Historical record of the 71st Regiment Highland Light Infantry /

by Henry John Thoroton Hildyard

Upon this spot the army halted two days, and it then retired to Tripassoor, to secure provisions. At this period the health of Major-General Sir Hector Munro compelled him to leave the army, which led to Colonel Craufurd becoming second in command, the charge of the regiment devolving upon Major John Shaw.

On the 27th September, near Sholingar, Colonel Craufurd received the Commander-in-Chief’s orders to move the British Army to the front. Hyder Ali, confident of success, made a forward movement to meet it, when a general action ensued. A detachment commanded by Colonel Edmonstone, and of which the flank companies Seventy-third formed a part, succeeded in turning the enemy’s left flank, and falling upon his camp and rear. The day closed with the total defeat of Hyder Ali’s troops, who were pursued by the cavalry until sunset.

On the 1st October, under circumstances the most distressing and unpromising, but with a hope of obtaining provisions, of which the army was quite destitute, and for which no previous arrangement had been made by the Government, Sir Eyre Coote pushed boldly through the Sholingar Pass, and after a march of two days encamped at Altamancherry, in the Polygar country. Here, by the friendly aid and kindness of Bum Raze, one of the Polygar princes, the troops were well supplied with every requisite. The British camp was moved to Pollipat on the 26th October, and the sick and wounded sent to Tripassoor. Vellore was also relieved, after which the army, reinforced by Colonel Laing with 100 Europeans from Vellore, proceeded to the attack of Chittoor, which, after a gallant resistance, capitulated. With a view to draw his opponents from so inaccessible a country, Hyder Ali proceeded to the attack of Tripassoor, and on the 20th November Sir Eyre Coote retired out of the Pollamo, through the Naggary Pass, which obliged the enemy to raise the siege of Tripassoor and retire on Arcot. The campaign closed with the recapture of Chittoor by the enemy. On the 2nd December, the monsoon having set in, the army broke up its camp on the Koilatoor Plain, and the different corps marched into cantonments in the neighbourhood of Madras.

1782.

At the opening of the succeeding campaign at the beginning of 1782, the army did not muster a larger force than at the commencement of the former year. The first and most important object in view was the relief of Vellore, kept in strict blockade by the enemy. The safety of this fortress was of paramount consequence, being the only key possessed by the British to the passes of the Ghauts, through which an invasion of the enemy’s country could alone be accomplished. The army pushed through the Sholingar Pass, and by the 11th January Vellore was relieved and supplied with rice for six months. After this was effected the army retired, and on the 20th January arrived at Poonamallee, having lost upon this expedition 6 officers and about 30 Europeans, with 100 Sepoys killed and wounded.

The following account of the death of John Mackay, a corporal of the battalion, in a skirmish with the enemy on the march to Vellore, is given by Captain Munro:—“For the satisfaction of my Highland friends, I take this opportunity of commemorating the fall of John Mackay, alias Donn, a corporal in the Seventy-third, son of Robert Donn, the famous Highland bard, whose singular talent for the beautiful and extemporaneous composition of Gaelic poetry was held in such esteem by the Highland Society. This son of the bard has frequently revived the drooping spirits of his countrymen upon the march by singing in a pleasant manner the humorous and lively productions of his father. He was killed by a cannon ball on the 13th of January, and on the same evening was interred by his disconsolate comrades with all the honours of war.”

For the first three months of the year 1782 the army of Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote was retained inactive at St. Thomas’ Mount, the government of the presidency being apprehensive for its own safety, whereas a judicious movement on Porto Novo might have prevented Tippoo Saïb’s junction with the strong reinforcement of French troops that had arrived from Europe in Admiral Suffrein’s fleet, or at least averted the loss of Permacoil and Cuddalore. At length Sir Eyre Coote, having been reinforced by the Seventy-eighth (afterwards the Seventy-second) Regiment from England, was allowed to commence operations.

At the beginning of April he marched in a southerly direction by Corangooly and Wandewash towards the enemy, encamped upon the Red Hills of Pondicherry. The object of the Commander-in-Chief appeared to be to separate the French from the Mysore troops, for which purpose he manœuvred between Chitaput and Arnee, where he had established magazines. Hyder Ali made a rapid movement, on the 2nd of June overtaking and attacking the British rear guard, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Elphinston,[2] Seventy-third Highlanders, who maintained his ground with great spirit and intrepidity until the line had completed its formation. The troops were then ordered to advance immediately upon the enemy’s guns, and the foe was soon forced across the River Arnee, and in pursuit several tumbrils were taken by Captain the Honourable James Lindsay. This officer, perceiving a battalion of the enemy extricating the tumbrils from the bed of the river, dashed forward at the head of his grenadier company, supported by the remainder of the corps under Major-General Mackenzie, and succeeded in dispersing the enemy and seizing the tumbrils. The conduct of Captain Lindsay, although he had acted without orders, received the commendation of the Commander-in-Chief. At the action of Arnee the staff of the regimental colour was shattered by a cannon ball, and the ensign carrying it was severely wounded.

The army encamped for the night on the field of battle, and on the following morning took up a position before Arnee; but a scarcity of grain compelled the General to retrace his steps towards Madras, and on the 20th of June he arrived at St. Thomas’s Mount.

In the months of July and August the army made two expeditions, one to Wandewash, in which it was foiled by the activity of Hyder Ali, the other for the relief of Vellore, which was more fortunate, as it succeeded in throwing a large quantity of grain into the fortress. The siege of Cuddalore being determined on, the army moved on the 26th August in a southerly direction, and on the 4th September halted on the Red Hills of Pondicherry. Deserters reported the garrison of Cuddalore to consist of 800 Europeans, 300 Africans, and 600 Sepoys, who having expelled the inhabitants, and covered the walls with cannon were resolved to defend the place to the last extremity. The failure of the supplies which Sir Eyre Coote had been led to expect from Madras by the fleet, excited so much anxiety and disappointment in the veteran’s mind, that a severe illness ensued, which obliged him to quit the army. The command devolved upon Major-General James Stuart, who commenced his retreat on the evening of the 10th October. On the 15th October, the monsoon set in with unusual severity, and the army went into cantonments in the vicinity of Madras. Hyder Ali at the same time resumed his old position near Arcot. Shortly after this, Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, with a large fleet from England, arrived in Madras Roads. Considerable reinforcements were on board, consisting of the Twenty-third Light Dragoons, One hundred and first and One hundred and second Regiments, and the Fifteenth Regiment of Hanoverian Infantry, which joined the army in its cantonments.