Clive, when at Madras, had, as before stated, access to the governor's library, and, according to his own account, this opportunity of improving himself was not neglected; but whatever knowledge he might have attained, his general habits appear to have continued the same; and it is probable these might have arrested his progress to distinction, had not the occurrence of a war with the French led to his adopting a profession, for which he was by disposition infinitely better fitted than for that which he abandoned.
Clive sought for and obtained an ensign's commission in the army in 1747, and was present with the troops with which Admiral Boscawen, in 1748, made an unsuccessful attack on Pondicherry. The young soldier became at once distinguished for his activity and forward gallantry. It is probable, however, that from having been a civilian, he was at first viewed with jealousy by his military companions. We are told that on one occasion, when an anxiety to obtain ammunition for the battery where he was posted led him, instead of sending a serjeant or corporal, to run himself to bring it, a remark was made, which implied that it was fear, not zeal, which caused him to leave his post at such a moment. This remark was repeated to Clive, who instantly went to the person by whom it was made, to insist upon a distinct acknowledgment or disavowal of the slander. The latter was attempted, but not to his satisfaction, and a challenge ensued. As they were retiring to settle this dispute, his opponent, irritated by some circumstance, struck him. Clive instantly drew his sword, but they were prevented fighting by persons who witnessed the transaction. A court of inquiry was held on their conduct, and the officer who had defamed Clive was ordered to ask his pardon in front of the battalion to which they belonged. The court, however, having taken no notice of the blow, Clive, when the service was over, insisted on satisfaction for that unpardonable insult. On this being refused, he waved his cane over the head of his antagonist, telling him he was too contemptible a coward to be beaten. The day after this transaction the person he had so disgraced resigned his commission.[27]
No one of these early disputes with his brother officers can be traced to a perverse[28] or quarrelsome temper. Clive appears in all to have been the party offended. The resolute manner in which he resented the injuries done to him raised his reputation for courage, and no doubt protected him from further insult and outrage.
From the date of Clive's entering the army till the year 1756, we have no letters or papers of his own that can throw any light upon this active and eventful period of his life; but the deficiency is well supplied by the plain narrative of the gallant commander[29] under whom he served, and by an able writer[30], who dwells upon the development of his character and his early exploits, with all the interest which their local importance was calculated to inspire in one, who, to his high qualifications as an historian, added the fullest acquaintance with the scenes and persons he so well describes.
A prince of the name of Sahojee, who had seven years before lost the throne of Tanjore, came to Fort St. David to solicit the English to restore him. He represented his title to the throne as just, and affirmed that he had numerous and powerful adherents, who would come forward the moment they saw him supported; but what had most weight with the gentlemen at Fort St. David was his offer to cede Devecotta, a town situated near the mouth of the Coleroon, the possession of which, it was thought, would prove most advantageous to the trade of the Company on the coast of Coromandel. The first expedition, which was sent under the command of Captain Cope, was early compelled to return, from the difficulties of the country and want of provisions: and the report of the commander described Sahojee as being totally destitute of those adherents of whom he had boasted.
The failure of this expedition served only to stimulate to another effort those who had the management of the Company's affairs. It was indispensable, they thought, to repair the disgrace incurred by a retreat before the troops of a native state, but they so far paid attention to the information given by Captain Cope, as to determine that the capture of Devecotta, not the restoration of Sahojee, should be their first object.
The second expedition, consisting of 800 Europeans and 1,500 sepoys, which was placed under the command of Major Lawrence, succeeded in taking Devecotta, and in making a treaty with the rajah of Tanjore, who ceded that fort with a small portion of territory to the Company, granting at the same time 4,000 rupees per mensem to the fugitive prince whose cause they had adopted, on condition that he was not again to disturb the peace of the country.