Chapter 8: The Invasion Of Mysore.
For some time, there was a pause in the hostilities. Tippoo remainedwith his army near Pondicherry, carrying on negotiations with theFrench governor, and arranging for the despatch of an envoy to France,with a request that the Republic would furnish him with six thousandFrench troops. While he was thus wasting his time, General Meadows wasslowly moving, with the army, towards an encampment formed at Vellout,some eighteen miles west of Madras.
On the 14th of December, a messenger arrived with the news that LordCornwallis had arrived from Calcutta, two days before, withconsiderable reinforcements, and that he was about to assume thesupreme command of the army. The news caused unbounded satisfaction.By the extreme dilatoriness of his movements, and especially by themanner in which he had allowed Tippoo to pass him near Caveripatam,when he might easily have attacked him, while his army was stillstruggling through the pass, General Meadows had disgusted his troops.He had frittered away, without striking a single blow, the finest armythat the British had, up to that time, ever put into the field inIndia; and had enabled Tippoo, unmolested, to spread destruction overa large extent of country.
The only countervailing success that had been gained, by the British,was a brilliant victory won by Colonel Hartley, who was in command ofa Bombay force, consisting of a European regiment and two battalionsof Sepoys. With these, he engaged Hossein Ali, who had been left byTippoo in Malabar, with a force of 9000 men, when the sultan firstretreated before General Meadows' advance. This force was defeated,with a loss of 1000 men killed and wounded, 900, including Hosseinhimself, taken prisoners on the field, and 1500 in the pursuit; thetotal British loss being only 52 men. A few days after this victory,General Abercrombie arrived from Madras with reinforcements, and thewhole of Tippoo's fortified places in Malabar were captured, one afteranother, and the entire province conquered.
As soon as Lord Cornwallis reached the camp at Vellout, with a largetrain of draught animals that had been brought by sea from Calcutta,the Rajah and his troops received orders to join him. It was on the29th of January, 1791, that the commander in chief arrived at Vellout,and the Rajah arrived there on the 4th of February. As he was thebearer of a letter from the Resident at Arcot, he was at once enabledto have an interview with Lord Cornwallis. On finding that he couldspeak English, the general received him with much courtesy.
"I am glad, indeed, to have a troop like yours with us, Rajah," hesaid. "There are few of my officers who know anything of this part ofthe country, and your local knowledge will be invaluable. Moreover, asI do not speak the language myself, it will be a great advantage tohave someone with me through whom I can communicate freely with thepeople of the country. There is no doubt that such communications aremuch more effectual, when they come through one of their own princes,than through English officers. I shall therefore order that, on themarch, a space be allotted for the encampment of your troop by theside of that occupied by my own escort; and hope that, when notemployed on scouting or other duties, you will ride with my staff.
"Your mother, Rajah, was an English lady, I am told."
"She was, sir. My sister, who married an Englishman, is at present inMadras with my family, and her son is with me.
"I beg to recommend him to your lordship. He speaks my languageperfectly, and having been brought up in his father's country,naturally speaks English as well as Hindustani; and will understand,far better than I can do, any orders that you may give. He has comeout, with his mother, in the hopes of finding his father, who has, ifalive, been a prisoner for several years in the hands of Tippoo.
"He is a fine young fellow. The other day, he made a most dangerousreconnaissance into Mysore, in order to ascertain Tippoo's movements.He had with him a young officer of mine, two or three years older thanhimself; and when I tell you that the two young fellows held a ruinedhut, for hours, against the attack of some seventy of Tippoo's troops,and beat them off with a loss of upwards of twenty killed, I needhardly say that he has no lack of courage."
"You are right, indeed, Rajah. Let the lad ride beside you, with mystaff. Some day he will, perhaps, shorten a long day's march by givingme details of this adventure of his."
On the 5th of February the army started on its march, and on the 11threached Vellore. Tippoo had, for two months, been wasting his time atPondicherry; but, upon hearing news that instead of, as he expected,the English general having marched south from Vellout to meet him, hehad turned westward; and that Mysore, itself, was threatened withinvasion, he hastily broke up his camp, and marched at full speed forthe ghauts; and, reaching the table land, hurried to oppose theBritish army, as it endeavoured to ascend the pass going from Vellorethrough Amboor, by which he made sure he would come.
