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LIFE AND SERVICES 
 
 OF 
 
 GENERAL LORD HARRIS, G.C.B., 
 
 BARON OF SERINGAPATAM AND MYSORE. 
 
LONDON : 
 HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS, 
 
 ST. martin's lane. 
 
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(B]E(Q)M(SE, L^mm f ARRIS, ©XJn 
 
 Lonaon, Jotm. W."P£o51cer . 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE AND SERVICES 
 
 GENERAL LORD HARRIS, G.C.B., 
 
 HIS CAMPAIGNS IN AMERICA, THE WEST INDIES, 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. S. R. LUSHINGTON, 
 
 PRIVATE SECRETARY TO LORD HARRIS, AND LATE GOVERNOR OF 
 MADRAS. 
 
 IT IS A FACT NOT SUFFICIENTLY KNOWN, THAT GENERAL HARRIS 
 HIMSELF CONDUCTED THE DETAILS OF THE VICTORIOUS ARMY WHICH 
 HE COMMANDED IN MYSORE. 
 
 Duke of Wellington's Despatches, 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND. 
 
 M.DCCC.XL. 
 
UMl 
 
 " Integritatem atque abstinentiam in tanto viro referre injuria virtutum 
 fucrit. Ne famam quideni cf r etiani boni sjepe indulgent, ostentanda virtute, 
 ant per artena qua-sivit: procul ab emulatione adversus collegas, procul h 
 contentione adversus procuratores et vincere inglorium et atteri sordidum 
 arbitrabatiu'. "—Tacitus, Li/c of A gr kola. ^ 
 
 ■> .r c- ^-J--^ ' 
 
 HENRY MORSE STEPHENS 
 
cx^C^ 
 
 HIS GRACE 
 THE DUKE OF RUTLAND, K. G., 
 
 My dear Lord Duke, 
 
 This Memoir of the Life and Services of 
 Lord Harris, who received his first Commission 
 in the Army from the kindness of the Marquis 
 of Granby, is appropriately dedicated to your 
 Grace, the Head of that noble House, whicli 
 has derived such distinction from the military 
 character of your illustrious ancestor. 
 
 In the varied scenes of the eventful career 
 of Lord Harris, I persuade myself that your 
 Grace will find something to remind you of the 
 frankness, fortitude, and benevolence, which 
 characterized the Marquis of Granby, and are 
 illustrated in your own life. 
 
 ! 1614 
 
VI DEDICATfON. 
 
 Tliat many years of happiness and hononr 
 may be added to that valuable life, can never 
 cease to be the fervent prayer of your obliged 
 and affectionate 
 
 S. R. LUSHINGTON. 
 
 Norton Coukt, Kent, 
 Ath May, 1839. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 Motives for undertaking this Memoir . . . , 1 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 Education of Lord Harris under tlie care of Mr. Bull — 
 Character of Mr. Bull — An ensigncy in the 5th Regiment 
 is given by the Marquis of Granby to Mr. Harris — Joins 
 his regiment at Bedford, and saves the life of a brother 
 officer — Makes a tour in France ..... 6 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 Proceeds with the 5tli Regiment to Ireland — Forced into 
 a duel with his commanding officer under very extraor- 
 dinary circumstances, Avhich obtains for him the friend- 
 ship of Sir William Medows , . ... 24 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Purchases a company in the 5th Regiment, and proceeds 
 on a recruiting party to England — Description of his 
 person and character by Mrs. Dyer — His honourable 
 conduct in a love affair — Anecdote of Sir William 
 Medows . . . . . . . . ,33 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 Proceeds with his regiment to America — His first engage- 
 ment with the Americans — Ordered to cover the retreat 
 with his company— Half of the men killed and wounded 40 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 Attack iijion Bunker's Hill — Captain Harris desperately 
 wounded in the head — Sent from the field l)y his lieute- 
 nant, Lord Rawdon (afterwards Marquis of Hastings) 
 — Trepanned, and ordered home for the recovery of his 
 health — Obtains a commission for his brother, and 
 returns with him to America . . . . .54 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Forms an ardent attachment to the lady whom he after- 
 wards married — Traits of her character — Again engaged 
 with the Americans — Captain Harris and Colonel 
 Medows wounded — Sent by Lord Cornwallis with a 
 letter to Washington — Is promoted to the tnajority of 
 the 5th Regiment — Appointed to cover the embarkation 
 of the troops, on the evacuation of Philadeljihia — Becomes 
 personally acquainted with Lord Howe, who was the last 
 man to embark, and is commended by him for his exer- 
 tions in executing that disagreeable service ... 71 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Embarks with Brigadier-General Medows upon a secret 
 expedition — Destined against St. Lucie — Engaged in the 
 glorious repulse of 5,000 Frenchmen with 1,300 British 
 soldiers — Anecdotes of General Medows ... 92 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 PACE 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 Proceeds to England in a Dutch vessel — Is taken prisoner, 
 Ijut soon released — Is married — Rejoins liis regiment in 
 Barbadoes, and then proceeds with it to Ireland as 
 Lieutenant-Colonel — Saves the ship from being wrecked 
 on the Old Head of Kinsale — Description of his exertions 
 by Mrs. Harris 109 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 Attempts to sell his commission, and retire to Canada — Is 
 prevented by Sir William Medows, and persuaded to go 
 with him as Military Secretary and Aide-de-Camp to 
 Bombay — Their voyage and arrival there . . .121 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Proceeds with Sir William Medows to Madras, and is 
 engaged in the campaigns against Tippoo Sultaun in the 
 years 1790, 1791, and 1792— Returns to England at 
 the close of that war — Rejoins his regiment at Calcutta 
 in October, 1794, and is unexpectedly appointed Com- 
 mander-in-Chief at Madras . . ; , . .130 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 Succeeds to the charge of the civil government of Madras 
 — Lord Mornington arrives as Governor-General of 
 India, and sends orders from Calcutta for assembling the 
 Madras army to defend the Company's territories against 
 the designs of Tippoo and the French — Consternation 
 created at Madras by this order — Narrative of the mea- 
 sures adopted by General Harris in execution of Lord 
 Moruington's orders ....... 138 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 Lord Clivc relieves General Harris from tlie charge of the 
 Government at IMadras — Perfect success of Lord Mor- 
 nington's policy at Hyderabad — 14,000 troops officered 
 by Frenchmen, disarmed and disbanded — Detailed 
 account of that transaction ..... 219 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 Proo-rcss of the military preparations for the campaign 
 ao-ainst Tippoo — General Harris recommends the Go- 
 vernor-General to give the command of the Army to Sir 
 Alured Clarice — Ilis confidence established by the kind 
 and encouraging treatment of the Governor-General — 
 Joins the Army at Vcllore, and relieves Colonel Wellcsley 
 from the command ....... 238 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 The Army moves towards the Frontier — Parting letter 
 from the Governor-General — Reply thereto — Letter to 
 Captain, afterwards Sir, George A. Robinson, describing 
 his situation and expectations . . . . .251 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 The Madras Army enters the IMysore country — Colonel 
 AVellesley appointed to command the Nizam's subsidiary 
 force — Tippoo attacks a jiortion of the Bombay Army at 
 Sedaseer under Colonel JMontresor — Is repulsed with 
 great slaughter — Faithful conduct of the Rajah of 
 Coorg . . . . . . . . . 263 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 Progress of General Harris's army througli Tippoo's country 
 — Battle of Mallavelly — Tippoo driven off with slaughter 
 — Disabled state of the draught and carriage cattle pre- 
 cludes the effectual pursuit of his army — General Harris 
 crosses the Cavery at Soosilly — Encamps in view of 
 Seringapatam . . . . . . . . 275 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 The first operations of the Siege, in which Major-Goneral 
 Baird, the Honourable Colonel "Wellesley, and Colonel 
 Shawe Avere engaged — Failure of the first and second 
 attempts to maintain possession of the Sultaunpettah 
 Tope — Success of the third, which gave us excellent 
 posts extending two miles in front of the Fort — Letters 
 from Colonel Wellesley to General Harris . . . 289 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 
 General Harris's Journal of the Siege — Daily progress of 
 the Siege before the Assault ..... 309 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 The breaching batteries open with great effect — Report 
 from Colonel Wellesley, commanding officer in the 
 trenches — General Harris resolves to storm the Fort 
 next day — Communicates his intention to General 
 Stuart — That officer's answer — General Baird appointed 
 to command the trooiDS in the assault — His instructions 
 — Seringapatam falls — Tippoo killed in the assault with 
 thousands of his troops ...... 324 
 
XU CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 Lord Mornington receives the intelligence of the fall of 
 Scringapatam — His letters and orders thereupon — 
 Expresses to the Authorities at Homo his warmest admi- 
 ration of the conduct of General Harris, and of the officers 
 and men who had achieved the conquest of Mysore — 
 General Harris highly commends the conduct of the 
 staff officers — The Govcrnor-Gcnerars orders in conse- 
 quence — His Lordship directs the immediate distrihu- 
 tion of the booty taken by the troops .... 356 
 
 Chapter XXIL 
 
 General Harris obtains possession of the different forts and 
 countries belonging to Mysore — Dhoondiah is driven into 
 the Mahratta territories — Tranquillity being established. 
 General Harris appoints Colonel "Wellesley to command 
 in Mysore, and returns to the Presidency — Sees the 
 Governor-General before his departure for Calcutta — 
 Lord Mornington's letter to Mr. Dundas — Thanks of 
 the House of Commons and Court of Directors to 
 General Harris — Farewell letter from Colonel "Wellesley 385 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 In answer to the unfounded remarks contained in Mr. 
 Hook's Life of Sir David Baird, upon the appointment 
 of the Honourable Colonel Wellesley to the command 
 of the Nizam's subsidiary force ..... 401 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 In answer to the unfounded remarks contained in Mr. 
 Hook's Life of Sir David Baird, upon the appointment 
 of Colonel Wellesley to command in Seringapatam . 410 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 Recapitulation of those events of the Campaign in Mysore 
 which preceded the fall of Seringapatam — Recital of 
 other circumstances connected with its fall . . . 439 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 
 
 The Indian Government at Home neglect all the principal 
 officers engaged in the Mysore Campaign — They perse- 
 cute General Harris, and persuade the King to give him . 
 no Honours, and assist in prosecuting him in the Court 
 of Chancery to deprive him of half his Prize-money — 
 Are defeated in that Court — They aj^peal to the Privy 
 Council, and the Council confirm to General Harris the 
 possession of all he had received 450 
 
 Chapter XXVII. 
 
 General Harris is created a Peer by the Prince Regent, by 
 the title of Baron Harris, of Belmont, and of Seringa- 
 patam and Mysore, in the East Indies — His feelings 
 iipon that event — Brief reference to his manner of life 
 subsequent thereto — His death, in the eighty-fourth 
 year of his age, at Belmont, in Kent .... 459 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Correction of some Misstatements in Mr. Alison's 
 History 471 
 
 Appendix. 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I. Earl of JMornington's Letter to Lord Clive . . . 495 
 
 II. PcarticuLars respecting Mr. Cockburii . . . .511 
 
 III. Letter of Colonel Wellesley respecting the French 
 Prisoners at Madras . . . . . . . 51G 
 
 IV. Letters from Josiah Webbc, Esq. — Epitaph on Mr. 
 Webbc 517 
 
 V. Colonel Wellesley's Letter respecting the 25th Light 
 
 Dragoons under Colonel Cotton .... 520 
 
 VI. Declaration of the Allies, and other Papers relating to 
 
 the War against Tippoo Sultaun .... 521 
 
 VII. Sketch of the Action near Mallavclly, March 27, 
 1799 522 
 
 VIII. The Marches of the Army under the command of 
 his Excellency Lieutenant-General Harris, from 
 Vellorc to Seringapatam ...... 52.3 
 
 IX. Memorandnm on the Establishment of Draft Bul- 
 locks, and on the Breeding Establishment of Mysore. 
 
 By Colonel M. Cubbon . . . . . .524 
 
 X. Services of Sir J. L. Lushington, G.C.B. . . . 532 
 
 XI. Letter from the Earl of Powis .... 535 
 
 XII. Conclusion of General Harris's Appeal to the Court 
 
 of Directors ........ 53G 
 
 XIII. Epitaph on Captain Charles Harris . . . 539 
 
 XIV. Letter from Lord Bloomfield ..... 540 
 
 XV. Lord Harris's Directions for his Funeral . . . 541 
 
 XVI. Epitaph on James Stephen Lushington, Esq. . 544 
 
 XVII. Epitaph on Lord Harris 545 
 
 XVIII. Letters from Lord Harris, and Extract from his 
 Will 545 
 
 XIX. Strength of the Allied Army, and Return of 
 Casualties during the Siege and in the Assault of 
 Seringapatam ........ 549 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 71, line 9, for Dixson, read Dickson. 
 
 95, in the note, for killed, read killed and wounded. 
 
 245, line 28, for enterprise, read enterprises. 
 
 428, line 26, for name in any despatch, read name him in any despatch. 
 
 452, line 23, for had, read have. 
 
 456, line 11, for Commander, read Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 TO THE BINDER. 
 
 The Portrait of Lord Ilan-is, to face the Title-page. 
 
 The Plan of the Battle of Mallavelly, to face page 522 in the Appendix. 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE AND SERVICES 
 
 OF 
 
 GENERAL LORD HARRIS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Motives for undertaking this Memoir. 
 
 In the following pages I propose to lay before the 
 reader a memoir of the life and services of the late 
 Lord Harris. Before I went to India in 1827 it 
 appeared to me, after an intimate knowledge of 
 his conduct and character during thirty years, 
 that an accurate and simple detail of his actions 
 and motives, through a long and eventful career, 
 might gratify and stimulate the best feelings of 
 those who are proud to have sprung from him, 
 and of many others who aspire to be the artificers 
 of their own fortune and fame by honest and 
 honourable means. 
 
 Influenced by these feelings, I often requested 
 that he would write down the particulars of some 
 important acts of his life, which his modesty had 
 long restrained him from communicating even to 
 the members of his own family. Some memo- 
 randa were accordingly found after his lamented 
 
 B 
 
!i INTRODUCTION. 
 
 deatli ; and when I ascertained, upon my return 
 from Madras in 1833, that unjust aspersions had 
 been cast upon his memory in Mr. Hook's Life 
 of Sir David Ba'ird, I felt that it was as much an 
 act of duty as of affection on my part to enable 
 his countrymen to appreciate his many virtues, 
 and to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, 
 that there was not the slightest ground for these 
 misrepresentations . 
 
 Feeling deeply the responsibility of the under- 
 taking, I have thought it incumbent upon me to 
 seek from different sources all the materials ne- 
 cessary to the successful execution of this task. 
 The interval which has elapsed since my return 
 has been favourable to this purpose, however 
 feebly the work may be executed ; for the public 
 mind has been at length awakened to the value of 
 the achievements of the victorious army which 
 General Harris commanded in execution of Lord 
 Wellesley's masterly policy in Mysore, by the pub- 
 lication of his Lordship's admirable Minutes and 
 Letters, and by that imperishable work, for which 
 the country owes to Colonel Gurwood a large 
 debt of gratitude. The Duke of IVelUngtons 
 Despatches. The following extract from that 
 work* is so germane to this matter, and contains 
 a warning so appropriate to all who presume to 
 write anything like a history of the events which 
 
 * See Gurwood 's Despatches of the Duke of Wellington^ vol. 
 i. p. 38. 
 
INTRODUCTION. S 
 
 have passed in their own time, that I cannot re- 
 frain from quoting it. 
 
 " The great end of liistory is the exact illus- 
 tration of events as they occurred, and there 
 should be neither exaggeration or concealment to 
 suit angry feelings or personal disappointment. 
 It should contain the truth, the whole truth, and 
 nothing but the truth. Mr. Hook has, however, 
 in this respect wandered from his proper province 
 as an historian at the expense of the reputation of 
 his gallant hero (Sir David Baird), by attacking 
 the judgment, justice, impartiality, and duty, of 
 the Commander-in-Chief (General Harris), and 
 of the Governor- General (Lord Wellesley), for 
 the purpose of establishing a grievance and an 
 insinuation which the facts and results do not 
 warrant, and to which Sir David Baird, had he 
 been alive, would never have given countenance ; 
 and certainly, what General Baird thought un- 
 worthy of him as a soldier, his biographer had no 
 right to bring up against him, with no other appa- 
 rent purpose than that of attacking the honour of 
 those who are living, and the memory of those 
 who are dead." 
 
 Keeping constantly in my remembrance this 
 most just and powerful incitement to truth, it will 
 be my earnest endeavour to do equal justice to 
 Lord Harris and to Sir David Baird. This duty 
 is the more easy and gratifying to me, because an 
 intimate and affectionate intercourse of thirty 
 
 B 2 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 years with Lord Harris, and personal knowledge 
 of the real character of Sir David Baird, acqnired 
 whilst I was in India with him, and during a long 
 and eventful voyage in the same ship with him 
 from Madras in 1803, afforded me ample oppor- 
 tunities of appreciating their many noble qualities. 
 With this knowledge, I confidently affirm that 
 they would have regarded the usurped laurels of 
 any of their comrades as the most unhallowed 
 offerings that could be laid upon their tombs, 
 abundantly covered as they were with those 
 gathered by their own brave hands. 
 
 In the after period of thirty years from the 
 fall of Seringapatam, during which it pleased the 
 Almighty to preserve their lives, I can find no 
 unkind expression, and I know of no unfriendly 
 act, on either side * ; both descended to the tomb 
 amidst the tears of their respective families, " with 
 all that should accompany old age, as honour, 
 love, obedience, troops of friends," little thinking 
 that their ashes would be disturbed by the ill- 
 iudging hands of indiscreet relatives, or that any 
 stranger would be employed to re-open differences 
 which had long been amicably closed. 
 
 * Lord Harris died on the lOth of May, 1829; Sir David 
 Baird died in August, 1829. In the year before Sir David 
 Baird's death, he gave a narrative of what really passed in regard 
 to Colonel Wellesley on the morning of the 6th of April, 1799, 
 very different from Mr. Hook's statement, and it was so given 
 by Sir David Baird, for the avowed purpose of doing justice to 
 Lord Harris. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 Taking warning from this bad example of un- 
 founded censure of the one, and exaggerated 
 panegyric of the other, I shall in no instance wil- 
 fully assign to General Harris a larger portion of 
 credit than was strictly his due ; and I would 
 venture to hope that the public will receive with 
 kindness this memorial of one who (to use his 
 own manly and simple words in a letter to the 
 Earl of Mornington) was " an humble clergyman's 
 son, thrown very early in life into the army, 
 entirely a soldier of fortune, with scarce any as- 
 sistance save his own exertions," and who, in the 
 same letter, asserts, with equal truth and justice, 
 that " he had all his life endeavoured faithfully to 
 do his duty to his king, his country, and those 
 who had employed him." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Education of Lord Harris under the care of Mr. Bull — Character 
 of Mr. Bull — An ensigncy in the 5th regiment is given by 
 the Marquis of Granby to Mr. Harris — Joins his regiment at 
 Bedford, and saves the life of a brother officer — Makes a tour 
 in France. 
 
 The father of George Lord Harris was the 
 youngest of seven children ; his parents dying 
 when he was very young, the care of his education 
 and future establishment were undertaken by his 
 maternal uncle, the Rev. Michael Bull, fifty-five 
 years the revered rector of Brasted in Kent. 
 
 As the character of Lord Harris received its 
 first impressions from the skilful hand and pure 
 example of Mr. Bull, I shall transcribe the ac- 
 count given of this venerable man by his niece, 
 Mrs. Dyer, a lady of considerable talents, as the 
 extracts from her correspondence hereafter in- 
 serted will abundantly testify. 
 
 " When my eyes are closed in darkness, and 
 the hand that now writes this is crumbled into 
 dust, it will not be imagined that vanity had any 
 share in prompting me to transmit to posterity, 
 and particularly to my dear cousins (whose youth 
 prevented that power of observing which I en- 
 joyed), the character of our truly reverend uncle 
 Bull, an act of justice due to him and them. 
 
MR. BULL. 7 
 
 " His temper was naturally cheerful^ equal, 
 and compassionate ; but he did not confine him- 
 self to pitying the distressed, his hand was always 
 eagerly stretched out to relieve those who required 
 his assistance. 
 
 " In his manners he retained all the politeness 
 of the old school, without the formality which has 
 been justly exploded. He was tall and graceful 
 in his person, to which his dress contributed, as 
 he never departed from the fashion of his youth, 
 when clergymen were distinguished from the laity 
 by their habit, as well out of as in the pulpit. 
 The only difference in his dress was a morning 
 gown of black stuff, damask or calamanco, over 
 his cassock, instead of the full dress for visits, 
 and he never wore a coat but when on horseback. 
 
 " Though learned beyond those with whom he 
 usually conversed, his discourse was free and easy 
 — to improve and entertain seemed his constant 
 aim : of course, the ignorance of others was never 
 the object of his derision. Sometimes, where he 
 perceived an error, he would in a gentle manner 
 endeavour to rectify the mistake, and thus gave 
 pleasure with instruction. To his inferiors he was 
 courteous and affable ; instead of commanding, 
 he entreated his servants, and expressed himself 
 obliged for the performance of their duty. When 
 he granted a favour or conferred a benefit, the 
 obligation was increased by his pleasing manners, 
 which, while intended to lessen, increased its value. 
 
8. CHARACTER OF 
 
 " He loved society, and Thursday was his day 
 for receiving the neighbouring- clergy at dinner. 
 In the course of the year, all the fanners and 
 tradespeople, his parishioners, with their families, 
 dined with him in succession ; and at Christmas 
 the poor were in turn entertained in his hospitable 
 kitchen. He was a very early riser, in winter 
 kindling his own fire ; in summei*, frequently 
 walking before his family was stirring ; at eight, 
 they met him at prayers, for the neglect of which 
 he admitted no excuse, as he used to say, ^ Prayers 
 and provender hinder no man.' After breakfast, 
 he either rode on horseback or walked; if the 
 former, he usually called on some of the gentle- 
 men or clergy within six or seven miles' distance ; 
 if the latter, often on some of his parishioners, 
 particularly the sick and poor, whom he comforted 
 and instructed by his kindness and advice, and 
 occasionally relieved with alms. 
 
 " He performed the whole duty of his parish 
 till upwards of seventy. In all the public offices 
 of the Church, as well as in his devotions with his 
 family, his piety was truly edifying, and the best 
 comment on those words of the Psalmist, ' Wor- 
 ship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.' 
 
 " He had a perfect knowledge of Hebrew, 
 Greek, Latin, and French, and had added what- 
 ever a long life of application could supply from 
 the best authors who have written in those lan- 
 guages, as well as in English. Divinity made a 
 
MR. BULL. y 
 
 principal part of his studies, and the Scriptures 
 were the rule of his faith, his actions, and his 
 words. 
 
 " That he was perfectly free from the vices of 
 avarice and ambition, the following- anecdote will 
 prove. 
 
 " At the accession of George II., his noble 
 friend the Duke of Dorset, and the Bishop of 
 Ossory, solicited him to let them present him to 
 his Majesty, as a certain introduction to prefer- 
 ment. He thanked them for their kind inten- 
 tions, which he declined accepting, saying, ' His 
 parishioners were his children, whom he could 
 not think of leaving-. God had blessed him with 
 the full gratification of his wishes, and, should he 
 form new ones, he might not know Avhere to stop, 
 or restrain them within those bounds which, as a 
 minister of Christ's holy religion, he thought it 
 his duty to observe.' 
 
 " As his life had been the best preparation for 
 death, so he expected it without any other fears 
 than those which the Author of our being has im- 
 planted in the human heart as the foundation of 
 the duty of self-preservation ; and he lived in that 
 constant state of waiting for his dissolution, that 
 for some years before it happened, when I took 
 leave of him, he used to accompany his tender 
 farewell with expressions signifying it would pro- 
 bably be the last. Happy in a conscience void of 
 offence towards God and towards man, and in the 
 
10 MR. HARRIS 
 
 satisfaction of having properly employed his ta- 
 lents, he waited patiently the hour of his release, 
 nor repined at the rugged road that led to the 
 mansions of eternal bliss, which his blessed spirit 
 entered on the 27th of August, 1763, after a life 
 of eighty-eight years, spent in imitating his Divine 
 Master, who went about doing good." 
 
