Chapter III: Part 3

Colonel Floyd, having dispersed the body of cavalry, the troops were ordered to return to camp, which they had not reached a quarter of an hour, when some guns were opened from the opposite side of the river, whose shot came direct into the lines: the lines immediately turned out, and the tents, which were scarcely pitched, were ordered to be struck. The enemy was perceived in great force on both sides of the river; and three columns, two of infantry and one of cavalry, on the same side of the river with the British detachment, could be distinguished marching with rapidity round the left flank, which the foe seemed endeavouring to penetrate; the opening of the guns on the opposite side, and showing force there, being intended to withdraw attention from his intended attack, Colonel Floyd moved out the infantry to a commanding ground, with the British right towards the river, and the left extended so as to cover _Sattimungulum_, and prevent the enemy getting on his flank.

The first line consisted of the First Native battalion on the right; the THIRTY-SIXTH King’s regiment, the Fifth and Twenty-fifth Native battalions on the left; the cannon consisted of one eighteen-brass-pounder, two twelve-pounders, and eight sixes.

The ground between the British and that occupied by the forces of Tippoo Saib was low and intersected with thick hedges; the British left was covered by stony rugged ground, difficult of approach; the enemy formed his line nearly parallel to the British, having his left extended to the river at about twelve hundred yards distance. Before the troops had well taken up their position, the enemy opened some guns; the ground was exceedingly stony, as was most of the county adjacent, which in a great manner prevented Tippoo making use of his cavalry during the day. The British cavalry formed a second line, about half a mile in the rear; the baggage was moved under the cover of some hills about the same distance in the rear and on the right flank of the cavalry; the enemy kept firing from three or four guns from the opposite side of the river during the whole of the day, the British right being within shot of them, to which one battalion was fronted to hinder him from crossing the river, as it was fordable in that part. One native battalion (the sixteenth) remained in the fort, where it had been stationed some time.

When the cannonade first commenced it was about eleven o’clock, A.M. Soon after the British had taken up their ground the enemy opened about sixteen guns, and in a short time had the range of the line very exactly. Colonel Deare, of the Bengal Artillery, who was on the right giving some necessary directions, was shot through the body shortly after the commencement of the action. At about one o’clock the axletrees of the two twelve-pounders broke, and rendered those two guns useless; these were the best the British had for the purpose.

Finding that the men were beginning to suffer very much, as nearly every ball struck the line, Colonel Floyd, not wishing to give up his advantageous position, ordered the men to lie down, which preserved the lives of several. The troops obeyed these directions, and sustained with the greatest coolness and fortitude the galling fire of the enemy. The cannonade continued without the least intermission until it was quite dark, about eight at night. Tippoo’s forces, supposing from the inactivity of the British during the day that a night attack was meditated, withdrew about six miles back on the road by which they had advanced that morning.

The British were not able to do the enemy much injury, for the six-pounders scarcely reached his line; the slaughter among the draught cattle was very great, nearly two-thirds of them being killed. The THIRTY-SIXTH had Lieutenant Dennis Kelly Armstrong and twenty-five men killed; Lieutenant John Vallancy and about forty men were wounded.

When the cannonade ceased, every assistance was given to the wounded; from the situation of the baggage and stores no refreshment could be procured for the men except a dram of arrack, the cattle carrying water for the men having been mostly killed, and the drivers fearing to come to the lines, water was much wanted. A council of war was held during the night, in which it was agreed to force a way through the enemy’s lines about three o’clock in the morning of the 14th of September, and join Major-General (afterwards Sir William) Medows, to whom information had been sent on the night of the 12th or morning of the 13th. Every endeavour was made to repair the two twelve-pounders, and settle the other guns so as to move; the want of cattle was so great that it was impossible to draw all the guns; the baggage was searched, and all the private draught bullocks that could be obtained were brought to the lines, but on trial would not move the guns. The necessary instructions were given for the march, which was to take place, from the left, in the following manner:--The grenadiers of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment to lead, provided with instruments for spiking the enemy’s guns; the Twenty-fifth Native battalion next, then the Fifth battalion; the battalion companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment; the Sixteenth and First Native battalions; the light company of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment in the rear. The cavalry were to march in a separate column on the left. The sixteenth battalion of sepoys was ordered to be withdrawn from the fort about twelve at night, but did not arrive until five, to which may be attributed the engagement on the 14th, as the troops would otherwise have been two hours’ march in advance of the enemy. It was only found possible to repair one of the twelve-pounders, and that with much exertion; upon collecting all the bullocks that could be obtained, the eighteen-pounder, two six-pounders, and two tumbrils were obliged to be left on the ground, besides the broken down twelve-pounder; one wheel of the eighteen-pounder had been much damaged, as was the timber, and one of the six-pounders; unfortunately the followers, the people with the baggage, and the wounded, who were moved behind one of the hills in the rear, being out of danger, were not properly informed of the intended march, and were left almost to the mercy of the enemy’s horse. The first they knew of the movement was seeing the line in motion, and every one then endeavoured to make the best of his way to it; some of the dooly-men ran off, as did most of the followers, leaving the sick and a great portion of the baggage on the ground; when it was sufficiently light, it was perceived that the enemy had left the position occupied by him during the night. The British line moved off about five o’clock, and was obliged to lift the guns on by hand, which caused the troops to get on very slowly. Before the ground had been well quitted, it was covered by the enemy’s troops, who could be seen cutting down every straggler they met; they came close on the rear, annoying it as much as they could; all the wounded and sick as were able to make their way to the line were placed on the guns, and such officers’ horses as could be found; in a short time the guns were laden with them as much as could by any method be placed on them, which much increased the difficulty of moving, the soldiers being chiefly obliged to drag the guns. The march was continued unmolested except by small parties of horse, until the troops arrived within about four miles of _Shawoor_, five miles from _Sattimungulum_. The country was very close, and there being but one road between two rugged hills, the British formed one column, the cavalry leading; these moving faster than the infantry had reached Shawoor, and were most of them dismounted collecting forage, when Tippoo’s forces were perceived on some rising ground on the right flank, gaining on the British with great rapidity. The centre of the line had just reached some rising ground, when the enemy opened two guns; the second shot killed and wounded four men of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment. The line kept still moving forward, the enemy closing on it in all directions, his cavalry making several charges in front, and particularly on the rear; some of his infantry had by this time got very close without being perceived, as the country was much intersected with hedges, and annoyed the line greatly with musketry and rockets, particularly the centre and rear. The line halted, and fronted the enemy. When the British musketry commenced, the enemy’s horse had formed completely round the troops, and were making constant charges at the line in all directions, several times coming close to the ranks; the most numerous attacks were on the rear flank; the light company of the THIRTY-SIXTH was much pressed, and several were killed and wounded; this company continued the arduous conflict until the ammunition was expended, when charging with the bayonet Captain William Hartley of the THIRTY-SIXTH was killed.