Lord Cornwallis encouraged him in the idea, by sending a battalion aconsiderable distance up the pass; while he started north and enteredthe easy pass of Mooglee, leading west from Chittoor to Moolwagle. Hepushed rapidly up the pass, and gained the summit before Tippoo couldreach the spot and oppose him. It took four days longer for thebattering train, baggage, and provisions to reach the top of the pass.After a delay of a day or two, to rest the animals, which includedsixty-seven elephants which had been brought from Bengal, the army setout for Bangalore, the second largest town in Mysore.
The Rajah's troops had been busily employed, from the time the armymoved from Vellout. The men, on their tireless little horses, carriedhis messages to the various divisions and brigades, brought up news ofthe progress of the train, or rode on ahead with the officers of thequartermaster's department, whose duty it was to precede the army, todecide on the camping ground, and to mark off the spots to be occupiedby the various corps. In this way, they saved the regular cavalry frommuch fatiguing duty.
Surajah and Dick were generally with the party that went on with thequartermasters, and, as soon as the camping ground was fixed upon,aided them in the purchase of forage and food from the natives, as itwas most desirable that the forty days' provisions the army carriedwith it should remain intact, until the army had passed up the ghauts.Beyond that, it was expected that it would be harassed by the Mysorehorse, who would render it impossible for the cavalry to go out tocollect forage, or provisions, from the country through which itmarched.
So well did the Rajah's troop perform its duties, that Lord Cornwallisordered it to be taken on the strength of the army, and to receive thepay and rations of native cavalry in the service. On the day afterleaving Vellore, the general sent an orderly to request the Rajah andhis nephew to ride with him.
"I have not had an opportunity of hearing of your scoutingexpedition," he said to Dick, "and shall be glad if you will give mefull details of it."
Dick related the adventure, from the time they had started.
"You were wonderfully lucky, in getting back safely," the generalsaid, when he had finished. "At least, luck is not the proper word,for your safety was due to your quick wittedness and courage; and yourescape with your companion from the guard house, the manner in whichyou got through the fort in the pass, and your defence of that hut,until the Rajah's troop arrived to your rescue, were all of themadmirably managed."
He then proceeded to inquire further into the object for which Dickhad come out to India.
"I heartily wish you success in your search," he said, "and sincerelyhope we may obtain news of your father. I do not know what yourintentions may be, afterwards, but should you wish to enter the army,I will at once nominate you to a commission, in one of our nativecavalry regiments."
"I am deeply obliged to your Excellency," Dick replied, "but as, if welearn nothing of my father during the war, I am quite resolved tospend, if necessary, some years in Mysore in the search for him, Imust therefore be free to devote my time to that."
"At any rate," the general said, "if at any time you should feel freeto accept my offer, it will be open to you. In the meantime, I willappoint you one of the interpreters to the army, during theexpedition, and will attach you to my own staff. It will give you ar
ecognised position, and it is only right that, as you are doing goodservice, you should receive pay. You shall be put in orders thisevening. You can, of course, continue to camp and live with theRajah."
The change made very little difference in Dick's duties, and hecontinued at his former work, in the quartermasters' department, untilthe army was ready for its advance to Bangalore. To the generalsurprise, as the army moved forward, nothing was seen of Tippoo'scavalry, by which they had expected to be continually harassed. Thesultan had, as soon as he perceived that Bangalore was threatened,hurried the whole army to that city, where he had sent his harem whenhe started from Seringapatam to attack Travancore; and instead ofsending off a few hundred horsemen, to escort them to the capital,while with his army he opposed the advance of the British, he took hiswhole force with him, in order to remove his harem with all the pompand ceremony with which their passage through the country wasgenerally accompanied. Consequently, it was not until after taking,without resistance, the forts of Colar and Ooscotah, and arrivingwithin ten miles of Bangalore, that the army encountered Tippoo'scavalry.
This was on the 4th of March. They made an attempt to reach thebaggage trains, but were sharply repulsed, and on the following daythe army took up its position before Bangalore. As they approached thetown, three horsemen dashed out from a small grove, and rode furiouslytowards a little group, consisting of Lord Cornwallis, GeneralMeadows, and the staff, who were reconnoitring at some little distancefrom the head of the column. It was evident that their intention wasto cut down the general.
The Rajah, who was riding as usual with the staff, dashed forward withfour or five other officers, and encountered the horsemen before theycould reach him. The Rajah cut down one of them, another was killed byone of the staff, and the third knocked off his horse and captured.