 It was under the auspices, and by the aid, of 
 this exemplary clergyman, that Mr. Harris (the 
 father of General Harris) was enabled to pursue 
 his studies at Westminster and Cambridge, and 
 subsequently enter into orders. He does not 
 appear to have risen above the grade of curate in 
 his sacred profession, and having married young, 
 and become the father of a numerous family, he 
 was for some years apprehensive that it would be 
 difficult for him to obtain a suitable provision for 
 his eldest son George, then at Westminster School. 
 
 In this difficulty, he recurred to a promise of 
 providing for one of his family, which had many 
 years before been made by Lord George Sackville, 
 to whom, whilst at Cambridge, he had afforded pro- 
 tection from the hands of a notorious bully of that 
 place. The assistance then given by Mr. Harris, 
 who was of a remarkably powerful and active 
 frame, and distinguished for his skill in athletic 
 exercises, made so deep an impression on Lord 
 George's mind, as to induce him to declare that 
 he would never forget it. Mr. Harris applied to 
 his Lordship, then Master-General of the Ordnance, 
 
ENTERS THE ARMY. 11 
 
 in behalf of his son, and the application was suc- 
 cessful, for early in 1759 a warrant of cadet in the 
 Royal Artillery was issued to George Harris, then 
 about fourteen years of age ; but towards the close 
 of this year (1759), Mr. Harris died, and the battle 
 of Minden^ and consequent dismissal of Lord 
 George Sackville from the Ordnance, again left 
 our young soldier without a patron. Luckily for 
 his future prospects, the new Master-General of 
 Ordnance, the Marquis of Granby, and his brother. 
 Lord Robert Manners, had also been fellow-col- 
 legians of Mr. Harris. A statement of his cir- 
 cumstances was sent to Lord Robert Manners, of 
 the hopes excited by Lord George Sackville's 
 generous conduct, and the disappointment of those 
 hopes by the removal of his Lordship from office. 
 This representation was drawn up by his cousin, 
 Mrs. Dyer*, and sent in her aunt's name to Lord 
 Robert Manners, who kindly forwarded it to the 
 Marquis of Granby. 
 
 " The Marquis," says Mrs. Dyer, in her nar- 
 rative addressed to her god-daughter, Mrs. Lush- 
 ington, " immediately answered it with an order 
 for the first vacant commission in the Train of 
 Artillery for your father, who was very soon after 
 
 * Mrs. Dyer was first cousin to Lord Harris, and being 
 fifteen years his senior in age, became almost a second mother to 
 him. She was a person of great natural ability, cultivated mind, 
 and pious disposition. A tablet to her memory, erected by Lord 
 Harris in Throwley church, records his sense of their uninterrupted 
 friendship of sixty-eight years, " from his cradle to her grave." 
 
12 SAVES THE LIFE OF A BROTHER OFFICER. 
 
 appointed a lieutenant fireworker. Great, you 
 may be sure, was mine and all his friends' joy at 
 this happy change in your father's prospects ; but 
 it was not of long- duration. Forgive me for 
 sporting with your feelings. Our first joy soon 
 gave way to make room for greater. The Mar- 
 quis of Granby, whose benevolence rendered him 
 the idol of the army, wrote to his brother, that, as 
 peace was expected, the battalion to which Mr. 
 Harris belonged would probably be reduced, and 
 therefore he gave him the oflfer of quitting it and 
 accepting an ensigncy in the 5th Regiment of 
 Foot, then in Germany." This offer was, of course, 
 joyfully accepted by Mr. Harris, and in the 
 spring of 1763 he joined the 5th Regiment at 
 Bedford. 
 
 An incident, which occurred shortly after at 
 this place, afforded an early opportunity of dis- 
 playing the courage and kindness of his heart. 
 A boating excursion on the river Ouse having 
 been formed by one of his brother officers, young 
 Harris was requested to be of the party. They 
 accordingly embarked, and were proceeding down 
 the stream when Ensign Bagot, who was standing 
 in the stern of the boat, unfortunately lost his 
 balance and fell headlong into the water. Being 
 unable to SAvim, the young man had already sunk 
 twice before the danger of his situation was per- 
 ceived by his comrades, and he was in the most 
 imminent peril of perishing, when Ensign Harris 
 
OBTAINS A LIEUTENANCY. 13 
 
 plunged into the stream and swam to his assist- 
 ance. The service was of the utmost danger to 
 Mr. Harris, for the sinking officer, in the despera- 
 tion of the moment, ching first to his hair and 
 then to his arm ; nor was it without the greatest 
 difficulty and exertion that he was enabled to free 
 himself and support Bagot to the side of the river. 
 The banks being perpendicular, it was impossible 
 for him to ascend them with his almost lifeless 
 companion. He, however, contrived to keep him 
 above water until his friends reached the spot, 
 and succeeded in dragging him and Bagot up the 
 bank. 
 
 The gallantry of this action naturally secured 
 for Mr. Harris the good opinion of all who knew 
 him: and, in particular, won for him the affection 
 of his senior captain, one of the first officers of 
 his time, who patronized and directed his studies, 
 and, as he himself often declared, treated him in 
 all things like a son. The modesty with which he 
 received the applause bestowed for the perform- 
 ance of what he considered a common act of 
 humanity, increased the good opinion which had 
 already been formed of him. 
 
 In the year 1765, Mr. Harris obtained a 
 lieutenancy, by purchase, and was shortly after, 
 by the good offices of his commanding officer. 
 Major Ross, appointed to the adjutancy of the 
 5th Regiment, then quartered at Waterford. The 
 purchase of this step was not effected without 
 
14 QUARTERED IN IRELAND. 
 
 considerable difficultyj as the reader may conjec- 
 ture from the account ah-eady given of our young* 
 soldier's circumstances ; but he had even then 
 commenced the practice of a system of economy 
 and self-denial which enabled him to save some- 
 thing from his pay, and established habits of 
 prudence and regularity, in money matters, from 
 which, in after life, he derived the greatest ad- 
 vantage. The regiment to which he belonged 
 did not abound in men of fortune : his cotempo- 
 raries were, for the most part, as poor as himself, 
 and living in cheap quarters and frequently invited 
 by the gentry of the neighbourhood, to whom his 
 engaging and amiable manners had recommended 
 him, his time appears to have flowed on both 
 profitably and agreeably. 
 
 About this time Lieutenant Harris was ad- 
 vised by his commanding officer to apply for leave 
 of absence from his regiment, in order that he 
 might make a tour on the Continent, and perfect 
 himself in French, riding, and fencing. In the 
 following lively and characteristic letter to his 
 cousin, Mrs. Dyer, he describes the plan and in- 
 tention of his proposed tour. 
 
 " We.tford, April, 1767. 
 " My dear Coz., 
 
 " I've a great notion this epistle will not be 
 
 very long, for many reasons. In the first place, 
 
 it's on affairs of state, and those you know are 
 
 always hurried over, or else they could never fail 
 
PROJECTED TOUR. 15 
 
 SO often. You must consider what a consultation 
 
 is called for ! No less than whether your deary 
 
 shall travel and see the world, and come home 
 
 more a fool than he w^ent. Seriously, my mother 
 
 has made me an offer of paying all reasonable 
 
 expenses that a trip to Paris, or any other part of 
 
 France, would occasion. She mentions my going 
 
 from Ireland, which, though it will prevent my 
 
 seeing you six months longer than I intended, yet 
 
 will be so much for my advantage that I should 
 
 even give up that pleasure. 
 
 "My present plan is as follows: — I intend 
 
 going to the nearest sea-port, St. Maloes, Brest, 
 
 or any one to which I can find a ship going : from 
 
 thence, getting up, as fast as bad hacks and bad 
 
 French will allow me, to Paris, where I intend 
 
 staying two or three days with my sisters. Thence 
 
 go to some provincial town where there is an 
 
 academy; study the language with attention till I 
 
 become master of it, and, at the same time, by 
 
 way of exercise, take lessons in the manege. After 
 
 I have become tolerable master of the language I 
 
 shall go to Paris, see everything I can there, then 
 
 return with my sisters a pretty gentleman and 
 
 your very humble servant, 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 From prudential motives the plan herein laid 
 down appears to have been delayed till the next 
 year, when it took place in the manner described 
 in the following letters to the same lady: 
 
16 LETTERS FROM FRANCE. 
 
 *^ September^ 1768. 
 " My dear Coz., 
 
 " After tossing- and tumbling- for two days I 
 have got to Boulogne, still drunk with the agita- 
 tion of the waves, and, though we had soupe 
 maigre for dinner, I am not yet quite recovered ; 
 every one here hien poiidre, from the gentleman 
 to the garcon. I shall, at least, learn that art*, 
 what else I won't say. Their tongues run so fast 
 they confuse me ! The air agrees with me, and I 
 never was in better spirits. 
 
 " I paid a visit to Miss , at her convent ; 
 
 she is very well, but, to me, a little mad. (How- 
 ever, I attribute her eccentric conversation to the 
 presence of an old nun !) Is in raptures with 
 the convent ! — ^would not change it on any con- 
 ditions, — rather change her religion ! — wishes the 
 bishop who inspects it would give her leave to 
 stay ! You are to know, after a certain age they 
 must leave the convent she is at. What effect 
 her brother's letters may have I don't know. 
 
 " I hope in the time I stay I may make a 
 greater progress in the language than I had ex- 
 pected. The place is much better than I antici- 
 pated. It consists of two towns, the upper and 
 
 * Note by Mrs. Dyer. — " In 1 768, powder was so little worn 
 in England that Mr. Harris was surprised to see it so general in 
 France. Now in 1794, the case is quite altered. The Conven- 
 tion in Paris have prohibited the use of it, while in England 
 everybody is hien poudre" 
 
TOUR IN FRANCE. 17 
 
 the lower. In the upper are many good houses, 
 and, as I could judge by passing, when the 
 windows were open, elegantly furnished, much in 
 the English taste. 
 
 "The Ursuline convent makes but a poor 
 appearance ; on the outside are small holes, with 
 iron grates, which they call windows ; but they 
 are to protect it from the rash attempts of adven- 
 turous youths, I sup])Ose; therefore they should be 
 strong. I was in the cathedral, which is really 
 very handsome, in the Gothic style; the choir 
 elegant, with a good picture of the Virgin over 
 the altar. I cannot now say more, as we go off 
 very early in the morning, and I must go to bed. 
 When I get to Paris you shall hear from me. I 
 hope it will be very soon. Till when adieu, &c., 
 &c. G. H." 
 
 Our young traveller's next letter is from Paris. 
 It is addressed to the same lady, and is as follows : 
 
 " Paris, September, 1768. 
 " 'Tis as well to be out of the world as out 
 of the fashion. So as all here are in mourning 
 for their queen, I mourn also in paper*, nought 
 else. Now are you longing to know how I am 
 settled, and so forth. But, with your leave, I'll 
 first bring myself to Paris. We set out on horse 
 back from Boulogne on Thursday morning, the 
 coach not goijig till Monday. I wish you had 
 
 * It having a broad black edge. 
 
 C 
 
IS TOUR IN FRANCE. 
 
 seen iis mount : you must have laughed very 
 heartily. Conceive two great fellows astride on 
 two beasts, not bigger than goats, with saddles 
 and bridles that hid them, and then you see us, to 
 appearance, walking with a great saddle between 
 our legs. But I should not abuse them; they 
 carried us very well ; they are like their masters, 
 all life. The first town we came to was Montreuil, 
 eight leagues from Boulogne, between which 
 places there is not anything worth notice but the 
 number of crosses, erected almost on every emi- 
 nence, and at the entrance of all the villages. 
 The country is quite open, not a single hedge : 
 and the prospect is not very pleasing, from the 
 want of houses. There is scarce a gentleman's 
 seat between that and Paris, though many con- 
 vents, all pleasantly situated, but generally near 
 great towns. 
 
 " Montreuil is fortified, and appears strong 
 from the situation, but as we only staid to change 
 horses, I can say nothing more of it. Our next 
 stage was to Abbeville, ten leagues. We did not 
 reach it till six, having very bad horses. Here 
 we were obliged to open our baggage, but having 
 nothing contraband, we sustained no other loss 
 but that of time, which, to a tired traveller, is 
 very precious. We here inquired for some means 
 to convey our baggage to Paris, but found none 
 farther than to Amiens ; from thence a coach was 
 to set out next day for Paris. This, you may be 
 
TOUR IN FRANCE. 19 
 
 siirCj pleased us very much, for two reasons — 
 going on horseback was very expensive, and, 
 secondly, we were very much tired. In the morn- 
 ing we embarked our all, for you are to know we 
 went by water — a method of travelling you are 
 not acquainted with. It was a large covered 
 boat, drawn by men on the banks of the river, a 
 very tedious way, but to us very pleasant, as it 
 rained very hard most part of the day. We had 
 provided part of a shoulder of mutton for our 
 stock, though here our politeness got the better 
 of our stomachs. It being Friday, we thought 
 eating meat might offend our fellow-travellers. 
 Indeed, I was not in much want of it ; the smell 
 of near thirty people in so close a place is no 
 great provocative to the appetite, but we made up 
 for it when we came to our journey's end, for my 
 companion, though a good Catholic, ate meat with 
 full as much pleasure as I did. Here we found 
 the coach, and put our portmanteaus into it, 
 having had enough of confinement, so determined 
 to set off on foot, which we did with the coach, 
 but soon left it behind, which you will not be sur- 
 prised at, when I tell you our carriers' wagons 
 are full as light machines, and travel as fast. We 
 walked four leagues to breakfast, not on washy 
 tea, but good milk, with a little of the cordial 
 called eau de vie in it. We again set off for the 
 place where the coach was to stop, to dine. Our 
 great coats began to be very heavy, so we deter- 
 
 c 2 
 
20 TOUR IN FRANCE. 
 
 mined to wait for the coach, and put them in. 
 We waited two hours ; they seemed very short, 
 for I slept ahnost the whole time. (Walking one 
 and twenty miles is a great help to Morpheus.) 
 We set oflf again to walk four leagues, where the 
 coach stopped that night. It was a poor village, 
 tis were all those we passed through. We saw 
 from the road some pleasant convents, but the 
 country is all the same, quite open. I need not 
 tell you we slept sound. At five we got up, and 
 found the coach had been gone three hours, with 
 the intent that the people might go to church (it 
 being Sunday), about three leagues off. We now 
 wished for our great coats, as it looked very like 
 rain, but that would not recall 'em ; so away we 
 marched, and before we got five miles had not a 
 dry thread about us. I have described the coun- 
 try, so you will readily conceive we were not 
 within sight of shelter. The first we met with 
 was an eau de vie shop ; we got a sip, and went 
 on. Here my companion began to tire, the road 
 being paved, which is rather unpleasant when the 
 feet are tender. We reached our stage, and, after 
 breakfast, found ourselves so much refreshed, we 
 went off again in good spirits, but before we got 
 three leagues, he was worse, so we agreed to try 
 and get a carriage, as the coach was quite full. 
 By great good luck, we got one, for it is not here 
 as in England, where public chaises are plentiful ; 
 here every body travels in their own. Perhaps 
 
TOUR IN FRANCE. 21 
 
 you think ours was a chaise ; indeed, it was drawn 
 by two horses, and we had a postilion, but it was 
 what in England is called a higgler's cart. We 
 took it, however, to go seven leagues. This was 
 the pleasantest part of the journey ; the country 
 is better, and the pheasants and partridges were 
 feeding by the road-side without fear of disturb- 
 ance. We passed the Pretender's house, and a 
 castle belonging to the Prince of Conde, but gone 
 to ruins ; it ap])ears to have been very grand ; it is 
 quite in the Gothic taste, and at a distance still 
 makes a good appearance. We slept Sunday 
 night within six miles of St. Denis, and next morn- 
 ing walked there. It would have been very plea- 
 sant, but a great deal of rain had fallen in the 
 night, and made tlie roads very bad. We went 
 through vineyards almost the whole way, but as 
 the grapes were sour, it did not make up for the 
 bad road. St. Denis is a large place, the church 
 a very noble one, and, they say, contains great 
 riches, but I had not an opportunity of seeing 
 them, eleven being the hour. Near St. Denis is a 
 barrack for young recruits, which is a very good 
 institution ; here, after enlisting, they are made to 
 learn their duty, and then sent to any regiment 
 that may want them, which is a much better way 
 than ours. 
 
 " From St. Denis we took a hackney-coach, 
 which plied as a stage to Paris, where we very 
 soon arrived, and here am I quietly writing to you 
 
22 TOUR IN FRANCE. 
 
 whilst all Paris are dancing, drinking, singing, or 
 walking. This is their way of passing Sunday 
 evening. 
 
 " You will be glad to hear I am in good health, 
 and trust this will find you so, for it is a blessing 
 far beyond the golden sands of Indus or the 
 mines of Golconda ; moreover, I am as merry as 
 any Frenchman, and that's saying a bold word. 
 I have not time to tell you any of my adventures, 
 as the person who brings this sets off immediately. 
 Now I think of it, be so good as to fold your 
 letters smaller, for as the French judge of all 
 things by the show they make, they thought your 
 letters must be well worth double another, so 
 they charged accordingly. Had they known my 
 thoughts, they might have charged ten times the 
 sum, as I should have paid it with pleasure ; but 
 as it is possible to have the same quantity for half 
 the price, we may as well save it. 
 
 Ever yours, 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 '^ I go on tolerably well in learning the lan- 
 guage, and to you alone shall own I do not think 
 my time will be thrown away, as I know, should 
 it prove the contrary, you will endeavour to com- 
 fort instead of laughing at me, as most people 
 would do had I made such a declaration to them. 
 I intend to expend three guineas in dancing, 
 which will be about four months' time, at the end 
 of which I hope to show you, when I come back. 
 
TOUR IN FRANCE. 23 
 
 the best polished step of the minuet le hien. Will 
 you learn ? — An excellent thought ; it must be so. 
 Remember me to our uncle when you write. Tell 
 him I have a bag big- enough to put him and you 
 in^ and turn out my toes a fnerveille.'' 
 
 To the same Lady. 
 
 ''Paris, 1768. 
 " Ma tres ch^re cousine^ croyez moi que je 
 vous aime de tout mon coeur. For that reason, 
 I'll write no more in French, for I am very sure I 
 cannot in any language express half the warmth 
 of my love to you, particularly in one of which I 
 know so little. I would not say it to any one but 
 yoUj for fear of bringing- my taste into discredit, 
 but, really and sincerely, I am heartily tired of 
 this famed city, and nothing- but the ' world's 
 dread laugh ' has kept me here so long. I wish 
 I was in Old England again. If people are un- 
 polished there, they are, in general, honest. 
 
 " My progress in French is much slower than 
 I imagined it would have been ; but I hope I shall 
 lay such a foundation, that, with reading, I may 
 quite master it when I return. I can now under- 
 stand every thing they say, and make myself 
 understood, but it is more by action than by word. 
 I intend being- with you about the 20th of Feb- 
 ruary, for though I coidd stay three weeks longer 
 in France, I am resolved to remain no longer. 
 Adieu. Yours, &c. 
 
 G. Harris." 
 
24 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 rrocceds with the 5th Regiment to Ireland — Forced into a duel 
 with his coninianding officer under very extraordinary cir- 
 cumstances, Avhich obtains for him the friendship of Sir 
 William Medows. 
 
 Mr. Harris returned to England about the end 
 of February, and, after a few weeks' stay, em- 
 barked for Ireland, where he joined his regiment 
 at Limerick. About this time he became involved 
 in a duel with one of his brother officers, a Captain 
 Bell, who had at first been his dearest and most 
 intimate friend, but, influenced by a degree of 
 morbid sensibility, which ultimately terminated in 
 complete derangement, had latterly conceived a 
 most unaccountable aversion against him. An 
 account of this transaction, which is most interest- 
 ing from the light it throws on the feelings and 
 cliaracter of General Harris, has fortunately been 
 preserved, and is here given in his own words, 
 written half a century after the event. 
 
 " My kind friend, the late Lord Man vers, 
 having adverted to some circumstances respecting- 
 a duel, which had been forced on me by one who 
 was once the most intimate friend of his brother. 
 Sir William Medows, and I, having been re- 
 quested by my son-in-law, Stephen Lushington, 
 to relate the particulars of that event, as a means 
 
FORCED INTO A DUEL. 25 
 
 of keeping up a communication with my children 
 when I shall have ceased to exist, I proceed to 
 attempt a compliance with his wish ; and I trust 
 I shall not be accused of vanity when it is known 
 that, now past three scoi'e years and ten, I do not 
 recollect ever mentioning' the circumstance, save 
 at the moment to the two young men mentioned 
 hereafter as being in quarters, and to Lord Man- 
 vers on his questioning me about it. That it has 
 often occurred to memory, may well be supposed, 
 but, I trust, never without a feeling of gratitude 
 to that all- protecting Being, who enabled me to 
 conduct myself with such coolness in a first trial 
 with a man who was universally respected, and, 
 as I knew, the terror of many, from his contempt 
 of personal danger and freedom of speech, when 
 he saw anything incorrect going on among the 
 officers. 
 
 " No doubt it was a most important moment 
 in my transit through this world, for who could 
 have foreseen that my conduct on that day should 
 be the cause of my advancement to fame and for- 
 tune many years after? But so it was; and so 
 strong an impression did the circumstances make 
 on my memory, that, while any exercise of that 
 faculty exists, they cannot be obliterated. 
 
 " Captain Bell was the captain of Grenadiers 
 when I joined the 5th Foot at Bedford, a few days 
 before my seventeenth birthday in 1763. He 
 almost immediately made himself my protector 
 
26 FORCED INTO A DUEL 
 
 and adviser. I sat next to him at the mess, 
 drank of his cup of wine and water, — or, perhaps, 
 oftener the pure element, for he was the most 
 temperate of men, — walked with him, fenced, 
 read with him, and, in short, was seldom an hour 
 from him through the day. 
 
 " This conduct he long continued, and made 
 himself acquainted with my best of mothers, and 
 so ingratiated himself with her by his praises of 
 her son, that she did for me whatever he desired ; 
 and two years afterwards, when he was appointed 
 to command three companies at Cashel, he made 
 a point of having the company I then commanded 
 as one of them, and on the march from Dublin, 
 at Castle Dermot, where the late Sir William 
 Medows came on a visit to him, and marched 
 some days with us, he told him (as Sir William 
 informed me many years after) that he would 
 show him the finest English boy he had ever met, 
 and boasted of me as a fond father of a favourite 
 child. This lasted through the summer, and sel- 
 dom a day passed that we did not exercise to- 
 gether, but more officers joining, some of them 
 sportsmen, which I was naturally inclined to be 
 myself, whilst he had no turn that way, he 
 probably thought I neglected him. From this 
 and other causes his temper became totally al- 
 tered, and from all that was pleasing and fasci- 
 nating he grew distant and reserved, often with- 
 drawing himself for days together from the mess. 
 
