Bell of arms
Topic: The Revolt of 1857 · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Rebels and the Raj"
Meaning
The bell of arms was the storeroom in a cantonment (a military camp or town) where weapons and ammunition were kept. In 1857, rebel sepoys usually took it over first, so they would have guns and bullets for the fight. Seizing it was a fixed step in the common pattern of the revolt.
Example
On 10 May 1857 at Meerut, the rebel sepoys seized the bell of arms. They then destroyed government buildings and cut the telegraph line to Delhi. Across the Gangetic valley, other sepoys followed the same pattern: a signal such as an evening gun, then the capture of the bell of arms, then the looting of the treasury.