It was learned that the enterprise was not a planned one, but was theresult of a quarrel between the men, themselves. One had charged theothers with cowardice, and in return they had challenged him to followthem where they dared go. All had prepared themselves for theenterprise by half intoxicating themselves with bhang, and thus madebut a poor fight, when they found their object thwarted by theofficers who threw themselves between them and their intended victim.
Bangalore was a fine town, situated on a plain so elevated that theclimate was temperate, the soil fertile, and vegetation abundant. Thetown was of considerable extent, that portion lying within thefortifications being a mile and a quarter long, by half a mile broad.It was surrounded by a strong rampart, a thick hedge, and a deep, dryditch. The wall, however, did not extend across the side facing thefort, whose guns were supposed to render it ample protection.
The fort was oval in shape, and about nine hundred yards across, atits greatest diameter. It was defended by a broad rampart,strengthened by thirty semicircular bastions and five outworks. Thetwo gates, one at each end, were also protected by outworks. In thefort stood the splendid palace built by Tippoo. Here also were immensefoundries of cannon, factories for muskets, the arsenal, and largemagazines of grain and ammunition.
The position taken up by the army lay to the northeast of the petah,or town, and the next morning a reconnoitring party, escorted byColonel Floyd, with the whole of the cavalry and a brigade ofinfantry, went out to examine the defences of the town and fort.Seeing a large body of laden elephants and camels, escorted by astrong body of horsemen, Colonel Floyd rode with the cavalry to attackthem. The movement was a rash one, as the guns on the fort openedfire, and although at first he defeated the Mysore horse, a heavy firewas poured upon him, when entangled in broken ground. He himself wasshot by a musket ball which, striking him in the face, passed throughboth jaws. It was at first believed that he was dead, but he wascarried back to camp, and ultimately recovered. This rash attack costthe lives of seventy-one men, and of four times as many horses.
As Tippoo's army was lying at a distance of only six miles away, thegeneral determined that it would be best, in the first place, tocapture the town without delay; and to assault the fort on that side,as he could then do so without any fear of an attack by Tippoo; whowould be able to harass him, constantly, were he to approach the fortfrom any other direction. Orders were therefore issued for the 36thRegiment, supported by the 26th Bengal Sepoys, and a party ofartillery under Colonel Moorhouse, to prepare to storm the north gateof the town at daybreak the next morning.
As soon as dawn broke, the troops rushed forward against the gate. Theoutside work was speedily stormed, but as they issued from it, towardsthe gate itself, they were received with a very heavy fire from thewalls, together with a storm of hand grenades. Colonel Moorhousebrought forward a six pounder, receiving two wounds as the piece wasrun up to the gate. The first time it was fired, it had no effectbeyond making a small hole, and the next shot had no greater success.Colonel Moorhouse ordered a twelve-pounder to be brought up, but as hewas aiding to put it into position, another ball struck him, and hefell dead.
While the artillerymen were pouring shot after shot into the gate, theroar of musketry was unceasing, the 36th keeping up an incessant fireupon the enemy upon the wall, in order to cover, as much as possible,the operations of the gunners. At last, the gate gave way. The troopspoured in, cheering loudly, and the enemy at once fled.
Many, however, took up their positions in the houses, and kept up agalling fire, until their places of refuge were stormed by detachmentsof troops, scattered through the town. By nine o'clock all was over,and the town completely in the possession of the British.
Tippoo, furious at its having been so speedily captured, moved downearly in the afternoon with a strong force of infantry; and, marchingalong by the side of the fort, endeavoured to force his way into thetown through the open space at that end. He was aided by the guns ofthe fort, while his artillery kept up a heavy cannonade upon theBritish encampment.
When the sultan was seen marching towards the town, with the evidentintention of endeavouring to retake it, the 76th Regiment was sent into reinforce the garrison; and the three battalions opposed so steadya resistance to Tippoo's infantry that the latter were forced to fallback, after sustaining a loss of five hundred men. The troops begannext morning to erect batteries.
The position was a singular one. A small army was undertaking thesiege of a strong fortress, while an army vastly outnumbering it waswatching them; and was able, at any moment, to throw largereinforcements into the fort through the Mysore gate, which was at theopposite end of the fort to that attacked, the efforts of the Britishbeing directed against the Delhi gate, which faced the town.
The advantage which had been gained, by the employment of the greattrain carrying the provisions for the troops, was now manifest; for,unless the army had been so provided, it would have been forced toretreat; as, in the face of Tippoo's army, with its great host ofcavalry, it would have been impossible to gather provisions.
