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1751.]

CAPTAIN COPE'S FORCES BEFORE MADURA.

heart. He fell out, dead, at the feet of the savage traitors, who slashed off his head, and bore it through the lines upon the spear.

The tragedy caused a sudden revolution. The chains were struck from the limbs of his nephew, Muzuffer Jung, who was instantly proclaimed Soubahdar of the Deccan, and set out in military and Indo-barbaric triumph for Pondicherry, where, to reward the French, he gave them a great part of the fallen prince's treasures, appointing Dupleix governor of all the Mogul dominions on the Coromandel coast, from the mouth of the Kistna to Cape Comorin, while Chunda Sahib obtained the government of Arcot. But neither the new soubahdar nor Dupleix could satisfy the avarice of the Patan chiefs, who marched off to their native mountains full of rancour and revenge, sentiments to which they had an opportunity of giving full sway in the spring of 1751.

In that year it became necessary for Dupleix to turn his attention to certain revolts which broke out in the Carnatic-as he shrewdly suspected, not without encouragement from the Company or its native allies, and the new soubahdar took the field at the head of the Raj, or state troops, accompanied by a French force under the Marquis de Bussy. On this march into the interior, a mutiny burst forth in a portion of their army, and it was discovered that a savage pass in the territory of Kurpa (en route to Golconda) was in possession of the ferocious Patans, armed with their long juzails or rifles, matchlocks, and gingals, together with arrows and other missiles.

Bussy ordered up his light guns to sweep the pass with round shot and grape. The Patans fled, but one, by a Parthian shot, sent an arrow through the brain of the new soubahdar, and slew him on the spot. Another account says he was slain by the javelin of the Nabob of Kurnool. Be that as it may, the native army packed up their lotahs and rice-kettles to retire, when the energetic Bussy proclaimed a third soubahdar, in the person of Salabut Jung, the infant child of Muzuffer, a tiny black youngling, who was now borne aloft in triumph through the ranks. It is worthy of remark that to the succession of children no respect is ever shown in India, where hereditary right has no fixed rule of successions, and hence the domestic dissensions by which, from first to last, we have ever profited. The army continued its march to Hyderabad, where it was given out that ere long France would make the Great Mogul to tremble on his throne at Delhi. The sudden ascendency of the wily Dupleix filled the Council of the East India Company with something more than genuine consternation, and

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they endeavoured to induce Mohammed Ali to break off those negociations whereby Trichinopoly was ultimately to be surrendered to France; but Mohammed Ali declared that he would hold out Trichinopoly to the last gasp, whereupon we pledged ourselves to aid him with men, money, and ships. Yet for all this, in his first faintness of heart, he might have joined Dupleix. To encourage him, the presidency at Fort St. David twice sent him succour; but the results were far from satisfactory, and in one instance we had a positive defeat, owing to the smallness of the force at our disposal, and as Major Lawrence had returned to England, the Council were at a loss to whom to give the command of the first expedition.

Lieutenant Robert Clive was too junior in rank and years, so they gave the command to Captain Cope, who, says a writer, "might have been of the same stock as Sir John Cope, the hero of Prestonpans." With a mixed force of 600 men, he advanced to Madura, a town situated in a wild and hilly district, then as now in some parts swampy, in others cultivated with paddy-wheat, sugar, and tobacco, and having savage districts where elephants, tigers, chetahs, antelopes, and hogs roam untamed. Its fortifications were then rectangular and extensive, and consisted of a ditch and wall, round which mephitic miasma and fever are yet exhaled from the stagnant basins of the fort. This unsavoury place still adhered to Mohammed Ali, though a garrison, led by a soldier of fortune, held it against him.

Captain Cope had with him only three fieldpieces, and two cohorns, with 150 Europeans, and 600 native horse, with which to invest a city two miles in extent. He was joined, however, by 5,000 of Mohammed's men, but his whole power of breaching depended on an antique Indian gun, the shot for which was so soon expended that it failed to enlarge some ancient gaps in the outer wall; yet to one of these the stormers advanced with the bayonet, to find it held, among others, by three stalwart champions, one of whom, a bulky man, was clad "in complete armour," ie., chain mail, and these defenders cut down many of the stormers ere they perished. In the interim, a storm of balls, arrows, and stones was poured from the rampart above, and on gaining the parapet, the little handful of Britons saw there a sight which was sufficiently appalling "On each side of the breach was a mound of earth, with trees laid horizontally upon it (an abatis ?), yet leaving openings through which the enemy thrust their pikes, while at the bottom of the rampart a strong entrenchment had been thrown up, and from three to four thousand

men stood ready to defend it. The assault, in which it would have been madness to persist, was abandoned, and on the following day, Captain Cope, after blowing his old gun to pieces because he had not the means to carry it away, returned crestfallen to Trichinopoly."

He had not retired a moment too soon, for 3,500 of his allies went instantly over to the enemy. All this only serves to show that the means at the disposal of our officers were too small to achieve much as yet, in a region so warlike and populous.