The light company was immediately relieved by a battalion company of the THIRTY-SIXTH, which was again relieved by another company on the ammunition being expended.

In this cool and spirited manner the engagement was carried on for about two hours and a half with the same regularity as on a common field day, when the enemy’s cavalry, consisting of about two thousand, in two dense columns, made a circuit and charged the grenadier company, commanded by Captain Robert Burne, of the THIRTY-SIXTH, but were effectually checked by a steady and well-directed fire from the company, which caused them to wheel off to the south. During the engagement, and immediately after this event, an officer of the British artillery, seeing a chief of the enemy’s army mounted on an elephant encouraging his troops on to the attack, directed his fire against him, and killed him with the third shot. This chief proved to be Bunham-ud-deen, the commander of the army, and a near relative of the Sultan Tippoo Saib.

This event, in addition to the discouraging circumstance of having been repulsed with considerable loss in every attempt to break the British line, decided the fate of the day; the enemy retired from the contest, and by four o’clock in the afternoon left his opponents complete masters of the field of battle.

Colonel Floyd, with the cavalry, being a few miles in advance, on the sudden appearance of the enemy’s cavalry, and hearing from Colonel Oldham the situation of the infantry, immediately formed line, and charged the foe, who, dreading to come in contact with the troops that had, in the early skirmish on the previous day, given him such a severe specimen of their prowess, moved off at too rapid a rate to be overtaken; a pursuit was, however, kept up for some time, and, after scouring the country for a distance round, the troops were enabled to rest quietly during the night at the village of Shawoor, where they arrived about seven o’clock in the evening.

Colonel Floyd having during the action received intelligence of the arrival of Major-General Medows at Vellady that day, a distance of about twenty miles from Shawoor, the march of the entire detachment was in consequence directed to that village; and, moving off at three o’clock in the morning of the 15th of September, arrived there at sunset in the evening, quite overcome by fatigue, thirst, and hunger.

The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, which had borne the brunt of the contest, had no refreshment from the evening of the 13th until late on that of the 15th of September, excepting a supply of tobacco procured by Lieutenant William Chambers, of the THIRTY-SIXTH, immediately after the action, from a cabin in the neighbourhood of the line. The good qualities of this plant are well known to soldiers and sailors, and under these circumstances this timely supply proved a matter of great importance to the men. It allayed their hunger and thirst, revived their spirits, and afforded infinite relief during the remainder of their long and fatiguing march.

It is to be observed that Tippoo’s regular troops, called the “Tiger Infantry,” were the attacking force on this occasion, and were so named from their jackets having the emblem stripe of the royal tiger woven in the cloth. A report was also current, that after the battle Tippoo asked the officers why they had not destroyed the Feringhee battalion; to which they replied, that “they had done their best, but the battalion wearing the colour of their prophet (the facings of the THIRTY-SIXTH being _green_), could not be vanquished by any troops in the world.”

The army returned to Coimbatore on the 23d of September. The Sultan, disappointed in his object of destroying the divisions of the British army in detail, resolved to attack the chain of depôts; he gained possession of Errode and the stores at that place, and afterwards marched southwards. The British troops advanced from Coimbatore on the 29th of September, and, arriving at Errode on the 4th of October, found the place abandoned, and Tippoo’s army gone. He had marched in the direction of Coimbatore; but, hearing that the garrison was augmented, he advanced rapidly upon Darraporam, against which the Sultan opened his batteries on the 8th of October. The fort had no cannon mounted, and the garrison, consisting of a hundred Europeans and two hundred sepoys, capitulated on honourable terms, to which the enemy strictly adhered.

