as 4*5 m 'VvdD UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES REMARKS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE ENGLISH FORCES, ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE PENINSULA OF HINDOOSTAN; IN 1783, AND 1784, IN WHICH, The Conduit of the ARMY under the Command of BRIGA- DIER GENERAL MATHEWS, is VINDICATED, from the illiberal Mifrepreientations, contained In a late NARRA- TIVE, Signed JOHN CHARLES SHEEN, and publilhed by Orde- of the COURT of DIRECTORS of the EAST INDIA COMPANY. IN A SERIES OF LETTERS . T O A FRIEND IN ENGLAND. TO WHICH ARE ANNEXED TWO ORIGINAL LETTERS, FROM GEN. MATHEWS TO LORD MACARTNEY, AND SIR EYRE CCOTT. BY A BRITISH OFFICER. y-lrtus rcpulf* ncfda fordid* C Intamiaalis fulget bonoribtu. HOR. LONDON: PRINTED at the ilogogtaplMc FOR MESSRS. ROESON AND CLARKE, NEW BOND-STREET, AND J. SEWELL, CORNHJLL. M ; DCC,LXXXV1II. THE OFFICERS I N T H E SERVICE OF THE KING, AND OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, EMPLOYED DURING THE LATE WAR ON THE WEST- ERN SIDE OF INDIA. GENTLEMEN, I PRESUME to dedicate the following pages to you, as the only tribute of gratitude, which I can at prefent offer, in return for that pro- te&ion by which you condefcended to diftinguifti me, while I had the ho- nour, during the moft ative part of my life, to {hare your toils, and to be an eye witnefs of your fervices. To 357203 To vindicate your conduct, which malignancy has endeavoured to mif- reprefent, or rather to excite fome abler pen to do you juftice, is the defign of the following remarks. On the public mind, the firft im- preffion is too often the ilrongeit, and the moil lairing. It is, there- fore, neceflary to do away that im- preffion, before it ihall fink too deep ; and to convince every perfon who has been prejudiced againft you, that it is in a great meafure owing to your fpirited exertions, that the Affairs of the Company were preierved from Ruin on the Weftern fide of India, and the Bleffings of Peace at length reitored throughout Hindooflan. That the Public may view your con- duQ: in its proper light, and that you may ( vii ) may long continue able to aflert the caufe of your Country, and remain lafl- ing ornaments to the military charac- ter, which you have hitherto fupported with fo much honour to yourfelves, and advantage to the Britifh Empire, will, I flatter myfelf, be as much the fincere wifh of every friend to his King and Country, as it is of, Gentlemen, your mod faithful and obedient fervant. 7. M. LONDON, May, 1788. CORRECTIONS &KD,ERRATA. Page. Line. 2 1 8 for has read have. j 6 15 for and -were liberated, read who were liberated 28 2 dele but 31 i dele not i a dele from them 32 5 dele/ 47 23 for #z death, and inflicYmg amputation of limbs, with- out regard to age or fex, whethe* armed againft him or not, and of laying; wafte every part of the country. As it makes no part of my defigt to form details of fuchbarbaroustranfadtiois, I mail touch only for the prefent on themanifeft abfurdities contained in the pamphlets of Meffieurs Oakes and Sheen. Thefe I con- ceive to be the ground work of tin fabrica- ted accounts concerning the Bidiure cam- paign, in Dodfley's Annual Regifler, and fome other European periodical publications. In the Monthly Review for May, -785, *it is remarked, " That fome provccation, no " doubt, had been given by the Britifh army " to that of the adverfary ; for that Lieu- " tenant Sheen in his Narrative, fubjoin- " ed to that of Captain Oakes, fiys,that the *' con duel: of Tippoo Saheb waj founded on * Ps 2 e 379- Art. 17. :t principles ** principles of retaliation ; and candour ." mult acknowledge, that the unjuftifiable **' behaviour of the Company's army went "'a codiderible way in juftification of that " of the enemy." Again, in a paragraph in Dodfley's An- nual Regifter of the year above fpecified, it is obfeived, " That as (laughter, cruelty, * 4 rapine, and avarice, had difgraced this ** expedition in its commencement at *' Onor^, fb the fame deteftable maxims '** and \ices continued to ftain its whole * c progrdfs, till thefe were, at its fatal con- " cluiioE, moft cruelly requited, when the *' innocejit, indifcriminately with the guil- 4< ty, became victims to the rage of an ex- " afperat^d and mercilefs enemy." By merely comparing thefe extracts, it may eafily be ierceived from what fource they originated. I would by no means take upon me the vindication of General Mathews in every particular piint through which his conduct might be viewed, except only in that where tyranny and pppreiiion are laid to his charge : i neither ( '3 ) neither mall I endeavour to make appear, that in thefe charges the General is perfectly juftifiable, by adducing fuch circumftantial evidence, as fhould put the matter beyond all doubt. , Whatever degree of credit thefe illiberal afperfions may have gained with the unin- formed part of mankind, it is certain no general and impartial hiftory of the mi- litary operations of the Britifh forces in Hindooftan, has been publifhed under the fancYion of any refpectable authority, though the fubject itfelf is of the higheft magnitude, and deferves to.be recorded in the moft circumftantial manner, as nothing can be of greater importance to the charac- ter of the Britim nation in that part of the world. There is indeed an extract of a let- ter,* relative to the military operations on that fide of India, from the Prefident and Select Committee of Bombay, to the Sele& Committee of the Court of Directors of the Baft-India Company, and this is the only account, which may be depended on. And it is there acknowledged, that a want of Dated June 27, 1783. in for- ( 14 ) information from General Mathews, had put them under the neceffity of applying to Colonel Mac Leod for furnifhing them with a detail of the operations of the army, from its leaving Cundapore till the furren- der of Bidnure, together with any intelli- gence he could give them refpe&ing the treaty with Hyat Saheb, and the Proceedings confequent to it. I have the honor to be, with the moft perfect refpec% Sir, Your moft faithful and obliged humble Servant. LET- LETTER II. Calcutta, Oftobcr, 1786. S 1 R, THE firft charge brought againft the army, in the earlier period of the cam- paign, is by the compiler of Dodfley's An- nual Regifter, (for 1783, page 88), where he fpeaks thus : " But before the arrival of " the fouthern troops, Onore was taken by " florm, and a cruel (laughter is faid to " have been made of the inhabitants of all " fexes, ages, and orders, as well as of the " garrifon. The official accounts ftate, " that the Killedar, or governor, with " twelve hundred men, were made pri- " foners." In direct contradiction to the falfehood of this reprefentation, I mail obferve in as concife a manner as poffible, that the aflault of Onore happened on the 5th of January, 1 783, about noon, and at a time when the enemy ( '6 ) enemy had juft formed a difpofition for a fally into our camp ; as was evident from the number that, appeared on the out-works and in the covert-ways. This, as imagin* ed, was a circumftance which rendered an attack on the place lefs difficult than it otherwife mufr. have been. In regard to' the cruelty, faid to have been exercifed on the befieged, nothing can be more groundlefs than this affertion ; for on- -the contrary, the enemy were treated with the utmoft tendernefs and- humanity. '!<, tjSVlVif, The number of prifoners, taken on the furrender of Oiiore, were not trwdve hun- dred, but two thoufand eight hundred, and were liberated immediately after they were captured ; the aflertions therefore of thofe who have traduced the characters of the ar- my under General Mathews, muft, from that circumftance, lofe all authority, and convict of falfehood thofe fcribblers who have fported with the characters of Britim fbldiers. The army, on their march towards t the Ghauts, is next accufed by Lieutenant Sheen, ( '7 ) Sheen,* of having had feverai fkirmifhes with Hyder's poligars f. In one of thefc, at a breaft>work, " we put, fays he, three " hundred of them to the bayonet." By this mameful, cruel, and daftardly method of fighting, it feems, Mr. Sheen's feelings, as a man, were mockingly hurt. Would to God the good Lieutenant was as remarkable for his veracity, as for his tendernefs ! if he was, we mould have to lament the fate of every objet lying at the mercy of the Bri- tifh troops in the campaign alluded to, be- caufe all indifcriminately muft have excited his fympathy and companion. Lieutenant Sheen, however, feems' pret- ty well reconciled to the idea of {tabbing * From the illiberal reflexions contained in Mr. Sheen's produftion, one would naturally conclude this gentleman to be a foreign fugitive : but on looking into the Bombay Ca- lendar for 1 786, he there appears in the lower rank of eciigns on that eftabliihment. f The death of Hyder Ali Khan happened about the gth of November, 1782; when his fon and fucceffor, Tippoo Sultan, became our future enemy, and promifes to be almoft as formidable a one as his father was ; having hitherto held the reins of government with a fteady hand. He is doubtlefs pof- feffed of eminent abilities ; but he is neither fe great and politic a ftatefman, nor fo brave and fkilful a general ; nor is he upo;x the whole fo great a prince as Hyder. B the the reputation of a foldier, and of a gentle* man, whofe honour muft be dearer to him than life. But the at of ftabbing a Mahommedan Tartar with, a bayonet, who holds a fcymetar or dagger to your bofom, is, with him, aconfcientious Chriftian ve- teran, big with the moftfavage and unheard of barbarity ^ Three hundred', however, put to the bayonet, is another of thofe errors in cal- culation, for which Mr. Sheen feems pret- ty famous. But the truth is, there were on- ly in the fum total one hundred and feventy. And now on this occalion I wifli to ask y where the inhumanity could be again ft a nume- rotfs enemy, even if the number exceeded three hundred, that, which he himfelf ima- gined ? Did we act contrary to the rules of war ? We fought with avowed enemies, who by taking the field, armed with their weapons, and in every refpecl prepared equally fop offence and defence, had a fair and equal chance agairrft us, their antago- nifts. Or is not this alfo the practice of modern war amongft civilized nations ? That That Mr. Sheen's chara&er mould not Want any requifite to make it compleat, he feems anxious to convince us, that he is not lefs remarkable for his wdnderful expert - nefs at fabricating, than for his vanity and prefumption. ^A fpecinien of this appears from what was incidental to the juft recit- ed affair of the bayonet bulmefs. " This " execution, he fays, fo terrified thofc " irregulars, that we met with no further lt opposition till we arrived at the Ghauts*, *' a pafs about eight feet wide, and three u miles long, and the fame ftrongly forti- *' fied." Hereupon Mr. Sheen obferves in a fort of aftonimment, " that luckily, as it *' happened, General Mathews knew no- * 6 thing of this defile, otherwife it would " have been madnefs in him to have at- *' tempted it ; for if the enemy had made * This vaft chain of mountains extends aloh the coaft of Malabar, at unequal diftances from the fca, and in an almoft xininterrupted direftion nearly as far to the foiithward as Cape Comorin. The cntfance into the My fore and Bidnurc diftrids from the weftern fide of the Peninfula, is rendered extremely di&cult and hazardous, by ftccp