attacking Monsieur de Bussy in his present position, and issued
preparatory orders accordingly. At four o’clock in the morning
of the 13th of June, the action commenced by a movement from the
British left upon the right flank of the enemy. A very obstinate
and sanguinary contest ensued, and continued without intermission
until the evening, when both armies remained upon the field of
battle, and consequently each claimed the victory.
In this action the first battalion of the regiment highly
distinguished itself, having wrested from the enemy, in the course
of the conflict, seven different redoubts. The loss sustained by
the battalion was very severe, amounting in killed and wounded to
13 officers and 272 men, being one half of the gross number in
the field. The battalion in this action was commanded by Captain
Hugh Lamont. The battalion had to regret the loss of Captains the
Honorable James Lindsay and Alexander Mackenzie, who were killed.
The former officer commanded the Grenadier company.
The following flattering compliment formed part of the general
orders issued by the Commander-in-Chief at the conclusion of the
battle:--“I am also grateful to Captain Lamont and the officers
under his command, who gallantly led the _precious remains_ of the
SEVENTY-THIRD Regiment through the most perilous road to glory,
until exactly one half of the officers and men of the battalion
were either killed or wounded.”
On the 17th of June the English and French fleets fought their last
battle during this war. The former commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir
Edward Hughes, and the latter by Monsieur Suffrein. The contest was
perfectly in view of both armies. The result obliged the British
admiral to proceed to Madras, while, to the great embarrassment
of the army under Major-General Stuart, the French fleet was
enabled to anchor in Cuddalore Roads, and to afford supplies and
reinforcements to their troops.
The British prosecuted the siege of Cuddalore with vigour, and on
the 25th of June the first parallel was completed. On that day the
enemy made a _sortie_ but was repulsed, after a severe contest,
with considerable loss. The commander of the party, Colonel the
Chevalier de Damas, was among the prisoners taken on this occasion.
On the 1st of July a frigate arrived in Cuddalore Roads, confirming
the former intelligence, and bringing the official accounts from
England of a general peace having been concluded. Hostilities in
consequence ceased. The English and French interchanged visits,
congratulations, and compliments, and became apparently as cordial
friends as they had before been determined enemies.
By the 2d of August the British army had received the supplies of
which it stood greatly in want, and the camp was immediately broken
up, the troops proceeding towards Madras, where they arrived on the
16th of that month, at St. Thomas’s Mount.
The army shortly afterwards went into winter quarters, the
SEVENTY-THIRD occupying the fort and cantonment of Arcot.
[Sidenote: 2d bat.]
In August the second battalion marched from Hilsea barracks to
Stirling, where it was disbanded on the 3d of October; and the
officers belonging to the second battalion, who were regimentally
senior to those serving with the first, had the option afforded
them of joining that battalion in the East Indies, at their own
expense, of which some availed themselves.
[Sidenote: 1784.]
On the 11th of March 1784, a general peace was ratified between
the Honorable East India Company and Tippoo Saib, and, shortly
afterwards, the officers and men, who had been made prisoners
in the action fought by Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, on the 10th of
September 1780, were restored to their friends, after having
endured captivity in irons in an ungenial climate, and most of them
suffering from severe wounds.
The regiment had the gratification to receive Captains David Baird
and the Honorable John Lindsay. The commission of the latter, as
captain, had been antedated to the 12th of September 1780. Both of
these officers had recovered from their wounds.
During the remainder of the year the regiment continued at Arcot,
and was only employed, beyond the usual routine of duty in
quarters, for a short time in quelling a mutiny which broke out
in the native cavalry at Arnee. The regiment at this period was
commanded by Lieut.-Colonel William Dalrymple.
[Sidenote: 1785.]
In the course of the month of June the regiment was removed from
Arcot to Fort St. George at Madras, where it was joined by certain
officers of the late second battalion. Lieut.-Colonel Dalrymple
having returned to Great Britain, the regiment was commanded by
Brevet Colonel the Honorable George Mackenzie.
The regiment continued in quarters during the remainder of the year
at Fort St. George, and in the town at Madras.
[Sidenote: 1786.]
