Wellesley, having crossed the Werdah river, marched to Savanoor on the 12th July, leaving a small detachment to protect the bridge. The plan Wellesley had in his mind, and which he eventually carried out, begins to appear. It was to seize all fortified places in Dhoondia’s hands, and, if he still remained in arms, gradually drive him eastwards into one of the narrow angles formed by the Kistna, Toombadra and other rivers, and destroy him. It was the time of full monsoon, and the rivers could only be crossed by the aid of boats, which were difficult to procure. If Dhoondia was kept constantly on the move, he would be unable to make them. At Savanoor, Wellesley received news that Dhoondia was advancing to attack him. He accordingly took up a position in front of the town. Dhoondia reconnoitred the position, and retreated, without attacking, to Koondgul. Wellesley followed him, and, reaching that place after a twenty-two mile march, and after the troops had been above twelve hours under arms, carried it by escalade on the same day. But Dhoondia had gone on, leaving only a garrison of 600 men behind him. On the 16th, Wellesley relieved Sirhetty which was being besieged by one of Dhoondia’s adherents, and then returned to Savanoor for the baggage and stores he had left behind there in his rapid advance.
On the 19th, Wellesley was joined at Savanoor by the Mahratta Cavalry that had been so roughly handled on the 30th June, when Dhoondia Punt Gokla was killed, and on the 22nd, he moved in the direction of Dummul, where the King of the Two Worlds was said to be. Dhoondia had however moved off, leaving a garrison of 1000 men in the place. The garrison was summoned, but refused to surrender. The place was immediately attacked and carried by escalade, 26th July. On the following day, Wellesley marched to Gudduck, and occupied the fort which was evacuated before his arrival. Dhoondia, having thus lost all his forts in Savanoor and in the Dharwar country, moved northwards with the intention of crossing the river Malpurba. While encamped at Soondooti, he heard of Wellesley’s approach, and broke up his army into three divisions. One division with the baggage encamped opposite Manoli, without crossing the river. Wellesley’s intention had been to await the arrival of Lieut. Colonel Bowser’s column that was operating to the eastward, but on hearing of the division of Dhoondia’s force, and of the baggage being on the Malpurba near Manoli, he resolved to attack at once. Making a rapid march of twenty-six miles, he fell upon the enemy with the cavalry at 3 o’clock in the afternoon of the 30th, effecting a complete surprise. The enemy were driven into the river, where great numbers of those who escaped the swords of the horsemen were drowned: six guns, and a great number of animals, especially horses, were captured, and the whole force destroyed.
Meanwhile, Dhoondia with another Division had doubled back westward along the south bank of the Malpurba. His adherents were beginning to leave him. Part of the Hyderabad detachment, augmented by a native cavalry regiment from Wellesley’s force, was now placed under Colonel Stevenson, and directed to follow Dhoondia along the Malpurba, while Wellesley moved parallel with Stevenson in the same direction, at a distance of fifteen miles from the river. On the 5th August, Wellesley reached Kittoor, where he halted for some days, for the purpose of making boats to cross the Malpurba. Here he learned that Dhoondia had crossed the Malpurba near its sources, and had again turned eastward to Cowdelghee. Stevenson meanwhile had marched on Hanoor. Dhoondia’s track was marked by the dead bodies of human beings and animals.
The 16th, 17th and 18th were occupied by Wellesley in crossing the Malpurba, to Hoobli: Lieut. Colonel Capper with a Brigade of infantry and a regiment of native cavalry were left on the south side of the river. At this time, Stevenson was marching along the south bank of the Gutpurba river by Hanoor, Gokauk, Cowdelghee and Bhagelcottah; Bowser was at Shapoor; while Wellesley moved eastwards along the north bank of the Malpurba. Dhoondia was steadily being pressed into the fork of the Gutpurba and Malpurba rivers. South of the Malpurba, Capper was moving parallel with the other British forces, through Soondooti, Hooli, and Jellahal. The only chance of Dhoondia’s escape was by a ford across the Malpurba, a little above its junction with the Kistna, but the swollen state of the river seemed to render the passage improbable. Still, to provide for this contingency, the Mahratta cavalry with Capper were directed to push on and hold the ford; but the rough handling they had received on the 30th June, at Kittoor, was still fresh in their minds, and they refused to leave the British camp. As fortune would have it, the improbable happened. The Malpurba suddenly fell, and Dhoondia crossed it on the 24th and 25th. He was however obliged to abandon five guns, some ammunition, arms &c. and ten thousand grain-carrying bullocks, all of which fell into Wellesley’s hands. Capper, who had taken the forts of Hooli and Syringhi by escalade on the 22nd, was at Jellahal when he crossed.