and narrow pafles over thefe mountains, commonly called Ghauts, and therefore the crof- iing them with' an army requires the plan of military opera- tions to be conducted on a liberal fcule, as Well in point of lafety as public utility. B 2 " any "any tolerable defence, it was impreg- " nable." Whatever opinion the public 'may have formed of the* general character of the com- mander in chief, I fancy no man will pre- fume to call in queftion his military IkilL The animadverfions therefore on it of Lieu- tenant Sheen, whofe judgment had not been ripened either by time or experience, muft be confidered as the very height of prefump- tion. But with it, infamous as it will appear, I muft beg leave to mention another paflage in Dodfley's Annual Regifter for the above fpecified year, page 92, which is equally abfurd with the foregoing, and probably, without examination or doubt of its fallacy, borrowed from it. " A fortunate " ignorance, it fays, of the difficulty and " danger of forcing a paffage through the " Ghauts, feemed to be the only apology " that could be made for the attempt, at " leaft for the manner of conducting it, " and the fuccefs feemed to juftify the *' raflmefs of the undertaking. The only " account we have of this tranfaclion, is 4< from " from an officer, who was one of the " party engaged in the attack." The Re- gifter's compiler muft furely have had this valuable piece of intelligence from Sheen's pamphlet, and not the identical perfon of the officer. Suppofmg, however, it was from the puiflant officer himfelf, what a pity it is,fo diligent and faithful an hiftorian mould at the fame time forget to acquaint him, that he had then the honour to carry the Eng- lifh colours there as well as at Onore ! Does it appear credible to the intelligent and difcerning part of mankind, that the General could be ignorant of the Ghauts, or that pafs through which he muft un- avoidably lead his army before he could reach the city of Bidnure ? Did he not in a letter to the Prefident and Select Com- mittee of Bombay, dated from Cundapore, the 29th of January, 1783, reprefent to them, in the moft forcible language, the great danger and difficulty, if not imprac- ticability, of the enterprize, together with the fatal confequences likely to attend a failure ? The flate and condition of his ar- my, he alfo aflured them, was not fuch as might warrant an attempt upon Bidnure : B 3 {till flill, HQtwithftanding, a he conceived it to he their defire, he was refolved to make the tryal, in which he fhould proceed with firmnefs, regardlefs of the danger and the hazard to which he was expofed from the. inferiority of his ftrength, and fome other particulars rather to his difadvantage. Hav- ing thus formed his opinion with the ut- moft propriety, in confequence of the in- formation which he had then obtained, of the natural ftrength and fituation of the Ghauts, and the number of the enemy, who were ready to oppofe his operations, it might therefore feem in the General, an intrepidity of foul, that fees aad encounters all dangers and difficulties ; and a fpirit of determinate valour acting by rule, and equal- ly diflant from rafhnefs and timidity. In a noble attempt we fall nobly , but the General with his brave army, fucceeded beyond expectation, owing to their ardour for acting in conformity to the inftruc- tions and exprefs orders of their fupe- riors, though at the fame time they had bee.n fully fenfible of the extreme hazard of the entc rprize. How then fhould the Gene- ral be deemed ra(h and headiirong ? The aiTertion appears to me fo extremely para* doxical, as never -to be fatisfa&orily cleared up ; fo that if any meaning, unlefs he confefles himfelf mif- informed, can be deduced from his tale, few or none will .be inclined to think well of Lieutenant Sheen's ideas of veracity, concerning mat- ters as they really exited and of -courfe -of Lieutenant Sheen himfelf, in the merit of hk military rank, if Lieutenant Sheen is either very likely to continue Lieutenant Sheen, \\\Jlatu quo erat priiis, or to poilefs jiio military rank at all. Mr. Sheen then proceeds to acquaint us, *' That arrived at the fecond barrier, we '" were alarmed at the prodigious number, " and ftrong pofition of the enemy, but *' finding it likewife as dangerous to re- -" treat as to advance, we charged home on " all quarters, 'till rbe motley crew gave *' way and fled, leaving about five hundred " men killed and wounded." To this he adds, " That our fmall body, flufhedwith " fuccefs, then proceeded to immediate ex- ecution with the bayonet, yet never halted a moment 'till they had gained 66 the fummit of the Ghauts, and all the B 4 4i way " " way under a heavy cannonading from " the enemy." We have in this account, (which by the bye I have endeavoured to mend a little,) a charming aflemblage of beautiful meta- phors, and fpecimen of happy diftion, pe- culiar only to the Lieutenant. What can be more admirable than the figurative ex- preffion of charging home in all quarters, unlefs it be exceeded by the illuftration of " our frnall body being flufhed with fuc- " cefs, immediately proceeded to effectual *' bufmefs with the bayonet." It is a truth, well known to every one on that fervice, thatthe'lofs of the enemy at the aflault of the Ghauts, did not exceed one hundred and twenty men killed and wounded ; and it is equally certain, that the Englifh troops, which attacked the pafs, were much more considerable in number than Mr. Sheen reprefents them to be : yet on the occafion our lofs was very inconfider- able, being not more than thirty men killed and wounded. After After the furrender of Bldnure, the ca* pital of the province, we are farther told by Lieutenant Sheen, " That though the " Rajah took care to fecure his own pri- *' vate property, he neverthelefs put Ge- " neral Mathews into poffeffion of thirty " lacks of pagodas, with a confiderable " quantity of diamonds and other precious " {tones, part of which (he adds,) himfelf " had feen, and which afterwards the Ge- " neral had fecreted for himfelf, and fent " under his brother's fafeguard to Bom- " bay." It ftands like wife afferted in Dod- {ley's Annual Regifter, of 1783, page 101, that an officer,* fuppofed to be Secretary to the General, who had free accefs to the rooms of the place, where the treafure was depofited, and who was even appoint- ed to take an inventory of parts of it, de* fcribes it as immenfe ; and befides heaps of unvalued riches, fuch as jewels, mafly gold, and filver furniture, eftimates the whole at forty-eight lacks of pagodas. A great part of the treafure, the fame fe- cretary was heard to fay, belonged to the * Mr. William Henry Cowan, of the Bombay Civil Efla- blifhmcnt. officers ; ( 26 ) officers ; at leaft, there were fome commo- tions and heart-burnings about it; but the General kept it fee-are a long time, and what at laft became of it, no intelligence eould be had; fb that if jirftice was done the officers, the dividend to a fubaltern might amount to about three thoufand pounds fterling-. - It refts undoubtedly a matter of great difficulty, to afcertain the exact amount of the treafure found in the opulent city of Bidhure, and as great to reconcile the va- jriaiis and contradictory accounts, which have been given of it by different gentle- men employed in the fame fervice ; iorne of them having affirmed they had ocular proof ef what they related, though their relations in the main were not confident with one another. For -my part, I believe -the truth to be, that none of thefe accounts are well authenticated by facts, as evidently appears fey the oppoiite teftimony of Hyat Saheb, the Jemautdar (or Governor of the Pro- vince,) who certainly ought to have known beft the {rate of the treafure. He afiures os, that it amounted to twenty-four lacks of pagodas, exclufive of a quantity of jew- els els and other valuable effe&s, which were alib confiderable. We are next informed by Lieutenant Sheen, that "Unfortunately " for the General, his brother foon after " fell into the hands of the Nabob, who " ftruck off his head ; and thus it came to '' pafs, that the army remained ftili un* " informed how this treafure was difpofecj <* of, and whether it ever arrived at Bom- ?' bay. By his calculation, it was a lofsof " above 25,000 rupees to each fubaltern, a {' quaptum making about 3125!. fterling." Though the exceptionable and erroneous parts of Mr. Sheen's narrative have been hitherto animadverted upon with freedom, I notwithstanding may here acquiefce in what he fays; and this is a proof, that in my attempt to refute the feveral charges brought againft the army, I have been aclr ing from no other impulfe than that of ftrift juftice and impartiality. Thus far, I am afraid, the charge is true. Wherever, therefore, I mail find reafon to join him in opinion, I will readily acknowledge the fame, but mufl beg leave to quefKon his fair dealing, and contradict him when fen- fible he is wrong in his afTertions. It z It is a fact, which cannot be doubted, but that a very confiderable portion of the treafure found in Bid f nure, was fequeftered by the General for his own ufe, and after- wards tranfmitted to Goa' or Bombay, in ^ a veflel of his own. But though this cir- cumftance was generally known to the \vhole army, no enquiry, to clear up the certainty of its being! fo, took place : nor was the amount of what was faid to have been fent by the General to the abovemen- tioned places, ever exactly afcertained, con- jectures varying thereon, notwithftanding it was thought from unqueftionable autho- rity, that this amount could not be lefs than 150,000!. fterling. It equally deferves notice, that a confi- derable part of the captured property in the campaign of 1/83, by the forces on the coaft of Malabar, and intruded with Agents, came to no better account : for at the clofe of the war, the army were, and are to this very hour, totally ignorant of what became A, of it. For notwithftanding the moft ear- neft and repeated felicitations of the offi- cers, who were deputed and remained in the country near three years after this war, for i v 2 9 ) the final adjustment of the claims of hisMa- jefty's troops, which had ferved on that fide of India, the juft mentioned agents refufed payment, under the vague pretence of not being authorized to pay any prize money, but to fuch claimants, who mould perfon- ally appear at the Presidency of Bombay. f* But to return to the army, in which I was engaged, the diftrefled fituation of its greater part, fhortly after the fignal epoch of the furrender of Bidnure, on account of their long arrears of pay, due from the Company, and the very inadequate mare of the treaiure, which was affigned them, were circumftances that could not make them much affected to the General ; and if w r e here to add the meafures concerted by him to conceal the exact eftimate of the fpoils, and evidently with the view of wrong- ing the army, it would be no wonder if this disaffection had generated extreme dii- guft. It appears, however, that notwithftajid- ing the prejudices formed againfl the Gene- ral, the public fervice was in no wife hurt by them. The principal officers of his Majefly's ( 30 ) 'Majefty's forces, though they feverely Felt the indignity the General had .put upon them, and were determined to do them- felves, as well as thofe under their com- mand juftice, yet they never failed to pay an implicit obedience to his orders and di- rections. In fhort, the