The first batteries erected by the engineers proved to be too fardistant from the wall of the fort to effect any material damage, andothers were commenced at a much shorter range. The work was performedwith great difficulty, for the guns of the defenders were well served,and a storm of missiles were poured, night and day, into the town andagainst the batteries. The garrison, which consisted of eight thousandmen, were frequently relieved by fresh troops from the sultan's army,and were thus able to maintain their fire with great vigour.
On the 17th, Tippoo cannonaded the British camp from a distance, butwithout doing great damage. In the meantime, the fire of our siegeguns was steadily doing its work, in spite of the heavy fire kept upon them. The stone facing of the bastion next to the gateway was soonknocked away, but the earth banks behind, which were very thick andconstructed of a tough red clay, crumbled but slowly. Still, thebreach was day by day becoming more practicable, and Tippoo, alarmedat the progress that had been made, moved his army down towards theeast side of the fort, and seemed to meditate an attack upon ourbatteries. He placed some heavy guns behind a bank surrounding a largetank, and opened some embr
asures through which their fire would havetaken our trenches, which were now pushed up close to the fort, inflank.
Lord Cornwallis at once directed a strong force to advance, as if withthe intention of attacking the new work, and Tippoo ordered his troopsto retire from it. It was evident, however, that he had determined togive battle in order to save the fort, and the English generaltherefore determined to storm the place that very night, the 21st ofMarch. The preparations were made secretly, lest the news should betaken to Tippoo by one of the natives in the town, and it was notuntil late in the evening that orders were issued to the troops whichwere to take part in the assault.
The column was to be composed of the grenadier and light companies ofall the European regiments, and these were to be followed andsupported by several battalions of Sepoys. The force, commanded byColonel Maxwell, at eleven o'clock issued from the town and advancedthrough the trenches. The besieged were vigilant, and the instant theleading company sprang from the trenches and, in the bright moonlight,ran forward to the breach, a number of blue lights were lighted allalong the ramparts, and a heavy musketry fire was opened.
The scene was eagerly watched by the troops in the camp, every featurebeing distinctly visible. The storming party could be seen, rushing upthe breach and mounting, by ladders, over the gateway, which was thecentral object of attack. The enemy gathered in masses at the top ofthe breach, but as soon as the stormers collected in sufficientstrength, and charged them with the bayonet, they broke and dispersed.
The grenadiers moved along the ramparts to the right, clearing it ofits defences as they went along. The light companies did the samealong the ramparts to the left, while the Sepoys descended into thebody of the fort. The whole of the defenders fled towards the Mysoregate at the other end of the fort, and when the three bodies of troopsmet there, they found the gate blocked by the masses of fugitives.
They charged them on all sides. The governor, a brave old soldier, anda great favourite of the sultan, died fighting gallantly to the last.Six hundred of the garrison fell, and three hundred, for the most partwounded, were taken prisoners. The British loss was only fiftyofficers and men, killed and wounded.
The body of the governor was found, next morning, among the slain; andLord Cornwallis sent a message to Tippoo, with an offer to have thebody carried to his camp for burial. Tippoo, however, replied that theproper place for a soldier to be buried was where he fell, andaccordingly the brave old soldier was laid to rest, in the fort, bythe Mohammedan troops in the Sepoy regiments; with all militaryhonours.
While the assault was going on, Tippoo--who, in spite of theprecautions taken, had received news of the intention of the general,and had warned the garrison of the fort to be prepared--despatched twoheavy columns, as soon as the fire opened, to attack the British campon its flank. The movement had been foreseen and prepared against, andthe attacks were both repulsed with heavy loss.
The capture of the fort was effected but just in time, for theprovisions were almost entirely consumed, and the scanty rations wereeked out by digging up the roots of grasses and vegetables within thecircuit of our pickets. The draught and carriage cattle were dyingdaily, by hundreds. The few remaining, intended for food, were in soemaciated a state that the flesh was scarcely eatable. And, worst ofall, the supply of ammunition was almost exhausted.
The news of the fall of the fortress, considered by the natives to bealmost impregnable, under the very eyes of the sultan himself and hisgreat army, produced a widespread effect; greatly depressing thespirit of Tippoo's adherents, while it proportionately raised those ofthe British troops, and excited the hopes of the peoples conquered byTippoo and his father. One result was that the polagars, or chiefs, ofa tribe that had but recently fallen under the yoke of Mysore, were atonce emboldened to bring in provisions to the town. As great storeswere found in the magazines in the fort, the starving animals regainedsome of their condition during the ten days that the troops wereoccupied in repairing the breaches, burying the dead, and placing thefort in a condition to stand a siege, should Tippoo return during theabsence of the army.