WITH HIS COMMANDING OFFICER. 27 
 
 seldom speaking- when he did attend, and then 
 not to ine. This went on for some weeks, and 
 was making me miserable, when, on the Christ- 
 mas eve, as I was enjoying- myself with a family I 
 had become acquainted with, as a sportsman, 
 about four miles from Cashel, there came on the 
 most violent snow storm that had been known in 
 Ireland for many years, and continued withou 
 intermission till daylight. Had it ceased so that 
 I could have found my way, not all the hospitality 
 of Ireland would have kept me to make me liable 
 to his reproof. As it was, I was at his room door 
 long before the morning parade, and before he 
 was out of bed. I knocked several times at his 
 chamber door before he would make an answer, 
 no doubt suspecting who it was, when at last he 
 said ^ Come in.' But before I could make an 
 apology for staying out all night, he ordered me 
 to my room, where, he said, ' I should soon hear 
 from him.' In about an hour he came over to my 
 room, gave me a letter, and desired I would im- 
 mediately comply with its contents. These were 
 in the most intimidating terms and style ; direct- 
 ing me to meet him at the abbey the moment I 
 had provided a case of pistols, and to bring my 
 sword, but no second. I communicated his letter 
 to the only two officers in quarters, Hussey and 
 Jackson. One of them, a fine spirited young- 
 man, poor Hussey, insisted he would go with me, 
 that I should not go without some one to witness 
 
28 FORCED INTO A DUEL 
 
 what might pass, but this, with some difficulty, I 
 fortunately (as matters terminated) overruled, and 
 it was then agreed they should both go to the 
 rock of Cashel, which overlooked the place ap- 
 pointed. I then got Hussey's pistols (never 
 having had any), and joined my former friend at 
 the place appointed, apologised for keeping him 
 waiting, and began to request he would acquaint 
 me why he had called me there. He answered 
 that it was not to talk, and that there was a more 
 retired place for the business on the other side of 
 the wall he had been walking by ; he then at- 
 tempted to scramble over a breach of the wall 
 that had been built up with loose stones, and even 
 accepted my assistance to get over. I then again 
 begged he would explain what could have made 
 him call me to the place, and said that I was 
 ready to make every apology for any offence I 
 might unknowingly have given him, the moment 
 I was convinced of my error. ' Sir,' he replied, 
 ' I have told you already we are not met here to 
 talk, so prepare yourself.' He then began to load 
 his pistols (I believe, whistling a tune at the same 
 time), whilst I, like some poor bird under the 
 fascinating eye of the serpent, followed his ex- 
 ample. When he had finished loading, he took 
 off his coat and waistcoat, deliberately folded 
 them together, and laid them on a broken tomb- 
 stone. He then took off his sword, drew it, and 
 laid it on his clothes ; in all which I followed his 
 
WITH HIS COMMANDING OmCER. 29 
 
 example, except that my clothes were deposited 
 on the ground beside me. He then took up his 
 pistols, and on my again requesting he would say 
 in what I had offended, he gave me the same 
 answer as before, adding that he should insist on 
 our firing as near as possible together after pre- 
 senting. On my answering ' Very well,' he asked 
 if I was quite ready, and on my saying ^ Yes,' he 
 continued, ' Then let us both present, and fire 
 directly.' We did instantly present, but he alone 
 fired, and, I am truly grieved to say, evidently 
 with intention to hit me. It may, indeed, be said 
 that I escaped miraculously, for we afterwards 
 picked one of his balls out of the wall in a line as 
 if it had passed through me, and the other so little 
 wide as to show that it was meant to hit. On my 
 lowering my pistol, he instantly said, ^ You have 
 not fired.' ^ No,' I replied, ' nor did I intend it, 
 and now I hope you will be induced to inform me 
 in what I have offended.' To this he answered, 
 ' Sir, this will not do, and I insist on your firing 
 at me instantly.' I attempted still to soothe him, 
 and at last, finding it in vain, and perhaps rather 
 irritated, I presented, and, levelling on one side, 
 fired. He then said, ^ You must give me your 
 word of honour that you will fire as nearly as 
 possible with me.' I would have spoken, but he 
 would not allow me, and, asking if I was ready, 
 on my answering ' Yes,' he called out ^ Present,' 
 and I think the sound appeared as one shot. He 
 
30 FORCED INTO A DUEL 
 
 stood for a few moments, and then moved towards 
 his clothes, as I supposed to take his sword, on 
 which I took up mine, and again begged him to 
 tell me my offence. To this he answered, * We 
 shall go no further now, but you shall hear from 
 me.' I observed that, ' If he was not satisfied, 
 he had better reload,' as I saw he was not equal 
 to using his sword (for he was actually trembling 
 with weakness, and perhaps a little from anger, 
 and certainly risking his life by coming out, as he 
 was undergf»ing a violent course of mercury). He 
 then turned towards me, and, as I thought, rather 
 more cordially said, ' No, you shall hear from 
 me ;' and, having put on his clothes, allowed me 
 again to help him over the wall. My comrades, 
 seeing us walking quietly towards the barracks, 
 took their way, and he and I soon after separated, 
 by his proposal, that we might not be suspected. 
 
 " In the course of the evening, his servant 
 brought me a note, which, before perusal, I flat- 
 tered myself would prove of a friendly nature ; 
 but little did we know the height of madness my 
 early patron had arrived at. The note contained 
 an appointment for next morning, concluding with 
 a direction to ^ bring a number of balls, as one of 
 us must fall.' My two friends now insisted that 
 we should not meet without seconds, and I agreed 
 to write to him to that effect, assuring him, at the 
 same time, of my readiness to apologise, if I saw 
 occasion to do so. He did not send any answer, 
 
WITH HIS COMMANDING OFFICER. 31 
 
 but next morning his servant came to me, and 
 desired me to come to him. I went accordingly ; 
 and, after our first greetings, the exact nature of 
 which I do not remember, he informed me that 
 the direful offence I had committed was the 
 staying out of barracks all night, without pre- 
 viously obtaining his leave. I observed, that ' I 
 had not done so premeditatedly ; that, had it been 
 possible to find my way through the snow storm, 
 I should have returned that evening, and that I 
 came to him as soon as possible with the intention 
 of apologising for my absence.' He asked ' If I 
 was still willing to make a proper apology ?' I 
 answered, ' Certainly, if he still thought it neces- 
 sary.' He said, ' It was highly necessary for him 
 as commanding officer, and that he would send 
 over a written one for me to sign, without which 
 we could not be friends.' 
 
 " The style of the apology sent for my signa- 
 ture did not much meet my approbation, and still 
 less that of my two youthful friends; but the 
 obligations I really owed to him, and the love and 
 reverence I had ever felt for him, together with 
 the conviction that he would not propose what 
 was improper, conquered, and I signed and carried 
 it over to him. We then shook hands, and, after 
 some little conversation, I observed that I could 
 now convince him it was not in me willingly to 
 give him offence. ^ Why, how is that ?' ' Why, 
 sir, by the assurance that neither of my shots was 
 
32 FORCED INTO A DUEL. 
 
 fired near you.' ^Wliat!' he answered, 'not the 
 last ?' ' No ; neither, on my honour.' He ap- 
 peared much struck, and, after saying some things 
 in his former way, wished me good morning. I 
 returned in high glee to my quarters, heartily glad 
 the affair was over, and never thinking of my 
 a])ology, and probably never should, had it not 
 been intimated to me that he had sent it to head 
 quarters. 
 
 " Alas, poor fellow ! he was mad, and died in 
 confinement in London, I believe, not long after, 
 but not without doing me ample justice when 
 journeying to England with Sir William Medows. 
 Thus have I faithfully stated the particulars of a 
 transaction which made an indelible impression 
 on my memory. Considering my youth, and utter 
 inexperience in the ways of the world, at the time 
 of this occurrence, I may surely be allowed to 
 express my conviction that the hand of Providence 
 was on me, and how deeply thankful ought I to 
 feel for His mercy in bringing me unharmed 
 through such a trial. 
 
 " The consequences were, the warm friendship 
 of Sir William Medows, which ultimately led me 
 to fame and fortune — the giving me such a confi- 
 dence in myself, as to convince me that no dangers 
 or difficulties could ever make me act in an unbe- 
 coming manner — and lastly, the enabling me to 
 preserve a command over my passions and temper 
 in many after scenes of trial and annoyance." 
 
33 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PurcUases a company in tlie 5tli Regiment, and proceeds on a 
 recruiting party to England — Description of his person and 
 character by Mrs. Dyer — His honourable conduct in a lovo 
 affair — Anecdote of Sir William Medows. 
 
 From the year 1769 till 1771 Lieutenant Harris 
 continued on duty with his regiment in Ireland ; 
 but towards the middle of the latter year he was 
 enabled, by the assistance of his friends, to effect 
 the purchase of a company, with which he pro- 
 ceeded on a recruiting tour to England*. The 
 life of a subaltern officer on home service has little 
 of novelty to recommend it to the attention of the 
 general reader, and I shall rapidly pass over this 
 portion of Captain Harris's life. To his active 
 mind the monotony of a provincial barrack must 
 have been unpleasing : we find him frequently ex- 
 pressing hopes that he would soon be sent upon 
 foreign service ; still his time does not appear to 
 
 * From the purchase of this company, Captain Harris's for- 
 time arose; but this great object was not effected without in- 
 currino- a debt of 1100/. to his kind mother, which, by pursuing 
 a system of rigid and undeviating economy for many years, he 
 was at length enabled to repay to her ; but the debt of gratitude 
 which he owed to her for this generous devotion he felt that he 
 never could repay. An example of this kind may be useful to 
 officers similarly circumstanced, and convince them that it is pos- 
 sible for the poorest and most uninfluential to rise to the highest 
 honours of the British army. But if they would hope to do so, 
 they must imitate Captain Harris's prudence and self-control. 
 
 D 
 
34 CAPTAIN HARRIS 
 
 have hung heavily on his hands, nor to have 
 passed unprofitably, for a part of it was devoted 
 to an attendance on Fergusson's Lectures on Phi- 
 losophy, which he writes are very instructive and 
 entertaining. " You will say I ought to commend 
 'em, when I tell you they cost me a guinea — one 
 so poor, should be a better economist." 
 
 Captain Harris was now in his twenty-sixth 
 year, and, if the description of his affectionate 
 relative, Mrs. Dyer, may be credited, he was one 
 of the most amiable young men of the time. 
 " The vivacity of youth," she says, " sparkled in 
 his fine eyes ; the glow of health adorned his 
 cheeks ; and, to a most engaging exterior, he 
 joined a heart replete with every manly generous 
 feeling. His manners (which he retained to the 
 latest period) were as prepossessing as his person 
 — cheerful, yet free from levity ; polite, without 
 affectation ; attentive, without officiousness ; sin- 
 cere, without roughness ; and respectful, without 
 servility." 
 
 It was natural that a person, thus gifted and 
 embellished, should win golden opinions wherever 
 he went ; and we find, accordingly, that at most 
 of his stations, and particularly at Derby, he 
 formed friendships which endured till death. Nor 
 does he appear to have been free from the influ- 
 ence of that more tender passion which he was so 
 well formed to inspire and to feel. In the circle 
 in which he moved at Derby, he met with a young 
 
IN ENGLAND. 35 
 
 lady, whose attractions appear to have staggered 
 those prudent resohitions which the state of his 
 finances had dictated. Her father was a man of 
 fortune : she a beloved child. That Captain 
 Harris really felt the force of her charms, his 
 letters, written at the time, plainly establish ; 
 nor does the object of his admiration appear to 
 have been insensible to his merits. It would, 
 perhaps, have been easy for a person of more 
 effrontery and less principle than Captain Harris, 
 to have gained her consent. His real circum- 
 stances were unknown ; but it was not in him to 
 act otherwise than with perfect openness and sin- 
 cerity of purpose. He ventured a conversation 
 on the subject with the aunt of the young lady, a 
 person of sense and politeness ;. and, on her re- 
 marking, with many kind expressions of regard 
 and esteem for him personally, that, under his 
 present circumstances, it would be improper in 
 him to urge his suit, he at once determined to be 
 guided by her advice. The following letter, written 
 shortly after he had formed this determination, 
 will explain his feelings on the subject, which the 
 reader, I think, will agree with me in considering 
 alike honourable to his head and heart : — 
 
 " My dear Cousin, 
 
 " The fixing a resolution is a great ease to 
 the mind. While our thoughts are wavering on 
 any subject, quiet must be a stranger to the soul. 
 
 D 2 
 
S6 A LOVE AFFAIPw 
 
 Though I love with as strong a love as ever man 
 did, yet am I determined to take no further steps 
 towards the completion of my late wishes, and for 
 the following reasons. How they might weigh 
 with the world in general, I cannot say — to me 
 they appear most forcible. First, that I must 
 injure the person I love, in point of fortune ; 
 secondly, when I consider the despicable character 
 of a fortune-hunter, I feel another obstacle in my 
 way : for though I am conscious how thoroughly 
 free my heart is from mercenary motives, I know 
 that the world will think otherwise, and I wonld 
 not, for my life, expose myself to that suspicion. 
 Again, how could I face her friends ? Would they 
 not, and with justice, compare me to the character 
 of Captain Revel ? There are few things I would 
 not endure for her sake, could I thereby insure 
 her happiness ; but as that cannot be, is it not 
 nobler to bear the stings and arrows of outrage- 
 ous fortune, than, by injuring her I love, to end 
 them ? 
 
 " So, with a sad, sad farewell, do I give np all 
 hopes — once too rashly formed. To forget, can- 
 not be ! 
 
 " There is, on cool reflection, such a want of 
 generosity, in attempting to gain her affections, 
 that whatever opportunities might be thrown in 
 my way, I am determined to withstand the temp- 
 tation. I really, from my soul, can say, that I 
 love her too well, to wish to marry her." 
 
FRIENDLY CONDUCT OF LORD PERCY. 37 
 
 In June, 1772, Captain Harris came to London 
 — a place ill calculated to be his residence, divided, 
 as it was, and is, l)etween men of business, with 
 whom he had no concern, and men of pleasure, 
 with whom both prudence and inclination forbade 
 him to mix. And not having resided long enough 
 in it to become acquainted with men of character 
 and independent fortune, who employ their time 
 and means in a rational manner. Captain Harris 
 would, undoubtedly, have suffered from that 
 dreariest of all solitudes — the solitude of a vast 
 city, had not his colonel, Lord Percy, invited him 
 to his seat in Yorkshire, and thence to his father's, 
 the Duke of Northumberland's, at Alnwick. From 
 Alnwick Captain Harris accompanied Lord Percy 
 to Kelso races, where, to use his own words, "as 
 I flatter myself I prefer friendship to pleasure, I 
 left his Lordship, and the bonny Scots lasses, to see 
 a brother officer, who has lately gone on half-pay 
 from several good motives. Regret, at not seeing 
 merit meet with its reward — the care of an old 
 mother, and to pay some debts, which, through 
 his openness of disposition, he had incurred. These 
 were his reasons ; and, as I knew them, had I not 
 gone to see him, when so near, he would have 
 considered it a slight, and imagine that I, like the 
 greater part of the world, only worshipped the 
 rising star. Indeed, my dear Bess, I would not 
 have missed going for the best ten guineas I shall 
 ever see, and fev/ want them more (or less) than me." 
 
38 ANECDOTE OP 
 
 From the year 1772 till the month of May, 
 1774, we have no incidents of importance or inte- 
 rest to record in Captain Harris's career, which 
 had hitherto been confined to his native land. 
 But the time, so much longed for by him, of 
 active employ in the service of his country, had at 
 length arrived, and in the war which was about to 
 rage in America, the wished-for opportunities of 
 distinction were frequently presented. Previously 
 to entering upon this subject, I consider it an act 
 of justice to the memory of Captain Harris's 
 dearest and most esteemed friend, General 
 Medows, to insert the following note from that 
 officer, which shows, in a very pleasing light, the 
 warmth and benevolence of his nature. 
 
 "To Captain Harris, 5th Foot, Kinsale. 
 
 ''Kinsale, 1773. 
 " My dear Harris, 
 
 " Every little well-timed act of generosity in 
 Mrs. Medows is worthy the heart it comes from, 
 and the hands she puts it in to execute. You will 
 have pleasure in delivering the enclosed, and in 
 hearing me say that, with the strongest attachment 
 to the regiment in general, I have one for you 
 in particular. Adieu ; may every success attend 
 you in this world, and may we meet in a better. 
 
 Thine, and my country's ever. 
 
 Whilst William Medows." 
 
SIR WILLIAM MEDOWS. 39 
 
 An anecdote is recorded in General Harris's 
 papers, which still further illustrates the character 
 of Sir William Medows, and shows how entirely 
 his gallantry and spirit had gained for him the 
 affections of those who were placed under his 
 command. Some forces having been ordered to 
 America, Lieutenant-Colonel Medows was ap- 
 pointed to a new regiment, with leave to take as 
 many men from his old corps as chose to accom- 
 pany him. Having drawn his men up on one side 
 of a large barn, he explained to them, in a few 
 words, the service on which he was going, and stated 
 that he would be happy to take as many as chose 
 to volunteer for this expedition, but that he left it 
 entirely to their free will to act as they pleased. 
 Then, stepping to the other side, he added, "Let 
 all who choose to go with me, come on this side." 
 Everyone instantly followed him. Colonel Medows 
 was so deeply affected by this convincing proof 
 of affection on the part of his men, that he burst 
 into tears, and with difficulty expressed his gra- 
 titude for their attachment. Such traits as these 
 are alike honourable to officers and men, and throw 
 the charm of social esteem and tenderness on the 
 rugged profession of arms. 
 
40 
 
 CIIArXER V. 
 
 Proceeds with his regiment to America — His first engagement 
 with the Americans — Ordered to cover the retreat with his 
 company — Half of the men killed and wounded. 
 
 The 5tli Regiment having unexpectedly received 
 orders to embark for America^ Captain Harris 
 addressed the following letter to his cousin, Mrs. 
 Dyer :— 
 
 ^^ Kinsale, Ma^/, 1774. 
 " My dear Bess, 
 
 " How vain are the best laid schemes for 
 mortal happiness, without the concurrence of the 
 All-seeing Power ! The very morning I had leave 
 for two years at least, came an order for the regi- 
 ment to go to Boston, every officer to attend. The 
 transports are arrived, and we expect to be on 
 board on Monday, if not sooner ; so, most probably, 
 ere this reaches you, your George will have been 
 most heartily sick, and on the mend again. You 
 shall have a copy of my journal, but I cannot 
 promise you much entertainment. 
 
 " Comfort my old mother, as well as you can, 
 with hopes of our speedy return. You are too 
 good a soldier to have any fears for me : I have 
 none for myself, but as my friends would suffer. 
 
 " Was I clear with you all in money matters, 
 this trip would be a very pleasant one, as I flatter 
 
ORDERED TO AMERICA. 41 
 
 myself you would have good accounts of me ; and 
 I certainly never could see the New World at a 
 better stage of life, or ever have such an opportu- 
 nity of bettering my affairs^ should anything be 
 done in consequence of this breach with the 
 Americans. 
 
 " You would not be in love with me at this 
 moment for my beauty, as ever since the order 
 arrived for our going, I have scarcely had the 
 least appetite, from the thought how unhappy my 
 poor mother will be, and how severely she and 
 my sisters will feel my loss in worldly affairs, 
 should fate demand me. A perfect trust in the 
 Father of all can alone enable me to support this 
 idea. I doubt not that His protecting arm will 
 again guide me to the friends I love ; and then 
 the recollection of past anxieties will add to pre- 
 sent pleasures. 
 
 " I can hardly quit my pen, though Jonathan* 
 is perpetually calling, ' Sir, the baggage will be too 
 late — we shall all be left behind.' Others are also 
 calling. So, my dear Bess, I must bid adieu : 
 you will be my frequent consolation during the 
 voyage. That every happiness may attend you, is 
 my first wish : that you deserve it is certain, but 
 patient merit is sometimes spurned, though, re- 
 member, only by the unworthy. 
 
 Yours, &c., 
 
 G. Harris." 
 * The n.ame of his servant. 
 
42 LETTER FROM BOSTON. 
 
 The passage across the Atlantic to the Western 
 World appears to have been of the usual length 
 and character, and to have elicited no remarks 
 from our youthful soldier. His next letter is from 
 Boston camp, and is dated August 7th, 1774. 
 
 " By this time I fear my dear Bess has set 
 me down as the most ungrateful of mortals. To 
 have encountered the perils of a thousand leagues 
 across the Atlantic, and not have told her of his 
 safety the moment he landed, is such a violation 
 of the laws of love and friendship, as has not 
 occurred since the days of iEneas ! 
 
 " Of course you will have heard of my sickness 
 and sulkiness at the tediousness of the passage, 
 &c., without my plaguing you with a narration 
 thereof in this place. Don't you thank me that, 
 unlike some correspondents, I keep the unpleasant 
 part for others, and communicate only what is 
 pleasing to you ? In proof of this modest asser- 
 tion (you'll say Hibernian air still infects me,) I 
 proceed to state what I know will give you the 
 greatest pleasure. I was yesterday pleading (and 
 if men's countenances are an index of the mind, I 
 flatter myself with success,) or rather telling a 
 poor unfortunate boy, one of my recruits, how to 
 plead, before a general court-martial, by which he 
 was to be tried for his life. His crime was deser- 
 tion, which our present situation, and the num- 
 bers who have deserted since our landing (N.B. 
 
DESERTION FROM THE BRITISH ARMY. 43 
 
 not one from my company of Grenadiers), makes a 
 most serious affair, from the consequences it may 
 lead to, should the Americans proceed to extre- 
 mities, of which there is a probability. 
 
 "His being my recruit was sufficient to in- 
 terest me in his favour, if he in the least deserved 
 it, for I cannot help feeling for a man who has 
 been deprived of his liberty through my instru- 
 mentality. To proceed, however, to that part of 
 his history which chiefly excited my sympathy. 
 For a woman man ventured life eternal, and for 
 a woman this poor boy ventured his existence. 
 My partiality to the sex, and weakness when they 
 are concerned, made me feel more for his situa- 
 tion than some would have done who think less 
 highly of 'heaven's last best gift.' In conse- 
 quence I have furnished him with a defence, 
 which will, it is thought, extricate him from this 
 dilemma. 
 
 " Our duty is so strict, that I have not yet had 
 an opportunity of exploring the interior of the 
 country, so that all I can say is, that it has a most 
 beautiful and luxuriant appearance. The entrance 
 to the harbour, and the view of the town of 
 Boston from it, is the most charming thing I ever 
 saw: far superior to the harbour of Dublin, 
 (which some consider equal to the Bay of Naples,) 
 and having the advantage of being wooded by 
 nature as picturesquely, as if art had superin- 
 tended her operations. 
 
44 LETTER FROM BOSTON. 
 
 " Our camp is pitched in an exceedingly plea- 
 sant situation on the gentle descent of a large 
 common, hitherto the property of the Bostonians, 
 and used for the purpose of grazing their cows, 
 which now, poor creatures, from custom, often 
 attempt to force their way into their old pastures, 
 where the richest herbage I ever saw abounds. 
 But from these they are now driven by stones 
 flung at them by the different sentries. An un- 
 fortunate one, the other day, when endeavouring 
 to effect an entrance, ran on a range of firelocks, 
 with the bayonets on, with such force, that she 
 wrenched the bayonet from the piece, and went 
 off with it sticking in her body. Finding herself 
 wounded, she made towards home, and passed 
 close by our mess-tent, from which some of us 
 ran out, and drew the bayonet from her with great 
 difficulty, then ordered a Serjeant to attend her 
 home, by letting her walk slowly the way she 
 chose. We have since had the pleasure of hearing- 
 she is likely to recover. 
 
 " August 14th, and my letter not yet finished. 
 Indeed, Bess, a correspondence (such as ours) 
 runs great risks of dying an early death, when one 
 party is in Europe, and the other in this, at pre- 
 sent, most unsociable quarter of the globe. No 
 opportunity lately but the New York packet, 
 and by that a letter would have little chance of 
 reaching its destination. 
 
 "^ My mother has, no doubt, told you of the 
 
DEATH OF LIEUTENANT PALMER. 45 
 
 loss I have sustained in my fi-iend Lieutenant 
 Palmer's death, which, as v/ell as his illness, added 
 inconceivably to the disagreeableness of the voyage. 
 He chose me, poor fellow ! to assist him in making- 
 his peace with a God he had scarce ever offended, 
 I believe, even in thought. It is at that awful 
 day, when all worldly views are past, when all dis- 
 guise is thrown off, that we see how a man should 
 have been admired or despised. Never did man 
 make a better end, or (after acknowledging- his 
 weaknesses) go to meet his Saviour and his God 
 with a greater confidence in their mercy. He 
 had more in his favour and less against him than 
 any man I know, and I am as convinced he is 
 happy as that any ever shall be. Whenever we 
 meet again (if in this world), you must indulge 
 me in talking of him, and listening to all the ac- 
 counts of his tender friendship. My dear Bess 
 does not love me more. 
 
 " I begin to be anxious at not having received 
 any news from England, for however small our 
 merits, we none of us like to be neglected ; and 
 though no person is oftener guilty than I am of a 
 breach of the laws of correspondence, few bear 
 one so ill as I do ; so I beg. Madam, that you will 
 instantly put pen to paper, and give me a long- 
 account of all at home. 
 
 " It is now time to begin dressing, for fear I 
 should keep Brigadier-General Pigott waiting, 
 having the honour to be of his party to day. 
 
