Fought May 13, 1791, between the British under Lord Cornwallis, and the forces of Tippu Sahib. The latter was encamped between Arikera and Seringapatam, and was attacked by Cornwallis, who attempted to surprise him by a night march, but was foiled by heavy rain. A frontal attack on Tippu's position was, however, successful, and, aided by a flank movement under Maxwell, resulted in the total defeat of the Mysore troops, with a loss of over 2,000. The British loss amounted to 500. This is also known as the battle of Carigat.
Arius, The.
Fought B.C. 214, between the Syrians under Antiochus the Great, and the Parthians and Bactrians under Arsaces III, and Euthydemus. Antiochus was severely wounded, but remained at the head of his troops, and completely routed the enemy with enormous loss.
Arkenholm (Douglas Rebellion).
Fought May 12, 1455, between the troops of James II of Scotland and the rebels under the Douglas brothers. The rebels were completely defeated. Archibald Douglas was killed, Hugh captured, and James, Earl of Douglas, forced to take refuge in England.
Arklow (Irish Rebellion).
Fought 1798, when General Needham, with about 1,400 Militia and Volunteers, defended the town from the attack of 27,000 rebels led by Father John Murphy. The rebels were beaten off with great slaughter, and their intended advance on Dublin prevented.
Armada, The Invincible.
The fight with the Spanish Armada in the Channel began on Sunday, July 21, 1588, and lasted with intervals until the 30th. The Armada consisted of 130 ships, many of large size, under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia. The English fleet numbered 197 in all, but only 34 were Queen's ships, and of these but 8 were over 600 tons burden. Lord Howard of Effingham commanded, with Drake and Hawkins as his lieutenants. The English vessels hung on to the flanks of the Spanish ships as they sailed up channel, harassing them in every way, and doing considerable damage, until the Armada anchored in Calais roads. Here many of their finest vessels were captured or destroyed by fire-ships, and finally on the 30th, Medina Sidonia decided to attempt to escape northwards. His fleet was scattered by storms, and many wrecked on the Scotch and Irish coasts, and in the end only about one-half of the Armada returned to Spain.