In the year 1786 the numerical title of the regiment was changed
from Seventy-third to SEVENTY-FIRST; and new colours were received
from England, bearing the number SEVENTY-FIRST, which designation
it has since retained.
The regiment changed its quarters, in March, to Wallajohabad and
Chingleput, having nine companies cantoned at the former station,
and one at the latter under Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton Maxwell.
[Sidenote: 1787.]
On the 4th of June 1787, the commanding officer, Colonel the
Honorable George Mackenzie, died, after a short illness. His body
was sent to Madras, and there interred with the military honors
due to his rank. The senior major, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel John
Elphinston, succeeded to the lieutenant-colonelcy and to the
command of the regiment. Captain David Baird was at the same time
promoted to the rank of major. The commissions of these officers
were dated 5th of June 1787.
During the year 1787 no change of quarters took place, and the
regiment remained in cantonments at Wallajohabad and Chingleput.
[Sidenote: 1788.]
In February 1788, in consequence of some disturbance or alarm at
the Bombay Presidency, the SEVENTY-FIRST marched to Madras, and
immediately embarked on board the Company’s ships for Bombay. The
regiment was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Elphinston, and was about
eight hundred strong.
After a favorable passage, the ships arrived at Bombay in
April, when the regiment immediately disembarked and went into
barracks, where it remained for six months. The Seventy-fifth and
Seventy-seventh regiments having, in this interval, arrived at
Bombay from England, the services of the SEVENTY-FIRST became no
longer necessary at that Presidency, and the regiment proceeded in
October to Madras, where it arrived in December.
Five companies, under Lieut.-Colonel Elphinston, occupied the
barracks in Fort St. George, and the other five companies proceeded
to Poonamallee.
[Sidenote: 1789.]
Major-General the Honorable William Gordon was appointed colonel of
the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment on the 9th of April 1789, in succession
to Major-General John Lord Macleod, deceased.
In the course of the year 1789, the five companies at Poonamallee
were removed to Tripassoor.
[Sidenote: 1790.]
On the 16th of March 1790, the companies at Madras and Tripassoor
received orders to join a force which was assembling at
Wallajohabad, under the orders of Colonel Thomas Musgrave, of the
Seventy-sixth, in consequence of the hostilities which Tippoo Saib
had commenced against the Rajah of Travancore, a faithful British
ally. The SEVENTY-FIRST arrived at Wallajohabad on the 18th of
March, and joined the other troops, consisting of the nineteenth
light dragoons, fifty-second, and SEVENTY-FIRST regiments, the
third and fourth native cavalry, the first battalion of coast
artillery, and the second, fourth, ninth, fourteenth, and
twenty-fifth coast sepoys.
This force was put in movement on the 29th of March, and proceeded
towards Trichinopoly, which it did not reach until the 29th of
April, and found there the following corps, under the command
of Colonel Brydges:--two King’s regiments, the thirty-sixth and
seventy-second; the second and fifth native cavalry; the first,
fifth, sixth, seventh, sixteenth, twentieth, and twenty-third
coast sepoys. At the same time Colonel Deare, with three companies
of Bengal artillery, joined, the whole being under the orders of
Major-General Musgrave, to which rank he had been promoted on the
28th of April 1790.
The army was immediately divided into brigades and wings;
Lieut.-Colonel James Stuart, of the Seventy-second Highlanders,
was appointed to command the left wing, and Colonel Brydges, of
the East India Company’s service, the right; the SEVENTY-FIRST and
seventy-second regiments, and first East India Company’s European
battalion, formed the second European brigade, under Lieut.-Colonel
Clarke, of the Company’s service.
The whole of the cavalry and the advance were commanded by
Lieut.-Colonel, afterwards General Sir John Floyd, of the
nineteenth light dragoons, since disbanded.
On the 24th of May, Major-General (afterwards Sir William) Medows
assumed the command, and reviewed the army, which on the 26th of
that month was put in movement towards the Coimbatore country.
The army reached Caroor, a fortified place, on the 15th of
June, which the enemy abandoned on the approach of the British,
who remained in this position, strengthening Caroor, and
collecting grain, until the 2d of July, when they moved for
Arrivacourchy, arriving there on the 5th, and continuing their
route by Tooramboddy, arrived on the 10th of July at Daraporam.
