The Bengal Recruits alluded to above were a party of recruits on their way out to join what is now known as the Munster Fusiliers. They were detained by the Governor of Madras to swell the British element at the siege, and they well sustained the honour of the regiment now known as the Royal Munster Fusiliers.
In the year 1793 the reduction of Pondicherry became once more necessary. The fortress had been captured by Sir Eyre Coote and its works demolished in 1761. On its restoration to the French, the place was converted into an exceptionally strong fortification, and its capture by Sir Hector Munro in 1778 entailed a loss of upwards of 600 killed and wounded. In 1793 we found that our friends the French had once more—and very rightly, too—done their utmost to render the place impregnable, and that a very considerable force would be necessary for its reduction. Colonel Braithwaite, of the Madras army, was entrusted with its capture. The force at his disposal consisted of the following troops:
Cavalry Brigade—Colonel Floyd: 19th Hussars and 4th Madras Cavalry.
First Infantry Brigade—Colonel Nesbitt: 36th (Worcesters), 52nd (Oxford Light Infantry), and the battalion companies of the Dublin Fusiliers.
Second Infantry Brigade—Colonel David Baird: 71st (Highland Light Infantry), 73rd (Royal Highlanders), and the flank companies of the two battalions of the Madras European Regiment (Dublin Fusiliers), under Majors Petrie and Vigors.
Third Infantry Brigade—Colonel Bilcliffe: 61st Pioneers, 62nd Punjabis, and 63rd Light Infantry.
Fourth Brigade—Colonel Campbell: 66th Punjabis, 67th Punjabis, and the 8th Madras Infantry, which has ceased to exist.
Fifth Infantry Brigade—Colonel Trent: 69th Pioneers, and the old 17th and 19th Regiments of Madras Infantry, which have been merged in other corps.
Sixth Infantry Brigade—Colonel Cuppage: 23rd, 24th, and 25th Regiments of Madras Infantry.
The artillery consisted of 117 men of the Royal and 731 of the Madras Artillery, and there were 75 English sappers, together with that well-tried regiment which has fought so bravely on so many fields—the Madras Sappers and Miners.