The British army moved on the 5th of October, and on the 15th of that month encamped in the neighbourhood of Coimbatore, where Lieut.-Colonel Stuart joined from Palghautcherry, after having taken the place, and left it in a tolerable state of defence. The pursuit of the Sultan was continued, the troops traversing extensive tracts of country, and undergoing much fatigue under an Indian sun. In the middle of November the army traversed the difficult pass of Tappoor, winding through deep valleys, and dragging the guns over precipices. Here the advance fell in with the rear of Tippoo’s force, but could make no impression. The Sultan resolved to leave the British troops in his own country, and to invade the Carnatic, which would bring the English back for the defence of Trichinopoly. Major-General Medows was about to carry offensive plans into execution, when the movements of Tippoo rendered it necessary to return to the Carnatic, and the army arrived at the vicinity of Trichinopoly in the middle of December.

[Sidenote: 1791.]

On the 1st of January 1791, the army arrived at Terrimungulum, and on the 12th at Arnee. During this long and fatiguing march the Anglo-Indian troops frequently encamped upon the ground from which the enemy had removed in the morning; but the efforts made to overtake him were not successful. The sick and heavy guns having been placed in the fort of Arnee, on the 14th of January the advance and right wing marched for Velhout, where they arrived on the 27th, followed by the left wing.

On the 29th of January the army was reviewed by General Charles Earl Cornwallis, K. G., who had arrived from Bengal to assume the command, and who expressed great satisfaction at the appearance of the troops. His Lordship was at this period Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, and had quitted Bengal on the 6th of December of the previous year, and landed at Fort St. George, Madras, on the 30th of the same month.

The army arrived in the vicinity of Vellore on the 11th of February 1791, and the troops were ordered into the fort. Tippoo was prepared to oppose any attempt to penetrate into the country under his dominion by the easiest passes; but Earl Cornwallis contrived the appearance of a march towards Amboor, which completely deceived the Sultan; and then turning suddenly to the north, traversed the difficult pass of Muglee, without the enemy having power to offer the least obstruction, and arrived on the 20th of February on the table-land of the Mysore country. Two days afterwards the troops commenced their march towards the strong fortress of _Bangalore_.

The following graphic description of the Fort of Bangalore is extracted from Colonel Mark Wilks’s History of the South of India:--

“The Fort of Bangalore, entirely rebuilt of strong masonry by
Hyder and his son Tippoo, is nearly of an oval form, with round
towers at proper intervals, and five powerful cavaliers, a
_fausse-braye_, a good ditch and covered way without palisades,
and some well-furnished places of arms; but the _glacis_ is
imperfect in several places; no part was entirely destitute
of the support of reciprocal fire, but in no part was there a
perfect flanking defence. There were two gateways, one named the
Mysore, the other the Delhi gate; the latter opposite the pettah,
overbuilt by the projection of traverses, common to Indian forts.
The pettah, or town, of great extent, to the north of the fort,
was surrounded by an indifferent rampart, and excellent ditch,
with an intermediate berm, if such it may be called, of nearly
a hundred yards wide, planted with impenetrable and well-grown
thorns; and this defence was only intermitted exactly opposite
the fort, where there was a slight barrier, and an esplanade of
insufficient extent. The pettah had several gates, protected by a
sort of _flêche_ at the end of each _sortie_ outside the ditch.
Neither the fort or pettah had drawbridges.”

An attack on the Delhi gate of the pettah was made early in the morning of the 7th of March 1791 by the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, commanded by Captain Andrew Wight, supported by the Third brigade of sepoys, under Lieut.-Colonel Cockerell, and a few six-pounders under Colonel Moorehouse. The zigzag approach to the gate was scarcely twenty feet wide; two field-pieces were opened on the gate, but that being supported behind by a piece of masonry-work, three feet high and three feet thick, the shot, penetrating through the gate above, had no effect in bringing it down.

All this time the troops were exposed to a destructive shower of musketry from the turrets, on which a heavy fire was kept up by the assailants, when two pieces of ordnance were advanced, and their fire being directed at the lower part of the gate and masonry work, shattered it so much that, with the assistance of the troops, a sufficient opening was made to admit one person to enter, which happened to be Lieutenant John Eyre of the light company of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment. The soldiers continuing their exertions, at length pulled down the gate, and immediately entered, when the enemy fled with precipitation to the fort.

Lieutenant Eyre had received a sabre blow from a cavalry soldier, which cut through his cap, wounded his forehead, and knocked him down, but recovering his feet immediately, he joined his company in pursuit of the enemy. Shortly afterwards the enemy made a great effort to retake the pettah, but being immediately charged with the bayonet from street to street, were driven back with considerable loss, and the British were left in undisturbed possession of the town. In this attack, Captain Jeremiah Delany, of the THIRTY-SIXTH, was killed.

The efforts of the troops were now directed to the reduction of the fort,--and every preparation for the approaching siege was carried on with diligence and activity. On the 15th of March, the batteries being completed, opened a fire upon _Bangalore_, and on the 17th the lines were cannonaded by the enemy, while at night the camp was much disturbed by his rockets.

Forage became very scarce, and none could be procured beyond the advanced piquets. The siege, however, proceeded, and the enemy continued to harass the British until the 21st of March, when the breach being considered practicable, an attack was ordered.

The storming party consisted of the grenadiers of the THIRTY-SIXTH, Fifty-second, Seventy-first, Seventy-second, Seventy-fourth, and Seventy-sixth regiments, followed by their respective light companies, and led by Lieutenant James Duncan of the Seventy-first, and Lieutenant John Evans of the Fifty-second, with a forlorn hope of thirty chosen men; the whole supported by the battalion companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH, Seventy-second, and Seventy-sixth, with some battalions of Bengal sepoys. The corps of attack were commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell of the Seventy-fourth, the flankers immediately by Major Skelly; Major-General Medows was present on the occasion.