At this latter place was found a large supply of grain and other
necessaries, which had been left by the enemy.
During the march to Coimbatore, where the British arrived on the
22d of July, Tippoo’s irregular horse were very active in hovering
around, for the purpose of picking up stragglers and baggage.
The army halted at Coimbatore, and detachments were sent off to
reduce Dindigul, Errode, and _Palghautcherry_. The flank companies
of the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment, commanded by Captains Phineas
M^cIntosh and James Robertson, were employed upon the latter
service. In August the whole of the cavalry and the advance had
been pushed forward to the Boovany, near to the Gudzelhetty Pass.
Tippoo Saib, profiting by the divided state of the British force,
descended with his whole army, and after a very severe conflict
obliged Lieut.-Colonel Floyd to fall back. The troops from
Coimbatore had marched to his support, and on the junction being
effected, Tippoo retired. The British returned to Coimbatore on the
23d of September.
Upon the march of the main body, the flank companies of the
SEVENTY-FIRST and Seventy-second were withdrawn from the siege
of _Palghautcherry_, and ordered to take post in the fort of
Coimbatore; and on the return of the army they rejoined the
regiment.
The army was again put in motion on the 29th of September,
proceeding towards the Boovany by Shawoor and Coopachitty-pollum,
where the troops arrived a few hours after Tippoo had left it. Some
elephants, bullocks, and camels loaded with rockets, fell into the
hands of the British.
On the 4th of October the army arrived at Errode, the enemy keeping
a respectful distance during the march; and on the 6th of that
month it was ascertained that he had arrived with his whole force
at _Darraporam_, against which he opened his batteries on the 8th.
The fort had no cannon mounted, and the garrison, consisting of a
hundred Europeans and two hundred sepoys, capitulated on honorable
terms, to which the enemy strictly adhered.
The British army moved on the 5th of October, and on the 15th
encamped in the neighbourhood of Coimbatore, where Lieut.-Colonel
Stuart joined from _Palghautcherry_, after having taken the place,
and left it in a tolerable state of defence. On the 20th of
October, all the heavy baggage having been deposited in the fort
of Coimbatore, the army recommenced moving, directing its march
towards Errode, by Avinochy and Perentore, where it arrived on the
2d of November. On the 8th the army proceeded in the direction of
Bovaneore, and thence to a ford about three miles below Errode,
the whole crossing the Cavery on the 9th and 10th, while Tippoo
marched with his entire force to attack a division under the
orders of Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton Maxwell, of the Seventy-fourth
Regiment, then in the Bharamahl country. On the 11th of November
the army moved by Sankerrydroog for the Tappoor Pass, and ascended
on the 14th, encamping at Adamancottah, in the Bharamahl country;
marched again on the 15th, and on the 17th effected a junction
with Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell at Darrampoury. This officer had
under his orders the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-sixth King’s
regiments, the fourth battalion of Madras Europeans, the third,
seventh, thirteenth, fourteenth, twenty-first, twenty-sixth, and
twenty-seventh Bengal sepoys.
The Seventy-fourth joined the SEVENTY-FIRST and Seventy-second
Regiments in the second brigade; and Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell assumed
the command of the left wing in the place of Colonel Brydges, who
was appointed to command at Trichinopoly.
On the 18th of November the army moved by Coveriporum to the
Tappoor Pass, when the advance fell in with the rear of Tippoo’s
force, but could make no impression.
It was now ascertained that the enemy, whose movements were always
sudden, varied, and perplexing, was directing his course to the
Carnatic by Namacul and Trichinopoly. The British in consequence
pursued by Malusundrum, arriving on the 23d at Vavoor; the 27th at
Jaloor; on the 6th of December at Munsarapett; and at Terany on the
31st of December.
[Sidenote: 1791.]
On the 1st of January 1791 the army arrived at Terrimungulum, and
on the 12th at Arnee.
During this long and fatiguing march, the Anglo-Indian troops
frequently encamped upon the ground from which the enemy had
removed in the morning, but the efforts made to overtake him were
not successful. The sick and heavy guns having been placed in the
fort of Arnee, on the 14th of January the advance and right wing
marched for Velhout, where they arrived on the 27th, followed by
the left wing.