When this was done, and the stores of ammunition replenished from themagazines, the army started on its march north to Deonhully, wherethey were to effect a junction with the cavalry that the Nizam hadagreed to furnish. As it marched, it passed within three miles ofTippoo's army, which was proceeding in a westerly direction. Tippoocould here have brought on a general engagement, had he wished it; butthe capture of Bangalore had for the time cowed his spirit, and hecontinued his march, at a rate that soon placed him beyond the reachof the British.
At Deonhully a junction was effected with the Nizam's horse, tenthousand in number. These proved, however, of no real utility, being amere undisciplined herd, who displayed no energy whatever, except inplundering the villagers. The united force now moved southeast, toguard a great convoy which was advancing up the pass of Amboor; and,when this had been met, returned to Bangalore.
During the operations of the siege, the Rajah's troop had remainedinactive, and Dick's duties as interpreter had been nominal. AtBangalore, no English prisoners had been found, and he was heartilyglad when he heard that it was the intention of Lord Cornwallis tomarch directly upon Seringapatam.
It was, indeed, a necessity for the English general to bring thecampaign to a speedy termination. The war was entailing a tremendousstrain upon the resources of the Company. The Nizam and Mahrattis werenot to be depended upon in the slightest degree, and might at anymoment change sides. The French revolution had broken out, and allEurope was alarmed, and many of the English regiments might, at anymoment, be ordered to return home. Therefore, anything like a thoroughconquest of Mysore was impossible, and there was only time to march toSeringapatam, to capture Tippoo's capital, and to dictate terms tohim.
Immense exertions were made to restore the efficiency of the baggagetrain, and on the 3rd of May, the army marched from Bangalore.
Tippoo, devoured alike by rage and fear, had taken no efficient stepsto meet the coming storm. His first thought was to prevent the Englishfrom discovering the brutal cruelty with which his white captives hadbeen treated. He had, over and over again, given the most solemnassurances that he had no white prisoners in his hands; and he nowendeavoured to prevent their obtaining evidence of his falsehood andcruelty, by murdering the whole of those who remained in his hands atSeringapatam. Having effected this massacre, he next ordered all thepictures that he had caused to be painted on the walls of his palaceand other buildings, holding up the English to the contempt and hatredof his subjects, to be obliterated; and he also ordered the bridgeover the northern loop of the Cauvery to be destroyed. He then set outwith his army to bar the passage of the British to Seringapatam.
The weather was extremely bad when the British started. Rain stormshad deluged the country, and rendered the roads well nigh impassable,and the movement was, in consequence, very slow. Tippoo had taken up astrong position on the direct road and, in order to avoid him, LordCornwallis took a more circuitous route, and Tippoo was obliged tofall back.
The whole country through which the English passed had been wasted.The villages were deserted, and not an inhabitant was to be met with.Suffering much from wet, and the immense difficulties of bringing onthe transport, the army, on the 13th of May, arrived on the Cauvery,nine miles east of Seringapatam. Here it had been intended to crossthe river, but the rains had so swollen the stream that it was foundimpossible to ford it. It was, therefore, determined to march to apoint on the river, ten miles above Seringapatam, where it was hopedthat a better ford could be found; and where a junction might beeffected with General Abercrombie's Bombay army, which was moving upfrom the Malabar coast, and was but thirty or forty miles distant.
To effect this movement, it was necessary to pass within sight of thecapital. Tippoo came out, and took up a strong position, on a ruggedand almost inaccessible height. In front was a swamp stretching to theriver, while batteries had been thrown up to sweep the approaches.
/> By a night march, accomplished in the midst of a tremendous thunderand rain storm, Lord Cornwallis turned Tippoo's position. Theconfusion occasioned by the storm, however, and the fact that severalof the corps lost their way, prevented the full success hoped for frombeing attained, and gave Tippoo time to take up a fresh position.