The troops proceeded on this enterprise at eleven o’clock on a fine moonlight night on the 21st of March, and after a sharp conflict, by one o’clock in the morning they became masters of the important fortress of _Bangalore_.

In the Orders issued on the following day, it was stated:--

“LORD CORNWALLIS feels the most sensible gratification in
congratulating the officers and soldiers of the army on the
honourable issue of the fatigues and dangers they have undergone
during the late arduous siege. Their alacrity and _firmness_[11]
in the execution of their various duties, has, perhaps, never
been exceeded, and he shall not only think it incumbent on him to
represent their meritorious conduct in the strongest colours;
but he shall ever remember it with the sincerest esteem and
admiration.

“The conduct of all the regiments which happened, in their
tour, to be on duty that evening, did credit in every respect
to their spirit and discipline; but _his Lordship desires to
offer the tribute of his particular and warmest praise to the
European grenadiers and light infantry of the army, and to the_
THIRTY-SIXTH, _Seventy-second, and Seventy-sixth regiments,
who led the attack and carried the fortress, and who, by their
behavior on that occasion, furnished a conspicuous proof, that
discipline and valour in soldiers, when directed by zeal and
capacity in officers, are irresistible_.”

On the 28th of March the army quitted Bangalore to join the forces of the Nizam, amounting to about fifteen thousand cavalry, sent to co-operate with the English in this war, and the junction was effected on the 13th of April. The army afterwards returned to Bangalore, where preparations were made for the siege of Seringapatam; the troops advanced upon the capital of the Mysore on the 4th of May, and on the 13th of that month arrived at Arakerry, on the Cavery, about eight miles below Seringapatam, which derived its name from the god _Serung_, to whom one of the pagodas was dedicated. The enemy was discernible in front, with his right resting on the river, and his left on a high hill named the Carighaut.

During the night of the 14th of May, the troops marched with a view to surprise the enemy; but owing to the badness of the weather and roads, together with the jaded state of the gun-bullocks, little or no progress was made during the night; but on the following day, after having undergone great fatigue, they were brought into action, when the enemy was driven from his strong position, and forced across the river into the island upon which the capital, Seringapatam, is situated, where he was protected by his batteries. In this affair Lieutenant John Turner was severely wounded, which caused his death.

The army rested upon the field of battle, and was again in movement on the 18th of May, and arrived on the 20th at Canambaddy, situated on the Cavery, some miles above Seringapatam. It was now ascertained that the season was too far advanced for undertaking immediately the siege of Tippoo’s capital, and it was determined accordingly to withdraw. The battering train was destroyed; all the ammunition and stores were buried which could not be removed, and on the 26th of May the army marched in the direction of Bangalore.

Before commencing their retreat the soldiers were thanked in orders for their conduct throughout these services, and it was added:--

“So long as there were any hopes of reducing _Seringapatam_
before the commencement of the heavy rains, the
Commander-in-Chief thought himself happy in availing himself
of their willing services; but the unexpected bad weather for
some time experienced having rendered the attack of the enemy’s
capital impracticable until the conclusion of the ensuing
monsoons, Lord Cornwallis thought he should make an ill return
for the zeal and alacrity exhibited by the soldiers, if he
desired them to draw the guns and stores back to a magazine,
where there remains an ample supply of both, which was captured
by their valour; he did not, therefore, hesitate to order the
guns, and stores which were not wanted for field service, to be
destroyed.”

In the course of this retreat the British were joined by the Mahratta army, under Hurry Punt and Purseram Bhow, consisting of about thirty-two thousand men, chiefly cavalry, and thirty pieces of cannon. Of the approach of this large force the British had been kept in total ignorance by the active manner in which the communications were interrupted by Tippoo’s irregular troops. Captain Little, having under his orders two battalions of Bombay sepoys, joined with the Mahratta army, and the supplies were now abundant.

The army arrived at Bangalore on the 11th of July, and the enemy made no attempt whatever to interrupt the march. By this time the Nizam’s cavalry had become unfit to keep the field, and were allowed to return to their own country. Purseram Bhow also, with a large detachment of the Mahrattas, proceeded into the Sera country; but Hurry Punt, with the remainder, continued attached to the British army. On the 15th of July the whole of the sick and one-half of the tumbrils belonging to the field-pieces were sent into the fort of Bangalore, and the army moved towards Oussoor, where it arrived on the 11th of the following month--the fort at that place being abandoned by the enemy after he had blown up the angles thereof.

On the 12th of August the army moved from Oussoor and on the 23d arrived at Bayeur. About this period Major Gowdie, of the Honorable East India Company’s service, was detached with some troops for the reduction of the strong hill fort of _Nundydroog_, which it was found required regular approaches. Major Gowdie arrived before the place on the 22d of September.

_Nundydroog_, the capital of a large and valuable district, was built on the summit of a mountain about one thousand seven hundred feet in height; three-fourths of its circumference were absolutely inaccessible, and the only face on which it could be ascended was protected by two excellent walls and an outwork which covered the gateway, and afforded a formidable flank fire. The foundation for a third wall had been dug, but the Sultan had not been able to have the plan completed.

The flank companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH and Seventy-first regiments, under the command of Captain James Robertson of the latter corps, marched on the 17th of October to join the detachment under Major Gowdie, and, upon their arrival, were immediately placed in the last parallel.