On the 29th of January the army was reviewed by General Charles the
Earl Cornwallis, K.G., who had arrived from Bengal to assume the
command, and who expressed great satisfaction at the appearance of
the troops. His lordship was at this period Governor-General and
Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, and had quitted Bengal on
the 6th of December of the previous year, and landed at Fort St.
George, Madras, on the 30th of the same month.
In the course of the foregoing campaign the SEVENTY-FIRST Regiment
lost few men in action, but many fell victims to climate and
fatigue.
The army, being refreshed and equipped, commenced moving in a
westerly direction on the 5th of February, by Perambaukum and
Sholingur, arriving on the 11th in the vicinity of Vellore. The
troops were ordered into the fort, and on the 14th they marched
to Chittipet, turning suddenly to the right by Chittoor towards
the Muglee Pass, where they arrived on the 17th of February. On
the 18th the advance, followed by the park and stores, ascended
the ghauts, the whole army encamping on the day following at
Palamnaire, in the Mysore country, without having seen anything of
the enemy.
During the time the British army remained at Velhout, Tippoo pushed
to the southward, and summoned Cuddalore, but upon learning in
what direction Earl Cornwallis had moved, the Sultan hastened to
the Shangana Pass, where he arrived too late to oppose the troops
at the Muglee Pass. On the 24th, the British marched for Colar,
which was abandoned on their approach; from thence the army moved
to Ouscotta, which place was immediately carried by a battalion of
sepoys.
The enemy displayed a part of his force on the 4th of March, and on
the following day opened a cannonade upon the troops moving towards
_Bangalore_, whilst his horse attempted to attack the stores and
baggage, but without success. About sunset on the 5th of March, the
army encamped within shot of the fort of Bangalore, and shifted its
ground on the day following. The pettah (the suburbs of the town)
was then attacked by the thirty-sixth and seventy-sixth regiments,
with some battalions of sepoys, and carried, after a very resolute
resistance on the part of the defenders.
From this period to the 14th of March, nothing material occurred,
but every preparation for the approaching siege was carried on with
diligence and activity. On the 15th, the batteries being completed,
opened a fire upon Bangalore; and on the 17th the lines were
cannonaded by the enemy, while at night the camp was much disturbed
by his rockets.
Forage became very scarce, and none could be procured beyond the
advanced piquets. The siege, however, proceeded, and the enemy
continued to harass the British until the 21st March, when the
breach being considered practicable, an attack was ordered.
The storming party consisted of the grenadiers of the thirty-sixth,
fifty-second, SEVENTY-FIRST, seventy-second, seventy-fourth,
and seventy-sixth regiments, followed by their respective light
companies, and led by Lieutenant James Duncan of the SEVENTY-FIRST,
and Lieutenant John Evans of the fifty-second, with a forlorn
hope of thirty chosen men; the whole supported by the battalion
companies of the thirty-sixth, seventy-second, and seventy-sixth,
with some battalions of Bengal sepoys. The corps of attack were
commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell of the seventy-fourth; the
flankers immediately by Major Skelly; Major-General Medows was
present on the occasion.
The grenadier company of the SEVENTY-FIRST was commanded by
Captain the Honorable John Lindsay, who, upon entering the breach,
directed his men to throw away their priming, and trust entirely to
their bayonets. The light company was commanded by Captain James
Robertson, son of the celebrated historian.
With the aid of scaling ladders, and after encountering very
formidable obstacles, _Bangalore_ was carried. From the 6th of
March to the conquest of Bangalore, the SEVENTY-FIRST had six
privates killed, and fourteen wounded.
On the 28th of March, a strong garrison being left in Bangalore,
the army moved to Deonhully, the birthplace of Hyder Ali, where it
arrived on the 30th, and on the 1st of April at Chinnaballaporam,
both of which places were abandoned by the enemy. The army
reached Connapelly on the 12th of April, and on the following day
effected a junction with the Nizam’s force, which had been sent to
co-operate with the British, and which amounted to about fifteen
thousand cavalry.
The army arrived at Venkatagherry, on the 18th of April, where
a large detachment of Europeans, under Colonel Oldham, joined
from the Carnatic, and on the 22d of April again encamped near
Bangalore. During this march, the object of which was chiefly to
procure supplies, the enemy’s irregular horse were now and then
seen in small detached bodies.