Colonel Maxwell led five battalions up a rocky ledge, held by a strongbody of the Mysore troops, carried it at the point of the bayonet, andcaptured some guns. Tippoo immediately began to fall back, but wouldhave lost the greater portion of his artillery, had not the Nizam'shorse moved forward across the line by which the British wereadvancing. Here they remained in an inert mass, powerless to followTippoo, and a complete barrier to the British advance. Sounaccountable was their conduct, that it was generally believed in thearmy that it was the result of treachery; and it was with difficultythat the British troops could be restrained from firing into the hordeof horsemen, who had, from the time they joined the force, been worsethan useless.
As soon as the British could make their way through, or round, theobstacle to their advance, they pursued the retreating force ofTippoo, until it took refuge under the guns of the works roundSeringapatam. Their loss had been 2000, that of the British 500.
But the success was of little benefit to the latter. The terriblestate of the roads, and the want of food, had caused the death ofgreat numbers of draught animals, and the rest were so debilitated asto be absolutely useless; and during the two days' marches, that wererequired to reach the point on the river previously determined upon,the battering train, and almost the whole of the carts, were draggedalong by the troops.
The position of the army was bad in the extreme. Neither food norforage were to be obtained from the country round. The troops werealmost on famine rations, worn out by fatigue, and by the marchthrough heavy rains, and nights spent on the sodden ground. Tippoo'shorsemen hovered round them. The cavalry of the Nizam, which had beenspecially engaged to keep the foe at a distance, never once venturedto engage them. It was absolutely impossible to communicate withGeneral Abercrombie, and after remaining but a couple of days in hisnew camp, Lord Cornwallis felt that the army could only be saved fromdestruction by immediate retreat.
No time was lost in carrying out the decision, when once arrived at.Some natives were paid heavily to endeavour to make their way toAbercrombie, with orders for him to retire down the ghauts again intoMalabar. Then the whole of the battering train, and the heavyequipments, were destroyed; and on the 26th of May, the army startedfor its long march back to Bangalore.
It had made but six miles when a body of horsemen, some two thousandstrong, were seen approaching. Preparations were instantly made torepel an attack, when a soldier rode in, and announced that thehorsemen were the advance party of two Mahratta armies, close at hand.This was welcome news, indeed, for Lord Cornwallis had no idea thatthe Mahrattis were within two hundred miles of him, and had come tobelieve that they had no intention, whatever, of carrying out theirengagements.
They had, it appeared, sent off a messenger, every day, to inform himof their movements; but so vigilant were Tippoo's cavalry, that notone of them ever reached the British. In a few hours, the junction wascompleted, and the sufferings of the army were at an end. Stores ofevery kind were abundant with the Mahrattis, and not only food, butclothing, and every necessary of life, could be purchased in the greatbazaars, occupied by the Mahratta traders who accompanied the army.
Had the two Mahratta armies arrived a couple of days earlier, thedestruction of the siege train would have been avoided, Seringapatamwould have been besieged, Abercrombie's army of eight thousand menhave joined, and the war brought at once to a conclusion. It was now,however, too late. The means for prosecuting the siege of so powerfula fortress were altogether wanting, and the united armies returned, byeasy marches, to Bangalore.
On the march, the future plan of operations was decided upon. LordCornwallis sent orders for the sum of 1,500,000 rupees, that had beenintended for China, to be at once despatched to Bangalore for the useof the army, and the allies. The larger of the Mahratta forces, underPurseram Bhow, with a detachment of Bombay troops that had accompaniedit, were to march to the northwest, and reduce some of the forts andtowns still held by the troops of Mysore. The other Mahratta force,consisting chiefly of cavalry, under Hurry Punt, were to remain atBangalore.
The cause of the long delay, on the part of the Nizam and theMahrattis, was now explained. The Nizam's troops had spent six monthsin the siege of the fortress of Capool, while an equal time had beenoccupied, by Purseram Bhow, in the siege of Durwar, a very strongplace, garrisoned by ten thousand men.
Tippoo began negotiations immediately after his defeat nearSeringapatam, and these were continued until July, when they werefinally broken off. Some months were occupied in reducing a number ofthe hill forts, commanding the entrances to the various passes. Amongthese, two, deemed absolutely impregnable, Savandroog and Nundidroog,were captured, but the attack upon Kistnagherry was repulsed withconsiderable loss.
By the capture of these places, Lord Cornwallis obtained access tosupplies from the Malabar and Carnatic coasts, and was thus free fromthe risk of any recurrence of the misfortunes that had marred hisprevious attempt to lay siege to Seringapatam; and, on the 5th ofFebruary, 1792, he again came within sight of Tippoo's capital.