Dhoondia was now in the fork of the Kistna and Toombadra rivers, and had placed himself, for the moment, so far on the flank of his pursuers that, by rapid marching, he might have doubled back to Savanoor, where he would have done much mischief in destroying supplies prepared for Wellesley; or he might have crossed the Toombadra, with the aid of some local Chiefs who were believed to be favourable to him, and entered Mysore. To prevent the execution of either design, Wellesley crossed the Malpurba at Jellahal, and marched, first to Hunmunsagur, and then southward to Khanagheri, which he reached on the 7th September: Stevenson continued his march westward, crossed the Malpurba, and reached Hoonagoonda, on the 5th; from thence he continued eastward towards Deodroog. Between the two forces, were the Nizam’s and Peishwa’s horse, collected in one body. The chase was now drawing to a close. On the 8th, Wellesley left Khanagheri with the cavalry, and pressed on to Buswapore, the infantry and baggage following more slowly. On the 9th, he reached Yepalpurri, the infantry being fifteen miles behind at Shinoor. On the same day, Dhoondia broke up his camp at Mudgheri and moved northwards towards the Kistna, but, sighting Stevenson’s force, he turned south again, and encamped three miles from Conaghul, and about nine miles from Wellesley at Yepalpurri.
Wellesley had news of Dhoondia’s position the same evening, but the night was so bad, and the horses of the cavalry so fatigued, that he did not move till next day. Marching early on the 10th, he came on Dhoondia’s force, consisting of about 5000 horsemen, at Conaghul six miles from Yepalpurri. Dhoondia had left his camp and baggage, and was on the march westward, with the view of passing between the Nizam’s and Mahratta cavalry and Wellesley’s force, which he believed to be at Shinoor. He drew up at once in a very strong position, with his rear and left flank covered by the village and rock of Conaghul, “and stood for some time with apparent firmness.” Wellesley formed the 19th and 25th Light Dragoons and 1st and 2nd Native Cavalry into one line, and charged at their head.
“Such was the rapidity and determination of the charge made by those four regiments, which I was obliged to form in one line in order at all to equalise in length that of the enemy, that the whole gave way, and were pursued by my cavalry for many miles.”[42] Dhoondia’s body was recognised among the slain, and brought into camp on a galloper gun of the 19th. The same evening, Colonel Stevenson came up with the remains of the retreating enemy near Deodroog, and entirely dispersed them, capturing their remaining guns, baggage and cattle.
The episode of Dhoondia Wao is an instance of the danger likely to arise out of the overthrow of a military government, when a large number of disbanded men are suddenly thrown out of employ without means of subsistence. It was the overthrow of Tippoo’s kingdom and the dispersal of his large army that enabled Dhoondia to gather together so formidable a force. In like manner, it was the disbanding of so many French officers and soldiers in 1814, that gave Napoleon’s return from Elba a chance of success, and, in more recent times, the trouble that arose after the conquest of Burmah in 1886 was partly due to the large number of armed men suddenly deprived of means of subsistence, and left without control.
The short three months’ campaign had been a most harassing one to the troops, and especially to the cavalry, while it lasted. Writing to the Commander in Chief, at the close of operations, Wellesley says “The 19th and 25th Light Dragoons were in fine order when they joined the force, and I am happy to say they remain so in spite of the very harassing nature of the operations in which they have been engaged.”
The 19th had been commanded by Major Paterson during the campaign. At its close the regiment returned to Seringapatam with Wellesley. Early in 1801, they were moved to Cheyloor. The country was still in a very disturbed state. Several of the Hindoo feudatory Chiefs, known as Polygars, claimed independence for themselves on the overthrow of Tippoo’s rule; and, from their jungle fastnesses, committed depredations on the surrounding country. Chief among them were the Pyche Rajah, Kistnapah Naik, and a zemindar chief who styled himself the Rajah of Bullum. The Mysore forces were unable to deal effectually with them without the aid of British troops. Towards the end of the year, arrangements were made to settle accounts with the Rajah of Bullum, and, on the 8th January 1802, Wellesley left Seringapatam with 540 European infantry of the 77th and the Regiment de Meuron, four battalions of Sepoys, 500 pioneers, ten guns, and four mortars. On the 8th, he was joined, at Chinroypatam, by the 19th Light Dragoons, under Major Paterson, and the 5th Native Cavalry, with their galloper guns.