It is not our business here to discuss the means by which the English
empire in India has been obtained, nor have we even space to detail
the circumstances which led to the subjugation of Mysore, under Tippoo
Saib, the last of its kings: our affair is with sieges only.
Two English armies directed their course towards Seringapatam, the
capital of the kingdom of Mysore. General Harris crossed the Cauvery
on the 31st of March, and established himself at two miles from the
south-west of that city; he there waited for General Stuart, who joined
him seven days after with a body of troops detached from the army of
Madras. Confident in the strength of the works which surround the
island in which Seringapatam is situated, Tippoo Saib made no effort to
oppose this junction. The works were furnished with four hundred pieces
of cannon, and constructed with the greatest care. For some time he
satisfied himself with defending his outworks. The resistance of the
sultan, on this point, was as short as it was useless. General Stuart
made the Indian troops fall back to within eight hundred toises of the
western angle of the place, and carried an intrenchment which separated
him from General Harris, so that Seringapatam was completely invested,
and the first parallel was immediately opened. Battery in breach was
commenced on the 1st of May; by the 4th it was deemed practicable. Four
regiments were selected to mount to the breach. General Harris, the
more to surprise the sultan, deferred giving the signal till the moment
of the greatest heat, in the middle of the day. The English troops and
the sepoy grenadiers marched out of the trenches, crossed the pebbly
bed of the Cauvery under a murderous fire, and mounted to the breaches
effected in the _fausse-braie_ and the rampart. The combat was bloody
and obstinate. Tippoo Saib, taken by surprise, and rendered desperate
by the fear of loss of empire and life, faced death wherever the
greatest peril threatened: he perished in the _mêlée_, together with
his principal officers. All the fortifications were carried, but the
children of the sultan still defended themselves in the palace, which
contained his family, his wives, and his treasures. General Harris
promised safety and protection to the inhabitants of the palace, and
they surrendered immediately. The body of Tippoo was sought for, and
found beneath a heap of slain, near one of the gates; he was recognised
by his family, and deposited in the tomb of his father, Hyder Ali. The
treasures of his palace were distributed among the victorious army.
After the taking of Seringapatam, Tippoo’s children, his relations, and
the princes engaged in alliance with him, submitted. This brilliant
operation rendered the English absolute masters of the peninsula of
India.