On the falling back of Cope, Trichinopoly, a place of vital importance, was immediately besieged by the French and the forces under Chunda Sahib. As it was the only place in the Carnatic which now remained in the hands of our ally, and as the French were showing what we might expect by planting white Bourbon flags in every field around our boundaries, and in some instances insolently within our limits, the presidency at Fort St. David became roused to greater exertions.

There were mustered 500 Europeans, 100 Caffirs, and 1,000 sepoys, and eight guns, and these, with Captain Gingen, a somewhat weak and wavering officer, marched to raise the siege. With him went the famous Clive, but unluckily merely in the position of a commissary. According to Cambridge's "War in India,” a spirit of jealousy and division existed among our officers which could not fail to be prejudicial to the work in hand. Captain Gingen marched in April, 1751, and at the same time Chunda Sahib began his movement to meet him at the head of 12,000 horse, 5,000 infantry, and a strong battalion of French. The opposing forces met near the great fort of Volconda, which is fifty miles north-west of Trichinopoly, barring the way from that city to Arcot, and the chief defence of which is a rock 200 feet high, a mile in circuit, and moated round by the Valaru. On this rock were three walls, one at the bottom hewn out of the living stone, another near it, and the third at the summit. The governor was summoned by

both parties, but, looking down from his perch complacently on those below, replied that he would wait the issue of a battle.

The forces that opposed ours were no doubt overwhelming; but the British troops behaved in such a manner as British troops never behaved before or since. They fled at the first shot! Clive, the young subaltern, strove in vain to rally them, while Abdul Wahab Khan, Mohammed Ali's brother, riding up to them upbraided them for their cowardice; but the Caffirs and sepoys fought for some time with undoubted valour. Another account, which we would rather believe, says :-"It is but just to the English nation to say that only a few in that detachment were English; they consisted for the most part of Germans, Swiss, Dutch, French, and Portuguese deserters; all these, except the Dutch, were in awe of the French, whose reputation for discipline and military science, together with the late splendid victories of themselves and their allies, had spread an impression among all nations in India, save the English, that they were invincible." Gingen, who was calling councils of war, and debating when he ought to have been fighting, was hurled from position to position, till, by changing his line of march, and literally stealing away under cloud of night, he contrived to reach Trichinopoly, after an eighteen hours' march without refreshment, in the hottest season of the year. Chunda Sahib was close on his rear, and the siege was renewed with more vigour than ever.

Lieutenant Clive contrived to make his way to Fort St. David, where he stormed at, and execrated, the conduct of our officers, and solicited some employment more suited to his abilities. In a lucky hour he was promoted to the rank of captain, and the Council adopted a plan which his bravery and genius had formed, and entrusted the boy-captainfor in years he was little more-with the execution of his own daring project.

This was nothing less than to relieve Trichinopoly by making a sudden and furious attack upon Arcot, the capital of the whole Carnatic.

CHAPTER VI.

CAPTURE OF ARCOT.-DEFENCE OF IT BY CLIVE.-CAUVERYPAUK.

For this perilous and important service, the attack | been under fire, and four were younger than himself, upon Arcot, the whole force of Captain Clive amounted to only 200 Europeans, and 300 sepoys; he had only eight officers, six of whom had never

and had just left the Company's civil service. His artillery consisted of three light field-pieces-probably six-pounders. On the 26th August he marched

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from Madras full of confidence in the success to come, for with him there "was no such word as fail." Proceeding south-east, he reached Conjeveram on the 29th, and there learned that the fort of Arcot was garrisoned by 1,100 men, nearly thrice his force, and on the 31st, a march due west from the bank of the Paliar, brought him within ten miles of Arcot. He now sent back to Madras for two eighteenpounders, to be sent after him without delay. The country people, or the scouts employed by the enemy, now preceded him with tidings that they had seen the British marching with the greatest unconcern, amid a dreadful storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, which was actually the case. This was considered a fearful omen by the native garrison, who instantly abandoned the fort, and a few hours after their departure saw Clive marching, amid tens of thousands of wondering spectators, through the streets of Arcot, the capital of an extensive maritime district, a large, but unwalled town, surrounding a large and strong fort.

After the capture of Gingee by the Mogul armies, they were forced to remove in consequence of the unhealthiness of the plains of Arcot, and this led to the erection of the city in 1716. Anwar-udDeen, the nabob, having been slain in battle in 1749, the town was taken by Chunda Sahib, sup. ported by the French, and was now in turn taken by Clive, who found in the fort eight pieces of cannon and great abundance of munition of war.

As he scrupulously respected all property, and permitted about 4,000 persons who had dwellings within the fort to remain there, together with £50,000 worth of goods which had been deposited therein for security, this won him many friends among the natives, who cared little for either of the parties who were contending for the lordship of their native land. As a siege was soon to be expected, says Dr. Taylor, he exerted his utmost diligence to supply the fort, and made frequent sallies to prevent the fugitive garrison who hovered round, from regaining their courage.

He made a search at the head of the greater part of his slender force, with three field-guns, and found a body of the enemy, on the 4th of September, posted near the fort of Timery, but after discharging a field-piece a few times, they fled to the hills before they could be brought within musket-shot. Two days after, he sallied forth again, and found, as before, the enemy 2,000 strong posted near Timery, in a grove, covered by a ditch and bank, and having, about fifty yards in their front, a large alligator tank, almost dry, and choked by luxuriant weeds.