General the Earl Cornwallis, with a view to intimidate the garrison, encamped with the army within four miles of _Nundydroog_, on the 18th of October, and in the evening of that day the troops were told off for an assault upon the two breaches, which had been pronounced practicable. The attacks commenced at eleven o’clock at night, the grenadiers assaulting the right breach and the light companies the left. The forlorn hope of the right attack consisted of twenty grenadiers, volunteers from the THIRTY-SIXTH and Seventy-first regiments. Captain Robert Burne supported, with the THIRTY-SIXTH grenadiers, the right attack, and Captain William Hartley, with the light company of that regiment, the left attack; Major-General Medows animated the whole with his presence.

The assailants were soon discovered; blue lights immediately illuminated the fort, and a heavy fire opened from the works; this fire was fortunately ill-directed, but the large stones hurled down the hill, and acquiring great velocity as they bounded from the rock in their descent, were extremely formidable. The storming party, however, soon mounted the breaches, and pursuing the enemy closely prevented his barricading the gate of the inner wall. This was forced open, and the troops entered. Captain Robertson, seeing that the place was carried, used every endeavour to prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood. The flank companies which formed the storming party had two men killed and twenty-eight wounded, the latter principally from bruises by the stones thrown from the rock. The loss during the siege amounted to forty Europeans and eighty sepoys and pioneers, killed and wounded. At this place Lieutenant John Eyre, of the regiment, died of his wounds.

In this manner _Nundydroog_, in the course of three weeks, was taken, a place defended by seventeen pieces of cannon, principally iron guns of large calibre; this fort was not captured by Hyder Ali from the Mahrattas until after a defence which lasted three years.

After the fall of Nundydroog, the other hill fort of _Cumeldroog_, adjacent and dependent thereon, although a place of great strength, surrendered on being summoned.

Lord Cornwallis, in General Orders of the 19th of October, stated, that “having been witness of the extraordinary obstacles, both of nature and art, which were opposed to the detachment of the army that attacked _Nundydroog_, he cannot too highly applaud the firmness and exertions which were manifested by all ranks in carrying on the operations of the siege, or the valour and discipline which were displayed by the flank companies of His Majesty’s THIRTY-SIXTH and Seventy-first regiments.”

In a few days afterwards the army retraced its route to Bangalore. Savendroog and several hill forts were captured by detachments in December, but the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment remained with the main body of the army.

[Sidenote: 1792.]

On the 31st of January 1792 the army under General the Earl Cornwallis was reviewed by the Poonah and Hyderabad chiefs, and on the following day commenced its march towards _Seringapatam_, passing by Hooleadroog, Tajilly, and Carrycode. The troops came in sight of Tippoo’s capital on the 5th of February, and encamped at the French rocks. The enemy’s horse showed itself on the 4th and 5th, but attempted nothing hostile. The Sultan took up a formidable position to cover his capital, and was attacked during the night of the 6th of February.

The entrenched camp of Tippoo was reconnoitred on the 6th of February, and at dark the army was formed in three columns of attack. The right, under Major-General Medows, consisting of the THIRTY-SIXTH and Seventy-sixth King’s regiments. The centre under the Commander-in-Chief, General the Earl Cornwallis, consisting of the Fifty-second, Seventy-first, and Seventy-fourth King’s regiments. The left, under Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, of the Seventy-fourth, was composed of the Seventy-second regiment. The native troops were divided among the three columns.

The right column, to which the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was attached, under the command of Major-General Medows, was directed to penetrate the left of Tippoo’s line, and turning to the left, overthrow the troops of the enemy there posted, and proceed on until it joined Lord Cornwallis in the centre column, and receive further orders; but the officer charged to guide the column led it wrong, bringing it to the advanced redoubt on the left of Tippoo’s lines, known by the name of the _Ead-gah_ redoubt,--which was mounted by eight pieces of cannon, and was defended with great bravery. The grenadiers of the THIRTY-SIXTH rushed steadily forward to escalade the work, with the officer of engineers in charge of the scaling ladders, but a heavy fire of grape shot and musketry killed most of the men in charge of the ladders, which, being consequently lost, it appeared impossible to enter the redoubt.

The work near the gorge had not been quite finished; the troops again rushed forward, but the enemy’s fire was so destructive as to sweep all opposed to it; a momentary pause ensued, and at this crisis Captain Andrew Wight, who commanded the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, Brevet Lieut.-Colonel the Honourable John Knox having charge of a brigade, observing a narrow pathway leading to the rampart, ordered his corps to follow him, when the soldiers resumed the attack with increased animation, and advancing with the bayonet carried the work; only a few of the defenders escaped instant death, and that by leaping from the embrasure into the ditch, which, from its height, must have proved equally fatal to them. The loss of the enemy at the Ead-gah redoubt was more considerable than at any other post of his lines.

The loss in private men fell chiefly on the THIRTY-SIXTH, that regiment and the flank companies of the Seventy-sixth being the troops which formed the front division of the column. The grenadiers of the THIRTY-SIXTH, who led, in advancing to the redoubt, had twenty men killed and wounded.[12]

After leaving a sufficient force in this strongwork, including four companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH, under Captain John Austin, who had commanded the leading company of the column, the troops under Major-General Medows moved to the left, intending to fall on the enemy’s left wing, instead of which they came in view of another redoubt of equal strength and magnitude with the former, which it was deemed imprudent to attack. The column then recrossed the bound-hedge, moved to the left of the British army, which it did not find until daybreak, when the action was over.