army had every reafon to complain of the General's con- duct, and it is with regret I fay, that I can- not throw a veil over its deformity : but as it is a maxim in our laws, that every man is fuppofed innocent till he is fairly and juridically convicted of guilt, let us for a moment fufpend our judgmnt on him, and advert only to the difafters of his fate after the furrender of Bidnure, to- gether with the arbitrary proceeding of the Government of Bombay^ which diverted him of his command without exhibiting a. iingle charge againfl him : whence, if we cannot in our hearts entirely acquit, we may, at leaft, find an inclination to pity him. The difaftrous circumftances, which af- terwards the army were involved in, and which feem to have weighed down the General, were not even fo much as fuf- peded, ( 3' ) peeled, or not in the leaft dreaded at the time of his fufpeniion, though he was him- ielf very fen fible of his hazardous fituation. We find that he made feveral applications to the Government of Bombay for a rein- forcement, reprefenting its abfolute nece- fit/; but they were deaf to his felicita- tions. He alfo applied to that of .Madras i but alas, too late! For the enemy. were coming upon him with a very formidable army, and he, with lefs than two thou- land brave men, met with from them that difcomfiture, which he rhuft have expect- ed. It is matter of great regret to the candid part of mankind, that the commander in chief, in that expedition, did not furvive, that he might have come before the pub- lic, at leaft with an explanation of his con- duel, if not with a full anfwer to the ac- cufations of his enemies. As the deftru&i- on of the principal part of his army in Bid- nure, and afterwards the rigorous treat- ment of the furvivors, when they firfr. be- _came known in England, were circum- flances that deeply interefted the public. I ihall, therefore, in order to elucidate 4 your your further enquiry, relative to that fatal event, as well as for the fake of common juftice to the fame of an unfortunate indi- vidual, who has not been enabled to tell his own ftory, I refer you to the accompany- ing letters* written by the general to Lord Macartney, and Sir Eyre Coote, a fhort time previous to the recapture of Bid- nure. In my next, you (hall hear from me of this and other adventures : but in the inte- rim, be affured that I remain, With the utmoft attachment and refpect, Sir, Your's, &c. * Annexed to the end of this work. ( 33 ) S I R, LETTER III. Calcutta, Djcemler, 1786, Ecee iterum Crifyinus ! Lo ! Lieu- tenant Sheen again makes his entrance on the ftage : he is a principal aftor, and muft be called upon to play his part, in the dif- ferent fcenes of the army's further opera- tions. " The fc'cond day, fays he, after our ar- 1783. *' MAJOR CAMPBELL returns his thanks to the army, for ' their fpirited conduct, yeftcrday ; and particularly his * acknowledgements to Captain Dalyell, and the Officers and ' non-commifTioncd Officers and Privates of the Flankr ' companies of the foity-fecond R.egimcnt, who headed the ' florm ; but flrongly recommends in future, .when the Buy- " onet muft be made ufe of, that a fl'.ct fliould n^vcr be "' fired'." The ( 5' ) for their fpirited exertions and good conduct during the attack. The fabricator of ca- lumnies, fo eafily refuted, is more anobjecl: of pity than of refentment, unlefs we fup- pofe that his affertions are not fo much the refult of ignorance as of a malignant and perverfe difpofition. When a charge, fo fe- fioiis and deliberate, is insinuated againft a body of. men, many of whom were of high rank and character, furely fome more plau- fible reafons mould be afligned than the mere ipfe dlxlt of Lieutenant Sheen. Such dreams of aflafii nation, muft therefore be Confldered as the illufion of a difordered brain, or he muft be held forth to public infamy for having gratified the predominant malignancy of his mind, in wilfully taking occafion to calumniate and vilify his com- mander in chief; and if fo, I cannot help reminding him, that he is amenable to D ^ the The ftri(5li"ft orders were alfo at the fume time given for pre- venting difturbances of any fort ; and accordingly the grt-ateft attention was paid by the officers to keep the foidiers from mo- lefting any of the inhabitants, as any four.d fo offending, were to be inflantly pumflicd. C 5* ) the martial law, for the different parts of his conduct, which are come to our know- ledge, and which have been either {lightly mentioned or expofed, in the foregoing pa- ges. For when a perfon, to whatever defcription of men he may belong, whether civil, ecclefiaftical or military, fets himfelf above the laws, and thofe regulations which enjoin a due fubordination, he ought to be difcountenanced by the whole community. And has not the author of this ma- licious defamation, done every thing in his power to annihilate that confidence, which ought to be placed in the commander in chief of an army, by expofing him, and every officer and foldicr under him, to public contempt and hatred ? has he not reprefented them as tyrants ; and in fome refpects, more cruelly oppreflive than the inftruments of Turkifh defpotifm ? has he not accufed them of having violated the law of nations, forgotten their duty, tar- nimed their honour, and proftituted their confciences like venal wretches fully difpofed to opprefs the defencelefs inhabitants of a country? and not only to opprefs, but, for i the 53 ; the bafeft lucre, to imbrue their hands In the blood of innocent women and children. It is a known and nniverfdlrule of war, amongft civilized nations, that places ta- ken by ftorm, and without any capitulation, are expofed to all the miferies, which the conquerors may choofe to inflict. Annantpore was in this horrid fituation ; confequently the lives of the inhabitants, with every thing belonging to them, were entirely at the mercy of the Englifh troops. But chriftianity, humanity, the dignity of the Britim nation, and their own feelings as men, induced them not to exert the right of conqueft in its utmoft rigour ; though two of their Flags of truce fent into the fort at different times, had been detained, the bearers put in irons, and caft into a dun- geon, contrary to the laws of war. I do not here pretend to define what is generally understood by the laws of war. Civilized nations ought not to adopt the laws or cuftoms of other countries, which are yet in a flate of barbarity. It will there- D 3 fore ( 54 ) fore, be fufficient to obferve, that there are nations whp confider themielves as autho- rized by their own laws, or rather caprices, tp put to death every individual belonging to the enerny, who may fall into their hands, without regard to age orfex, But without further obfervation on this matter, we may conclude the conduct of a General to be cruel, when the mifchkf done to the enemy, exceed in a confiderable/ degree, the advantages to be derived from, them. Of the many characterises which diftin*- guifh a civilized flate of iociety, the moil endearing is that of humanity, difplayed by nations at war with each other, in the treatment of their captives. To public virtue may be added, the private feelings of the heart, ever melting into companion at fight of another's woe ; men, who fo feel, may be called citizens of the world ! be- caufe pach fellow-creature in diftrefs, be- comes the object pf their pity and regard. Their fentiments, therefore, muft not only be grounded on the principles of morality, but ( 55 ) but may likewife derive additional force from mnxims of policy and prudential motives, as amid the various and uncer- tain revolutions of human affairs, we may contemplate the misfortunes of others, with the eye of pity to-day, and to-morrow, per- haps, being placed in the fame fituation our- felves, may look for a return of the confo lation we have given, In every line and rank of life, that affec- tion of the mind which we denominate fym- pathy, ought to be cherifhed; but by noclafs of men more than thofe who follow the pro- feffion of arms. The fcenes in which foldiers are often unavoidably engaged, tend to deaden, if not wholly to eradicate the fentiments of pity and remorfe. There are, however, fome difpoiitions fo tender and humane, as to reiift the ill effects of the cruel fpectacles which foldiers are fometjmes obliged to witnefs. Sertorius, Brutus, Titus, and many other heroes of antiquity, though they fpent the greater part of their lives in camps, feem never to have loft fight of their natu- rul humanity. But, dqubtlefs, difpofitions naturally cruel are rendered more callous, by fcenes of blood. Caligula, Nero, Domi- P 4 t:an, and many others amongft the anticnts became, by habit, wholly infenfibk to luf- ferings of their fellow-creatures. The ferocity of thefe latter, and other- like fcourgers of the human-race, increafed to fuch a degree, that they feemed to have been no lefs delighted with acts of cruelty, than the former with thofc of benevo- lence. Hannibal was naturally cruel ; and the fuperiority of Scifio's character over that of the Carthaginian, was owing more to his, benevolence and humanity, than to his extraordinary fuccefs. in arms, I have been led into thefe reflexions by the cruel and iniidious treatment which fo many diftinguimed characters experienced, who unfortunately fell into the hands of that difgrace of the human form, Tippoo Sultan. He, among other moderns of the fame character, may be faid to be a living example of Eaftern barbarity. Even his lather, the implacable Hyder Ali Khan, has been exceeded by him in acts of the moft unparalelled cruelty ; his favage man- ners V 57 ) ncrs yielding only to the bafenefs and ma* ligniry of his heart. But humanity, as 'well as political con- federations forbid our attempting to retali- ate his unexampled perfidy and cruelty. We were, therefore, obliged to reft content- ed with the more lenient mode of verbal re- mouftrance to effect the releafe of thofe gentlemen, whom he detained againffc the laws of war, and the dictates of humanity. Thefe confiderations, I truft, were pro- perly reprefented to him, and urged with that peculiar fpirit and energy which the nature of the cafe fo ftrongly required. All we have to lament is, that his hardened foul refitted their influence ; and on that account it is that I wifh to exhibit him as truly infamous and deteftable. In conjunction with him, our indignation, ihould rife againfl the fhameful conduct of the French Governor of Cuddalore, and of M. Suffrein. Not all the reputation for activity, perfeverance and valour, which the latter acquired in India, will (kreen this part part of his conduct from deteftation. Con- trary to the inftinft of humanity, the fpi- rit ofClmftianity, and the honour of a fol- dier, he gave up to his infidel ally the Bri- tim prifoners, whom the fortune of war had put in his power ; when, acquainted as he was with the difpofition of Tippoo, he muft have known that he was fending them to mifery or death. What can \vipe away the {lain of fo infamous a transaction ? Who that hears the ftory of thofe unhappy men, can refrain from imprecating vengeance on all who were inftrumental to their fuller- ings ? As well on Suffrein and Tippoo, as on thofe among ourfelves, who having had it in their power to relieve them, left them to their fate without fuccouror protection. But let us for a moment turn our eyes from fo difagreeable a picture, and com- fort ourfelves with the pleafing retrofpedl: of the genuine Britim character, in which every worthy and generous fentiment, fprings up and flourishes, as in its na- tive foil. Agreeable to your requeft in my next, I promife myfelf the pleafure of being able to furnifh you with a fuccinct account ( 59 ) account of the moft remarkable events that happened in the late fiege of Mangu- lore, and 'till then, with the utmoft at- tachment and refpedt, J remain, c. LET- ( 61 ) LETTER IV. Calcutta, February 20, 1787. S I R, ACCORDING to my promife, I have here delineated for your inspection, a {ketch of thofe important military opera- tions on the weftern fide of India, which Succeeded the recapture of Bidnure, by Tippo Sultan, and I wifh, for your fake, it had been a fmifhed picture, but then it would have exceeded the limits of thofe ideas I commenced with. However, as I elucidate all the tranfa&ions of the (iege of Mangu- lore, you will have enough, for fuch informa- tion as vou defire to communicate to others. The reiterated proofs of friendfhip with which you have honoured me, encourage me fur- ther to hope, that though at times you muft experience pain, you will feel that pain pal- liated by pleating reflections on thofe re- mark* C 62 ) markable occurrences wherein Great Britain has been fo eflentially interefted in this part of Hindooftan. F Mangulore, otherwife called Cortal Bunder? isfituated in about 13. 