LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
FOOTNOTES
[1] At the commencement of the siege the garrison numbered twenty thousand men of all arms, and more than two hundred and fifty pieces of cannon were mounted on the works. Indeed, Tippoo’s arsenal was amply stocked with artillery—for more than six hundred pieces, in all the variety of Indian calibre, fell into the hands of the English after the capture of the place.
[2] After a night attack on one of these in front of the position, from which the besiegers had been greatly annoyed by a constant discharge of musketry, a curious incident occurred while returning in the dark to the lines. Lieutenant Lambton came up, and assured the general to whose staff he was attached, that the troops, instead of marching from, were marching on the enemy. The guide, on being referred to, was obstinate in asserting that he was right, while Lambton declared that in the starlight he had clearly ascertained that instead of moving to the southward, the troops were marching directly north. Baird procured a pocket-compass—and, putting a fire-fly on the glass, ascertained that his march was erroneous, and his guide entirely astray. Fortunately, he had time to remedy the mistake—jocularly observing, that “in future he should put more faith in the stars than he had done formerly”—Hook.
[3] Sir,—The breach being reported practicable, the Commander-in-Chief desires that the assault may be made this day, at one P.M.
I have the honour, &c. &c.
(Signed) Barry Close, Adjt.-Gen. &c. &c.
Head Quarters, Camp, 4th May, 1799.
[4] On the 24th July, 1780, the cavalry of Hyder Aly, being within nine miles of Madras, a despatch was sent off to Colonel Bailey, who was in the Northern Circar, with a force of about three or four thousand men, to join Sir Hector Munro’s army at the mount at Madras. Most unfortunately, however, this order was subsequently changed, and Colonel Bailey was directed to proceed direct to Conjeverone. On his way to join Sir Hector Munro, he fell in with a detachment of Hyder’s army, under the command of his son Tippoo, consisting of thirty thousand cavalry, eight thousand foot, and twelve pieces of cannon. Notwithstanding the vast numerical superiority of this force over that of Colonel Bailey, considerably weakened by a mutiny in the first regiment of cavalry, which it had been found necessary to march prisoners to Madras, they were most decisively repulsed. This victory, splendid as was the achievement, was dearly bought; since, by again diminishing the effective strength of this little army, he considerably added to the dangers and difficulties of his situation. At this juncture Colonel Bailey sent off a messenger to Sir Hector Munro, informing him of the precarious state in which he found himself. In consequence, a detachment was sent to Bailey’s assistance, under the command of Colonel Fletcher, consisting of the flank companies of the 73rd, two of European grenadiers, and eleven of sepoys, making altogether about a thousand men. Dreading an attack, Colonel Fletcher avoided it by altering his line of march, and making a wide detour, which, although it added to their fatigue, insured their safety, and enabled them to join Colonel Bailey on the morning of the 9th, having, nevertheless, fallen in with Hyder’s pickets close to his position at Perambaukum. The troops of this detachment, wearied as they were, were permitted to halt only till the evening, when the whole force marched under the command of Colonel Bailey to join Sir Hector Munro. Hyder had again obtained the most correct intelligence of their movements, and taking advantage of the necessary delay in the return of this gallant body of troops, enfiladed every part of the road by which they were to march with artillery, and placed his best infantry in ambuscade at every available point. The English troops had not proceeded more than four miles, when an alarm was given that the enemy was on their flank. They immediately formed, but finding the attack was not serious, continued their march. The road lay through an avenue of banyan trees, with a jungle on either side, and upon their entrance into this road they were again attacked on their flanks by the enemy’s opening two or three guns, and commencing a fire of some musketry from the thick part of the jungle. They instantly halted, and immediately afterwards endeavoured to take the guns, but the darkness frustrated their efforts. And then it was that Colonel Bailey determined to halt till daylight; a determination at first sight incompatible with the admitted necessity of making the march by night, and which, while it not only afforded an opportunity to the enemy to draw off his cannon to another and stronger point, which