46 THE BRITISH ARMY IN BOSTON. 
 
 Lord Percy continues his kindness and civilities 
 towards me. Adieu ! may Heaven watch and 
 protect you, prays yours, &c., 
 
 G. Harris." 
 
 It is not necessary to remind the reader in this 
 place of the events which preceded the American 
 war, nor of the manner in which it was com- 
 menced and conducted. The utter ignorance on 
 the part of the English Ministry of the resources 
 and spirit of the Colonists, explains, without justi- 
 fying, the inactivity which marked the first pro- 
 ceedings of the British forces. It was supposed 
 that the mere presence of the King's troops would 
 induce the Americans to yield to all the demands 
 that the mother-country might be pleased to im- 
 pose, and that affairs would be restored to their 
 former state of peace and tranquillity without the 
 effusion of blood. Captain Harris shared in the 
 general infatuation on this subject, and seems to 
 have hoped that hostilities would be avoided ; at 
 the same time he appears to have had a natural 
 reluctance to commence his active service in a 
 war against a people of the same blood, language, 
 and religion, as his forefathers. In his next letter, 
 which is also from Boston, and is dated December 
 5, 1774, he writes as follows : — 
 
 " My dear Cousin, 
 
 " I had nearly finished a sheet when your 
 pleasant epistle arrived. An April shower is not 
 
THE BRITISH ARMY IN BOSTON. 47 
 
 more grateful to the feathered race than are your 
 letters to me ; and^ as distance increases expecta- 
 tion and desire of hearing from our friends, my 
 anxiety had been raised beyond what it formerly 
 was in the proportion of one thousand leagues to 
 twenty, such being the difference of the distances 
 between England and Ireland, and England and 
 America. 
 
 " I shall not, my dear Bess, pretend to give 
 you any account of political matters. In my pre- 
 sent situation it rather becomes me to execute the 
 orders of my King and council than to give my 
 opinion of them. With regard to private matters, 
 I may remark that the times don't allow much 
 opportunity for love, or, as usual, you might have 
 expected to have heard of an American charmer. 
 Before last Tuesday no fair one struck my ima- 
 gination, but on that day I found a coffin for my 
 heart. (Excuse the pun, when told that Coffin* 
 is her name.) I cannot tell you more of her than 
 that she has a remarkably soft hand, and red 
 pouting lips. I shall not attempt to lengthen this 
 letter, as I have to write by to-morrow night to 
 my mother and brother, besides making love, and 
 attending a field-day, which we have as often as 
 possible, firing ball constantly, so we shall at least 
 be prepared for these wrong-headed people ; and 
 I have not any doubt but that we shall make 
 them sensible of their errors — peaceably, I hope 
 * A relation of Sir Isaac Coffin. 
 
48 THE BRITISH ARMY IN BOSTON. 
 
 — for though I must confess I should like to 
 try what stuff I ain made of, yet I would rather 
 the trial should be with others than these poor 
 fellows of kindred blood. I had almost for- 
 got to mention another part of my avocations, 
 between this and to-morrow, in eating, drinking, 
 and sleeping. All three, notwithstanding my im- 
 mensity of love, I am as equal to as any beef- 
 eater belonging to his Majesty. (N.B. Your 
 letter was the saving of two toasts, as it came at 
 breakfast-time, not to mention the tea, which was 
 quite cold.) May every happiness attend you. 
 
 Ever yours, 
 
 G. Harris." 
 
 For three or four months after the date of the 
 above letter, the British forces continued in the 
 same state of confiding inactivity, whilst the 
 Americans contented themselves with watching 
 their encampment, and cutting off their supplies. 
 With a view to this object, they had fortified a 
 small mill near the British camp, and thus, in a 
 great measure, prevented the passage of convoys. 
 On the 19th of April a detachment was ordered to 
 attack this post, and the 5th Regiment formed 
 part of it under Lord Percy. The attack failed ; 
 for though the Americans had not as yet learned 
 to face the British troops in the field, they posted 
 themselves so skilfully in the woods and hedges 
 by which the mill was surrounded, and fired with 
 
CAPTAIN Harris's first engagement. 49 
 
 such precision on the advancing- party, that it was 
 forced to retreat, with considerable loss of life. 
 Captain Harris, then senior captain of the 5th 
 Regiment, and captain of the Grenadiers, was 
 ordered to cover the retreat. He was so hard 
 pressed by the Americans, that half his company, 
 and Lieutenant Baker, were killed or wounded. 
 This was his first essay on actual service. The 
 killed and wounded is sufficient evidence of the 
 fire to which he was exposed, but it did not dis- 
 turb his coolness or humanity, for in the retreat 
 he filled his grenadier cap with water for the re- 
 lief of the wounded, and when found by Lord 
 Percy administering it to them, would fain have 
 had him partake of the precious beverage, of 
 which his Lordship, in after years, admired the 
 kind intention, though he did not share in the 
 libation. 
 
 Captain Harris's next letter alludes to this 
 failure. 
 
 '■'■Boston^ May 5, 177^">. 
 
 " How can I think I have nothing worth 
 writing about ? Won't my dear Bess be more 
 pleased with hearing I am well and hearty, than 
 with the account of all the world beside ? That 
 I am so, God alone can in his goodness account 
 for ; to Him I have, and ever ought, to return 
 grateful thanks for such protection. The tale 
 would last a winter's night, so, some Christmas, 
 when we have exhausted all our gambols, you 
 
 E 
 
60 ACTS AS ENGINEER. 
 
 shall have a history of our late frolic. At pre- 
 sentj it should seem we have the worst of the 
 fight, for, however we block up their port, the 
 rebels certainly block up our town, and have cut 
 off our good beef and mutton, much to the dis- 
 comfiture of our mess. But, while I get sufficient 
 to sustain life, though of the coarsest food, with 
 two nights out of three in bed, I shall not repine, 
 but rejoice that fortune has given me a constitu- 
 tion to endure fatigue, and prove that it is acci- 
 dent, not inclination, that has made me hitherto 
 eat the bread of idleness. You will perceive I 
 write in a great hurry ; probably this will be 
 finished by the side of my fortification — mine I 
 may safely call it, as I am not only planner and 
 director, but partly executor — as often taking the 
 spade as telling others where to employ it, which 
 is attended with these good effects — exercise to 
 myself and encouragement to the men, who, you 
 will be pleased to hear, fly to execute that for me 
 which for others would be done with a very bad 
 grace, because I set them a good example in not 
 being afraid of work. When you tell my mother 
 this, mark if an approving tear does not steal 
 down her ancient cheek. She often said, ^ George, 
 make the men love you, but do your duty.' You 
 know her spirit ; she does not like to be laughed 
 at, nor does her son. I had three approving 
 generals* in favour of my work, with one of 
 * Gage, Pigott, Howe. 
 
BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. 51 
 
 whom I dine to-morrow ; that, perhaps, will be 
 all my recompense, and, indeed, all I expect, as I 
 act from a conviction that every officer in our 
 present situation should not merely do his duty, 
 but by his example encourage others to exert 
 themselves, and give that assistance a willing 
 mind is capable of. If my design fails, I have 
 still the satisfaction of knowing that it was well 
 meant. 
 
 " I have now before me one of the finest pro- 
 spects your warm imagination can picture. My 
 tent-door, about twenty yards from a piece of 
 water, nearly a mile broad, with the country be- 
 yond most beautifully tumbled about in hills and 
 valleys, rocks and woods, interspersed with 
 straggling villages, with here and there a spire 
 peeping over the trees, and the country of the 
 most charming green that delighted eye ever 
 gazed on. Pity these infatuated people cannot be 
 content to enjoy such a country in peace. But, 
 alas ! this moment their advanced sentinels are in 
 sight, and tell me they have struck the fatal blow. 
 Where it will end, but in their destruction, I can- 
 not see. Thank you for the pocket-pistol (the 
 bottle and cup) ; would that I had had it the 19th 
 of April, for the sake of my friends and self. Ne- 
 cessity obliges me to conclude, with love to all 
 friends. Believe me, ever yours, &c., 
 
 G. Harris." 
 
 E 2 
 
52 THE BRITISH ARMY BLOCKADED. 
 
 In his next letter Captain Harris continues bis 
 remarks on the situation of the British forces, 
 previous to the attack on Bunker's Hill. 
 
 " Grenadier Camp^ June 12, 1775. 
 " Affairs at present wear a serious aspect. 
 I wish the Americans may be brought to a sense 
 of their duty. One good drubbing, which I long- 
 to give them, by way of retaliation, might have a 
 good effect towards it. At present they are so 
 elated by the petty advantage they gained the 
 19th of April, that they despise the power of 
 Britain, who seems determined to exert herself in 
 the conflict. Troops every day coming in, and 
 such as will soon enable us, I hope, to take the 
 field on the other side the Demel, alias the Neck. 
 At present we are completely blockaded, and sub- 
 sisting almost on salt provision, except such as 
 the Americans (so strong is the old leaven of 
 smuggling in them, about which these troubles 
 arose) bring in to us. My garden (« propos to 
 gardens, you and I will certainly have one) — 
 what can afford the philosophic mind such food 
 for contemplation ? — with salt provisions, what 
 can afford such food for the body ? such salads ? 
 such excellent greens the young turnip-tops make ? 
 Then the spinach and radishes, with the cucum- 
 bers, beans, and peas, so promising. All within 
 six weeks from the first turning of the soil, is really 
 surprising. Jonathan is an excellent gardener, 
 
CAPTAIN Harris's garden. 53 
 
 though this is his first essay. I was quite Uncle 
 Toby ; to plan and to direct was my department, 
 his to execute and improve. My house will be 
 struck over my head, if I do not quit it, as a 
 change of ground is to take place immediately. 
 I only wish the movement was towards the Ame- 
 ricans, that we might sooner bring this unpleasant 
 business to an issue, and get home to our friends. 
 Near three years since I left you, and but little 
 probability that three years more will bring me 
 back. But a soldier should not complain ; and I 
 think, Bess, that yours will be one of the last to 
 do so. The ground is marked out. Holmes says 
 we shall be last ; so adieu. May we, to the last, 
 preserve that friendship that has hitherto been so 
 pleasant to both. 
 
 " Remember me to all friends. 
 
 Yours, &c., 
 
 G. Harris." 
 
54 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Attack upon Bunker's Hill — Caj^tain Harris desperately wounclctl 
 in the head — Sent from the field by his lieutenant, Lord 
 Rawdon (afterwards Marquis of Hastings) — Trepanned, and 
 ordered home for the recovery of his health — Obtains a com- 
 mission for his brother, and returns with him to America. 
 
 Five days after the date of the above, the British 
 forces were led on to the attack of Bunker's Hill, 
 on which the Americans had strongly intrenched 
 themselves. The result of that day's conflict is 
 too well known to require any detailed observation, 
 and if it were not, it would be the province of the 
 historian, rather than of the biographer, to describe 
 it. It is sufficient for me to record the share 
 which Captain Harris took in the engagement ; 
 and I am fortunately enabled to do so in his own 
 words. 
 
 " We had made a breach in their fortifications, 
 which I had twice mounted, encouraging the men 
 to follow me, and was ascending a third time, 
 when a ball grazed the top of my head, and I 
 fell, deprived of sense and motion. My lieute- 
 nant. Lord Rawdon, caught me in his arms, and, 
 believing me dead, endeavoured to remove me 
 from the spot, to save my body from being 
 trampled on. The motion, while it hurt me, 
 restored my senses, and I articulated, ' For God's 
 sake, let me die in peace.' 
 
CAPTAIN HARRIS WOUNDEOi 55 
 
 " The hope of preserving my life induced Lord 
 Rawdon to order four soldiers to take me up, and 
 carry me to a place of safety. Three of them 
 were wounded while performing this office, (one 
 afterwards died of his wounds,) but they succeeded 
 in placing me under some trees out of the reach 
 of the balls. A retreat having been sounded, poor 
 Holmes* was running about, like a madman, in 
 in search of me, and luckily came to the place 
 where I lay just in time to prevent my being left 
 behind ; for when they brought me to the water's 
 edge, the last boat was put off, the men calling 
 out they ^ would take no more.' On Holmes hal- 
 looing out, ' It is Captain Harris,' they put back, 
 and took me in. I was very weak and faint, and 
 seized with a severe shivering ; our blankets had 
 been flung away during the engagement ; luckily 
 there was one belonging to a man in the boat, in 
 which wrapping me up, and laying me in the 
 bottom, they conveyed me safely to my quarters. 
 
 "The surgeons did not at first apprehend 
 danger from the contusion, notwithstanding the 
 extreme pain I felt, which increased very much if 
 I attempted to lie down. A worthy woman, seeing 
 this, lent me an easy chair, but this being full of 
 bugs, only added to my sufferings. My agonies 
 increasing, and the surgeons observing symptoms 
 of matter forming (which, had it fallen on the 
 brain, must have produced instant death, or at 
 
 * The name of Captain Harris's servant. 
 
56 RELIEVED BY TREPANNING. 
 
 least distraction,) performed the operation of 
 trepanning', from which time the pain abated, and 
 I beg-an to recover ; but before the callous was 
 formed, they indulged me with the gratification 
 of a singular curiosity — fixing looking-glasses so 
 as to give me a sight of my own brain. The heat 
 of the weather, and the scarcity of fresh provi- 
 sions, added greatly to the sufferings of the 
 wounded. As patience was the only remedy for 
 the former, I trusted to it for relief; and for the 
 latter, the attention of the surgeon, and a truly 
 benevolent family in Boston, who supplied me 
 with mutton-broth, when no money could pur- 
 chase it, was a blessing for which I can never be 
 sufficiently thankful." 
 
 The first thought that occurred to Captain 
 Harris, after his wound was dressed, was the pain 
 his mother and other friends would undergo, on 
 seeing his name among the wounded, in the 
 Gazette. And as he knew that it would not con- 
 tain particulars, he immediately wrote a hue to 
 his mother, in such a cheerful strain, as he hoped 
 would counteract any ill effects that might have 
 been caused by the statements of the newspapers. 
 He also preserved, and afterwards presented to 
 his eldest daughter, in memorial of the owner's 
 devoted zeal and affection, a silver button which 
 had belonged to the grenadier who lost his life in 
 attempting to save his captain's. 
 
 His wound being nearly healed, Captain Harris 
 
PROGRESS OF HIS RECOVERY. 57 
 
 \^'as enabled to resume his correspondence with 
 his cousin. His next letter is of July 24 th, 
 1775, Boston : — 
 
 " Very unwillingly should I let this opportu- 
 nity slip of telling- my dear Bess that I am in a fair 
 way perfectly to recover from the consequence of 
 my wound: indeed, fortune seems to intend you 
 shall have a few lines from me, as the vessel has been 
 detained, from the date of my letter to my mother 
 till now. When I wrote to her, my hand trembled 
 so much, that I fear she would conclude me to be 
 worse than 1 really was, but this was occasioned 
 by weakness from lying in bed, and not by pain, 
 from which I was relieved almost entirely as soon 
 as the operation was performed. What I suffered 
 before that, I alone can know ! They still every 
 day peep at my brain, which, all things consi- 
 dered, is not an unlucky circumstance, as it may 
 convince you and the rest of the Avorld that I have 
 such a thing ; and I should not regret that you, 
 and the rest of my friends in Old England, could 
 in the same manner take a peep at my heart. I 
 am convinced they would find a warmth of affec- 
 tion they may more imagine than I can describe. 
 ^^ So much for lectures on heads and hearts. 
 Next, let me paint, in a few words, our present 
 agreeable situation, first apologising to my dear 
 and best of mothers for not having said more on 
 that head, owing to weakness and restriction — 
 
58 KINDNESS OF ONE OF THE SURGEONS. 
 
 indeed, I am now rather exceeding bounds. The 
 situation of Boston will be better explained to you 
 by any common map, than by my description. 
 The whole circle from Charlestown Neck to 
 Dorchester is one continued fortification, to all 
 appearance lined with the Americans, so that 
 every avenue to the country is effectually shut, 
 and not one bit of any kind of provisions do they 
 suffer to be brought in, which obliges us to subsist 
 on salt provisions, without even vegetables, — 
 pleasant you may think in this hot sun. As a sick 
 person, I am confined to broth alone. But broth 
 of salt pork ! — that's impossible. Yes, we get 
 sometimes a piece of an old ox or cow, at the rate 
 of fourteen times as much as we paid last summer, 
 and from an extraordinary return of civility, one 
 of the surgeons of the general hospital has most 
 kindly supplied me, every two or three days, 
 with mutton sufficient to make me an excellent 
 mess of broth. Would not you and my mother 
 kiss him for his kindness ? at least I shall tell him 
 so. I have heard a piece of news, that I could 
 wish confirmed — i. e., the Colonists have an answer 
 from England to the affair of the 19th April, that 
 you are determined to withdraw all troops from 
 the colonies, and carry on the war by sea only. 
 This appears the only possible way of distressing 
 them, as we can cut off every intercourse with 
 other nations, and by^. that means bring them to 
 reason, at a much smaller expense than it can pos- 
 
MR. THOMAS HARRIS. 59 
 
 sibly be effected by land ; then we shall have the 
 pleasure of revisiting- Old England once more. A 
 circumstance that would give me great pleasure ; 
 for though I am ready with life and limb to 
 execute the orders of my king, yet when the busi- 
 ness can be better done^ without running- my head 
 against a post, I am not one of those bloody- 
 minded people, that wish only for revenge and 
 slaughter. I have scribbled the paper full, and 
 have only just room to tell you the opinion of the 
 faculty, on the last dressing which I can have 
 before the ship sails, and to assure you I am with 
 the greatest truth, 
 
 Your affectionate friend, 
 
 G. Harris. 
 
 "P. S. Every thing about my old pate goes on 
 as it should do." 
 
 It may probably be in the recollection of the 
 reader, that in the letters written by Mr. Harris 
 from France, in the year 1768, mention was made 
 of his younger brother and fellow voyager, Tho- 
 mas. I shall now resume the notice of this 
 young man, and devote a brief portion of this 
 narrative to his short, though honourable, career 
 in the army. After finishing- his studies in France, 
 he returned to London, and was shortly after 
 placed in a merchant's counting-house ; where, 
 though he met with the greatest encouragement, 
 he was far from happy. He appears from the 
 
60 CAPTAIN HARRIS OBTAINS 
 
 first to have had a distaste for the duties of his 
 profession, and to have eagerly wished to share 
 the fortunes of his elder brother, to whom, as 
 nine years senior to himself, he was accustomed 
 to look up as to a parent, and by whom he had 
 on all occasions been treated with the utmost love 
 and affection. The following- letter from Captain 
 Harris to Mrs. Dyer, relates to an offer which 
 had unexpectedly been made by Sir William 
 Howe, of an ensighcy for his brother Thomas. 
 It displays in a lively manner the pure and simple 
 affection of the brothers. 
 
 '■'Boston, Octoler 8t/i, 1775. 
 
 "My dearest Bess does not require that 
 irksome attention which ladies often claim ! Her 
 love is free as air, and, from her own breast she 
 judges of my affection. But I must acknowledge 
 that it would be unpardonable in me to neglect 
 any opportunity that may occur of telling her the 
 state of my health under existing circumstances. 
 My spirits are at present equal to anything, for 
 my dear Tom is now, I think, in a fair way of 
 entering a line of life in which he is fitted to 
 excel. Courage and a generous mind I know he 
 possesses, and I make no doubt that if we ever 
 return, you will find him free from the rust which 
 at present obscures his finer qualities. Hitherto 
 his spirit has been curbed, but with me he will 
 have a wider, and I think a more brilliant range. 
 
AN ENSIGNCY FOR HIS BROTHER. 61 
 
 "We have had great promotion going on, and 
 if the war lasts another camjiaign, shall have more. 
 My sitnation, not my services, entitles me to 
 expect something from Fortune. Perhaps she may 
 think another rap on the pate sufficient. Be that 
 as it may, 
 
 I'll keep, tlio' in the midst of woe, 
 Myself in equilibrio. 
 
 " As for politics, I know nothing about them, 
 but judging from appearances there is reason to 
 expect a longer war. 
 
 " I need not request you to closet Tom before 
 he takes his departure, or to insist on his becom- 
 ing your correspondent. As your godson, he has 
 claims on your knowledge and powers of instruc- 
 tion. The clock has struck ten, an hour past my 
 usual bed-time, of which my head does not 
 approve, so adieu, my dearest and best of friends! 
 
 May heaven protect you. 
 
 Ever yours, 
 
 G. Harris." 
 
 Previously to the arrival of this letter, Mr. 
 T. Harris had been offered a writership to India, 
 which he was on the point of accepting, when the 
 intelligence forwarded by his brother, of the 
 ensigncy promised by Sir W. Howe, induced hisn 
 to decline the Indian appointment. The letter 
 conveying this piece of information, reached 
 England only a few days before the writer, who, 
 greatly to the delight and astonishment of his 
 
62 VISITS ENGLAND. 
 
 friends, had been prevailed on to accept a recruit- 
 ing party, — his chief inducement being the hope 
 of preventing his brother from saiUng to the East. 
 In this he was successful. The frigate on which 
 he was allowed a passage by Captain Medows, 
 had a speedy and prosperous voyage to England, 
 where he had the pleasure of finding his brother 
 and all other relatives in excellent health and 
 spirits. 
 
 It was immediately determined that Captain 
 Harris should be accompanied by his brother 
 Tom, who had now received his commission as 
 ensign, to the seat of war in America, as soon as 
 the fleet sailed. This appears from the folio wing- 
 letter to have been in the month of May, 1776. 
 It is from Ensign T. Harris to Mrs. Dyer. 
 
 ^'- Portsmouth^ May 23r(/, 1776. 
 
 " The time we have remained here idle will 
 not admit of any excuse for not having written to 
 you before, and 1 am sorry the shortness of our 
 further stay will prevent my being so circum- 
 stantial as is your due. I believe we shall leave 
 this place to-morrow morning, and I mean to 
 make amends during the passage for past mis- 
 conduct, by giving you a very particular account 
 of the voyage. I have now only time to express 
 my sense of gratitude for your love, and my 
 ardent hopes that my conduct may be a proof of 
 it. My spirits are rather low as the time draws 
 
RE-EMBARKS FOR AMERICA. 63 
 
 near for leaving Old England, and almost all 
 that's dear to me. The cause I am embarked in, 
 and the happiness I shall feel in my brother's 
 company, will soon overcome my present melan- 
 choly. We are very happy in our mess. 
 
 " We are now going on board, our convoy is 
 imder sail, and we must follow immediately. I 
 hope our return will be speedy, and that in the 
 mean time, every happiness may attend you. 
 Ever your's affectionately, 
 
 Thomas Harris." 
 
 The above letter was accompanied by one 
 from Captain Harris, of the same date ; the con- 
 tents of which were as follows : — 
 
 " I have to acknowledge my dear Bess's 
 kind present (Ossian) and kinder letter ; at the 
 same time I must give her a smart lecture for 
 placing to my account what is entirely her own. 
 My dear Bess is, and ever has been, the truest of 
 friends ; that I am conscious of my obligation, 
 is my only merit ; that I boast of it, is my 
 pride, and this feeling arises not merely from 
 justice and gratitude, but from love of the truest 
 kind ; — love, that never doubted her truth and 
 honesty. 
 
 " In the time that she was hardest tried, sus- 
 picion of her constancy never, for a moment, 
 arose in my breast ; so what merit had I in con- 
 fiding, or speaking what I thought ? I would 
 
64 VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 
 
 not, to gain a kingdom, join in condemning the 
 innocent. Nay ; I tliank my God, I conld not 
 liave done so ! To Him alone, who, by the ^ con- 
 tinual dew of his blessing,' can aid, direct, and 
 support us, let us be thankful ! So never again, 
 dearest Bess, thank me for my friendship ! Give 
 me but yours, and I am overpaid. 
 
 "We have fallen down to St. Helen's, and in 
 all probability shall sail with the morning tide. 
 A long, long adieu to Old England, and all I hold 
 dear ! May I not exclaim with the poet, ' what 
 havoc does ambition make!' That alone takes 
 me from you. If 1 am rev/arded, well, — if I am 
 not, well too. To pass through this vale of tears 
 honestly and honourably, is perhaps all that is 
 necessary ; but to be serviceable to our friends, 
 we must endeavour to ascend the hill of fame ; I 
 shall try my best to do so, and esteem myself 
 lucky it I do not fail through my own neglect. 
 
 " Tom has just come into the cabin, looking 
 a little pale, from sea-sickness ; I continue well. 
 I was a little squeamish a short time ago, but a 
 draught of punch and crust of bread has removed 
 every symptom, and I now consider myself secure 
 for the remainder of the voyage. 
 
