Clive, though he had voted with the majority, appears, almost immediately afterwards, to have satisfied himself, that there was no other road to safety and honour, but by moving forward; and without consulting[155] any individual, much less the council of war he had so unwisely assembled, on the very evening of the day on which the council had been held[156], changing his purpose, he determined to march against the enemy, and accordingly gave orders for his army to cross the river the following morning.
It is stated[157], that before he carried this resolution into effect, he had received a letter from Meer Jaffier, which, though it in some degree removed the doubts he had before entertained of the sincerity of that leader, confirmed him in his opinion, that the success of the enterprize must wholly depend upon the advance of the British troops.
Though mature deliberation appears to have convinced Clive, that the object he had in view, the security of the English in Bengal, quite warranted the hazard which was incurred for its attainment, he still proceeded with that caution which was necessary in an enterprize, where the safety of the whole of the military force in this part of India might be compromised by the treachery or cowardice of a native chief, and where even success in a battle would not have accomplished his purpose, unless those with whom the English interests were associated proved true to their engagements.
It is only by considering the circumstances in which he was placed that we can understand the hesitating conduct of Clive previous to his advance to Plassey, the defensive character of the action, and the solicitude[158] which he showed to repress that ardour and forward spirit in those under him, which on ordinary occasions it was his habit and his pride to stimulate and encourage. It is obvious, that his qualities as a soldier, in this short and almost bloodless, but eventful campaign, were rendered strictly subordinate to the talents of the statesman.
At sunrise next morning[159] the army began to pass the Hooghley, and at four in the afternoon were all landed on the left bank of the river. The boats were then towed up the stream with great toil, accompanied by the army, and having advanced fifteen miles in eight hours, about one in the morning of the 23d of June, reached Plassey. The troops immediately took possession of an adjoining grove.[160]
Clive's intelligence had led him to expect that the enemy lay a few miles from Cossimbazar; but a rapid march had already brought them on to the fortified camp so long occupied by a part of the Nabob's forces near Plassey: and soon after he had taken his ground, the sound of drums, clarions, and cymbals distinctly heard, convinced him, that the whole force of the enemy was encamped about a mile off. Guards were immediately stationed, and the troops were permitted to take rest for the night.
At sunrise the enemy, now aware of his march, issued from their camp in all their force, with their artillery, and commenced a heavy cannonade. Clive, who expected a communication from Meer Jaffier, looked anxiously for its arrival: but the messenger, who on the morning of this eventful day was charged with a note from that officer, never delivered it. Still, however, Clive watched with anxiety to see his friends separate from his foes, ready to take advantage of that trepidation and confusion which such movements must produce. The charge of the English forces was accelerated by one of the Nabob's principal commanders[161] being killed: Clive advanced to an easy victory. But the account of the events which preceded this battle, the occurrences which gave success to it, and its results, are clearly and fully stated in the following letter, written by Clive a month after he reached Moorshedabad, to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors. In this letter, which is dated the 26th of July, Clive observes:—