and Sikh wars) and beyond (the Burma, Afghan, First and Second Opium Wars, and the Expedition to Abyssinia).

The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the Company until the Indian Rebellion of 1857, when the Crown took over the Company and its three armies. In 1895, the three presidency armies were merged into a united Indian Army.