 " I shall study your present very constantly 
 on the passage. It (Ossian) is really a book 
 which I very much wished to have, and will, as 
 you o])serve, require more than one perusal. 
 Well, my deur i3ess, heaven protect you ; take 
 
CAPTAIN Harris's journal. 65 
 
 care of yourself, and do not lose that greatest of 
 all earthly blessings, your health, by too strictly 
 attendiim' to vour duties. 
 
 Believe me, ever yours, affectionately, 
 
 G. Harris." 
 
 The fleet having* sailed immediately after the 
 date of the above, no other letters were received 
 from Captain Harris until after his arrival in 
 America. On this voyage he kept a journal, from 
 which we shall give such extracts as appear wor- 
 thy of insertion. After the usual remarks on the 
 monotony and dulness of shipboard to all but 
 sailors, (a remark in the justness of which all will 
 agree, who have ever experienced the inconveni- 
 ences of a long- voyage,) he proceeds as follows: — 
 
 ^' Simdaijf June SOth. — After paying- those 
 outward and visible signs of respect and submis- 
 sion to our Maker, so absolutely necessary to the 
 due observance of His day, I have retired to my 
 cabin to devote a portion of my time to my dear 
 Bess. Words, however, cannot express the ful- 
 ness of my affection for her. Would that she 
 could read the heart. 
 
 "We have now been in the latitude of the 
 Western Isles for near a week, and yet are not 
 certain whether we are to the east or west of 
 them, so little progress have we made, and so little 
 is longitude yet known. I wish, Bess, you could 
 stumble on it ! Our small circle would be parti- 
 
 F 
 
66 CAPTAIN Harris's journal. 
 
 ciilarly obliged to you for any light you could 
 throw on this difficult subject ! 
 
 " July 2nd. — Two more long tedious days are 
 gone, and yet no sight of the Islands. All but 
 the master say that we are certainly past them. 
 Nothing can be more tedious than a long confine- 
 ment on board ship ! Should I once more return 
 from America, it would be a very great induce- 
 ment that takes me out again. Honour was in 
 this case the inducement. Satisfied with having 
 paid this tribute to her, a little would tempt me 
 to quit the world and spend the remainder of my 
 days in retirement. 
 
 "July 4th. — Is it vanity, my dear Bess, in me 
 to think myself endued with a great share of 
 equality of temper ? or do I really possess that 
 blessing ? On reflection, I much fear my merit is 
 suppositious, as I generally feel what others with 
 less command of themselves, express ; and I 
 believe I should repine in as silly and womanish 
 terms as my comrades, did not shame prevent 
 me. 
 
 " Most heartily tired am I of the ship ; indeed, 
 the prospect is so clouded, and what I say to keep 
 up their spirits comes so little from the heart, that 
 all the answer is a shake of the head, as much as 
 to say, You do not believe it. The wind is almost 
 a-head ; the day foggy, rainy, and disagreeable ; 
 the sea short, trembling, and tumultuous. But, 
 why should I trouble you with our miseries ? 
 
CAPTAIN Harris's journal. 67 
 
 " July 5th. — People who have not experienced 
 the desagremens of a long voyage usually conceive 
 it an excellent opportunity for study. The case is 
 far otherwise. 
 
 " July 7th, Sunday. — I hope you will not be 
 angry when I tell you that for near an hour this 
 morning we have been endeavouring to catch 
 bonetas, and though without success, the exercise 
 amused us. Perhaps you will say that there were 
 other amusements better fitted to the day. This 
 I readily grant you ; at the same time I do not 
 conceive it to be any great sin thus to employ a 
 part of the time which remains after public 
 service. 
 
 "If I err in thus thinking,- be assured it is 
 from want of judgment, not from vicious inclina- 
 tion. To return to the bonetas ; the method of 
 striking them is with a harpoon, an instrument 
 which is probably familiar to you. The attitude 
 of the harpooner is very picturesque. He gene- 
 rally fixes himself at the end of the sprit-sail yard, 
 which is a sail that, by the assistance of the bow- 
 sprit, is advanced about ten yards beyond the 
 head of the ship. He supports himself on a rope 
 fastened to the ends of the yard, and there, stand- 
 ing as erect as possible, with the spear and hand 
 elevated, ready to strike at any fish that may come 
 near enough. He appears from the quarter-deck 
 as if suspended between air and water, and to the 
 eye a very agreeable figure. 
 
 F 2 
 
G8 CAPTAIN Harris's journal. 
 
 " l4tJi. — Such a continuance of contrary winds 
 (luring- the week past, that I have not had spirits 
 snfTicient to resume my journal. I can now, I am 
 happy to say, assure my dear Bess that it is toler- 
 ably fair. This has been such a day of blessings, 
 that it would be highly ungrateful in us not to 
 acknowledge them with joy and gladness. Don't 
 you think a cheerful heart the most acceptable 
 offering- to the Almighty ? To lay mine in the 
 most respectful manner before Him, I now quit 
 my writing;. ****** 
 
 " That duty performed, I may record that a 
 sailor has just caught a boneta with a flying fish 
 of Holmes's making, of which Mr. Jonathan is 
 not a little proud, as we never succeeded till this 
 bait was used. The boneta resembles a salmon 
 in shape more than any other fish I knov/ of, 
 though shorter and thicker in its proportions. 
 The flesh looks coarse and hard. A flying-fish has 
 just dropt on the deck. Poor fellow ! he found 
 the proverb taken from his species fatally verified, 
 for he only escaped the tyrants of the deep to fall 
 before the worse tyrant, man. The longest flight 
 that I have seen any of them take was about twice 
 the length of the ship, and that so near, that I 
 expected the wind would have brought them on 
 board. 
 
 " Juli/ \9fh. — I have the pleasure to inform 
 my dear Bess that I am just beginning- to taste 
 the beauties of her very pleasing- present (Ossian). 
 
CAPTAIN Harris's journal. 69 
 
 Her observations respecting it I find to be per- 
 fectly just. The more I study, the more I find to 
 admire, and the more eager am I to resume my 
 author. 
 
 " I now divide my time between these poems 
 and the exercise of striking fish. Exercise is con- 
 ducive to health, and harpooning being of a kind 
 that requires some little dexterity and attention, 
 it both excites and amuses. I am not long re- 
 turned from the sprit-sail yard, where I hung for 
 an hour, to the astonishment of Tom and the 
 other lads who did not think me young enough to 
 venture there, but they found that I can still use 
 my limbs with the best of them, and I flatter 
 myself we will show them how to shuffle the 
 brogue some six years hence when we return to 
 Old England. 
 
 '' Jnlij 26t/t. — Do not be alarmed, my dear 
 Bess, at the last sentence, for you may rest as- 
 sured that the moment honour will permit, and 
 the care of our brother allow, I will fly on the 
 wings of affection to embrace you all. I reckon 
 it one of the greatest instances of my good for- 
 tune that I have always found an incrCf.se of plea- 
 sure on each return to my home. Thank God, I 
 do not find that the love of variety tempts me to 
 neglect familiar things, for I could with pleasure 
 leave the busy bustle of the world, and look on it 
 all as idle pageantry — not indeed for the ' hairy 
 
70 CAPTAIN Harris's journal. 
 
 gown and mossy cell,' but for those tranquil joys 
 which domestic happiness confers. 
 
 " Julu 28th. — According" to our calculations, 
 we are now, supposing the present breeze to con- 
 tinue, within a few days' sail of land ; and you 
 may conceive how greatly my anxiety to arrive is 
 increased when I tell you that a packet, which left 
 Falmouth only three and twenty days ago, joined 
 our fleet yesterday. It will certainly bring news 
 of my dear friends. Heaven grant they may be 
 favourable ! The hardships of war will appear 
 light and trifling when I know that you are all 
 healthy and happy. 
 
 " August 6th. — A brief conclusion. I can no 
 more. We are landed, and the packet is about to 
 sail. Tom sends his best love." 
 
71 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Forms an ardent attacliment to tlie lady wliom he afterwards 
 married — Traits of her character — Again engaged with the 
 Americans — Captain Harris and Colonel Medows wounded 
 — Sent by Lord Cornwallis with a letter to "Washington — Is 
 promoted to the majority of the 5th Regiment — Appointed 
 to cover the embarkation of the troops, on the evacuation of 
 Philadelphia — Becomes personally acquainted with Lord 
 Howe, who was the last man to embark, and is commended 
 by him for his exertions in executing that disagreeable 
 service. 
 
 In tlie extracts given from this journal the reader 
 may have observed the frequent alUisions to do- 
 mestic peace and happiness on which the writer 
 dwells with so much satisfaction. These feelings 
 may be attributed not only to Captain Harris's 
 usual predilection for the diversions and sports of 
 a country life^ but more particularly to his having 
 about this time conceived an ardent attachment 
 towards a young lady of the name of Dixson, to 
 whom he was afterwards married. In leaving 
 England for the seat of war, he had, on this occa- 
 sion, the pain of parting not only from the rela- 
 tives whom he had loved from his youth up, but 
 also from the object of a new and more engrossing 
 affection, whose desire for retirement had no in- 
 considerable weight in the many attempts made 
 by this lady's lover, in after-life, to become prema- 
 
72 LETTERS OF MRS. HARRIS 
 
 turely a peaceful " country swain." Nor will the 
 reader wonder at tliis influence of her who was so 
 many years his faithful and affectionate partner, 
 in every clime where his military duty called him, 
 when he sees tliat even the French Republic, al- 
 though war was raging l)etween the two coun- 
 tries, paid honourable tribute to Mrs. Harris's 
 tender feelings, and her power of expressing them, 
 notwithstanding the barbarous practice which then 
 prevailed amongst those Republicans, of destroy- 
 ing all private correspondence. 
 
 With several letters from Mrs. Harris, then 
 in Calcutta, to some of her absent children, the 
 following envelope was sent : — 
 
 The Commissary of the French Government in 
 England, to Mj-s. Dyer, at Richmond, in 
 Yorkshire. 
 
 " Madam, 
 
 "The letters that I have the honour to 
 transmit to you were found on board the vessel 
 Amelia, coming from Calcutta, and were inter- 
 cepted by one of our French schooners. They 
 breathe the sweetest sentiments of nature, and as 
 such, have been sent to me by the officers of the 
 Admiralty, in order to forward them. 
 
 " I esteem myself infinitely happy. Madam, to 
 have it in my power, spite of the circumstances of 
 v/ar, to honour maternal feelings. 
 
FORWARDED BY THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT. 73 
 
 " Deign to accept of the most respectful sen- 
 timents, with which I have the honour to be, 
 Madam, 
 
 Your very humble and obedient servant, 
 
 Ju. Charretie." 
 " London, 3rd October, 1796." 
 
 But to return to our nari'ative of Captain 
 Harris's voyage to America. It was natural that 
 his imagination should revert, with some admix- 
 ture of regret, to the happiness he had left behind, 
 — that during the long days, and longer nights, of 
 a rough and tedious passage across the Atlantic 
 he should sigh for the companions of his youth, 
 the friends of his maturer years, and the smiles of 
 one so worthy of his ardent love. But if his 
 spirits were thus for the time depressed, they seem 
 to have regained their wonted buoyancy and even- 
 ness as soon as he joined the British army. In a 
 letter to his cousin, written a few weeks after his 
 arrival, he describes the delight and satisfaction 
 with which he felt himself inspired, when actively 
 engaged in the service of his king and country. 
 
 "At last, my dear Bess, the wish of my heart 
 is fully accomplished. You have often heard me 
 regret having been so long in the military line 
 without seeing the army in a state of active ser- 
 vice. I am happy to say that I never was better 
 in my life — marching all day under a scorching 
 
74 LETTER FROM LONG ISLAND. 
 
 sun, and laying my length at night on my 
 mother earth, with only a blanket to cover me, — 
 instead of spoiling, improves my appearance. 
 Every one compliments me on my looks. As for 
 Tom, he looked very well when I saw him about 
 a week ago, since when our corps has been moving 
 so quick, that I have not been able to hear of 
 him. 
 
 " We have had what some call a battle, but if 
 it deserves that name, it was the pleasantest I 
 ever heard of, as we had not received more than a 
 dozen shot from the enemy, when they ran away 
 with the utmost precipitation. You may imagine 
 the eagerness of our brave fellows. We have 
 cleared Long Island, and I think, in a day or two, 
 shall be on the continent. The contents of this 
 letter are to be communicated in Marlborough 
 Street, as I cannot find time to write more than 
 once in our present state of hurry. The paper I 
 write on was once the property of an American, 
 at least so I suppose, as it was brought to me by 
 my corporal. 
 
 " My mother, I fear, will give me a thousand 
 scolds for not being more particular as to the state 
 of my head ; but I have not words or time to say 
 how well it has been ever since I landed — not the 
 least signs of headach, or annoyance of any kind, 
 notwithstanding the many duckings we have had, 
 often without a rag to change — at best, never more 
 than one. 
 
LETTER FROM LONG ISLAND. 75 
 
 " Colonel Medows is my commanding officer, 
 and this I consider one of the pleasantest things 
 that ever happened to me. We sleep together in 
 a soldier's tent, which, when well littered down 
 with straw, we consider qnite a luxnry. He led 
 us on to action in the most gallant manner ; and 
 I am convinced that if General Howe had made 
 a sign for us to follow the Americans into their 
 works, we would have done it. Thanks to the 
 General's prudence, we have effected this object 
 without the loss of the many brave fellows who 
 must have fallen in the attempt. 
 
 " My present situation must excuse my not 
 writing to my sisters. They will be glad to hear 
 I am in excellent health and spirits. Adieu, 
 Ever yours, affectionately, 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 In a letter to his uncle, we find the following 
 notices of the landing and movements of the 
 force to which he belonged. As this letter is in 
 the form of a journal, it will serve to connect the 
 thread of events, as well as any extracts that 
 might be made from the publications of that 
 time, and as it contains many particulars of a 
 personal and domestic nature which would not 
 be found in works of more pretension, it will 
 probably repay the reader for the trouble of 
 perusal : — 
 
 " On the 5th August we made the harbour of 
 
7G LANDING ON LONG ISLAND, 
 
 New York, and at the entrance joined the very 
 fleet with which I had so much wished to sail, 
 and of which ours, in fact, was the second part. 
 On the 18th I got quit of tlie recruits to my great 
 satisfaction, and joined my company on Station 
 Island. About the 20th we embarked in boats 
 for Long- Island, and landed, without opposition, 
 in Gravescnd Bay ; marched six miles inland, and 
 halted till the 26th. A large body of the Ame- 
 ricans near us keeping up a fire from behind walls 
 and trees. About four p.m. of the 26th struck 
 tents, and lay on our arms during the night about 
 three miles from Bedford ; and though in summer, 
 it was the coldest night I have experienced up to 
 this time (25th November). Such sudden changes 
 of climate are not uncommon here. The weather 
 is now most unnaturally hot and close, after severe 
 frosts. 
 
 "At daybreak, the 27th, the light infantry 
 attacked and forced several small posts which the 
 Americans had on the road leading to their lines at 
 Bedford. This appeared to be the first notice they 
 had of our being near to them. About nine we fired 
 two signal guns to a part of the army under Ge- 
 neral Grant, who was to make a feint in the front 
 of the Americans, while we got round to their rear : 
 and immediately marched briskly up to them, 
 when, almost without firing a shot, they abandoned 
 their post, and retreated to their lines under cover 
 of their guns (these they also evacuated two or 
 
AND ON YORK ISLAND. 77 
 
 three days after, retiring upon New York during 
 the night). Our men were most eager to attack 
 them in their lines, and I am convinced woiikl 
 have carried them, but we were ordered to retreat 
 out of reach of their guns, and lay from about 
 four P.M. till very near dark at the entrance of a 
 small wood, exposed to the fire of their riflemen. 
 During the whole evening they hit but one man, 
 though their balls continually whistled over our 
 heads, and lodged in the trees above us. Their 
 loss that day is acknowledged by them to have 
 been 2,600; ours about 300 in killed and wounded. 
 
 " On the 30th the reserve, with the light in- 
 fantry, again left the army, which the next day 
 took peaceable possession of all the American 
 works on Long Island, and encamped near Hell 
 Gate. 
 
 " Batteries were soon erected to oppose a work 
 they had on York Island, and though the East 
 river is there 800 paces across, our artillery soon 
 silenced theirs, and, as we afterwards found, dis- 
 mounted most of their guns. Our landing on 
 York Island was effected without the loss of a 
 man, for the moment they saw us ashore, they 
 retreated to their works at Kingsbridge. A lieu- 
 tenant of theirs, who was that night my prisoner, 
 informed me that a body of 3,000 had got round 
 to our right, with the intention of attacking us 
 before we could form after landing, but so little 
 eager were they to commence the assault, that. 
 
78 YORK ISLAND. 
 
 upon tlieir falling in with two companies of 
 Grenadiers, who had by accident been posted on 
 the same road, they fled with the utmost haste ; 
 not even taking time to put on their packs and 
 blankets, which they had thrown off on a thorough 
 conviction of beating us. Their blankets were a 
 great prize, as several of our men had thrown off 
 their's on the 27th, when pursuing the enemy. 
 Here they amply made up their losses. 
 
 " I wish that Tom were with us, and as my 
 lieutenant. At present he makes war with a 
 thousand luxuries, of which we are deprived. 
 These, however, he cares as little for as I do, and 
 the other night wished to volunteer going with us 
 to attack in the Jerseys, but was prevented doing 
 so. You may be sure I did not throw cold water 
 on his offer, but rejoiced in it, and should have 
 been as happy to have had him fighting by my 
 side as to see him making successful love to Miss 
 
 " After landing in York Island, we drove tlie 
 Americans into their works beyond the eighth 
 mile-stone from New York, and thus got posses- 
 sion of the best half of the island. We took post 
 opposite to them, placed our picquets, borrowed a 
 sheep, killed, cooked, and ate some of it, and then 
 went to sleep on a gate, which we took the liberty 
 of throwing off its hinges, covering our feet with 
 an American tent, for which we should have cut 
 poles and pitched, had it not been so dark. Give 
 
YORK ISLAND. 79 
 
 me such living as we enjoy at present, such a hut 
 and such company, and I would not care three 
 farthings if we stayed all the winter, for though 
 the mornings and evenings are cold, yet the sun 
 is so hot as to oblige me to put up a blanket as a 
 screen. 
 
 " Tell my best of mothers that my compass 
 has been of the greatest use in enabling me to 
 ascertain the proper aspects for our houses, and 
 has gained me, in fine, the thanks of all parties. 
 
 " The 16th of September we were ordered to 
 stand to our arms at eleven a.m., and were in- 
 stantly trotted about three miles (without a halt 
 to draw breath), to support a battalion of light 
 infantry, which had imprudently advanced so far 
 without support as to be in great danger of being 
 cut off. This must have happened, but for our 
 haste. — So dangerous a quality is courage without 
 prudence for its guide ; with it, how noble and 
 respectable it makes the man. But to return to 
 our narrative. The instant the front of our co- 
 lumns appeared, the enemy began to retire to their 
 works, and our light infantry to the camp. On 
 our return we were exposed to the fire of the 
 Americans. A man in my company had his hat 
 shot through nearly in the direction of my wound, 
 but the ball merely raised the skin ; and in the 
 battalion on our left a man was shot so dead 
 when lying on the ground, that the next man did 
 not perceive it, but when he got up to stand to 
 
80 EXPEDITION UP THE EAST RIVER. 
 
 his arms, kicked his comrade, thinking he was 
 asleep, and then found, to his great surprise, that 
 he was quite dead, a bail having entered under 
 the ear, and very little blood having issued 
 from it. 
 
 " Before we started in the morning, our 
 dinner, consisting of a goose and piece of mutton, 
 had been put on the fire. Tlie moment we 
 marched, our domestic deposited the above-named 
 delicacies on a chaise, and followed us with it to 
 our ground. When the fight was over, he again 
 hung the goose to the fire, but the poor bird had 
 scarcely been half done, when we were ordered to 
 return to our station. There we again commenced 
 cooking, and, tiiough without dish, plate, or knife, 
 did ample justice to our fare, which we washed 
 down with bad rum and water, and then com- 
 posed ourselves to rest on our friendly gate. Our 
 baggage joined us the next day. 
 
 " We remained in camp till the 10th October, 
 waiting for redoubts to be formed across the 
 island. Lord Percy was left to defend these with 
 three brigades of British and Hearne's brigade of 
 Hessians. At eight p.m. of the 10th, the reserve, 
 the light infantry and 1,500 Hessians, embarked 
 in boats, under General Clinton, went up the East 
 river, passed Hell Gate, and landed at Frogneciv 
 without opposition. I cannot here help noticing 
 a part of the river we went through, called Devil's 
 Pans, at the point of an island, which here divides 
 
A DANGEROUS WHIRLPOOL. 81 
 
 the river into two rapid streams, and causes a 
 very dangerous whirlpool. The suction is so great, 
 that at times the river on that side is impassable. 
 This danger we avoided, though with difficulty, 
 for, through the ignorance of our pilot, we were 
 on the edge of the pool when too late to avoid the 
 suction, and found ourselves, circle after circle, 
 attracted to the centre, in spite of all our efforts, 
 till at last the boatmen were on the point of 
 quitting their oars, despairing of escape, when, 
 animated I suppose by the love of life, I began to 
 storm at them for their cowardice, and made them 
 stick to their oars. We at length perceived that 
 we made progress, and emerged from the whirl- 
 pool, escaping without other accident than the 
 dislocation of a man's wrist, who very foolishly 
 attempted to fend off a large wherry, containing 
 fifty men, which, by the force of the stream, was 
 carried against our boat. 
 
 " We lay on Frogneck till the 10th of October; 
 on the 18th, at one in the morning, the van of the 
 army, consisting of the light infantry and grena- 
 diers, embarked for the continent, and landed 
 without opposition. The boats soon brought over 
 great part of the army, when we mai'ched into the 
 country, drove the enemy from some posts, and 
 lay on our arms near New Rochelle. We lost 
 here two light infantry officers and some men, 
 owing to their too great haste to attack. The 
 grenadiers did not suffer, being only exposed to 
 
 G 
 
82 Battle of white plains. 
 
 the fire of the American hatteries, which were 
 very ill served. From this we marched to White 
 Plains, being informed that 15,000 American 
 troops were entrenched there. 
 
 " On the 28th, the army, in two cohimns, 
 marched towards their position, and here, for the 
 first time, ive were tranquil spectators of the fight, 
 except, indeed, as far as our anxiety for our friends 
 and comrades was concerned. I had a brother 
 in peril, till then unknown to him. Thanks be to 
 God that he behaved like a man, and escaped un- 
 hurt. May he ever display the same spirit with 
 the same result. 
 
 "The Americans behaved in the most das- 
 tardly manner, for, though they at first made a 
 show of resistance, no sooner was our second bri- 
 gade ordered to advance, than they gave way 
 with such pi'ecipitation, that they escaped to the 
 heights before our men could reach them. They 
 acknowledge, however, to have lost in killed and 
 wounded 600 ; ours was 200. Two days after 
 this engagement they abandoned the heights, 
 without attempting to defend them. 
 
 " On the 5th of November we commenced our 
 retreat from White Plains, and marched very 
 leisurely to Fort Washington, on New York Island. 
 After some halts, we were ordered on the 16th of 
 November to attack the neighbouring heights, 
 preparatory to investing it, which we very soon 
 effected, and ere landing received terms of capitu- 
 
PURSUIT OF THE AMERICANS. 83 
 
 lation from the commandant of the fort, which 
 some days before they declared was to have pre- 
 vented us from returning that way to New York. 
 Here we took 2,500 prisoners. 
 
 " On the 19th of November we again struck 
 tents, and embarked in boats at Fort Washington, 
 passed Fort Constitution without being perceived, 
 and landed at a place four miles above it, where 
 100 resolute men might have stopped our whole 
 army. Here we took possession of their tents, 
 baggage, thirty- two guns, and a great quantity of 
 stores. 
 
 " We now pursued the enemy, much too slowly 
 for our wishes ; but it is not for us subordinates 
 to comment on the movements of our com- 
 manders, of which we are in general very incom- 
 petent judges. Warped by passion, we consider 
 only visible objects, and forget the thousand la- 
 tent wheels by which a great army moves. 
 