01' north latitude, and 72. oo'. eaft longitude from London. It is about one hundred miles diftant from Se- * lingapatam, the capital of Tippoo Sultan's dominions. As lying within the tropics,- it may be imagined, that it experiences all the inconveniencies of fultry heat, ufual in thofe latitudes ; but the refreming fea- breeze, which daily cools the air, renders it not only falubrious, but exceedingly plea- fant and agreeable to European conftitutions. The port is commodious, and fufficiently extenfive to contain any number of vef- fels ; the only defect is, that there is not a fufficient depth of water for large mips on the bar. Notwithftanding this difadvantage, there cannot be a better ntuation for trade, being nearly the central part of the coaft of Malabar; for by commanding,- as it does, the greater part of the commerce of the Bidnure and Myfore provinces, it will always always continue to be a place of the ut^ 3 importance. When the country was governed by the , Kings of Canara, it was the moft charm- / ing, fertile, and opulent of any in Afia. The whole coaft is copioufly watered by a number of rivers, flowing from fources in the Ghaut-Mountains, and emptying themfelves into the fea. It is likewife an almoft inexhauftible granary for rice, with which it fupnlies the coafts of Arabia and Perfia. The trade, however, carried on from Mangulore has been much on the decline, (ince the country fubmitted to the yoke of Hyder Ali Khan. The fortrefs of Mangulore, is fituated o-n an eminence, oppofite the entrance of the river, and this appears to be the fpot where the Portugueze Factory formerly flood. Hyder, defirous of conitru<5ting a citadel for the defence of the harbour and city, em- ployed for that purpofe, in the year 1774, M. Catini, a French engineer in his fer- vice. The iituation, neverthelefs, was ill cliofen, and the ftru&ure, which is accord- ing to the Eaflern manner of fortification, appears appears by experience to have been extreme* ly injudicious, and but ill calculated to withftand the force of heavy artillery, and the European method of carrying on ap- proaches. During the war of 1768, between the Englifh and Hyder, an army was fent from Bombay, to attack his pofleflions on that fide of India. The refiftancethey met with being weak, Mangulore was eafily re- duced. Intelligence of the lofs reaching Hyder, who was at that time with his grand army in the Carnatic, he inftantly difpatch- ed his fon Tippoo Saheb with a conlider- able force to recover the place. Tippoo having with great art concealed his route, he moved along with incredible rapidity towards the coaft of Malabar, and arrived in a fhort time at his place of defoliation. His fudden and unexpected appearance communicated fuch diforder and panic among the Englifh troops, that though en- camped on a very favourable fituation for defence, the ground being high, particu- larly in front, and commanding an exten- five five view of the adjacent country, they not- withfbnding abandoned their pofl, and flying with the utmoft precipitation, were purfued to the gates of Mangulore, by the enemy's cavalry, w r ho entered the placs pell mell, with the fugitives. This attack was executed with fo much diligence and addrefs by Tippoo, and pro- duced fuch great diforder among the Eng- lifh troops, that very few had time to make their efcape on board the fhips ; and their mameful flight added to the ardor of the enemy, who immediately embarked and captured three veiTels before they were able to clear the harbour. In this manner the whole of the Englim army were made pri- foners, confiding of the Commander in chief, forty fix officers, about fix 'hundred Europeans, and near five thoufand native troops, together with the artillery and baggage. It was not till after the furrender of Bidnure in the beginning of 1783, that the Englifh became again repofleffed of Mangulore. The expedition under Brigadier E General ( 66 ) General Mathews* was fo brilliant and fi fuccefsful at this period, and fo rapid the progrefs of the Englifh. arms on that fide of India, that it a-ftonimed and terrified their enemies. For befides the province of Bidnure, a conqueft was made of almofi the whole of the low country, to the weft- ward of the Ghauts, extending from Car- war to near Cochin, in lefs than fix weeks ; the fortrefs of Mangulore, and fome other places on the fea-coaft excepted, which held out till the months of March and April following. On the ^ift of January 1783, a detach- ment of the army marched from Bidnure againfr, Mangulore, with an order from. Hyat Saheb, late Jemautdar of the province, to the Killahdaur of that fortrefs, de firing him to furrender it to the En glim army. This detachment having reached that place on the 6th of February, the garrifon was fummonedj but the governor refufed complying with the order, and prepared to ftand on his defence. The Englim not venturing to proceed to an immediate at* tack, encamped about three miles from the the fort, till they were joined by a rein* forcement, with the battering cannon from Cundapore. On their approach to the fort, they met with confiderable oppofi- tion from the enemy, who fprung feveral mines by which we loft upwards of feventy men : but notwithstanding the inferiority of our force, the enemy were driven from theirout-pofts and batteries, and obliged to retire within the fort, The operations, however. Went on but flowly, or were rather fufpended, till the sift, when General Mathews arrived from / Bidnure, with a confiderable reinforcement of Europeans and Sepoys. And the Kil- lahdaur mewing an intention to ftand a liege, the place was compleatly invefted. On the 8th of March, a battery of five eighteen pounders was opened on the fouth, with a mortar battery on the north fide, the former at about one hundred and fifty yards diftance from the rampart. About fix o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy be- ing apprehen five that the breach was prac- ticable, and that our troops would attempt to carry the place byaflault at night, Ruf- E a turn ( 68 ) turn Ali Beg, the Killahdaur, fent a flag of truce to the General, with propofals for furrendering on terms of capitulation : which being agreed to, it was ftipulated that the private property of every denomi- nation fhould be fecured to the enemy, with permiffion to depart wherever they thought proper* The fort was accordingly fufrendered the next morning, and at this, and other fea- ports of Tippoo Sultan's dominions on the coafl of Malabar, twelve mips of war,* of from 64 to 36 guns, moft of which were on the (locks, and their hulls nearly fmifhed, tinder the direction of European artificers : with * Docks may be conftrucled on different parts of this coaft, Sufficient not only for repairing, but building (hips of the line. To thefe it is eafy to bring excellent timber from the interior parts of the country, fo that whatever relates to build- ing or repairing may be done as perfectly in as England, The "Teke Ti-ee, called by Fry'-"' The intelligence of Tippoo's approach, proved 'exactly true, for on the 6th of April, the vanguard of his army appeared before Bidnure ; and the place being foon aftey clofely invented, after a fiege 'of feven- teen days, propofals were iriade by the General for a furreader by capitulation. Nothing could have been more acceptable to Tippoo, than this proportion. It accor- ded with all his views, and being complied with, the garrifon marched cut: of the fort with the honors of war, o.n the 28th of April, and piled their arms on the glacis. j The articles particularly fpecified, that the General, when joined by the garrifons of Annautpore and Cowladroog, was to be at full ( 7' ) full liberty to march unmolefled, with all private property from Bidnure to Goa, by way of Seda/bagur^ and thence to embark for Bombay. But thefe conditions, were not attended to, the garrifon were efcorted by a ftrong body of the enemy to a tank, a- bout the diftance of half a mile from the city gate, where that brave but unfortunate body of men were furrounded by the ene- my's horfe and foot, fentinels being pott- ed on every {ide, beyond whom no perfon had permiffion to pafs, The regulars after- wards proceeded to difarm, and force them to become prifoners at difcretion. It was in vain to expoftulate on fo bafe a violation of the moft folemn treaty, contrary to the adopted rules of war. The garrifon being difarmed were fent into the interior parts of the country, linked two and two, and con- fined in feparate ftrong forts loaded with fetters. Who, pofleffing humanity or a love of juflice, can withold the tear of fym- pathy, to the memory of thofe brave men, facrificed in the fervice of their country, and claiming all the grateful remembrance, and honourable teftimony, which the living can pay to departed worth ? E 4 About ( 7* ) About the latter end of April, the Na- bob fent a detachment of his army amount- ing to about 4000 men horfe and foot, who defcended the Ghauts, under the command ofHuffain Ali Khan, and encamped with- in four miles of Mangulore. Towards midnight on the 6th of May, Colonel Camp- bell with about 1400 regular troops, de termined to fuprize their camp, and having reached them about day break, after an ir- fegular fire which continued for a few mi- nutes, they gave way and fled with preci- pitation, leaving behind them four fix /pounders, field artillery, with the travelling carriages compleat, and 1 80 draught-bul- locks. Their lofs in killed and w r ounded is uncertain, but fuppofed to have 'been iricpn- jlderable. That of the Englifh, was two European privates killed, one Captain, and one fubaltern, with one private wounded. .. This defeat, however, accelerated Tip- poo's march. Having put the garrifon of Bidnure in order, and fettled the affairs of the country, and flufhed with the in- glorious victory he had gained over Ge- neral Mathews, he afiembled the My fere army, ( 73 ) army, and with the aid of his allies, the French, he directed his further operations towards the coafl of Malabar, determined to reduce the other garrifons