the English had inevitably to pass in the morning, practically announced to Tippoo the exact position in which he had checked them, and moreover suggested to Hyder the importance of advancing, in order to take advantage of their unexpected halt. Colonel Bailey’s words, explanatory of his decision, which he addressed to Captain Baird, were, “I am determined to halt till daylight, that I may have an opportunity of seeing about me.” At daylight they accordingly recommenced their march, and as the column moved out of the avenue into the plain, a battery of eight guns opened upon it, supported by a strong body of cavalry and infantry. Bailey immediately ordered Captains Kennedy and Gowdie, with the native grenadiers, to attack them; they did so, and succeeded in taking most of the guns, and in driving back the troops who supported them. But at this moment the heads of the different columns of Hyder’s army appeared—Hyder having passed Sir Hector Munro in the night—moving down upon the line, which induced Kennedy and Gowdie immediately to call off their detachment from the captured guns to join the main body. At this juncture Bailey formed his force, consisting of little more than three thousand men, in line upon the bank of an old nullah, or watercourse, and opened his guns upon the enemy; but Hyder, too powerful an antagonist for a mere handful of men, so disposed his immense army as completely to surround him, and commenced a destructive fire upon him from his artillery in every direction. The various descriptions of this memorable and most unequal contest all agree in confirming the belief, that vast as was the disparity between the contending armies, and although Hyder had upwards of seventy pieces of cannon in the field, the day would have been won by the English if the fortune of war had not been so decidedly against them. The enemy were repeatedly and continually repulsed, their infantry gave way, while their cavalry were falling in all directions, and it is said, Hyder was only prevented from retreating by the persuasions of Colonel Lally, who represented to him that retiring would bring him in contact with Sir Hector Munro, who was in his rear; and at this moment, and while the English were actually sustaining the combined attack of Hyder and his son Tippoo, two of their tumbrils exploded, and in an instant the brave men, who were on the eve of gaining one of the most splendid victories ever achieved, were deprived of their ammunition and the services of all their artillery. In this helpless and dreadful state, under a heavy and tremendous fire of cannon and rockets, these gallant, but unfortunate soldiers, remained from half-past seven until nine o’clock. The slaughter of the British began to be tremendous, as the enemy closed in upon them on every side. Colonel Fletcher had carried off the grenadier company of the 73rd to support the rear-guard, and was never heard of more. Hyder Aly came with his whole army on their right flank, charging them with columns of horse, while the infantry kept up a heavy fire of musketry. These were followed by the elephants and Mysore cavalry, which completed the overthrow of the gallant band of heroes. In the midst of this, Colonel Bailey, wounded as he was, formed his men into a square, and without ammunition received and repulsed thirteen different attacks of the enemy’s squadrons. At length the case became evidently hopeless, and the sepoys, under Captain Lucas, having been broken and dispersed, Colonel Bailey, seeing that further resistance was vain, tied his handkerchief on his sword as a flag of truce, and ordered Captain Baird, who was now second in command, to cease firing. Hyder’s officers refused to attend to Colonel Bailey’s signal, pointing to the sepoys, who in their confusion were still continuing to fire; this, however, being explained, they agreed to give quarter, and Colonel Bailey directed Captain Baird to order his men to ground their arms. The order was of course obeyed, and the instant it was so, the enemy’s cavalry, commanded by Tippoo Saib in person, rushed upon the unarmed troops before they could recover themselves, cutting down every man within their reach.—Abridged from Hook’s “Life of Baird.”
[5] “During this period, Hyder sent some of his principal officers to induce the English to enter his service. He offered them three times as much pay as they received in our army, and as many horses, palanquins, and wives as they chose.”—Life of Sir David Baird.
[6] He ordered his personal servants to load the carbines which they carried for his own use, and hastened along the ramparts towards the breach. He repeatedly fired; and one of his servants saw him bring down several Europeans near the top of the breach.