 " We marched via Newbridge, Newark, and 
 Elizabeth Town, to New Brunswick. So soon as 
 winter quarters are settled, I depart for New York, 
 where all my effects are in store, but where I 
 most heartily wish they had never gone, as they 
 will, in all probability, be greatly damaged. How- 
 ever, life is left, and if the war continue, I have 
 prospects that will amply repay me for such 
 losses ; and if fair peace should come, she's wel- 
 come, for I shall then return to my dearest friends, 
 and be, though poor, contented. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 CAPTURE OF COLONEL LEE. 
 
 " The Americans have crossed the Delaware, 
 and give ont that they mean to attack us on the 
 other side. Next spring- will put them to the 
 test. Till then, adieu politics and military opera- 
 tions ; unless, indeed, a winter campaign should 
 take place, of which there is some idea. I must 
 not omit to inform you of the capture of Colonel 
 Lee *. He was taken by a party of our's, under 
 Colonel Harcourt, who surrounded the house in 
 which this arch-traitor was residing. Lee be- 
 haved as cowardly in this transaction as he had 
 dishonourably in every other. After firing one or 
 two shots from the house, he came out, and en- 
 treated our troops to spare his life. Had he be- 
 haved with proper spirit, I should have pitied him, 
 and wished that his energies had been exerted in 
 a better cause. I could hardly refrain from tears 
 when I first saw him, and thought of the miser- 
 able fate in which his obstinacy has involved him. 
 He says he has been mistaken in three things ; 
 1st. That the New England men would fight ; 
 2nd. That America was unanimous ; and 3rd. 
 That she could afford two men for our one. — 
 Adieu." 
 
 The attack threatened by the Americans, and 
 referred to in the preceding letter, was executed 
 earlier than had been anticipated, and produced 
 a disastrous change upon the succeeding course of 
 
 * Lee had deserted from the English, and joined the Ame- 
 ricansj who conferred on him the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. 
 
CAPTURE OF THE HESSIANS AT TRENTON. 85 
 
 the war in that country. In the following letter 
 to his uncle, Captain Harris gave a detailed 
 account of what he denominates the tragedy of 
 Trenton, and which appears to have arisen from 
 one of those chances in war upon which the fate 
 of empires has often depended. 
 
 '■^January 16, 1777- 
 "You know from history reverses in war 
 are not uncommon. To have had our successes 
 continued totally uninterrupted was, perhaps, 
 more than the most sanguine tory ever expected. 
 Till very lately Caesar's laconic ' Veni, vidi, vici,' 
 might justly have been used by us. Had I time 
 I would attempt to relate the whole affair at 
 Trenton as it passed, according to the best inform- 
 ation we could collect. But you must be con- 
 tented with a slight sketch. We understand that 
 Colonel Rawle, who commanded the Hessians, 
 had intelligence of the intended attack, and had 
 his men under arms the whole night. Long- 
 after day-break, a most violent storm of snow 
 coming on, he thought he might safely permit his 
 men to lie down, and in this state they were sur- 
 prised by the enemy. The Hessians were about 
 1,300 ; between 800 and 900 were taken, the rest 
 escaping by a road, by which nearly the whole 
 might have got off, if in those moments every 
 man had been collected. But this is not to be 
 expected. This success gave the Americans such 
 
S6 CONSEQUENCES OF THIS AFFAIR. 
 
 spirit thcat they crossed the river in numbers, 
 sufficient to make a post of Hessians fall back to 
 Prince Town, and even then to cause such an 
 alarm as led the commanding officer to request a 
 reinforcement. This was not complied with for 
 some days, but then a part of the army was sent, 
 the grenadiers, with the second battalion of 
 Guards. You would have felt too much to be able 
 to express your feelings, on seeing with what a 
 warmth of friendship our children, as we call the 
 light infantry, welcomed us, one and all crying, 
 ' Let them come ! ' ' Lead us to them, we are 
 sure of being supported.' It gave me a pleasure 
 too fine to attempt expressing, and if you see a 
 stain on the paper, pray place the drops to the 
 right motive, for the tears flowed even at the 
 thought, so that I could not stop them. This 
 reverse has given the Americans great spirits, 
 which I am convinced they never would have had 
 if the Hessians had not been surprised, but fought 
 as I have seen them. Washington, to do him 
 justice, has taken advantage of the moment, 
 crossing the Delaware, and beating three regi- 
 ments that lay in his way. This has elated them 
 so much, and occasioned such a change of quar- 
 ters in our army, as to render the prospect of 
 passing the winter in ease and luxury totally dark. 
 The country which was entirely our own being now 
 divided between us ; and every thing which was 
 then to be got for money and at very moderate 
 
FLAG OF TRUCE. 87 
 
 prices^ must now be earned at the point of the 
 sword, and what is worse, with very great fatigue. 
 I conld tell you a long story of an excursion of 
 mine to the rebel army, but as I did not see their 
 commander, the rest is not worthy of description. 
 I shall therefore merely say, that Lord Corn- 
 wallis employed me to carry a letter to General 
 Washington relative to the Hessian prisoners, and 
 I returned safe, to the astonishment of most of 
 my friends, with the two light horse who accom- 
 panied me. It may appear extraordinary that 
 with a flag of truce I should be in danger, but 
 the whole country is full of their scouting parties, 
 whose greatest ambition is to be behind a cover 
 and kill our light dragoons, who patrole most of 
 the roads at different times, and for whose heads 
 it is said a reward is offered in the army. How- 
 ever, in a few miles riding, I found all the same 
 parties so much more afraid of us, than we of 
 them, that we hallooed and laughed at several 
 who on first seeing us took to their heels. I must 
 now bid you adieu, and go my rounds." 
 
 From the date of this letter to the month of 
 August, 1777, no event of public importance 
 occurred in the force to which Captain Harris 
 belonged. He then sailed with the fleet under 
 Lord Howe from New York, and landed with the 
 reserve of the army under Sir W. Howe, at Head 
 of Elk, in September, and was shot through the 
 leg in the attack on Iron Hill, where he liad been 
 
88 CAPTAIN HARRIS WOUNDED. 
 
 sent in advance by Lieutenant Colonel Medows, 
 to cover the guns of the battalion with his com- 
 pany. The battle of Brandy Wine happened a 
 few days after. Captain Harris was in a chaise 
 with the baggage on account of his wound, when 
 the army was ordered to form. Taking a horse 
 without a saddle, he had the honour to share 
 in the glory of that day, but attended with 
 the drawback of finding his gallant commander 
 and friend most literally in the hands of the 
 surgeon, having lost the use of both his own. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Medows distinguished himself 
 most particularly on that day in leading on his 
 grenadiers on horseback, with the intention of 
 charging the enemy's line without firing. In this 
 situation he received a shot, in the act of waving 
 his sword-arm just above the elbow, that went out 
 at the back, knocking him off his horse, and the 
 fall breaking his opposite collar-bone. The 
 Colonel had not recovered his senses when Cap- 
 tain Harris came to him, but looking at him some 
 time, and knowing his voice, he attempted to put 
 out his hand, and not being able to use either, 
 exclaimed " It's hard ;" then, quite recovering his 
 senses, said, " It's lucky, Harris, poor Fanny does 
 not know this ;" evincing then, as in every other 
 instance, that perfect coolness and indifference to 
 accidents as they affected himself, and only feel- 
 ing anxiety for his friends. The wounded behig 
 ordered to Wilmington, on the Delaware, after 
 
COVERS THE EMBARKATION AT PHILADELPHIA. 89 
 
 the action, and Captain Harris's wound having 
 taken a bad turn, he was obliged to go to sick 
 quarters. But he was soon ready for the first 
 escort, and joined the army at Philadelphia, and 
 was almost immediately ordered to take the com- 
 mand of the 5th Regiment, in consequence of 
 Colonel Walcot being shot through the body at 
 German Town. He was soon after promoted to 
 a majority, and the 5th Regiment was in most of 
 the excursions from Philadelphia before the 
 evacuation of that town. When that event took 
 place. Major Harris with the 5th Regiment 
 covered the embarkation, and had the good for- 
 tune to become personally acquainted with Lord 
 Howe, (who was the last man to embark,) and to 
 be commended by that great and gallant officer 
 for his exertions in executing that disagreeable 
 service. One of his letters on this occasion is so 
 characteristic of the buoyant spirit, but devout 
 frame of mind, which accompanied him through all 
 the varied changes and chances of his life, that it 
 ought to be recorded. It is addressed to his 
 cousin, and dated from Philadelphia, 27th Novem- 
 ber, 1777. "Notwithstanding that I am now a 
 man of business, and instead of a company, have 
 the weight of a regiment on my shoulders, I shall 
 not yet take so much the great man on me as not 
 to acknowledge my dearest and ever kind friend. 
 When I forget her goodness, may my love forget 
 me ; and now that I am descending into the vale 
 
90 LETTER TO MISS DIXSON. 
 
 of years, is not the imprecation most serious? 
 Whatever the world may imagine, most sincerely 
 I think so, for I would not lose my Nancy's* 
 warm wishes to gain kingdoms. From the mood 
 dame Fortune is now in, I cannot think the time 
 of realizing them, far off. She is showering 
 benefits on my head, that, lightly as I may talk, 
 give me very serious reflections, and I cannot 
 accuse myself of forgetting the Hand that dis- 
 penses, however I may fail in paying the proper 
 tribute. To begin with my appointment to the 
 majority, which to you will I make no doubt 
 appear the most essential; but to me scarcely 
 afforded more pleasure than that of my best male 
 friend. Colonel Medows, coming back to tlie 
 regiment, as my Lieutenant Colonel, and my poor 
 Tom being sure of either being immediately ap- 
 pointed pay-master or quarter-master. He is 
 very, very, hearty, is both bigger, browner, and I 
 might add, for the sake of trutli as well as alli- 
 teration, braver, than your ever affectionate 
 
 G. H." 
 
 The following is also in the same strain : — 
 
 '■'■ January Mth, 1778. 
 
 "Since my last to you on retirement, our 
 
 views are wonderfully enlarged. Yet the most 
 
 pleasing object I see among them (and perhaps 
 
 the only certain one) is that we shall now be 
 
 * His future wife. 
 
ANTICIPATIONS. 91 
 
 entitled sometimes to spare a guinea extraordi- 
 nary to the poor^ that we could before have ill 
 afforded. This step (the majority) has at least 
 doubled my pay, and I do not yet feel that it has 
 increased my pride. The same rustic cot and 
 russet gown would content the Major, that the 
 Captain sighed for, supposing it furnished as you 
 propose ; ambition has not so great a hold, but 
 that love's softer dreams occur, and my mind is 
 fixed, if this long absence does not alter my Nancy, 
 to try a patriarchal apprenticeship. To have that 
 day arrive is the point of time I look forward to ; 
 beyond that I trust I may have others and you 
 also. The young ones, if God should bless us with 
 them, shall for many years be her charge and 
 yours. And then, if boys, the father must show 
 them to cut the wave and hurl the ball, to ascend 
 the woodland steep, and despise the sharp north- 
 east, that their bodies may not refuse what the 
 firm mind shall attempt. What a vain creature 
 is man ! and in the pride of his heart what folly 
 does he utter ! Three thousand miles from all 
 these blessings ! can he expect to enjoy them 
 unalloyed ! The hand of God is all powerful. 
 To Him let us resign ourselves, and not attempt 
 to dive into futurity further than is permitted. 
 Colonel Medows is perfectly recovered of his 
 wound, and is, as ever, the pleasantest and best 
 man I know. 
 
 V G. H." 
 
92 
 
 CHAPTER VIII, 
 
 Embarks with Brigadier-General Medows upon a secret expe- 
 dition — Destined af^ainst St. Lucie — Engaged in the glorious 
 repulse of 5,000 Frenchmen with 1,300 British soldiers- 
 Anecdotes of General Medows. 
 
 Between the date of this letter and the next^ an 
 interval of nine months occurred. It is dated on 
 board the Ocean transport, 30th October, 1778, 
 and, as usual, addressed to his cousin : — 
 
 "If any one should ask you where I am 
 going-, tell them what, by the way of secret, I'll 
 tell you, — I do not know — and, if they should be 
 more inquisitive, that I do not care. But, at the 
 same time, say I am on the tip-top of Fortune's 
 wheel, and that if they want to write to me, they 
 may direct to Major Harris, Commander of the 
 Grenadiers, second in command under Brigadier- 
 General Medows. Tell my best of mothers my 
 happiness, and let her pray that her spirit may 
 not fail me in the day of trial. Every one seems 
 to think our expedition is the road home ; if we 
 can only get hand to hand with the Monsieurs, I 
 am convinced it will be a glorious one." 
 
 This expedition turned out to be for the re- 
 duction of St. Lucie. An adventure, attended 
 with unforeseen peril, but which, in the issue, was 
 
ATTACK ON ST. LUCIE. 93 
 
 productive of great glory to the commanders and 
 forces both by sea and land, and of the highest 
 advantage in all the ensuing operations of the 
 war. 
 
 The reserve of the army, consisting of the 5th 
 Regiment, with the grenadiers and light infantry 
 of the whole, under the command of Brigadier- 
 General Medows, were landed at the Grand Cul 
 de Sac (an inlet in the island of St. Lucie) on the 
 13th December, 1778, and immediately marched 
 forward to the heights on the north side of the 
 bay. These posts, though very difficult of access, 
 were soon forced. While General Prescot was 
 employed in securing the bay. General Medows 
 pushed forward, under the heat of a burning sun, 
 and took possession of the important post of Vigie, 
 which commands the north side of the Carenage 
 harbour. The French commander, D'Estaing, 
 seeing that General Medows was by distance and 
 situation out of the reach of the main body, and 
 that a retreat, however pressed or overpowered 
 he might be, was impossible, determined to direct 
 his whole efforts against General Medows and 
 his party. The General was, liowever, nothing 
 daimted or dismayed by the peril of his position, 
 or the superior numbers of the enemy. He knew 
 that he could rely, under all dangers, upon the 
 bravery and skill of the gallant band under 
 him ; and there was something so bewitching in 
 General Medows, when in the field, that the 
 
94 ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 
 
 troops regarded liim as the model of what a 
 British officer ought to be in the hour of action ; 
 nor were these impressions weakened by the 
 chivah'ous orders which he published to them on 
 this occasion. 
 
 " St. Lucie, lith December, 1 778. 
 " Reserve Orders. 
 
 " Brigadier-General Medows is extremely 
 sensible of the high honour conferred upon him 
 by being appointed to so distinguished a corps as 
 the Reserve. From the active gallantry of the 
 light infantry^ the determined bravery of the gre- 
 nadiers, and the confirmed discipline of the 5th 
 Regiment, everything is to be expected. 
 
 "The troops are desired to remember that 
 clemency should go hand in hand with bravery ; 
 that an enemy in our power is an enemy no more, 
 and the glorious characteristic of a British soldier 
 is to conquer and to spare. Acting on these prin- 
 ci])les, they can never fail doing honour to them- 
 selves, their king, and the country they serve." 
 
 Although the result of the attack upon the Bri- 
 tish troops at the Vigie has been recorded by the 
 historians of those times in terms that reflect the 
 highest honour upon Sir William Medows, Major 
 Harris, second in command, and all the other 
 officers and troops, I cannot withhold some further 
 particulars of that glorious day which I have found 
 
ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 95 
 
 written in Lord Harris's hand when in his eigh- 
 tieth year. His attention at that late period of 
 his life was specially called to the subject by a 
 request from the officer commanding his old regi- 
 ment, the 5th, in which he had passed so many 
 years, to explain to him the circumstances which 
 had procured from the regiment the distinction 
 of wearing a white feather, "which he had always 
 understood they gained at the Vigie." 
 
 Lord Harris immediately answered this appeal, 
 on the 22nd of June, 1824, by regretting that his 
 memory, never very good, could now be of so 
 little service to his old corps, but thought it likely 
 that information might be obtained from Sir 
 David Smith, Bart., at Alnwick, who was born in 
 the regiment, highly distinguished himself with 
 them in Canada, and from his strong attachment 
 to the corps, had collected all the events he could 
 that had occurred since their first formation. 
 " All he could himself remember, at that distant 
 period, relative to the white feather, was, that after 
 the action of St. Lucie, when the men of the 5th 
 were taking the white feathers from the hats of 
 the Frenchmen who were killed, they said to each 
 other, ' No one will dispute our right to the white 
 feather after this day*.' I can vouch that, for the 
 twenty-six years I was with them, from ensign to 
 lieutenant-colonel, they wore the white feather 
 
 * The number of Frenchmen killed was more than the 
 number of Englishmen under arms at the Vigie. 
 
96 ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 
 
 without a stain ; and I most heartily wish success 
 to your application, which you are sure will be 
 complied with, or very good reasons given why it 
 cannot be granted." 
 
 His mind having been thus called to the re- 
 membrance of what passed at the Vigie, nearly 
 half a century before, he wrote in his usual 
 manner the following memoranda upon the backs 
 of letters, but in such firm and good characters 
 as to show the deep interest he felt in performing 
 this last act of duty to his gallant comrades : — 
 
 " In revolving time perhaps this small tri- 
 bute of affection may chance to catch the eye of 
 some descendants, who, generally more curious of 
 family anecdotes than a present generation, may 
 think themselves sufficiently interested to wish for 
 any particulars that may explain (allow me to call 
 it) the wonderful escape and victory of our de- 
 tachment ! I hope I am not profane in attributing 
 our success almost to the immediate interference 
 of Providence ! Some circumstances would, I 
 humbly presume, bear me through that the hand 
 of the Almighty was stretched oat towards us, or 
 how could it happen that 1,300 bayonets, with 
 sixty rounds of ammunition in charge of the men 
 (seldom over-careful even of this article) with 
 only four six-pounders, should beat off, and kill 
 or wound many more of the enemy than their 
 own numbers ! We were attacked by 5,000 picked 
 
ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 97 
 
 troops of France, commanded by D'Estaing-, and 
 supported by 5,000 more, effectually keeping- in 
 check General Grant on the Morne Fortunee, by 
 their sudden landing, and taking- a position be- 
 tween us. So far D'Estaing' acted like a good 
 general ; but his arrogance in despising the intel- 
 ligence he had, and might have had, undid him. 
 Count Leslie (whose house D'Estaing often re- 
 sorted to to reconnoitre) told me, a few days after 
 the action, that D'Estaing was very near striking 
 him with his cane for daring to explain his opinion 
 of the troops which he had seen pass by to the 
 Vigie. With D'Estaing we were ' gens de cou- 
 leur,' and he would not hear to the contrary. 
 As such, he ordered us to be attacked, whether 
 politically to encourage his people, or that it was 
 his real belief, I do not pretend to know : how- 
 ever, this is certain — we soon convinced him of 
 his error. And, as some proof of what we were, 
 allow me to relate the conduct of two of my com- 
 panies as a specimen of the battalion, and, indeed, 
 of the detachment. My gallant friend, now no 
 more. Captain Shawe, with the 4th Company, was 
 ordered by me to make his men lie down, and 
 cover themselves in the brush-wood as much as 
 possible, to prevent their being seen as marks ; 
 when he (still standing as conspicuous as when 
 he crossed the bank of the nullah before Seringa- 
 patam in April, 1 799), immediately assured me he 
 could answer that not a man would even wish to 
 
 H 
 
98 ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 
 
 stir until I ordered them. In this situation he 
 had eight killed and wounded out of fifty, with- 
 out firing a shot ! To show the steadiness of the 
 battalion, on my ordering the 45th Company, 
 commanded by Captain Massey (from a reserve 
 of three companies, which I kept under cover of a 
 small eminence), to relieve the 49th Company, 
 he was in an instant at his post, and as quickly 
 ordered the company to make ready, and had 
 given them the word ' Present,' when I called out, 
 ^Captain Massey, my orders were not to fire, — 
 recover ! ' This was done without a shot, and 
 themselves under a heavy fire. This will, I trust, 
 prove our colour was right British ; and may it 
 not be deemed an interference of Providence, that 
 when we took possession of the Vigie, the enemy 
 should have retired with such precipitation as to 
 leave two twelve-pounders unspiked, with many 
 rounds of ammunition ? These guns certainly de- 
 termined the fate of the day, being most ably ma- 
 naged by our senior artillery officer, Lieut. . 
 
 Alas ! I cannot recall his name, although I so well 
 remember his ingenuous praise of my beloved 
 brother, and his active gallantry and masterly 
 management of the two twelve-pounders ; nor can 
 I forget Hill's* and my disappointment, when he 
 lugged upon his shoulder a box of ammunition 
 from the water-side, so heavy that it took two 
 
 ' * His brother-in-law, a man of gigantic power, and of the 
 bravest heart. 
 
ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 99 
 
 men to each of the same weight to follow him 
 with their burden. He threw it down, and on 
 opening it, we found the cartridges so rotten, that 
 on being- handled, they crumbled to dust. We 
 had but three rounds left ; I turned to husband 
 them, and he to join the 5th again, neither saying 
 a word. 
 
 "What immediately followed cannot be better 
 expressed than in Sir William Medows's own 
 words, repeated to me many years after the action. 
 — ' A few minutes before my giving you my last 
 order, I considered it all over with us ! You had 
 scarcely whispered to me, we had not three 
 rounds a man left, when a shot* took you that I 
 thought must be fatal ; my wound was becoming 
 very painful ; their column rapidly advancing ; 
 the wounded from our line constantly passing to 
 the hospital ; all looked ill. But your running up 
 the little eminence the shot had driven you from, 
 gave me hopes again, and I left you to prepare 
 for my part in the orders I gave you. These 
 were for you to charg-e with the line when you 
 thought the enemy sufficiently near, and then all 
 that could scramble off to join me at the flag 
 staff", from which I would charge with you as the 
 last effort, and conquer or fall ! ' 
 
 " I proceeded accordingly to the front of our 
 line to prepare for the charge, when, to my great 
 joy, I saw the head of the enemy's column stag"- 
 
 * This was only a spent ball, which produced no injury. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 
 
 gev'mg, and some men even turned to retreat, from 
 the eftect of two rounds of the twelve-pounders. 
 I instantly ordered the companies near me to fire, 
 bidding- them direct upon those in confusion, and 
 in a minute or two the whole column was gone 
 about, and retreating as fast as their sense of 
 honour would allow — a feeling that the gallant 
 soldier has even to the death, that his enemy 
 may not disgrace him with the name of runaway." 
 It is gratifying to see this fine old soldier, then 
 in his eightieth year, thus remembering and doing- 
 justice to the gallantry of that enemy, which his 
 own good conduct so much contributed to defeat ; 
 and the following orders, published the day after the 
 battle, and on the three following days, when the 
 French threatened a renewal of their attack upon 
 the Reserve, are quite in the generous spirit of his 
 noble chief. Sir William Medows : — 
 
 " Vi^fie, 19th December, 1778. 
 " Reserve Orders. 
 
 " Brigadier-General Medows has the highest 
 satisfaction in communicating the flattering letter 
 from the Commander-in-Chief to the troops under 
 his command, and begs leave to mark to the 
 officers and men his admiration of their gallantry 
 and good conduct in the action of the 18th instant. 
 He feels too much to be able to add more than 
 that, at the head of such a corps, he must be 
 pleased to live, or proud to die." 
 
ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 101 
 
 " Copy of a letter from his Excellency the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief to Brigadier-General 
 Medows. 
 « Sir, 
 
 " I cannot express how much I feel myself 
 obliged to you, and the troops under your com- 
 mand, for repulsing with so much spirit and 
 bravery so great a body of the enemy. I own it 
 was just what I expected from you and them ; 
 and I am sure, under your command, they will 
 always behave in such a manner, as to reflect 
 honour on themselves and their country, and I 
 must beg you will express my gratitude and thanks 
 to them in the strongest manner." 
 
 "/S'if. Lv^ie^ 22nd December^ 1778. 
 " Reserve Orders. 
 
 " The lines to be manned when the drum 
 
 beats to arms." 
 
 ''24:th December, 1778. 
 " The drums to beat to arms, and the lines 
 to be immediately manned." 
 
 ''St. Lucie, 25th December, 1778. 
 " Reserve Orders. 
 
 " As soon as our gallant and generous enemy 
 
 are seen to advance in great numbers, the troops 
 
 are to receive them with three huzzas, and then 
 
 to be perfectly silent and obedient to their 
 
 officers. 
 
