1792
On the 5th of February 1792, General the Earl Cornwallis directed Major-General Abercromby to march from his encampment near Periapatam, and on the 11th of that month he crossed the Cavery, at Eratore, a ford about thirty miles above Seringapatam, and joined the army under Earl Cornwallis on the 16th of February.
Meanwhile the army under General the Earl Cornwallis had attacked the forces of the Sultan on the night of the 6th of February, near Seringapatam, and gained a decisive victory.
The power of the Sultan being greatly reduced, and preparations for the siege of his capital having been commenced, he sued for peace, and a treaty was concluded, by which half of his dominions were ceded to the allies. A large sum of money was also to be paid by the Sultan, all the prisoners in his power were released, and two of his sons were delivered as hostages.
1793
The French Revolution, which had commenced a few years previously, had at this period assumed a character which called forth the efforts of other countries to arrest the progress of its destructive principles, and on the 1st of February 1793, shortly after the decapitation of Louis XVI., war was declared by the National Convention of France against Great Britain and Holland.
News of this event arrived in India in May 1793; in June the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment was ordered to prepare to take the field; it marched soon afterwards against the French settlement of Pondicherry, on the coast of Coromandel, and arrived before the fortress in July,—being formed in brigade, with the seventy-second and seventy-fourth regiments, and the third East India Company’s European regiment, under Lieut.-Colonel David Baird of the seventy-first regiment; the troops employed on this service were commanded by Colonel John Brathwaite.
The siege of Pondicherry was commenced in the early part of August, the army encamping in a thick wood where tigers were so numerous, that the natives durst not travel in the night. On the 22nd of August a white flag was displayed by the garrison, with a request for permission to surrender. The French soldiers in the fortress had embraced democratical principles, and were particularly insubordinate; they insisted that the governor should surrender, but after the white flag was displayed, they fired two shells, which killed several men. During the night they were guilty of every species of outrage, breaking into houses and becoming intoxicated. On the following morning, a number of them environed the house of the Governor, General Charmont, and threatened to hang him before the door, when application was made to the British for protection. The English soldiers rushed into the town, overpowered the insurgents, rescued the governor, and preserved the inhabitants from further violence.
1795
In the early part of the year 1795, Holland became united to France, and was styled the Batavian republic. When information of this event arrived in India, an expedition was immediately fitted out against the large and mountainous island of Ceylon, where the Dutch had several settlements, and the SEVENTY-THIRD Highlanders were selected to take part in the enterprise; the troops employed on this service were commanded by Colonel James Stuart, of the seventy-second, who was promoted to the rank of Major-General at this period. The fleet arrived on the coast of Ceylon on the 1st of August, and two days afterwards they landed four miles north of the Fort of Trincomalee; the siege of the place was commenced as soon as the artillery and stores could be landed, and removed sufficiently near to the place. On the 26th of August a practicable breach was effected, and the garrison surrendered. The fort of Batticaloe surrendered on the 18th of September, and the fort and island of Manaar capitulated on the 5th of October.