Lord Cornwallis, on joining Major-General Medows at the Pagoda hill, on the morning of the 7th of February, detached the remaining six companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment and the third battalion of Bengal sepoys towards the Sultan’s redoubt; but they were afterwards ordered to proceed to the island, where the enemy had commenced an attack on the troops, which was gallantly repulsed.

The foregoing details show what an active part the THIRTY-SIXTH sustained in these operations, and testify the share which the regiment deserved of the following general commendation bestowed by the Earl Cornwallis in his orders issued on the evening of the 7th of February.

“The conduct and valour of the officers and soldiers of this army
have often merited Lord Cornwallis’s encomiums; but the zeal and
gallantry which were so successfully displayed last night in the
attack of the enemy’s whole army, in a position that had cost him
so much time and labour to fortify, can never be sufficiently
praised; and his satisfaction on an occasion, which promises
to be attended with the most substantial advantages, has been
greatly heightened by learning from the commanding officers of
divisions, that this meritorious behaviour was universal through
all ranks, to a degree that has rarely been equalled.

“Lord Cornwallis, therefore, requests that the army in general
will accept of his most cordial thanks for the noble and gallant
manner in which they have executed the plan of the attack. It
covers themselves with honour, and will ever command his warmest
sentiments of admiration.”

In the assault of Tippoo Sultan’s fortified camp and island of Seringapatam on the 6th and 7th of February 1792, the total loss of the right division, under Major-General Medows, including officers, amounted to twenty-seven killed and sixty-five wounded. Lieutenant Alexander David Robertson, of the Seventy-third, doing duty with the THIRTY-SIXTH, from which he had been promoted, and Ensign Pooley Smith, of the THIRTY-SIXTH, were killed. Lieutenants Thomas Brownrigg, Robert Campbell, and John Campbell,[13] of the THIRTY-SIXTH, were wounded.

The enemy’s loss was very severe, being estimated at 20,000 _hors de combat_. Eighty pieces of cannon were taken by the British.

On the 9th of February the army took up its final position for the siege of _Seringapatam_, and on the 15th Major-General Robert Abercromby joined with the Bombay force, consisting of the Seventy-third, Seventy-fifth, and Seventy-seventh regiments, beside native troops, making a total of about six thousand men.

Preparations were now made for the siege of Seringapatam, and the approaches were carried on with the greatest activity until the 24th of February, when the general orders announced that the preliminary articles of peace had been signed, and in consequence all hostile measures immediately ceased.

On the 26th of February the two sons of Tippoo Saib, Abdel Kalek and Mooza-ud-Deen, the former ten years of age, and the latter eight, were brought to the British camp, as hostages for the due performance of the preliminary articles.[14]

In consequence of some obstacles which had been opposed by Tippoo to the arrangement of the definitive Treaty, working parties were ordered, and the guns replaced in the batteries on the 10th of March. This state of suspicion and preparation lasted until the 15th of March, when it was discontinued, and on the 18th of that month, the definitive Treaty being duly executed and signed, was delivered by the young Abdel Kalek to each of the confederates. On the 20th the counterpart was sent off to Tippoo Saib.

Thus terminated a war in which the confederates wrested from the enemy seventy fortresses, eight hundred pieces of cannon, and destroyed or dispersed at least fifty thousand men. By the articles of the Treaty Tippoo was bound to pay a large sum of money and to cede one half of his dominions.

The Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India granted from this money a sum equal to six months’ batta for all ranks, and the Court of Directors afterwards made a similar grant.

On the 26th of March the exchange of the definitive treaty being completed, the British commenced moving towards Bangalore, from whence they proceeded to the Pednaigdurgum Pass, where the Bengal troops were ordered to their own Presidency.

[Sidenote: 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 THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was ordered to prepare to take the field; it marched soon afterwards against the French settlement of _Pondicherry_, on the Coromandel coast; 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 22d of August a white flag was displayed by the garrison, with a request to be allowed 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. After this service the regiment returned to Madras.[15]

[Sidenote: 1794.]

During the year 1794 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was stationed at Trichinopoly.

[Sidenote: 1795.]

In 1795 the regiment proceeded to Negapatam.

[Sidenote: 1796.]

During the years 1796 and 1797 the regiment was stationed at Warriore, near Trichinopoly.

[Sidenote: 1798.]

[Sidenote: 1799.]

In the beginning of 1798 the regiment was stationed at Pondicherry, and subsequently at Wallahabad. The men fit for service were afterwards drafted into the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-sixth regiments, and the remainder of the THIRTY-SIXTH embarked at Madras for Europe on the 15th of October 1798. Previously to the regiment returning to England, orders were issued by the Governor in Council, and by the Commander-in-Chief of Madras, dated 24th of September and 14th of October 1798, which are highly complimentary of the regiment, and are inserted at page 121 of the Appendix. The want of convoy caused the fleet of Indiamen to be detained three months at St. Helena, and the regiment did not arrive in England until the 26th of July 1799, when it landed at Greenhithe;--it subsequently proceeded to Cirencester, and thence to Winchester, where the corps was completed to its establishment by volunteers from the militia.

[Sidenote: 1800.]