 " Whilst they are cool by day, and alert by 
 
102 ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 
 
 night, they have nothing to fear. If the enemy 
 want our arms, let them come and take them. 
 
 " During the attack, the drums and fifes are 
 to assemble round the colours of the 5th Regi- 
 ment, and beat the ^Grenadiers' March.'" 
 
 The whole conduct of General Medows was in 
 the spirit of 'these orders, and he had a brave and 
 prudent second in Major Harris. 
 
 The operations of that day have been so elo- 
 quently described in the Annual Register of that 
 time, that I cannot deny myself the gratification 
 of transcribing a small part of it. 
 
 In the account given by this high authority, 
 (and the Annual Register, as it was then in part 
 written by Burke, was of the highest authority,) 
 we see a bright example of that devotion and suc- 
 cess in their country's cause, in our naval and 
 military services, which shone forth in later years 
 with such lustre in the battles of Trafalgar and 
 Waterloo, leaving the scale of pre-eminence so 
 finely balanced, that it still remains (and will, I 
 trust, for ever remain) undecided by their equal 
 glory and equal claims upon the gratitude of their 
 country. 
 
 " Nothing could exceed the dispositions made 
 upon this occasion by General Medows, nor sur- 
 pass his conduct in any of its parts. He was 
 wounded in the beginning of the action, but could 
 neither be persuaded by his surgeons to quit the 
 
ACTION AT THE VIGIE. 103 
 
 field, nor to admit of their assistance in it until 
 the affair was decided. It wonld be needless to 
 make any observations upon the behaviour of his 
 officers and troops ; where all were brave, little 
 notice could be taken of individuals. Major 
 Harris, who commanded the grenadiers, and was 
 next in command to General Medows, and Major 
 Sir James Murray, at the head of the light in- 
 fantry, had, from their rank, an opportunity of 
 being more particularly distinguished. It would 
 seem, upon the whole, as if there had been a 
 zealous emulation in danger and glory between 
 the land and the naval departments, and that 
 fortune had taken care to share the palm so 
 equally, that the contest should still remain un- 
 decided. The loss sustained by the French ex- 
 ceeded any thing that could be supposed or appre- 
 prehended, either from the numbers engaged, or 
 from the duration of the action. No less than 
 400 men were killed upon the spot ; 500 were so 
 desperately wounded as to be rendered incapable 
 of service, and 600 more were slightly wounded ; 
 the whole amounting to a considerable number, 
 greater than that of the enemy whom they had 
 encountered. The loss of the victors was compa- 
 ratively as small, as that on the side of the van- 
 quished was great, and beyond usual example ; and 
 it cannot but excite astonishment, that, although 
 many were wounded, not a single British officer 
 should have lost his life in such an action." 
 
104 DEATH OF LIEUTENANT HARRIS. 
 
 Although there was no British officer killed on 
 that important day, there was one subsequent loss 
 of the victors, which struck deep into the heart of 
 Major Harris ; his brother was severely wounded, 
 and 'died after the action. No man ever loved a 
 brother with more devoted affection, as the family 
 journal of Mrs. Dyer thus describes : " Alas ! the 
 first accounts we received of the affair at the Vigie 
 too fatally convinced us that ' the paths of glory 
 lead but to the grave.' I truly lament that I am 
 not possessed of the letter your father wrote to 
 your grandmother on this melancholy occasion, 
 and that my memory supplies me with only the 
 first line : — ' Queens might behold you with envy, 
 mourning as a mother for such a son.' Sorry 
 I am that recollection fails of what I thought 
 when I read it, whether considered in the light 
 of filial or fraternal affection, piety or true hero- 
 ism, the most beautiful epistle that ever was 
 penned. How much he loved him, how sincerely 
 he mourned his untimely fate, will appear by the 
 following letters. 
 
 " '■Island of St. Lucie, March 14, 1779. 
 " ' How many anxious moments must my 
 dear Bess have passed between the report of our 
 expedition and the arrival of my letter by the 
 Pearl frigate. It seems an age since we left New 
 York, and if we reflect on the events, more of 
 consequence has happened than in my whole life 
 
DEATH OF LIEUTENANT HARRIS. 105 
 
 besides. You will all severely feel the loss of our 
 poor Tom^ but even you must allow the blow was 
 ruder on me than on any. Long ere I could have 
 reached him, a messenger arrived to say he was 
 no more. Such were my sensations, that I could 
 have sat over his "grave till I had mouldered and 
 become a clod of the valley, as he was. The 
 boat's crew knew my intent in landing, and I 
 could perceive on my return, that both they and 
 Holmes were equally weak as myself. You will 
 believe I thanked them, and was obliged. It Vv^as 
 a melancholy morning, though of that kind it is 
 manly to seek, for I then went to visit a Serjeant 
 in the company with my brother, and shot close 
 by him, both behaving with a gallantry to make 
 them more regretted by those they commanded. 
 How glorious to die nobly in defence of our coun- 
 try, regretted by an army, rather than ignobly, of 
 a vile unwholesome air. Even the flinty heart of 
 a soldier could not tell me of his death, but called 
 General Medows aside, who, with tears that al- 
 most stopped his utterance, stammered out, 
 ' Harris, be a man in this, as in every thing else ; 
 the struggle is past.' 'Tis impossible to convey 
 to you the obligations I owe to General Medows, 
 or the love I bear him. He is brave, good, and 
 generous. I have every reason to be thankful. I 
 cannot enumerate my blessings. I have far more 
 than I deserve. God only can make me suffi- 
 ciently thankful. May He enable me to live 
 
106 MAJOR HARRIS IN THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 honourably and die gloriously ; and what is there 
 in this life to make us wish a dear friend back ? 
 What are a few years more or less ? — a speck in 
 time, so fine as not to be seen !' " 
 
 When these emotions of grief for his beloved 
 brother, and the solemn thoughts which they had 
 excited, began to subside, Major Harris turned 
 with fond affection towards her who possessed his 
 heart in England, and all his hopes were directed 
 to a speedy return to her. 
 
 In writing to his cousin he said, " If but a 
 single regiment get home, the 5th is, from several 
 circumstances, the first. After all the instances 
 of hair-breadth 'scapes and glorious enterprises, 
 one cannot help now and then sighing for the 
 friendly hearth. Five campaigns, though they 
 have not abated my zeal, have certainly tended to 
 strengthen my original love of retirement. A 
 country life, with land enough to give me employ- 
 ment, is what I have, however distant the pro- 
 spect, continually in view." 
 
 " June 3rd. — Notwithstanding my high spirits 
 and fond hopes. Fortune has jilted us. The regi- 
 ment is turned into marines. As the drowning 
 wretch catches at a straw, I am willing to believe 
 it will not be of long duration, or that the fleet 
 may be blown to, or obliged to go to, England ; 
 but at present Fortune has jilted us. It's not 
 always she's to be boldly won ; tho' I must con- 
 
HIS FRIENDSHIP FOR GENERAL MEDOWS. 107 
 
 fess it in general succeeds. Some poet says (and 
 
 I suppose these gentlemen make Fortune a female 
 
 for that purpose), that. 
 
 Women, born to be controlled, 
 Stoop to the forward and the bold. 
 
 However, I feel such confidence in the little blind 
 urchin, after his attention in delivering my letters 
 to you, that I cannot think he will fail us now. 
 
 " If I thought I could desert my country's 
 cause for my own ease, I could not offer my 
 Nancy so ignoble a heart ; but sure I am that, 
 having her once mine, I should act with double 
 zeal. I am therefore pretty much determined to 
 see her at every risk. 
 
 " My dear friend General Medows is in as good 
 health as this climate will permit him. If you 
 should be lucky enough to see him, you will see a 
 man that I really believe I could get between and 
 a cannon-ball, if I knew it was coming." 
 
 As one of the many instances afforded in the 
 after life of Major Harris, that this was no tran- 
 sient feeling of affection to General Medows, I 
 find an anecdote stated, which I believe to be well 
 founded. The General, acting u])on that principle 
 which continually influenced his military career, 
 and which taught him that it made little difference 
 in the chances of a soldier's life, whether he did 
 his duty cautiously and shabbily, or promptly and 
 handsomely, exposed himself to the hottest fire 
 whenever he could. On one occasion, he perse 
 
1Q8 ANECDOTE OF GENERAL MEDOWS. 
 
 vered so heedlessly in doing so, that Colonel 
 Harris, and the other officers with him, implored 
 him to come down from the position where he 
 stood as a mark to the enemy. He disregarded 
 their remonstrance, when Colonel Harris jumped 
 up, and placed himself beside him, saying, " If 
 you, sir, think it right to remain here, it is my 
 duty to stand by you." This act of generous 
 friendship had an immediate effect upon the noble 
 heart of General Medows, and he descended from 
 his perilous station. 
 
109 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Proceeds to England in a Dutch vessel — Is taken prisoner, but 
 soon released — Is married — Rejoins liis regiment in Barba- 
 does, and then proceeds with it to Ireland as Lieutenant- 
 Colonel — Saves the ship from being wrecked on the Old 
 Head of Kinsale — Description of his exertions by Mrs. 
 Harris. 
 
 All Major Harris's letters at this period breathed 
 the spirit of the warmest affection and anxiety to 
 revisit his " ladye love." With this view, he ob- 
 tained leave of absence from his regiment, and, in 
 company with Lord Cranstown, took his passage 
 in a Dutch vessel, but he was destined to suffer 
 fresh delay and disappointment. They were cap- 
 tured by a French privateer, and taken to France 
 as prisoners of war ; they were afterwards re- 
 leased on their parole, as, by a private article in 
 the treaty between the two countries, officers 
 taken in neutral ships were not to be considered 
 in the light of prisoners of war. 
 
 After a short stay in England, his marriage 
 was happily completed, and he set out, with liis 
 bride, to rejoin his regiment in Barbadoes. 
 
 Of the happiness of that marriage he spoke in 
 terms of rapture, even in a ship, where he 
 " thought each day too soon ended." But they 
 had scarcely reached Barbadoes before they were 
 
110 LIEUTENANT-COLONEL HARRIS 
 
 exposed to one of those trials that must ever 
 attend military marriages. Major Harris was 
 sent upon an expedition, the destination of which 
 was a secret. Some days passed in this most 
 painful state of separation and anxiety, when the 
 abandonment of the expedition restored him in 
 safety; yet short was this gleam of happiness. 
 The usual exchange of regiments taking place, 
 the 5th was one of those that were to return to 
 England in the summer of 1780 ; but as the time 
 was rather uncertain, and Mrs. Harris's situation 
 rendered it absolutely necessary for her to be 
 settled in some comfortable place by a certain 
 day, another separation was unavoidable. 
 
 The journal which Mrs. Harris wrote of her 
 lonely voyage home beautifully describes her feel- 
 ings on this distressing occasion. After much of 
 trial and suffering, she arrived at Plymouth ; but, 
 to her inexpressible joy. Major Harris reached that 
 port the day before she gave birth to a daughter, 
 who, happily for all connected with her, has in- 
 herited the tender affections of her mother, and 
 the fortitude and sense of her noble father. 
 
 In December of this year Major Harris was 
 promoted to the rank of lieutenant- colonel, and 
 ordered, with his regiment, to Ireland. During 
 his passage an opportunity happened for the dis- 
 play of his own great presence of mind, and his 
 influence over others. The transport which con- 
 veyed his regiment was commanded by a most 
 
IS ORDERED TO IRELAND. Ill 
 
 incompetent captain, who had lost all anthority 
 over his crew. They declared that they would 
 obey no commands but those of Colonel Harris, 
 and nothing- but his energy and composure in the 
 midst of the greatest dangers and difficulties, 
 saved the vessel from being- dashed to pieces on 
 the Old Head of Kinsale, as the following- narra- 
 tive most feelingly describes. It was written by 
 Mrs. Harris, nine years after the event, for the 
 information of her children during- their father's 
 absence in the East Indies in the first war with 
 Tippoo. 
 
 After describing- a boisterous passage down 
 the Channel, and their being forced to take shelter 
 in Plymouth, she begins : — " We had but little 
 reason to conceive a high opinion of our ship's 
 captain ; for being on deck at the time we weighed 
 anchor at Catwater, I could not help observing 
 his strange conduct, and evident stupidity. His 
 directions to the men were always given with a 
 vulgar imperiousness, highly disgusting. But 
 being very nearly thrown at that time into a very 
 dangerous situation, by the impropriety of his 
 own orders, he had the meanness to descend to 
 the grossest flattery, and abjectly entreated those 
 to obey him, whom before he had abused and 
 derided. At last we bore away, after our whim- 
 sical commodore ; who veered and tacked about, 
 just as the fancy took him ; and except our own, 
 scarcely a vessel was with him, when we made 
 
112 SAVES THE VESSEL FROM SHIPWRECK. 
 
 the Irish coast. Cork was the port we were 
 bound for : and the Leander being a fine sailing* 
 ship, was far a-head of our heavy transport, and 
 with the help of glasses, our mariners easily saw 
 her making all the sail she could into the harbour, 
 leaving us exposed on that dangerous coast, to a 
 foul wind, hazy weather, and a rolling sea. Our 
 silly captain fretted, and in short, did not know 
 what course to follow ; but said if your father 
 approved it, the ship should be put about, and 
 we would try to make Kinsale. The proposal was 
 readily agreed to, our situation now becoming 
 very serious. A signal being made for a pilot, 
 one soon came on board, and your dear father 
 took me on deck, to observe how curiously the 
 vessel would be navigated, in the narrowest chan- 
 nel I ever beheld. The Old Head of Kinsale, a 
 most tremendous jutting-out rock, was at the 
 mouth of the harbour, and we should have run 
 far within it, but we were so unfortunate as to 
 have a pilot so besotted, he did not take sufficient 
 notice of what he was doing, and brought the 
 ship to, just abreast of this frightful place : how- 
 ever, our anchor got pretty good hold, and satisfied 
 by the Irishman's assurance of our safety, we 
 resigned ourselves to remaining on board that 
 night, it being too boisterous to venture a boat 
 out; and though we concluded the ship was in 
 good anchorage, I could not help observing, she 
 rolled more violently than I ever experienced in 
 
MRS. Harris's narrative. 113 
 
 the severest storm when under sail. The hopes 
 that our voyage was just at an end, put me into 
 the greatest spirits ; and I went to bed with a 
 light heart, though the motion of the ship was 
 intolerable, and the tempest howled most dread- 
 fully without. Early in the morning I was 
 awakened by the firing of a gun from the quarter- 
 deck ; several succeeded, and on looking about, I 
 found your dear father had left his bed. On 
 hearing I was awake, he came immediately to me. 
 The guns had alarmed me. I knew they were 
 signals of distress, and began to apprehend some- 
 thing dreadful in our situation. With that admi- 
 rable composure and presence of mind for which 
 your excellent father is so distinguished, he endea- 
 voured to explain away my fears ; soothed me by 
 a tenderness that was delightful ; and spoke the 
 sweetest comfort, even when in immediate prospect 
 of the pangs of death. I grew perfectly com- 
 posed, and he went again upon deck, where I 
 afterwards found his presence was of the utmost 
 consequence, in encouraging and commanding 
 the men, who had positively declared they would 
 obey no orders but his ; and indeed his wonderful 
 exertion saved the ship, and of course all the souls 
 on board. The bustle above increasing, I called 
 to our man-servant, who was waiting at my cabin 
 door, desiring to know what they were doing. 
 ' Oh madam (said he), we are lost people ! they 
 
 I 
 
114 MRS. Harris's narrative. 
 
 cannot keep the ship off the dreadful rock ; you 
 may see it not a stone's throw from your cabin 
 window. We have been in a most perilous situa- 
 tion the whole night.' The imprudent fellow soon 
 perceived the effects of his rashness by my coun- 
 tenance, and brought his master instantly to me ; 
 finding- all evasion was now impracticable, he said, 
 our situation was undoubtedly a bad one, but a 
 boat was coming- off shore immediately for us ; 
 that I must keep up my spirits, and all would 
 soon be well. At the same time strengthening 
 my fainting resolution, by reminding me what 
 mercies we had received at the hands of our 
 bountiful Creator, who he doubted not would 
 add our present relief to the number. He took 
 me upon deck with him, for he durst not leave 
 the men, and he knew I was easiest by his side. 
 I will not distress your tender feelings with a 
 full description of the scene that now presented 
 itself to my view, but must say it was indeed 
 most terrifying; and added to all that was passing 
 on board, I saw the wretches waiting in numbers 
 on the shore, expecting our vessel would go to 
 pieces, and intent (as is their barbarous usage) on 
 plundering the wreck. From this dismal scene 
 my attention was roused by the expected boat 
 approaching near the ship. Your dear father was 
 making everything ready to get me into it, but 
 how that was to be accomplished, almost staggered 
 
MRS. Harris's narrative. 115 
 
 even his resolution. The ship rolled most violently, 
 what the sailors term gunnel-to ; and being- a 
 very large and light transport, it is impossible to 
 express the motion she suffered. However, by 
 your excellent father's and the mariners' exertions, 
 or rather by the immediate goodness of Almighty 
 Providence, Sally and I were got safely into the 
 boat ; you, my dear Nancy, shivering and crying, 
 being just taken from a warm bed, your dear 
 father, at the risk of his own precious life, depo- 
 sited safely in my arms. And now, my dear 
 children, the most dreadful part of my trial began. 
 ' My Nancy,' said your father, with a forced smile, 
 while I too plainly saw the starting tear, ^you 
 must now exert yourself, as I know you can do ; 
 I cannot, my heart, leave the ship at present, so I 
 commit you to the care of these worthy Irishmen. 
 In a few hours I shall follow you; be sure dinner 
 is prepared against I come, and wait till three.' 
 Oh! my children, think what I suffered in that 
 dreadful moment ! But there was no alternative. 
 He flew up the ship's side, while our boat, which 
 had sails, put off, quick as thought, to the shore. 
 My eyes, dimmed with tears, could not behold 
 long the vessel that contained my dear, dear trea- 
 sure ! while the boatmen, not considering how 
 shocking it must be to me to hear them mention 
 the great danger of the ship, spoke of nothing 
 else; and with warm, though rude language, 
 
 12 
 
116 MRS. Harris's narrative. 
 
 hoped tliat God would preserve the brave gentle- 
 man (meaning your dear father) in safety. It 
 blew a storm, and snowed very fast. I was 
 perishing with cold by the time we got to shore, 
 distracted with apprehensions, and hardly able to 
 keep my poor little Nancy at my breast. An 
 officer of the regiment attended to protect me ; 
 with whom, Sally, and our man-servant, I landed 
 at Kinsale. From the landing-place to the prin- 
 cipal inn we had a dreadful walk, the snow being 
 mid-leg deep ; and my poor babe cried so bitterly, 
 I was forced to carry her myself, though fatigue, 
 cold, and anguish, had rendered me almost unable 
 to support my own weight. Behold me now at 
 Kinsale, among perfect strangers, and in a country 
 equally strange, and my mind distracted by your 
 father's perilous situation. Yet be assured, my 
 dear children, I did not so lose myself in sorrow, 
 as to forget the many mercies the Almighty had 
 shown him in the greatest dangers ; and the re- 
 flection in whose hands he was, enabled me to 
 get through this weary day with more composure 
 than, on the retrospect, I can scarce think was 
 possible, but for that support, which I trust 
 throughout life the Almighty will bestow on ye, 
 my dear children, and which He graciously pro- 
 mises to all who implore his assistance and protec- 
 tion : * Seek and ye shall find ; knock and it shall 
 be opened unto you.' Surely no one can resist 
 
MRS. Harris's narrative. 117 
 
 this pressing invitation, so beneficial to their pur- 
 suits here, and so vital to their hopes hereafter. 
 
 " A little refreshment and dry clothes made us 
 somewhat more comfortable ; and I hoped the 
 promised hour would bless me with my dear hus- 
 band's arrival, which happy hope was, to all ap- 
 pearance, confirmed, by observing* a boat coming 
 to the shore. It came, but instead of your dear 
 father, brought a liote from him, telling me, ' the 
 ship was assuredly getting into safer anchorage ; 
 though he could not leave her till evening, yet I 
 might depend the danger was over.' I need not 
 describe the cruel disappointment I sustained — 
 indeed, the bare recollection, at this distant period, 
 is too much for my feelings. A melancholy and 
 almost untasted meal over, a long and sad after- 
 noon dragged on, and I became so ill, my maid 
 and kind hostess insisted on putting me to bed. 
 Wretched as I was, fatigue overpowered me, and 
 I had fallen asleep ; when our landlady, who had 
 before taken her leave, rapped at the door (which 
 Sally had fastened), requesting, with an '^ Arrah, 
 my dear honeys, let me in,' roused and alarmed me. 
 I would not let Sally comply with her demand, 
 which she repeated, and was again denied ; when 
 your father's well-known voice gained the desired 
 admittance. With what rapture the dear sound 
 broke upon my ear is not to be described — (at 
 present, indeed, it is impossible, as that satisfac- 
 
118 MRS. Harris's narrative. 
 
 tion is now beyond my reach, were I to oflfer my 
 life for it). Oh ! my dear children, will ye not 
 endeavour to make us some recompense for those 
 struggles your welfare has again obliged us to 
 submit to ? Remember the sacrifice we are 
 making ; be good and deserving, and sweet will 
 be our reward. 
 
 "The joy I felt in your dear father's being 
 restored to me, was much increased by the infor- 
 mation that the ship and crew were safe. Next 
 morning I had the pleasure of seeing my old ship- 
 mates safely landed, and sweet was the gratification 
 to me, when they all poured forth their warmest 
 thanks to your dear father, for his unabating 
 efforts and judicious conduct, it being clear to all 
 that it was owing to these the ship and so many 
 lives were saved. 
 
 " May ye, my dear children, make his example 
 the object of your constant imitation : so will ye 
 gain that love and reverence that ever follow his 
 name. Thus have I gone through a painful re- 
 cital, with as strict an adherence as possible to 
 truth, as my rising emotions, and starting tears 
 best prove. And to conclude the narrative, I 
 shall only observe to my beloved children that the 
 retrospect of past trials should inspire us with a 
 proper confidence, that all that follows will be 
 overcome, through the infinite goodness of our 
 Gracious Father who is in heaven, and on whom 
 
MRS. Harris's narrative. 119 
 
 I ardently pray my dear children may ever place 
 the firmest reliance. 
 
 Anne Cauteret Harris. 
 
 '■'■Long Toicriy September, 1789." 
 
 This artless and affectionate narrative of the 
 perils through which she had passed, and of the 
 feeling-s they excited, does justice and honour to 
 the warm heart of the writer, and will account for 
 the reluctance with which Colonel Harris conti- 
 nued in the path of glory and of danger. 
 
 When Mrs. Harris, whose infant daughter had 
 been rocked in the rude cradle of this tempes- 
 tuous voyage, had a little recovered from fatigue 
 and apprehension, Colonel Harris proceeded with 
 them to Kilkenny, where the beauty of the scenery 
 and the warm hospitality of the neighbourhood, 
 and of some friends who had known him during 
 his former residence in Ireland, made them an 
 agreeable abode. But it did not continue long ; 
 for the report of a French invasion required that 
 the 5th Regiment should march immediately to 
 Limerick, where Mrs. Harris increased the sources 
 of her husband's affection by giving birth to a son 
 (the present Lord Harris). He was subsequently 
 stationed in various parts of Ireland, when the 
 prospect of a numerous family, added to an innate 
 love of retirement and country pursuits, prompted 
 him to make several attempts to sell his commis- 
 
120 RESIDENCE AT LONG TOWN. 
 
 sion. Preparatory thereto, he took a cottage at 
 Long- Town, on the borders of Scotland, during 
 the leave which he had from his regiment. Here 
 he lived for some time, whenever his military duties 
 admitted of his absence, but not without leaving 
 in the remembrance of the neighbourhood a warm 
 impression of his many excellent qualities, as I 
 had recently an opportunity of hearing, after a 
 lapse of more than fifty years. 
 
121 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Attempts to sell liis commission, and retire to Canada — Is pre- 
 vented by Sir AVilllam Medows, and persuaded to go with 
 him as Military Secretary and Aide-de-Camp to Bombay — 
 Their voyage and arrival there. 
 