The British commenced their march on the 4th of May towards
_Seringapatam_, the capital of Tippoo Saib’s territory, and on
the 13th of that month arrived at Arakerry, on the Cavery, about
eight miles below Seringapatam, which derived its name from the god
_Serung_, to whom one of the pagodas was dedicated. The enemy was
discernible in front, with his right resting on the river, and his
left on a high hill named the Carighaut.
During the night of the 14th of May the troops marched with a view
to surprise the enemy, but owing to the badness of the weather and
roads, together with the jaded state of the gun-bullocks, little
or no progress was made during the night; but on the following
day, after having undergone great fatigue, they were brought into
action, when the enemy was driven from his strong position, and
forced across the river into the island upon which the capital,
Seringapatam, is situated, where he was protected by his batteries.
In this affair four guns and several standards were taken. The
SEVENTY-FIRST had Lieutenant and Adjutant Roderick Mackenzie and
seven rank and file killed; Ensign John Stuart and seventy-four
rank and file were wounded.
The army rested upon the field of battle, and was again in movement
on the 18th of May, and arrived on the 20th at Canambaddy,
situated on the Cavery, some miles above Seringapatam. It was now
ascertained that the season was too far advanced for undertaking
immediately the siege of Tippoo’s capital, and it was determined
accordingly to withdraw. The battering train was destroyed; all the
ammunition and stores were buried, which could not be removed, and
on the 26th of May the army marched in the direction of Bangalore.
Before commencing their retreat, the soldiers were thanked
in orders for their conduct throughout these services; and
it was added:--“So long as there were any hopes of reducing
_Seringapatam_ before the commencement of the heavy rains, the
Commander-in-chief thought himself happy in availing himself of
their willing services; but the unexpected bad weather, for some
time experienced, having rendered the attack of the enemy’s capital
impracticable, until the conclusion of the ensuing monsoons, Lord
Cornwallis thought he should make an ill return for the zeal and
alacrity exhibited by the soldiers, if he desired them to draw the
guns and stores back to a magazine, where there remains an ample
supply of both, which was captured by their valour; he did not,
therefore, hesitate to order the guns and stores which were not
wanted for field service to be destroyed.”
In the course of this retreat the British were joined by the
Mahratta army, under Hurry Punt and Purseram Bhow, consisting of
about thirty-two thousand men, chiefly cavalry, and thirty pieces
of cannon. Of the approach of this large force, the British had
been kept in total ignorance, by the active manner in which the
communications were interrupted by Tippoo’s irregular troops.
Captain Little, having under his orders two battalions of Bombay
sepoys, joined with the Mahratta army, and the supplies were now
abundant.
On the 11th of July, after marching by Alcotta, Goodyanelly,
Outredroog, and Sankerrydroog, the army arrived at Bangalore.
The enemy made no attempt whatever to interrupt the march. By this
time the Nizam’s cavalry had become unfit to keep the field, and
were allowed to return to their own country. Purseram Bhow also,
with a large detachment of the Mahrattas, proceeded into the Sera
country; but Hurry Punt, with the remainder, continued attached to
the British army. On the 15th of July the whole of the sick, and
one half of the tumbrils belonging to the field-pieces, were sent
into the fort of Bangalore, and the army moved towards Oussoor,
where it arrived on the 11th of the following month.
The fort of Oussoor was abandoned by the enemy, after he had
blown up the angles. In this place were found the bodies of three
Europeans who had been put to death by Tippoo’s orders. One of
these unfortunate persons, named Hamilton, had been an officer in
the British navy.
On the 12th of August the army moved from Oussoor, and on the 23d
arrived at Bayeur. About this period Major Gowdie, of the Honorable
East India Company’s Service, was detached with some troops for the
reduction of the strong hill fort of _Nundydroog_, which it was
found required regular approaches.
The flank companies of the thirty-sixth and SEVENTY-FIRST
regiments, under the command of Captain Robertson, of the latter
corps, marched on the 17th of October to join the detachment under
Major Gowdie, and, upon their arrival, were immediately placed in
the last parallel.