A return, dated May 24, showed the garrison to consist of 70 British and 67 native officers, with 315 British and 1,394 native soldiers. Attached to and included in the total of the 42nd were a few of the then 98th and 101st Regiments (not to be confused with the present Royal Munster Fusiliers), both of which were with General Matthews at Bednore. The native troops included the headquarters of the 8th Battalion (now the 101st Grenadiers), some companies of the 15th Bombay Battalion, and details of other regiments which were with the Commander-in-Chief at Bednore. Amongst the officers was Lieutenant MacKay, of the Royal Navy, who volunteered to act as a gunner during the siege. He did right good and gallant service, and was twice wounded in the course of the operations. Another name appears prominently in the despatches—a name which has since become a household word in the British Army. Campbell's Brigade-Major was a certain Captain Wolseley, of the 98th Regiment, and much of the credit of the defence was due to the gallantry and unwearied exertions of this officer.
Between the Highlanders and the 8th Battalion of Bombay Grenadiers a strong camaraderie existed; they had fought side by side at Panianee, when Colonel Macleod had drawn attention to the dash and steady gallantry of the regiment. Campbell, in his despatches from Mangalore, bore frequent testimony to the unselfish devotion of the native officers, and the uncomplaining heroism of the men.
Into the details of the siege it is not my intention to enter. Suffice to say that from May 23 until July 27, when news arrived of peace between France and England, there was only one day in which the garrison did not suffer some casualties, and that from June 12 the men were on half-rations of flour; of meat they had from the first been deprived. Desertions amongst the sepoys were frequent, and this was not to be wondered at. Life within the walls was not a bed of roses, whereas Tippoo Sultan offered golden inducements to those who would enter his service. On August 2 an armistice was arranged, a French officer attached to Tippoo Sultan's army acting as intermediary, Campbell declining to surrender the fortress until he had received specific instructions on this head from Bombay. The Mysorean Prince promised to furnish supplies on condition that no attempts were made to strengthen the works or to communicate with the outside world, except with the consent of the Tippoo Sultan himself. On several occasions vessels came close enough for Campbell to send an officer on board (indeed, Colonel McLeod, the acting Commander-in-Chief, landed at Mangalore, and had an interview with Tippoo Sultan). Campbell's pitiable condition was well known to the authorities in Bombay;[8] but no well-sustained effort appears to have been made to relieve him, and at last, on January 30, his men reduced to skeletons with fatigue and sickness, and his garrison reduced in numbers to one-half of their original strength, he was compelled to capitulate; but he marched out with all the honours of war, and even Tippoo Sultan kept honourably to the terms of the capitulation, and gave the garrison a safe conduct to Bombay. Colonel Campbell arrived there on March 13, and ten days later he was laid to rest in the cathedral in that city. The Bombay Government, at last recognizing his work, erected a monument to commemorate his heroic defence of the little fort committed to his charge.
The actual siege of Mangalore lasted from May 23 to July 27, 1783, when hostilities ceased; but from that date until January 30, 1784, the garrison suffered from the want of food and the exposure necessitated by being ever on the alert in case of treachery.
The losses of the garrison between those dates amounted to—
| British Troops. | Officers. | Men. | ||
| K. | W. | K. | W. | |
| Total of British troops | 12 | 15 | 45 | 127 |
| 42nd R. Highlanders | 5 | 4 | 34 | 96 |
| Native Troops. | Officers. | Men. | ||
| K. | W. | K. | W. | |
| Total of Native troops | 5 | 16 | 121 | 438 |
On [p. 74] I have given the strength of the garrison on May 24, the actual date of the commencement of the siege. The "marching-out" state on January 27, 1784, shows the true extent of the sufferings of the garrison of Mangalore:
| Regiments. | May 24, 1783. | Jan. 27, 1784. | ||
| Officers. | Men. | Officers. | Men. | |
| British: | ||||
| 42nd and details | 28 | 245 | 16 | 119 |
| Bombay Artillery | 4 | 15 | 3 | 9 |
| Bombay Fusiliers | 6 | 55 | 4 | 19 |
| Officers of Sepoy Corps | 32 | - | 23 | - |
| Natives: | ||||
| Bombay Artillery | 4 | 133 | 3 | 83 |
| 8th Grenadiers and details | 63 | 1,261 | 53 | 490 |