and polls which ftill remained in porTeflion of the Eng- lifh, on that fide of the peninfula. Having met with no material oppofition on his march, the vanguard of his army reached the heights of Cuddrie, -within four miles of Mangulore on the ipth of May. V The day following, by intelligence receiv- ed from deferters, the main body of his ar- my was found to amount to upwards of one hundred and thirty thoufand fighting men, fix hundred of whom were French European infantry, under the command of Colonel Coffigny, together with a troop of French ** difmounted cavalry, and a corps confifring partly of natives, and Europeans of different nations, under the command of Col. Lally,* and Monf. Boodena a Captain in the French fervice. *Col. Lally,is faid to be a native of Rumilly, a town of Savoy. In the war before the laft, he left his native country in cjuefl of better fortune, and entered in the fervice of the French ( 74 ) fervice. Tippoo had befides with him a confiderable field train of artillery, and about one hundred and twenty pieces of battering French Eaft India Company, in which he firft became a fer- jeant. By his activity and induitry, he loon acquired a fmall competency towards his future fupport in life ; but at theclofe of that war, the fliip in which he was returning to Europe, being taken by the Englifti, he loft both his liberty and the fruits of his induftry. On the return of peace, he was ex- changed, and from London he again patted over to India. Sometime after, chagrined by the treatment he had formerly received, he quitted the fervice of the Company, and enter- ed himfelf in a military party called the Swifs, who hired their fervices to the Indian Princes. By his military talents and bravery he focn diftinguiihed himfelf from his comrades ; and in the year 1775, whilft in the ferwice of the Nabob of Adoni, he was honoured by the King of France with the title of Major by brevet. Afterwards he commanded a corps of 4000 men, and received a fecond mark of favour from his moft Chriftian Majefty, who fent him a brevet commiffiou of Colonel of infantry, with the Crofs of St. Louis. The Englifli knowing the attachment 'of Colonel Lally to the French, and being perfuaced that he was active in under- mining their intereft with the Nabob of Adoni, intrigued fa fuccefsfullv with that Prince, that he was obliged to quit his 'fervice, but in a very honourable manner. He then went with his corps to Nizam Ali, NuLob of the Decan, and bro- ther to the Nabob of Adoni. The Englifh purfued him it ill at this court, and at laft he offered his fervice to Hyder A]!, whofe efteem and confidence he foon gained, by his gallant manner of behaviour at the head of his corps, which confifird. chiefly of Europeans. ( 75 ) battering cannon of different calibers. Tha whole of this formidable force being arrived, they occupied all the heights within three and four miles diftance of the garrifon of Mangulore. A river lay on the right and left, and their encampment extended about four or five miles in a femicircular direc- tion. The chief command of the Englifh for- ces on the coaft of Malabar, was at this critical conjuncture provifionally conferred by the Prefident and Select Committee of, Bombay, on Colonel Campbell. As it happened, he was extremely unfortunate refpecting intelligence concerning this ra- pid movement, and unexpected approach of the enemy : for notwithstanding the ful- left information had been obtained from the inhabitants of the country, as well as from deferters, of the furrender of Bidnure, and the captive ft ate of General Mathews and his nrmy,it was hardly believed at Man- gulore, till the place was compleatly inveft- ed. There was another affair of the utmofl confequence, which deferves to be equally lamented, that no attention had been paid 2 tO to the means of procuring a proper fupply of provisions and other neeeflaries, both for the fecurity of tlie garri;b:i, and againft the Monfoon, which was juft then fetting in; befides which no care had been taken to repair the defects of the fortifications. In &ort the'wants in every department, were fo ihamefully guarded againft, that the fu- ture profpeft of the troops, now became truly alarming. It is true, this want of fore fight cannot be faid? to have originated fblely with the commander in chief; ftill he might be blamed for confiding too much in the near approach of the heavy rains, and the prefumption he entertained, that the enemy could not think of a ferious attack at fo late a feafon of the year, and under fuch obvious difadvantages. We may, however, to thefe circumdances im- pute the lofs of many brave officers and men. They were too much expoled to tho enemy's fire ; and the want" of a fufficient number of houfes, and the fcarcity of ma- terials for conftrurling fuitable accom- modations for the troops within the walls, were afterwards the caufe of 'great ficknefs and defertion. ; . At ( 77 ') At' the commencement of the fiege, the ftrength of the garriibii confided of about five hundred and forty Europeans, and two thoufand eight hundred and fifty Sepoys, ^ About this time an incident happened, that had the enemy been poflTefled of eminent courage, or military talents* the confe- qucnce mud inevitably have proved fatal to the English army, and they would have been rendered incapable of winning thofe laurels, they afterwards fo glorioufly ac- quired. Two battalions of Sepoys, a few pieces of light artillery, with an adequate number of European gunners, were de- tached under Captain Edward Nugent of the Company's fervice, to occupy a ftrong pofition, fituated about twelve hundred ^ards eaflward of the fort. This was a very extenfive hill. When in poffeffion of Hvder, a flight retrenchment had been thrown up to the fouthward of it ; and every other part except to the weftward, was almoft inacceifible. It commanded the two prin- cipal roads leading to the town and fortrefs of Mangulore ; and on that account only it appeared eligible to keep poflcuion of it. But though from natural and acquired ad- vantages vantages, it might be deemed of equal utility and importance, there were weighty mo- tives for judging it extremely hazardous, at this critical juncture, to retain pofleffion of a pofr fo far di ft a lit from the garrifon, and of fuch great extent, that the whole of our force was not adequate to its defence. Befides it was not furnimed with a (ingle magazine of ammunition or provifions, nor did it afford any water ; and in cafe of an attack, its diftance from the garrifon was fuch, as rendered it impoffible for them to afford it the leaft relief or protection ; and confequently the enemy had it in their power to cut off the whole detachment. But although their different movements evidently indicated a fudden attack in that quarter, and clearly pointed out the nece fity of withdrawing the troops : yet, Co- lonel Campbell, contrary to the general voice of his officers, and at the ri Ik of the lofs of his whole army, founded his hopes of defence, on the confidence he had in the natural ftrength of the place. According to what was expected, at day 'break on the 23d of May, the enemy open- ed ( 79 ) ed a battery of four guns upon this out-poft, from that part of their encampment which lay neareft on one of the oppofite hills. 1m- mediatelyafter feveral large columns of their troops advanced to a brifk attack, which con- tinued about twenty minutes, under 'an in- cefiant fire of cannon, muiketry, and rock- ets: and fuch was the great fuperiority of the enemy over our troops, that the latter were forced to abandon their {ration, and retreat precipitately towards the fort. Be- fore their defperate fituation was perfectly, known, the 42d regiment, and a corps of Sepoys, were ordered out to fupport them ; but this reinforcement was not able to reach the hill till its defenders had been driven from it in great diforder. The detach- ment, however, having joined them, on their retreat, the fpirited exertions of the of- ficers, by animating the troops, confiderably retarded the progrefs of the enemy, and en- abled a numberof the fugitives toefcape. The behaviour of our Europeans on this occa- fion, was by no means fuch as might have been expected from troops, who had hither- to been particularly diftinguimed for their intrepid conduct, and contempt of danger. The The enemy, thus encouraged by their" fiie- cefs, had the temerity to advance within musket mot of the covert-way. But as foon as the artillery of the garrifon, which was directed upon them with the utmoft precifion, began to take effect, they quickly withdrew to a refpectful diftance. The lofs of the Englifh on this occafion, was one European officer killed, one wounded, and three miffing, with upwards of two hundred and fifty Sepoys killed, wounded, and made prifoners. Immediately after this unfortu- nate bufmefs, all our other ports, except the Caik-battery, were evacuated, and the whole of the troops withdrawn under cover of the cannon of the garrifon. It is not furprifmg, that after hazarding fo difagreeable an event* the Commander in Chief mould endeavour to throw the blame from himlelf. The compafs of what was ori- ginally intended to be written on this fub- jedt, will not permit us to examine into a multiplicity of particulars. Still it is but juftice to the character of Captain Nu- gent to remark, that his bravery and pru- dent conduct were equally confpicuous on ( 8' ) on this as on every occafion, during the courfe of the fiege ; in which it was evident- ly apparent, that he was poflefled of the greatell profeffional Ikill, as well as the moft perfect courage ; and from affidu- ous attention to his duty, joined to a real knowledge of the fervice, and conftant care and precifion in the difcharge of his fubor- dinate {ration, it may be truly affirmed, that he was not only intitled to every degree of praife,but had alfo the mofl indifputable claim to promotion. The enemy having proved thus far fuc- Cefsful in di (lodging our out-poll, it was expected with fome confidence, as already- mentioned, that the approaching Monfoon would oblige them to fufpend their ope- rations till the return of the fair feafon. In this cafe, our little army muit have been perfectly quiet during the continuance of the rains. The proximity of Tellicher- ry made it eafy, on the change of the fea- fon, to tranfmit thence, as well as from Bombay, fuch fupplies and reinforcements as might enable the garrifon to take the field. Thefe were our hopes ; but the enemy, to F make ( 82 ) make the rnoft of their advantages over our weak flare, comparatively to their own, did not remain inactive. The approach of the rainy feafon rather added to their ardour^ The garrifon was fummoned to furreiider. The trenches were opened, and batteries erected, well fupplied with European gun- ners ; and they began their operations by pufhing on the fiege with vigour, under a determination of carrying on approaches, at the fame time, both to the north and fouth of the fort. The 4th of June they opened their batteries,'un*ler the powerful fire of twelve twenty-four pounders, and fome of a fmal- ler calibre. Soon after there was an addi- tion of feven brafs mortars, from which , inftead of fhells, they kept up an inceflan t fire, each night from fun-fet to fun-rife, throwing large ftones into the fort and works, fome of which were upwards of fe- venty pounds weight. The damage and execution done by them, were in general confiderable, and