The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment embarked at Portsmouth, in January 1800, for Ireland, and disembarked at Tarbert and Cork; it afterwards proceeded to Fermoy, Clonmel, and thence to Cork, where the regiment embarked with an expedition under Brigadier-General the Honorable Sir Thomas Maitland, and landed in the beginning of June at the Isle de Houat, on the coast of France; on the 4th of June the light company of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment landed at _Quiberon_, and destroyed some batteries, after which it re-embarked for the Mediterranean, and the regiment arrived at Minorca in July, which island had surrendered to Great Britain in November 1798.

[Sidenote: 1801.]

During the year 1801 the regiment was stationed at Minorca.

[Sidenote: 1802.]

On the 27th of March 1802 a treaty of peace was signed at Amiens between the French Republic, Spain, and the Batavian Republic on the one part, and Great Britain on the other; by this treaty the Island of Minorca was restored to Spain.

In August 1802 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment returned to Cork from Minorca, marched to Galway, and occupied the barracks at that place.

[Sidenote: 1803.]

The conduct of Napoleon Bonaparte had occasioned hostilities to be renewed in May 1803, when the British army was augmented, and preparations were made to repel a threatened invasion by the French. The “_Army of Reserve Act_” was passed in June 1803 for raising men for home service by ballot; and numerous volunteer and yeomanry corps were formed in every part of the Kingdom.

The regiment was suddenly ordered to proceed by forced marches from Galway to Dublin in July 1803, where a serious riot had occurred on the 23d of that month, when Lord Chief Justice Kilwarden, and his nephew the Rev. Richard Wolfe, were attacked in his carriage, and murdered by the rioters.

[Sidenote: 1804.]

On the 18th of May 1804 Napoleon was invested with the dignity of Emperor of the French; and on the 26th of May of the following year he was crowned King of Italy, at Milan.

Further measures of defence were adopted by Great Britain, and the “_Additional Force Act_” was passed on the 29th of June 1804, by which a second battalion was added to the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, to be formed of men raised in the county of Durham for limited service; the second battalion was placed on the establishment of the army from the 25th of December following.

On the 12th of December 1804 the Court of Spain issued a declaration of war against England, in consequence of the capture of some frigates off Cadiz, which had been intercepted on their way to France with cargoes of treasure for the use of Napoleon, Spain having agreed to furnish a powerful aid to that ruler.

During the year 1804 the first battalion of the regiment continued in garrison at Dublin.

[Sidenote: 1805.]

On the 3d of August 1805 the first battalion of the regiment marched from Dublin, having been selected to form part of the army under Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart; it encamped on the Curragh of Kildare until the 20th of September, marched from thence to Bandon, and occupied the barracks there; on the 29th of October the battalion embarked at Cork for Germany.

The second battalion remained in Great Britain during 1805, and three following years.

[Sidenote: 1806.]

The first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment arrived in Germany on the 1st of January 1806, and occupied cantonments in Bramstead and Bokell until February, when it again marched and embarked for Great Britain, the British troops having been recalled to England in consequence of the events which followed Napoleon’s victory over the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz in December of the preceding year;--the battalion landed at Ramsgate early in March.

In the autumn of 1806 the first battalion was directed to proceed to Portsmouth for the purpose of joining the expedition under Brigadier-General Robert Craufurd, about to be employed on secret service; and the battalion embarked at Portsmouth on the 22d of September.

[Sidenote: 1807.]

The expedition, which consisted of the first battalions of the Fifth, THIRTY-SIXTH, Forty-fifth, and Eighty-eighth regiments, five companies of the Rifle corps, two squadrons of the Sixth dragoon guards, and two companies of Royal Artillery, did not sail from Falmouth until the 12th of November 1806; and after remaining at St. Jago, in the Cape de Verde Islands, from the 14th of December 1806 to the 11th of January 1807, arrived in Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope, on the 22d of March following. Here the troops were landed for refreshment and exercise under Brigadier-General Craufurd. From the Cape the expedition sailed again on the 6th of April; reached St. Helena on the 21st of April, where the stock of water and provisions was completed; and, quitting that island on the 26th, arrived on the 14th of June at _Monte Video_, then occupied by the British troops under Lieut.-General John Whitelocke, who had arrived there in the preceding May, and had assumed the command of the whole British force in South America.[16]

Great preparations were made to effect a landing of the troops, which took place on the 28th of June at _Ensenada da Baragon_, about thirty-two miles distant from Buenos Ayres, without firing a shot. The first battalions of the THIRTY-SIXTH and Eighty-eighth regiments were brigaded together under the orders of Brigadier-General the Honourable William Lumley. On the 29th the troops moved forward; the light brigade, composed of the Rifle corps and nine light infantry companies, formed the advance, which was supported by Brigadier-General Lumley’s brigade, and followed by the other corps in succession. On the 1st of July the army was concentrated near the village of Reduction, about seven miles from Buenos Ayres, from whence it again advanced on the following day, crossed the Chuelo, a rivulet, by a ford called the Chico, and traversed the low ground on the opposite bank, at the extremity of which is situated the City of Buenos Ayres.

The light company was at the attack and carrying of the enemy’s advance field-work on the 2d of July; on the 5th of that month the right wing of the THIRTY-SIXTH, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Robert Burne, and the left wing by Captain William Cross, stormed and established themselves in Buenos Ayres. Upon this severe service Captains Alexander, Williamson, and Henry Cole Johnson, with Lieutenant Robert Whittell, two serjeants, one drummer, and forty-one rank and file, were killed; Captains William Wright Swain and Henry Vernon, Lieutenants William Wingfield, William Cotton, John Chaloner, and John White, seven serjeants, and thirty-six rank and file, were wounded.