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guns, and killed three Europeans. On this, Clive led up his troops rapidly, but the enemy found shelter in the tank, as behind a breastwork, where they were so well sheltered, that they could inflict severe loss, yet sustain none. Clive now sent two subdivisions to take the tank on each flank by opening a cross and enfilading fire. On this, they fled, and Clive won the village under the walls of the fort, the holders of which, perceiving that he was without a breaching gun, refused to surrender, and he, knowing that the enemy's cavalry were hovering about, fell back on Arcot, where he spent the next ten days in strengthening the works.

Meanwhile, the enemy increased to 3,000 men, collected from various parts of the Carnatic, and encamped within three miles of the fort, prior to besieging it, for which purpose they were making preparations; but on the night of the 14th, when their camp was buried in sleep, Clive, the indefatigable, burst into it, sword in hand, swept through it from end to end at the point of the bayonet, slaying and wounding right and left, without the loss of a man, while the enemy fled on all sides with shrieks and confusion, and, when day broke, none remained there but the dying and the dead.

The two eighteen-pounders with some stores, were meanwhile on their way, under a sepoy escort, and, in the hope of intercepting them, a body of the enemy occupied the great Pagoda of Conjeveram, "the City of Gold," the Orissa of Southern India, and headquarters of heathenism, situated amid the most lovely scenery, where the roadsides are planted with palm-trees; but Clive had tidings of their plan, and sent thirty Europeans and fifty sepoys to attack the great pagoda, from whence they expelled the enemy, who retired to a neighbouring fort. Then their numbers began daily to augment, and Clive, anxious for the safety of his convoy, sent all his force against them, save eighty men.

On this, the enemy most dexterously became the attacking force, and, quitting the pagoda, reached Arcot by a détour and environed the fort in the dark with horse and foot. As day broke, they opened a musketry fire upon the ramparts from some house-tops that commanded them. As this produced no effect, a body of horse and foot, oddly mingled together, with shouts, yells, and warlike music, made a furious rush at the great gate; but a well-directed shower of hand-grenades scared the horses, which scoured about in all directions, trampling down the foot. Clive then opened on them with musketry, and they fled en masse.

An hour later, they suddenly renewed the attack, to be quite as rapidly repulsed, and between As he advanced, the enemy opened with two field-night and morning, Clive's main body from the

pagoda, "with the sepoys and the two precious battering cannon from Madras, appeared on the skirts of the town," and Clive quietly opened his gates to receive them.

As he had fully calculated, Chunda Sahib withdrew a great portion of his force from the siege of Trichinopoly, and sent his son Rajah Sahib with 4,000 native horse and foot, and 150 Frenchmen, from Pondicherry to Arcot, where they suddenly took possession of the palace on the 23rd of September. Clive, naturally impetuous, was somewhat unwilling to be cribbed and confined to the fort, and resolved, by a vigorous effort, to rid himself of the enemy utterly. "Facing the north-west gate of

On wheeling eastward, Clive found the whitecoated French infantry, with four field-pieces, drawn up at the palace, from whence they opened fire at thirty yards' range, but were speedily driven in-doors. Meanwhile the rajah's troops fired from the houses, and shot down fourteen men who were sent to drag off the French guns; and, after a severe fight, Clive fell back to the fort, to which Glass's detachment returned about the same time, the enemy's strength rendering the attempt to dislodge them a failure. In addition to the killed, Clive had sixteen disabled, one mortally, including Lieutenant Revel of the Artillery and Lieutenant Trenwith, who, by pulling Clive aside when he

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the tort was a street, which, after running north for seventy yards, turned east to the nabob's palace, where Rajah Sahib had fixed his headquarters. From the palace another street ran south, and was continued along the east side of the fort. The space thus bounded by streets on the west, north, and east, and by the north wall of the fort on the south, formed a square occupied by buildings and enclosures."

To avail himself of these thoroughfares, so as to put the enemy between a cross fire, was now the plan of Clive. With four field-pieces, and the greatest part of his petty force, he sallied from the north-west gate, and advanced along the street that led north and east, while Ensign Glass had orders to proceed from the east gate up the street leading north to the palace, the common point at which both detachments were to meet.

saw a sepoy taking deliberate aim at him, lost his life, as the sepoy changed the aim, and shot Trenwith in the body. Next day Rajah Sahib was reinforced by 2,000 men from Vellore, under Mortiz Ali, and other troops were coming on.

Clive was now more than ever cooped up within the narrow limits of an old fortress, the walls of which in many places were crumbling into ruin. The French tirailleurs picked off many of his garrison, and another night sortie left him with only four officers fit for duty. To spare his provisions, he was now reluctantly compelled to put forth all the natives, save a few artificers. garrison now consisted of 120 Europeans and 200 sepoys, to oppose a besieging force of ten thousand men-viz., 150 Europeans, 2,000 sepoys, 5,000 peons, and 3,000 cavalry. Every avenue was blocked up, and for fourteen days the enemy

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