greatly annoyed the gar- rifcn. This circumftance likewife enabled the enemy to proceed in their approaches, during the night, with the greater fecurity, and and with little lofs, although at times they met with fome interruption from our (hells. f It has already been obferved en that the fortifications of the place, through want of the necelTary repairs, were far from being in a refpedlable condition ; but the deficiency of ftrength was amply fupplie-d by the gallantry of thegarrifon, who, entirely cut off as they were, from every hope of fuccour, nevertheleis perfevered with great bravery and refolution, during the whole of the rainy feafon, in a determined and noble defence. ' The officers and men, when off their tour of duty, were conftantly employ- ed in conftructing various works for the defence of the place ; and all rank?, with the utmoft alacrity, participated in the la- bour. Captain Sartorius, the chief etigi- v neer, with active zeal and diligent affiduity, pointed out the neceffity of fuch exertions, in a manner that did him the highefl ho- nour. This worthy officer, pofleffing the moft confumrnate profeffional (kill, wa$ cool in danger, decided in diftrefs, and ever ready and judicious in his expedients. Such is the character of this gentleman, which F 2 make? ( 84 ) makes him as defervedly confpicaous in his profeffion, as it is [honourable to the indi- vidual, and important to the public. The artillery of the befiegers, however, affifted by the military fcience of the French auxiliaries, foon gained an evident fuperio- rity, and they were indefatigable in carry- ing on their operations ; butthe alertnefs and obftinate defence of the garrifon rendered caution an obje<5b of neceffity ; and tbge- ther with the violent rains which then fre- quently fell, could not fail of confiderably retarding their approaches. Notwithftand- ing thefe impediments, matters were fo far advanced, about the beginning of July, as to render an attack on the body of the place practicable. But although the fortifications were reduced to a heap of ruins, yet the enemy was repulfed in every attempt to car- ry the place by aflault. J On the 2d pf Auguft notification being made by M. Piveron de Morlae, a French Envoy with Tippoo Sultan, of the prelimi- nary articles of peace being figned at Ver- faillts on the 2oth of January, i 785, by the Plenipoten- Plenipotentiaries of their Britannic and Moft ChrifHan Majeftiesjin compliance therewith, a ceffation of hoftilities was propofed by the Envoy, and agreed to by the Nabob, and by Colonel Campbell, in behalf of the Eaft India Company's pofleffions on the coaft of Malabar. The conditions in general, on which it was concluded, were, that all things, both within and without the garri-' Ton of Mangulore, mould remain in the fame fituation in which they were then in, for a time particularly fpecified ; and that hoftages mould be exchanged for the mu- tual performance of that ftipulation. The French auxiliaries were therefore obliged to withdraw ; but the Nabob perfifting in the inveftment of Mangulore, convert- ed the fiege into a blockade, and the garri- fon were reduced to the greatest diftrefs through the want of provisions ; and it was evident, though peace was then in agita- tion, that he was refolved to ftarve them into a fur render. The Commander in Chief, on this me- lancholy occafion, ufed his utmoft endea- vours for re-animating his troops with a F 3 fpirit ( 86 ) f pint of perfeverance ; and, for that purpofe, he iflued repeated affurances in general or- ders, that fpeedy relief was expected from Bombay. In this ftate, neverthelefs, they remained near four months longer, ^eprefl- ed by fatigue, and emaciated with famine. Their patience was almoft exhaufted by difappointments, and no profped of relief from any quarter appearing to confole them, was the caufe of ficknefs, and defer- tion prevailing in a manner the moft alarm- ing. On the morning of the 24th of Novem- ber, two fleets appeared, one from the north- ward, and the other from the fouthward : both flood towards the place, and early in the afternoon, the {hips of war took their ftations, fo as to cover, in the moft efflclual manner, the diiembaikation of the troops. From this fleet was expected the relief and iuccours, fo long wilhed for, and no- thing could equal the pleafure and fpirit which elated the garrifon : Joy and confi- dence was diffufed over every countenance, all bt-ing perfuaded, that their fuffcrings were now come to a termination, and that they (hould have ample fatisfa&ion of thofe who ( 8? ) who had been the caufe of them. And this handful of hrave men, whofe noble defence had been feldom equalled, and never fur- pafled, prepared with alacrity to fecond the efforts of their countrymen; even the feeble convalefcent, tottering under the weight of his arms, boldly flepped forward to offer his fervices on this occafion. The armament which caufed this infpi- ration, was under the convoy of his Ma- jefty's mip the Sultan, of 74. guns, Cap- tain Mitchel. About five o'clock in the afternoon, the two fleets,, confiding in the- whole of about 53 fail of (hips and vefiels, anchored oppofite the entrance of the har- bour. Brigadier general MacLeod was at the head of the land forces, ftrong in Euro- peans and native troops, with an adequate train of artillery; and he might have been further fupported by the neighbouring Rajahs, who were eager to repel the tyran- ny of Tippoo, to whom the greater part of the Malabar coafl no longer owned fubjec- tion. F 4 About ( 88 ) About funfet, the fignal was made that the troops would land to the fbuthward of the harbour ; and foon after they were dif- covered in the boats, and every movement promifed a fpeedy attack. The garriibn, during the night, lay on their arms, and every neceflary arrangement took place to facilitate their landing, which was anxi- oufly expected. But how great was the dif- appointment of the garrifon ! for in the morning no difpofition appeared in their fuppofed deliverers to give them relief; on the contrary, they feemed to have forgotten thofe whom they came to fuccour, and were preparing to abandon them to deftrucYi- on. It isimpoiiibletoexprefa the concern and indignation of the officers and foldiers at a treatment fo cruel and unmerited ! In the mean time, it was agreed upon be- tween TTippoo, General MacLeod, and the Commodore, that the garrifon ihould have a fupply of provifions for a month. Thefe proviilons were accordingly landed, but in quantity they were found fcarce fufficient for fifteen days confumption, and the beef, pork, bifcuit and rice, were unfit for ufe, bearing bearing evident marks of provifions which had been condemned fome years before, and fet afide from the life of the King's fquadron. Even a fupply of fire wood was entirely neglected, an article, fo effentially ne- ceiiarv to every befieged place, and of which but very little remained in the fort. Nor was there a fupply of medicines or other ne- cefTaries, though thehofpitals were crowded with the fick and wounded, and the whole of the troops in a weakly ftate It was thus, thofe humane commanders, who had been entrufted with the difcharge of this import- ant duty, exerted themfelves in relieving the garrifon The mips of war continued manoeuvering ofFtlie harbour till the iftof December. It was evident that the fudden and unexpected appearance of that fleet, before Mangulore, had occafioned the greatefl confufion and panic among the enemy ; for they were feen withdrawing their heavy artillery from the lines, and a number of their troops filed off to a diftance. If the Englifh had taken advantage of this favourable opportunity, with that vivacity which circumftances de* manded, (. 9 - ) manded, the enemy had infallibly been difperfed, or reduced to the neceffity of leaving that part of the coafr. On the con- trary, they were allowed feven days to reco- ver from their confirmation ; and Tippoo knew, that delays, ever favorable, to a na- tive, are ever fatal to a ilranger. This con- viction determined him to reafiemble his forces, and feeing thofe that oppofed him timid and circumfpecl:, he formed an excel- lent difpoiition for repelling any attempt the Englim might make, for the more effectual relief of Mangulore. The fame day, the garrifon had the mor- tification to fee the fleet with the land forces on board, fail from the road, and {land to the fouthward for Tellicherry. When they were getting -under way, two guns were fired by the garrifon, and a fignal was dif- played from the moft conspicuous part of the fort, " that they were on bad terms with the Nabob and required immediate fuppo.rt," And fome time after, " that unlefs fpeedily fuccoured they could not hold out any longer." Thefe fignals were made in view of the fleet, which, never- thelefs ( 9* ; tlielefs continued its courfe. The ftiip which" had the General on board, however, returned, anchored in the road, and remained there till the 3d of the fame month ; iignaU being again difplayed, and at laft anfwered, when (he was preparing to ftand after the fleet, " that they mould be fpeedily fuc- coured." This promife proved fruitlefs : of a condud fo myfterious, time muft be left to develope the fecret. For the garri- fon were then, and it feems the public are at this day, totally ignorant of the inftruo tions under which thofe officers a&ed. But furely no orders could have reftri&ed them from fupplying the place, conformably to the tenour of the ceflation of hoftilities, with a fufficiency of wholefome provifions for one month ; abundance of which, at that time, might have been procured from any part of India. Whatever might have been. the original deftination of the army under General Mac Leod, yet it was a matter of public notoriety, even in the Nabob's Dur- bar, that it was in reality intended for the reduction of Cannanore. This ( 92 ) This fettlement formerly belonged to the crown of Portugal ; in the year 1505, Fran- cis Almeed obtained leave of the king of that country, to build a fort, which was called St. Angelo ; and Lopez Britto, with 1 50 -men, was left Governor of it. This was not only intended to defend them a- gaihft the infults of the Arabians, but alio as a bulwark for himfelf and his people againfl the invafion of their neighbouring enemies. The Hollanders, on their firft arrival on this coaft, having been joined by the natives, who were become weary of the tyranny of the Portugueze, difpofleffed them of Can- nanore, with very little trouble, about the year 1660. The Dutch fometime after- wards, fold the fort and territory to Ali Ra- jah a Mahommedan partizan. The fortrefs of Cannanore is fituated on a point of land clofe to thefea, and together / with its natural and acquired advantages, may be deemed one of the ftrongeft and moft complete belonging to the native powers in that part of India. At a very trifling expcnce ( 93 ) expence, it might be finimed agreeable to the rules of modern fortification, and made a military poft of the utmoft confequence. Hence it appears to be a place. of much great* er importance than Tellicherry, which is not tenable, if it were in vetted by a regular force. During the -late war between the Englifh and Hyder Ali, the city of Cannanore be- came the centre, and indeed the only place of trade, belonging to the natives, on that fide of India. It was alfo the depofitory of the moil valuable effects of rich merchants who frequented that place, on account ^of the ready market for goods of all forts; met twith there, from whence they t were di ft ri- buted to the inland provinces ; and af the fame time the manufactures and natural productions of the country form a very coni]- derable part of its commerce. The trade is chiefly carried on by Maplas, a race of -rigid Mahommedan adventurers, who be- gan to efbblifh themfelves on this conti- nent, about the beginning of the eighth cen- tury,and wereA pottles as welt as merchants, They foon became the principal factors of Arabia, ( 94 ) Arabia, Perfia and Egypt ; and were treated witji many diftinguifhed marks of refpeft by the Zamorin, at that time the moft pow- erful prince on the coaft of Malabar, who, equally with his fubjects, wimed to keep tip an intercourfe with thofe countries. Here they multiplied to a great degree, and as their religion allows of polygamy, they marry in every place where they make any flay. This nation forming no alliance with ftrangers, has preferved its peculiar man- ners ; but though their religion forbids ufu- ry, they are not fcrupulbus in that refpecl ; and they are a treacherous ally, and a cruel and inveterate foe. About the 1 1 th of November, two of the Company's veflels proceeding from Carwar to Tellicherry with troops, happen- ed unfortunately to be wrecked in a gale of wind, on the coaft near Cannanore ; and Lieutenants Whildon and Mathews, the latter, brother to the unfortunate General of that name, with 300 fepoys, were feized and delivered up to Tippoo, by Ali Rajah Bibv, the Queen of that country. Repeat- ed applications and remonftrances were in i vain ( 95 ) vain made for their releafe by the Refident of Tellicherry ; and on refufal, an inten- tion was declared of taking fatis faction, as well for this injury, as forthemimic;-i!d. fition (hewn, in many other refpects, by the' government of Cannanore, to the Englifh. There might be here fomd ground for latis- facYion, but in general it has been obferva- . ble, that avarice has lately made fo great a progrefs in this part of the world, that the commander of a military force, need only create an occafion for plunder; and if the civil government is afiigned a (hare of the fpoil, he thence may be affured, that fb far from apprehending difagreeable con- fequences, his conduct will meet with the *. higheft approbation. Such bufmefs is more aptly carried' on, when the femblance of war may be ftill fuppofed to {ubfift ; but in times of actual peace, the arts of peculation fucceed but (lowly, all being attention to the fame traffic ; whereas the profits by war being of a more rapid acquifition, become of confequence more alluring, as being ia the end more profitable. The The army under General Mac Leod, had no fooner arrived at Tellicherry, than an expedition was formed, in order to chaftife the Biby of Cannanore. On their approach to this town, the fort was fummoned-to furrender, but the Governor fhewing an intention to fland a fiege, batteries were erec~bed, and after a practicable breach had been effected, it was carried by ftorm on the I4th of December, after a gallant and defperate refinance from the garrifon, a number of whom fell in the affault. In the attack and reduction of this place, audits dependencies, the lofs of the Englifh in killed and wounded, amounted to about 100 men. .nov The troops, on this occasion, -diftinguifhed themfelves by every proof of difcipline and humanity, injuring no perfon they found in the place unarmed, and in the fury of the attack, fparing many who laid down their arms and fubmitted. On the fall of Cannanore, the Rajah Biby or Princefs,was made prifoner of war, as ibe was an ally of and dependant on Tip- poo- ( 97 ) poo Sultan, that Prince complained loudly of the conduct of the Englifh General, as an infringement of the truce which had b-en concluded at Mangulore. I (hall now refume my narrative of the ,y blockade of Mangulore. Duringthe monthof January 1784, the fufFerings of the garrifon daily increafed, and evils which till now they had not experienced, prefented to their minds the mod diimal profpecl of approach- ing deftrucTion. The alternative now left them, was either to perim by famine, or become the victims of an incenfed and cruel enemy. They chofe the former, as moft becoming foldiers and Britifh fubje bour, for the purpofe of tranfporting the garrifon to Teilicherry. Atfun rife, onthe29th,an Eaft-Indiaman, with one of the Company's grabs, and five fmail pattarnars, appeared in fight from the fouthward. About nine o'clock, they an- chored in the road, and foon after made fig? pals for a boat, which were not anfwered by the garrifon. At eleven o'clock, the Colonel, attended as before, byfomeofhis officers, went to the Nabob's Durbar, and iigned the articles of capitulation. And in the afternoon, two officers were difpatched on board the Indiaman, to acquaint the mi- litary officers who came from Teilicherry ill that veflel, that the garrifon had furren- dered. During this day, upwards cf 8000 of the enemy's coolies were employed in embarking the {lores and baggage of the garrifon. In the evening, orders were iflued for the troops to hold themlelves in readi- nefs to ^mbark. Among thefe particulars, it; may not be undeserving of notice, that before the arti- cles cles of capitulation had received the feal and {ignature of the Nabob, he defired that it might be remembered, and fignified by an inftrument in writing, that he had ufed no indirect means to procure the giving up of the fort, the folecaufeof which, on the part of the befieged,was their beingtotallydef- titute of provifions. He alfo fhewed himfelf extremely felicitous to know, whether the furrender of the place, fo circumfhnced, might, in any refpecl, be injurious to the cha~ racier of Colonel Campbell as an officer, and having been allured that it could not, he im^ mediately figned the capitulation. Suffice it to fay, that on this occafion, he gave the moil ^ ample and honourable teftimony to the V gallantry of this brave garrifon, and that the conditions were fuitable to the genero^ fity of thofe fentiments. For every requi^ fition made by the Colonel was liberally complied with, and in a manner which would do honour to the moil exalted cha- racter among European princes. The gar- rifon was allowed all the honours of war ; cannon, arms and ammunition, with pub- lic fr.ores of every kind, whether belonging f;o the King, or the Eafl India Company, as as well as every article of private property, Were fecured to the owners. On the 3oth, about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the garrifon completely accouter- ed, with their arms mouldered, two field pieces, lighted matches, colours flying and drums beating, marched out at the fea- gate, to the river fide, where they embark- ed. Tippoo's people, on this occafion, be- / haved with the utmoft civility to our men, and mewed a readinefs to afford them every a/liilance in their power. This was not, however, all the refpecl: (hew r ed them, for when the feeble remains of that unfortunate garrifon appeared without the fort, in view of the troops that had affailed them, it ex- cited their aftonifhment and admiration, thatfo fmall a number, mould, for fuch a length of time, have been able to withfhmd the efforts of the mod powerful army ever feen in India, commanded by a Prince of fignal courage, and military talents, and aided by his allies the French, whofe num- ber alone, was more than equal to the Eu- ropean force cf the garrifon. On On the 3 1 ft of January, the garrifon was finally evacuated ; and thus terminated the fiege of Mangulore, after the place had been fhut up eight months and thirteen days. The garrifon, which originally con- fifted of 541 Europeans, and 2850 fepoys, on the day of furrender, was, by various cafualties, reduced to 1235 men 5 f that the total lofs, from the beginning to the end of the fiege, amounted to 1937, which ap- pears to exceed, by 709, the lofs fuftained during the late fiege of Gibraltar. Upon the whole, however, it appears doubtful, whether the ignorance of the ene^ my in the fcience of attack, or the fpirit and valour of the befieged in defence, contii- buted moft to the fecurity of the place. Few examples, are to be found in hiftory, of greater bravery exerted by a handful of men. Their protection in many places, depended upon nothing more than mud-walls. That the garrifon w r as fkilfully defended is evi^ dent from this circumftancee, that the taking of the covert-way by the enemy, was but a fmall ftep towards obtaining poflcflion of the place. Indeed the rafhnefs and precipi- tancy tancy of the befiegers, will often intimi- date a weak and ignorant Governor : but when attacks are thus eagerly hurried on again ft a place, commanded by a brave and intelligent officer, he may, generally, take fuch an advantage of theie incautious pro- ceedings, as ought to deter an enemy from venturing to adopt them, who pofleffes the leaft degree of prudence or regard for the lives of his foldiers. The manner of conducting approaches by the native powers in Hindooftan, againffc regular fortifications, efpecially when de- fended by Europeans, is fo extremely in- judicious, that the number of thofe who fall in an affault, is always far fhort of the the multitudes who perifh by unwholefomc provifions, the inclemency of the weather, and the frequent fkirmifhes which happen during a long fiege. Delays alfo ever dif- courage the btfiegers, and give frefh fpi- rit and confidence to the befieged. To thefe confiderations may be added, the riik incurred, from flow approaches, of being ob- liged to raife the fiege ; a neceffity to which the Nabob's army before Mangulore mutt have ( I0 9 ) have been reduced, if that garrifon had been relieved. This was certainly practicable, either by allowing the army under Colonel Fullarton to advance from Palghautcherry, or if General MacLeod had thought expe- dient to land his force, which was before the place on the 25th of November. But the government of Madras, who might be / fuppofed to have had many opportunities of being well acquainted with the difpofition and ambition of Tiopoo, made no attempt to relieve Mangulore. On the contrary, impolitic as it muft appear, that govern- ment iffued orders for withdrawing the fcuthcrn army from Palghautcherry, be- fore the fmallefr. advances had been made, on the part of the enemy, towards fettling the preliminaries of peace. Nor was it lels ab- furd and inconfiderare in them, to fend the gentlemen who had been deputed to con- clude a peace in behalf of the Company, into the midft of a country, under the ju- rifdiction of a faithlefs tyrant, who, to fe- cure the object of his ambition, might not fcruple to trample on the laws of nations; and in that fituation, thefe gentlemen re- J m allied mained, until he had time fully fufficicnt to accomplish his wifhes. The defence of Mangulore for fuch a length of time, may be juftly confidered as one of the moft important events of the late ivar in India, for nothing was ever more critical than the fituation of the Bri- tifh affairs in Afia at this period, and few\ things could have been more fortunate in the prefent juncture, than the great effects which it manifeftly produced, by obliging Tippoo to withdraw the greater part of his forces from the Carnatic. Had he remain- ed there to co-operate with the French troops under the Marquis de Bufly, and Monf. Duchemin, confidering, the ruin- ous ftate of the Company's affairs