Notwithstanding the intrepidity displayed by the advancing troops, upon whom a destructive fire was poured from the tops of houses and every other advantageous position, the enterprise failed. On the following morning the Governor-General Liniers sent a letter to Lieut.-General Whitelocke, offering to restore the prisoners taken in this action, and also those made with Brigadier-General Beresford, on condition that the whole of the British forces should be withdrawn from South America, which proposals were accepted. The Lieut.-General’s conduct subsequently became the subject of inquiry by a Court-martial, and he was cashiered.

The first battalion of the regiment re-embarked at Buenos Ayres, and descended the River Plate to _Monte-Video_, whence it embarked on the 9th of September for Europe, and arrived at Cork on the 17th of December following.

[Sidenote: 1808.]

The battalion occupied the barracks at Cork until February 1808, when it proceeded to Fermoy, where it remained until the 5th of July, when it marched to Cork for embarkation, having been selected to form part of a force, under the command of Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley, destined to proceed to the Peninsula to aid the Spanish and Portuguese patriots in their efforts against Napoleon, who had placed his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain, and was endeavouring to reduce the Peninsula under his domination.

In May 1808 the second battalion proceeded to Jersey, but returned to England in July following.

On the 9th of July the first battalion embarked at Cork, and landed at Figuiera, in Portugal, on the 1st of August. The battalion under the command of Brevet Colonel Robert Burne, advanced with the troops under Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley towards Lisbon. The division, consisting of about four thousand men, under Major-General Sir Brent Spencer, K.B., having joined the army from Cadiz, a change was made in the arrangement of the brigades, and the first battalions of the THIRTY-SIXTH, Fortieth, and Seventy-first regiments were placed in that commanded by Major-General Ronald Craufurd Ferguson. After a short halt the army was again put in motion to occupy a more forward position, where it remained for some days. On the 17th of August the enemy, commanded by General Laborde, was encountered near _Roleia_. The first battalion under the command of Colonel Robert Burne shared in this action, Captain William Cross being detached in charge of three companies. The position was attacked and carried, with great loss to the French, who retreated on Torres Vedras.

The THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal Authority to bear the word “ROLEIA” on the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of this victory.

Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley, after this battle, did not pursue the enemy by the high roads, but keeping to the right near the sea marched to _Vimiera_, to cover the landing of a brigade commanded by Major-General Anstruther, which was effected on the 20th of August.

The morning of the 21st of August was given up to the troops in order to prepare and repose themselves. The men were engaged in washing and cleaning their equipments when the approach of the enemy, moving to the left, was discovered at eight o’clock in the morning; and the brigades commanded by Major-General Ferguson, Brigadier-Generals Nightingall, Acland, and Bowes, were consequently moved across a valley from the heights on the west to those on the east of Vimiera.

Marshal Junot, Duke of Abrantes, moved his army to the attack of the position, and commenced it on the British centre, where the Fiftieth regiment was posted, moving along the front gradually to the left, until the whole line became engaged.

BATTLE OF VIMIERA, Aug^t 21^{st} 1808.]

The THIRTY-SIXTH had the good fortune to take a distinguished share in the battle of _Vimiera_ on the 21st of August; and the gallantry of the battalion was particularly noticed by Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley in the General Orders of that day.

The battalion had nine rank and file killed; Captain Paul Minchin Hobart; Lieutenants H. S. Hart, Thomas Wright, and Walter Ewart; Ensign Peter Joseph Bone; Lieutenant and Adjutant John Povah, and twenty-three rank and file, were wounded.

The conduct of the battalion and of its commanding officer, Colonel Burne, was thus specially noticed by Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley in his despatch of the 21st of August;--

“In mentioning Colonel Burne, and the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, to
you upon this occasion, I cannot avoid to add that the regular
and orderly conduct of this corps throughout this service, and
their gallantry and discipline in action have been conspicuous.”

In a letter dated 22d of August 1808 (inserted in the Appendix, page 122), addressed to Viscount Castlereagh, Secretary of State, Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley bore further testimony to the merits of Colonel Burne, and stated, that “_the_ THIRTY-SIXTH _regiment is an example to the army_.”

The thanks of both Houses of Parliament were conferred on the troops, and the THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal Authority to bear the word “VIMIERA” on the regimental colour and appointments in commemoration of this battle.[17]

The “_Convention of Cintra_” was the result of this victory, and it was signed on the 30th of August; by its provisions the French army evacuated Portugal, which country became freed from its oppressors.

The British army was ordered to move forward to Lisbon, some of the reinforcements for it having proceeded by water, and occupied the forts at the mouth of the Tagus. The French army having by this convention fallen back on Lisbon, the British proceeded to the vicinity of Fort St. Julien, and encamped.

All the objects of the expedition being carried into effect, and the French troops embarked for France, the British army remained for some time at Lisbon and its vicinity. At this period (September) Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, having assumed the command, made dispositions for entering Spain.

The first battalions of the THIRTY-SIXTH, Seventy-first, and Ninety-second regiments were brigaded under Brigadier-General Catlin Craufurd, and placed in the division under the command of Lieut.-General the Honorable John Hope, afterwards the Earl of Hopetoun. On the 27th of October the division was put in motion, and after a short stay at Badajoz resumed the march to Talavera-de-la-Reyna. From this town the column proceeded to the Escurial, seven leagues to the north-west of Madrid, where it arrived and halted on the 22d of November.