at that time on the coaft of Coromandel, there could fcarcely have been a hope of their poffeffions, on that fide of the peninfula, not falling, almoft a defencelefs prey, into the hands of the enemy. r It is, therefore, natural, in a country like this, which had long laboured under the calamities of war, to look back upon the events ( 1" ) events by which that war was terminated, and to make fome enquiry after thofe to whom we are indebted for the return of peace : and this, not with a view of inform- ing ourielves whether the conditions by which it was qbtained, were or were not adequate to our fituation, but with a grate- ful remembrance of thofe, without whofe fignal courage and vigorous exertions, \ve might not have been able to have infifted on any conditions whatever. I have already premifed, that it is not my intention to fwell this narrative, by a minute detail of military operations ; yet it is with no fmall reluctance and regret that I muft, for the prefent, decline a task, which from the various proofs it affords of skilful conduct in the officers, and difci- plined valour in the troops, would fo pleaf- ingly gratify my private feelings. But while. I am celebrating the many ftriking advant- ages derived to the Englifh nation, from the gallant defence made by the garrifon of Mangulore, it might be deemed unjuft topafs unnoticed the able exertions and perfever- ance of Colonel John. Campbell, who com- manded ( 1*1 ) marided in chief, during the fiege of that place. But not being prepared to enter in^ to a detail of his fervices, I fhall content myfelf with briefly obferving, that though he poflefled few of the requifites for con- fiituting the character of a Wolf or a Daun, and did not feem formed for brilli- ant actions ; he was, neverthelefs, endued with courage in an eminent degree ; and during the iiege, attended with unwearied affiduity to the minutiae of his important truft, in which he was well fupported by the indefatigable vigilance and bravery of his officers and men. This bright picture, however, was not without its fhades. He had failings, and thefe / chiefly arifing from the impetuonty of his temper, which fometimes carried him lengths not altogether juftifiable. The high opinion he entertained of his rank and abilities mads him often the dupe of interefted and defign- ing men. It appears, indeed, thathe was al- ways inclined to ferve his friends, but this, m many inftances, he did at the expence of more deferv ingcharacters, whom he was, but too often, equally folicitous to injure. Henc e ( "3 ) Hence he became felfim in the higheft de- gree, and his refentment, where once he conceived himfelf offended, was rooted and implacable. I am far from meaning in triefe remarks to depreciate the merits of Colonel Camp- bell as an officer ; my intention is only to difcountenance that extravagant eulogy, fo frequently and fo blindly beflowed on imagined worth ; and in this I appeal to the teftimony of thofe who knew him perfon- . ally and intimately* It was the fincere wifh of thofe who were fufFerers with him, that he might have fur- vived, not only to vindicate his own conduct in the defence of Mangulore, but alfo to bring forward to public view, thofe tyrants y , and their instruments, to whole pernicious counfelsrhe misfortunes of thatgarrifon may be j uftly afcribed. The nation might there- by have had an opportunity of doing juftice on thofe who had wantonly injured its ho- nour and its interefr. It is doubtlefs from . \ fcreening fuch delinquents that the greater >/ part of the evils in this quarter of the globe H have ( 11+ ) have originated, as no check is impofed on the ambition of artful and defigning men. Although the Britim character for hu- manity, has in no part of the world been better fuftained than in India ; although there be no State or Prince in that country, who will not acknowledge the juftice of this remark, yet the late war, which was carried on with various fuccefs, and under confider- able difficulties, has been productive of num- berlefs calamities to the natives, many of ./ whom have fuffered grievous oppreffions. Large fums have been violently extorted from fome of their Princes by the contending armies, under pretence of defraying the ex- pences of the war : and many of the in- habitants have been obliged to abandon their native country, by the unrelenting . hand of European rapacity and oppreffion. The 'cultivation and commerce of the country likewife fuftained great detriment. A variety of circumftances has fufficiently demonftrated, that fuch wars, and fuch a mode of conduct as has been adopted re- pedting the natives, are totally inconliftent with t ( "5 ) with the interefls of a Commercial company, and repugnant to every principle of found policy. Inflead of being fubfervient to the government at home, the ndminiflration in India has ever affected independence, and been actuated by a fpirit of fyftematic dif- obedience. The views and interefls of pri- vate men, not the principles of commerce, or of patriotifm, have been the rules of their conduct. Dominion, power, and wealth, are often acquired by good fortune ; but to preferve them is the province of political iagacity. Greater glory, as well as greater advantage, is, therefore, to be acquired by retaining and improving, than by extending conquefts. n 2 TO TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE GEORGE, LORD MACARTNEY. MY LORD, My laft was from Mangu- lore, informing you of its furrender, and requefting that you would give fuch affift- ance to the Honourable Company, as lay in your power.- A large body of horfe and foot, under the command of Mahomed Ally, from the Carnatic, has joined the forces that oppofe me : and they now amount to fifty thoufand men, with twenty -five pieces of cannon. From the number that I told you J could colled for the field, your Lordftiip will determine whether I can make head againft the foe, with any probability of fiio* cefs. It mail be my endeavour to preferve what has been gained, and to keep the low country clear of the Nabob's troops. But it has been out of my power to prevent a number number of petty Rajahs feizing their anci- ent inheritance, which was wrefted from them by Hyder; and fome neighbouring Polygars have made encroachments. I have not the power of punifhment, and am under the neceffity of taking flight no- tice of their irregularities ; but to check thofe upftarts, it takes me three hundred Europeans, and one thoufand Sepoys, that are wanted to face Mahomed Ally, whofe army, is now only forty miles from Bid- nure. I have great hopes that fomething ef- fectual will be done on your fide, by the active exertions of your fouthern army to- wards Coimbettore ; while your grand ar- my is expelling the enemy from the Car- natic, I mall be able to keep rny footing, until reinforced. I have the pleafure of informing your Lordfhip, that all the low country, from Carwar to near Cape Comorin, is under our command, excepting the aforementioned impediments from the Rajahs, which com- mence ( "9 ) mence from ten miles fouth of Mangulore to Cannanore, and the Nabob's troops have pofieflion of Decal, and another fort, againft which I have fent a battalion of Sepoys. I think it not unlikely that the French will land fome troops at Calicut, after the departure of our fleet from the coaft. Such a meafure might be productive of the moft dangerous confequences, in my prefent di- vided flate. I have the honour to' be, Your Lordfhip's mofl obedient and mofl: humble fervant, RICHARD MATHEWS. Cundapore, March 28th, 1783. TO ( "I ) TO SIR EYRE COOTE, K.B. Lieutenant General, and Commander in Chief. S I R, SINCE I did myfelf the ho- Hour of informing you of the furrender of Mangulore, there has arrived from the Carnatic, a conliderable body of horie and foot, under Mahomed Ally, which joined to thofe that now oppofe me, amounts to fifty thoufand men, with twenty pieces of cannon. The extent of country to be pro- tected, with the number of garrifons to be fecured, has entirely broken my force, fo that I cannot collect a party fufficient to aft offensively, nor indeed to defend what has been gained without effeftual affift- ance. I have repeatedly written to Bombay, for reinforcements, but they are deaf to every requisition of fuch a nature fhould any I un- ( "V ) unfortunate change happen, I can only la? ment that our endeavours, on this fide, fhould in the end prove fatal to the pub- lic caufe. I am forry to be obliged to inform you, that the conduct of fome of the fenior of- ficers of his Majefty's troops,* has been, in the higheft degree, abufive and fcurrilous. Lieutenant Colonels MacLeod and Hum- ber{r.on, and Major Shaw, went to Bom- bay to complain ; the former at a time, when he was ordered to command a detach- ment to march aga'mft the enemy, and Major Campbell has fince their abfence, kept up the ball of diflention. It will be impoffible for me to aft with thefe gentlemen, and I requeft that they may be ordered to the coaft of Coromandel, to ferve where my Aiiatic mode of proceeding may not give them offence ; thefe difputes have already injured the fervice, and will more ; for rather than have thefe gentle- men, I will be deprived of the zeal and valour of their regiments. The *By the publication of thefe Letters, it is not meant to throw the fmalleft degree of reficdUon, upon the conduct of the King's officers alluded to by General Mathcvsrs. ( I" ) The number of papers that have paffed, require much time to copy ; but I muft trouble you with the whole correfpondence that you may judge of the fpirit, which actuated thefe reiblutioners. The enemy's collected force is now a- bout forty miles from Bidnure. 1 have two garrifons between them and this city, an4 am not, therefore, under any appr nfi- ons for either; but they can pafs them, and invade the low country, and my divided troops can only be fpectators of its defola- tion. I have great hopes that the active exer- tions of the armies under your immediate direction, will drive the foe from the Car- natic, and threaten Seringapatam or Coim- bettore, which may enable me to fix myfelf, and by raifing recruits, be at the open- ing of the next campaign, in a fr,ate fit to fecond your views with a degree of certain- ty ; but the rainy feafon is the time that the enemy may be expected in thefe parts, and to oppofe them, I beg that you will let me have as manv troops'as you can fpare, pf thofe now expected from Europe. i I re- I requeft you will let me know, if you think there is any probability of the French landing troops at Calicut, during the ab- fence of our fleet from the coaft of Malabar, forfhould they join the force now there, it might be attended with fatal confequences. This blow might in fome meafure be guarded againft, if your fouthern army would move into the Coimbettore country, and they (I mean General Lang,) would be joined by three battalions of Travencores fepoys. I have the honor to be, with the greatefl refpecl, Sir, Your moil: obedient and mofl humble fervant, RICHARD MATHEWS. Cundaporc, March i3th, 1783. FINIS. uL UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE HNIVFRglTV 1 IBRARV University of California Library Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 37 0/82 NON-RENEWABLE ' UCLA ACCESS SERVICES BL19 ir^erlibrary Loans 1 1 630 University Research Library Bo* ^5157^ ..OS Arvgeles, C.A 90C)5-1 575 OF C AT . DS n 473.5 [Hoodie] Remarks_-P_n. A 000000128 9 DS 473.5 M77r