 But all Colonel Harris's endeavours to sell his 
 commission failed, except one, and the negotia- 
 tion for this arrived at the very last stage of ful- 
 filment, so far as his own will, and the means of 
 the officer who was to purchase it from him, were 
 concerned. He went to London to receive the 
 money for his commission, intending to pro- 
 ceed with it, and settle with his family in 
 Canada. 
 
 On his arrival in London, he accidentally met 
 Sir William Medows in St. James's Street, and, 
 after mutual expressions of friendship and affec- 
 tion, awakened by the casual meeting of two such 
 comrades in past dangers, he explained the pur- 
 pose of his visit to town, and his future intentions. 
 Sir William listened with pain and impatience to 
 the story, and asked if he had actually received 
 the money, and if the new commission had been 
 positively signed by the king. He was told there 
 would be the delay of another day, in consequence 
 
122 FRIENDLY CONDUCT OF SIR W. MEDOWS. 
 
 of the Princess Amelia's death. "Then," said he, 
 " Harris, you shan't sell out — you shall go with 
 me as secretary and aide-de-camp : I am just ap- 
 pointed governor of Bombay, and your presence 
 will be a host to me. I'll go directly to the 
 agent, and stop the sale." He did accordingly, 
 and thus by the generous friendship of Sir Wil- 
 liam Medows, and the intervention of a kind 
 Providence, Colonel Harris was reserved for ano- 
 ther and a higher destiny. All the necessary 
 preparations were quickly made for their voyage 
 to Bombay. Colonel Harris exchanged from the 
 5th Regiment, then in Ireland, to the 76th, 
 serving in India, and a heavy burden of care was 
 taken from his mind, by a noble trait in the con- 
 duct of his kind friend, General Medows, who, 
 with his brother, the late Earl Manvers, advanced 
 4,000/. to insure Colonel Harris's life for the 
 benefit of his wife and family. This disinterested 
 act of friendship relieved him, in a great degree, 
 from the anxiety and apprehension he felt at 
 leaving his wife and children totally unprovided 
 for in the event of his death, and the conscious- 
 ness that he was doing his duty towards them in 
 the step he was taking, lessened the bitter pangs 
 of separation. 
 
 His next letter is to his cousin, Mrs. Dyer, who 
 had promised to be the faithful companion of his 
 wife and family during his absence : — 
 
LETTER TO MRS. DYER. 123 
 
 "Ship Winterton, August 'Jth, 1788. 
 
 " To convince my dear Bess that I not only 
 desire, but, to the best of my abilities, attempt to 
 deserve, that she should continue a custom which 
 has so long given pleasure and profit to her friend, 
 I take the pen, full of the thought, that it is now 
 almost thirty years since you first became my kind 
 instructress in the use of it. How many tedious 
 hours of that time hast thou beguiled by thy ani- 
 mated epistles I How many has thy encourage- 
 ment induced me to employ better, I fear, than 
 they would otherwise have been disposed of! 
 Though Nature refused that I should rival my 
 kind mistress, I have sometimes the vanity to 
 think that she is not ashamed of her pupil. What 
 a satisfaction to your never-changing friend that 
 you are the willing assistant of his beloved wife 
 in attempting to make his dear infants what you 
 wished him to be ! My dear Anne Elizabeth's 
 first performances with the pencil are enshrined 
 in their proper cases, are watched and visited with 
 more affection than a miser's gold. Thy ring, my 
 Bess, is a continued circle of joy to me ; faithful 
 memory is at least every hour of the day at dear 
 Long Town, and often in the night we are not 
 divided. Bright hope, heaven's kind comforter, 
 often leads me to the time when thy sweet (and I 
 trust prophetic) pictm-e of the last 18th March* 
 
 * His birthday. 
 
124 THE JOHANNA ISLANDS. 
 
 shall be realized, and resignation to that Provi- 
 dence, who orders all for good, is wonderfully my 
 companion. Here, my dear friend, your last pre- 
 sent is become more valuable than you may, 
 perhaps, have yet ventured to hope. Never at 
 any time have I experienced such satisfaction in 
 the perusal of the Scriptures as on this passage. 
 The mild plain doctrines of our Saviour leave a 
 calm the breath of man cannot give. 
 
 " We are now, my Bess, beginning to be on 
 the stretch of expectation ; again we have crossed 
 the line, and are within a few days' sail of our 
 destined port. We made Madagascar at sunset 
 on the 8th, but I did not see it, which I know you 
 will wonder at, for I might, by only going to the 
 mast-head, whence only it was visible. To it we 
 were obliged, in a great degree, for our smooth 
 sailing; protected by its shores from the vast body 
 of the Indian ocean, we glided with almost im- 
 perceptible motion in five days to Johanna. Here 
 we landed, and found the scenes of Tinian (as 
 described in Anson's Voyages,) even exceeded ; 
 with all its natural beauties it has the advantage 
 of being inhabited. The present lords of the 
 soil are descendants from Arab freebooters, who 
 have conquered and made slaves of the abori- 
 gines. They pretend to be strongly attached to 
 the English by gratitude for supplying them with 
 arms to keep their rebeUious subjects in order. 
 To the credit of the India Company, they have an 
 
THIEVISH HABITS OF THE ISLANDERS. 125 
 
 excuse for this, besides the convenience of the 
 place to them. Two ships that were wrecked 
 here had not only many lives saved by the Mus- 
 sulmen, but all the cargo that could be got on 
 shore. They seem to pride themselves on being- 
 called after our titles, and very few present their 
 letters of recommendation with a lower title than 
 that of baron ; they are in general handsome in 
 their person, with a great deal of air and most 
 insinuating address. Pity that I can't conclude 
 this panegyric, without observing that, like the 
 Chinese, they cannot help being of a thievish dis- 
 position. Lord Combermaddy, mine and my friend 
 Hart's washerman, who had been particularly 
 well treated, given a great many things by Hart, 
 and amply paid by me, besides giving him the 
 epaulet from my shoulder (value half a dollar, I 
 dare say) w^anted the servant out of the next 
 cabin to put his master's pewter basin into his 
 canoe, and say it had been stolen, which four 
 others had actually been the same day. 
 
 " My man John, who is very quick-sighted on 
 such occasions, does not perceive that we have 
 lost anything but a bottle of Goulard and water, 
 that had been mixed to bathe my eye, and which, 
 from the look of the bottle, they had taken for 
 smell water, their term for lavender. Here, alas ! 
 suspicion falls strongly on the Prince of Wales's 
 second son, but it was probably for his mistress ; 
 and, from the respect I bear the royal family, I 
 
126 JOHN BEST. 
 
 would not press the inquiry too close, for fear of 
 disgracing- him. 
 
 " Adieu^ my dear Bess. If this should fail to 
 amuse, you have still the satisfaction of knowing 
 that it has stolen a few moments from me which 
 anxiety might have rendered tedious. 
 
 Believe me ever 
 
 Your sincere and affectionate friend whilst 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 The servant alluded to in this letter, by name 
 John Best, or the best of Johns (as Sir William 
 Medows described him in the bequest which he 
 made of a sword to him in his will), was a most 
 faithful and attached creature, and (in subsequent 
 years) raised himself by his merit to an honest 
 independence. In consequence of his gallant 
 conduct, as one of the forlorn hope at the storm 
 of Seringapatam, which he insisted upon going on, 
 he was offered a commission in the army. This 
 he had the good sense to decline, and be satisfied 
 with the more suitable post of a commissary of 
 ordnance. When desperately wounded in the 
 bed of the river Cavery, he sat upon a rock, and 
 cheered the men as they passed to the storm of 
 the breach. Mrs. Harris, thinking that her hus- 
 band would be too much occupied in his nume- 
 rous duties to write often to her during his ab- 
 sence, had desired John Best to send an account 
 of him whenever he had an opportunity. I can- 
 
JOHN best's letter. 127 
 
 not withhold from the reader the following amus- 
 ing specimen of his epistolary talents. 
 
 " Bombay, January 9, 1789. 
 
 " Madam, 
 
 " It gives me great pleasure to inform you, 
 by the ship Prince JVllUam Henry, which is 
 thought to be the first ship to London from this 
 coast, and I am glad to inform you that my 
 master is in perfect good health, and in a very 
 comfortable healthy situation at present, and I 
 hope you will receive this in good health and 
 prosperity. And ever since we left London, 
 Madam, there has been a great many pleasant 
 affairs past, which did give me the greatest com- 
 fort in the world ; for to see concerning my master 
 on board the IVinterton — we had not been long 
 on board, before they all see'd, from my master's 
 good pleasant looks and civil behaviour, that he 
 was the sensiblest man on board, and in a short 
 time they all became so very much pleased with 
 him, that they did ask his advice at all times, for 
 he perfectly at last gained all their favours ; and 
 if he had wanted any favour, or asked the captain 
 to forgive any man when he was angry, it was 
 always granted. And when we landed at Bom- 
 bay, in two days all was ready to entertain the 
 gentlemen when they came to dine with the Go- 
 vernor, for e/ery day there is twelve or twenty 
 different men at least every day, and they do 
 make very free and pass the time cheerfully, which 
 
128 JOHN best's letter. 
 
 is very pleasant to see ; for I have often thought 
 in my breast, if you did see how my master makes 
 all the gentlemen so happy, it wou'd in the first 
 plaee, it would surprise any person for to see, it 
 is so well carried on. And my master sits at the 
 head of the table, and the General at the side, for 
 he gives all the care to my master, and he gives 
 the gentlemen many broad hints that it is all 
 Col. Harris's, which makes it appear very plea- 
 sant to me for to see them at all times like two 
 brothers. The Governor very often tells the gen- 
 tlemen some good story concerning Col. Harris, 
 and they both agree in the same in such good 
 nature, that it makes it very pleasant; and my 
 master always drinks a glass of wine with every 
 strange gentleman at table, and sometimes a great 
 many, to the great pleasure of all the people at 
 table ; it looks so well, that when any strange 
 gentleman comes to dine the first time, they seem 
 quite surprised, and all the time keep their eyes 
 fixed upon my master ; so, I think, the best com- 
 parison I can make is, they look as if they were 
 all his own children. But I am sorry to see the 
 gentlemen live so fast ; but, to my great comfort, 
 my master is as careful as ever he was at home, 
 and in every particular careful of his self. And 
 this wine, you must know, that he drinks, is three 
 parts water. If you will put two glasses of water 
 and one of madeira, and then a little claret, you 
 will not perceive any difference, and the claret. 
 
JOHN best's letter. 129 
 
 one glass of water to one glass of claret. This I 
 always mind myself, and give him, when he calls 
 for madeira or claret. I hope, Madam, you will 
 forgive me for giving myself the great honour of 
 writing- to you. 
 
 I am, with respect. 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 John Best." 
 
 This letter, in its original spelling, would have 
 been more amusing and natural, but the copy in 
 Mrs. Dyer's hand-writing is alone forthcoming. 
 
130 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Proceeds with Sir "William Medows to Madras, and is enoaged 
 in the campaigns against Tippoo Sultaun in the years 1790, 
 1791, and 1792 — Returns to England at the close of that 
 war — Rejoins his regiment at Calcutta in October, 1794, and 
 is unexpectedly appointed Commander-in-Chief at Madras. 
 
 The remaining period of Colonel Harris's resi- 
 dence at Bombay passed very agreeably to him- 
 self and his chief, and when the appointment of 
 General Medows to be Governor of Madras called 
 him away, the inhabitants of Bombay expressed 
 their warm regret at his departure. 
 
 Soon after the arrival of General Medows and 
 Colonel Harris at Madras, Tippoo made an irrup- 
 tion into the Travancore country, and the Madias 
 army was ordered by the Governor-General of 
 India, Lord Cornwallis, to be immediately as- 
 sembled for the punishment of this wanton vio- 
 lation of the peace against one of the Company's 
 allies. 
 
 So soon as the army could be collected toge- 
 ther in the southern countries. General Medows 
 joined it, with Colonel Harris, as his military 
 secretary and principal aide-de-camp, and the fol- 
 lowing general order was published. It will be 
 found in the spirit of those which emanated from 
 
SIR W. MEDOWS' GENERAL ORDER. 131 
 
 the same source after the battle at the Vigie. (See 
 page 100.) 
 
 " Head Quarters, Camp, Trichinopoly Plain, 
 May 25, 1790. 
 
 " The Commander-in-Chief, Major-General 
 Medows, is happy to find himself at the head of 
 that army, whose appearance adorns the country 
 he trusts their bravery and discipline will save. 
 An army that is brave and obedient, that is patient 
 of labour, and fearless of danger, that surmounts 
 difficulties and is fulJ of resources, but, above all, 
 whose cause is just, has reason to hope to be in- 
 vincible against a cruel and ambitious tyrant, 
 whose savage treatment of his prisoners but too 
 many present have experienced ; however, should 
 the fortune of war put him into our hands, uncon- 
 taminated by his base example, let him be treated 
 with every act of humanity and generosity, and 
 enlightened, if possible, by a treatment so much 
 the reverse of his own. To a generous mind, a 
 fault acknowledged is a fault forgot ; and an 
 enemy in our power is an enemy no more. 
 
 " That the army and the Commander-in-Chief 
 may understand each other — and the sooner the 
 better, as there is nothing on earth he idolizes 
 more than a well-disciplined army, so there is 
 nothing on earth he detests and despises more 
 than the reverse — he is, therefore, determined to 
 make the severest examples of the few that may 
 
 K2 
 
132 CAMPAIGNS AGAINST TIPPOO SULTAUN. 
 
 dare to disgrace the army in general by a diffe- 
 rent conduct. No plunderers will be shown the 
 smallest mercy : he is resolved to make examples 
 severe, in the hope of making them rare, and 
 would think it one of the greatest blessings he 
 could enjoy to make none at all. Among the 
 first wishes of his heart is the army's reputation 
 and success ; but it must be prepared for hard- 
 ships, and to endure them — for difficulties, and to 
 surmount them — for numerous enemies, and to 
 beat them." 
 
 Colonel Harris was present with General 
 Medows during the whole of the campaigns of 
 1790, 1791, and 1792, particularly at the storming 
 parties of the Pettah of Bangalore, and of the 
 fortresses of Bangalore, Saverndroog, and Nundy- 
 droog. In the action of the 15th of May, 1791, 
 he was appointed by Lord Cornwallis to com- 
 mand the second line of the army, and was per- 
 sonally engaged in his Lordship's attack on 
 Tippoo's fortified camp and the island of Seringa- 
 patam on the night of the 6th of February, 1 792, 
 the success of which terminated that war. 
 
 Peace being restored. Colonel Harris left Ma- 
 dras, with Sir William Medows, in August, 1792, 
 and, before they embarked for England, had the 
 gratification of manifesting his grateful sense of 
 the affectionate attachment and unbounded con- 
 fidence which his gallant chief had always reposed 
 
ANECDOTE OF SIR VV. MEDOWS. 133 
 
 in him^ by placing at his disposal more than 
 40,000/., which had been accnmnlated by his 
 daily care of the General's financial concerns. 
 This sum was the residue of his allowances as 
 Commander-in-Chief and Governor, after pro- 
 viding liberally for all the expenses of his high 
 station, and there are some yet living who re- 
 member the ample hospitality of Sir William's 
 table. Those of Sir William's friends, who well 
 knew his careless habits about money, and his 
 indifference to every thing but military fame, were 
 surprised at the amount of his savings, and when 
 they inquired how he had contrived to get such a 
 sum, he replied, with his characteristic brevity and 
 truth, " Harris knows how he scraped it together, 
 but I don't." 
 
 After a year passed in the society of his family 
 and friends in England, Colonel Harris proceeded 
 with Mrs. Harris and his eldest daughter, to join 
 his regiment, then in Calcutta. He arrived there 
 in October, 1794, and was immediately appointed 
 to the command of Fort WilUam, where he re 
 mained occupied in the cheerful manner described 
 in his letters to Mrs. Dyer, to whose ability, dili- 
 gence, and warm affection, I am indebted for the 
 facility and fidelity with which the preceding part 
 of Colonel Harris's life has been detailed. 
 
 But his philosophy was about to be put to a 
 disagreeable trial by his promotion to the rank of 
 Major-General. All his life looking forward to 
 
134 COLONEL HARRIS APPOINTED MAJOR-GENERAL. 
 
 quiet and comfortable retirement for his latter 
 days, " it was (to use his own words) only the 
 great advantage likely to accrue to my children 
 and some few friends, that could have brought 
 me to Calcutta, and to have those prospects cut 
 off by a rank that will probably do no one good, 
 may be allowed a trial of our fortitude. Record 
 it then, our historian, that we are enabled to wait 
 the event with due resignation, and even to look 
 forward to its consequences rather as a general 
 than an individual concern. Nay, I am not sure, 
 but to some of us the greatest disappointment will 
 be to stay. Having done our parts in making 
 the exertion, the being forced back to the privacy 
 of a country-life, which we tore ourselves from, 
 will be sensibly felt (as we ought to endeavour to 
 receive all the dispensations of Providence) as a 
 blessing, and be attended with no regret, but as 
 it reduces our powers of assistance to those who 
 may look to us. Is not this talking very philoso- 
 phically, on descending from seven thousand a-year 
 to three hundred ? — the latter the amount of my 
 lieutenant-colonel's pay in England ; and whether 
 my generalship may add two or three hundred, if 
 they bring me back, is very uncertain. Indeed, 
 the many political claims on Government, leave 
 the soldier unconnected with parliamentary inte- 
 rest, little chance in the piping times of peace, 
 and those, thank God, I am too good a citizen 
 not to wish may speedily arrive, and last long. 
 
CONCLUSION OF MRS. DYEr's JOURNAL. 135 
 
 Your god-daughter is all you can wish her, and 
 gives every possible proof that she will one day be 
 as respectable at the head of her family as her 
 mother is and ever has been." 
 
 Happily for General Harris and all connected 
 with hinij the fear of his being compelled to re- 
 tui-n home was soon removed by his promotion to 
 the rank of Lieutenant-General, and his appoint- 
 ment to be Commander-in-Chief at Madras, with 
 a seat in the Council. Upon this Mrs. Dyer 
 observes in her Journal : — 
 
 " As these appointments will infallibly enable 
 him to fulfil all his parental and philanthropic 
 purposes, I flatter myself I may be permitted to 
 behold my heart's best treasures in this world ; 
 but should the Omnipotent decree otherwise, I 
 have the consolation to believe I shall live in their 
 kind remembrance. And if the events I have 
 recorded in these pages are permitted to be the 
 means of stimulating my dear children to virtue, 
 and of deterring them from vice — if the letters in 
 answer to my dearest Nancy's queries preserve 
 them from errors in matters of faith — if those to 
 your uncle Thomas conduce to the constant prac- 
 tice of rational and sincere piety and morality, I 
 shall not have lived in vain. 
 
 " May ye, my dear children, inherit the virtues 
 of your parents — may those virtues ever live and 
 be remembered by you, that the name of Harris 
 may be respectable to the latest posterity. 
 
136 GENERAL HARRIS IS APPOINTED 
 
 " And now, with the utmost satisftiction, I 
 resign my post of historiographer and biographer 
 to one not only well qualified to be my successor, 
 but who, I hope and trust, will enjoy the advan- 
 tages of health and ease long, very long, steady 
 nerves, and good spirits, to mark and remark 
 occurrences as they arise. 
 
 " To me some of these desirable requisites 
 were wanting long ere I began thus reviewing 
 life's eventful page. It was your dear father's 
 wish I should attempt it, though little did he or 
 I think then, that our dear daughter would put 
 the finishing hand to it." 
 
 If the narrative were to close here, enough 
 has been already written to prove that General 
 Harris was a man of generous affections, high 
 courage, and sound understanding ; he had, more- 
 over, shown, from his earliest years, a calmness 
 of temper, which enabled him to meet all tempt- 
 ations and dangers with unyielding firmness. 
 These qualities, graced as they were in his inter- 
 course with the world by much personal courtesy, 
 were greatly enhanced to his family and friends 
 by the constant exercise of an affectionate, grate- 
 ful, and pious heart. 
 
 From this period of his life he is to be seen 
 in a wider sphere of action, and to be estimated 
 for his conduct, whilst holding high command in 
 the King's and East India Company's service. 
 
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AT MADRAS. 137 
 
 In the month of January, 1797, he received at 
 Calcutta the unexpected intellig-ence of his ap- 
 pointment to command the army of Madras, with 
 a seat in the Council, and the rank of Lieutenant- 
 General ; he accordingly proceeded, with all prac- 
 ticable expedition, to Madras, and entered upon 
 his duties as Commander-in-Chief in the following- 
 month. 
 
 After a short experience of his position in the 
 Council at Madras, he felt that the military 
 patronag;e was so entirely in the hands of the 
 civil governmentj as to be detrimental to the 
 public service ; he therefore discharged an indis- 
 pensable but painful duty in claiming tlie right of 
 primary recommendation of military officers for 
 regimental and other services, which had no poH- 
 tical or civil character. The Court of Directors 
 thought his representations reasonable, and deter- 
 mined that several of the military appointments 
 which he had specified might be properly trans- 
 ferred to the recommendation of the Commander- 
 in-Chief, who had the best means of appreciating 
 the merits and qualities of those under his imme- 
 diate authority. The officers of the Madras army 
 were hence indebted to Lord Harris for the better 
 opportunities which their chief has since enjoyed 
 of recommending and rewarding them. 
 
138 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Succeeds to the charge of the civil government of Madras — 
 Lord Morningtou arrives as Governor-General of India, and 
 sends orders from Calcutta for assembling the Madras army 
 to defend the Company's territories against the designs of 
 Tippoo and the French — Consternation created at Madras by 
 this order — Narrative of the measures adopted by General 
 Harris in execution of Lord Mornington's orders. 
 
 Scarcely had a year elapsed in his exercise of 
 the duties of Commander-in-Chief, when General 
 Harris was appointed to take charge of the civil 
 government of Madras, and in February, 1 798, he 
 succeeded to the President's chair. 
 
 Whilst he was in the discharge of the united 
 duties of Governor and Commander-in-Chief, the 
 Earl of Mornington arrived in Madras roads as 
 Governor-General of India, on the 22nd of May, 
 1798, — a day ever to be remembered in the annals 
 of British India, because we date from it a new 
 and splendid £Era in our history. 
 
 Being then private secretary to General 
 Harris, I was directed by him to proceed on board 
 the Syhille to congratulate the Governor-General 
 on his arrival, and during his residence at Madras 
 his Lordship permitted me to have daily inter- 
 course with him. I mention this circumstance 
 here, that the reader may know that I had ample 
 
LORD MORNINGTON's ARRIVAL IN INDIA. 139 
 
 opportunities of becoming intimately acquainted 
 with the progress of the matters I have under- 
 taken to relate, and as the proof of my disposition 
 to profit by these opportunities, I insert in the 
 Appendix fthe noble earl's own representation of 
 the manner in which I was then employed. 
 
 I cannot, however, refer to Lord Mornington's 
 letter, without expressing the pride I feel in the 
 commendation his Lordship was pleased to confer 
 on me — conferred, too, entirely without my know- 
 ledge at the time, and for nearly forty years after- 
 wards ; for until his Lordship's correspondence 
 during his administration in India was recently 
 published by Mr. Montgomery Martin, I knew 
 nothing of Lord Mornington's letter, of July, 
 1798, to Lord Clive. It is impossible for me, 
 however, not now to feel, and it would ill become 
 me not to acknowledge, that I owe to that letter 
 much of the good fortune which has attended my 
 own course of public service. But the sentiments 
 of admiration which I have often expressed of 
 Lord Wellesley's Indian administration, in the 
 House of Commons, at the Court of Proprietors, 
 and in later times in Minutes written whilst I was 
 Governor of Madras, proceeded from a deep sense 
 of the inestimable value and importance of the 
 services which his Lordship rendered to the Com- 
 pany and the nation during his brilliant career as 
 Governor-General, and not from the overflowings 
 of personal gratitude. 
 
140 HIS CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 In this long- interval of time I have never 
 forgot the impression made npon me by the dig- 
 nified manner in which his Lordship condncted, 
 and the kind temper in which he terminated, 
 though unsuccessfully, his negotiation with the 
 Nabob of the Carnatic, referred to in that letter 
 to Lord Clive, in July, 1798. The report which I 
 made of this to General Harris confirmed all his 
 own impressions of the high qualities which after- 
 wards shone with such lustre in the career of the 
 noble earl ; and the confidence which this inspired 
 in the mind of General Harris was soon called into 
 active exercise in the important affairs described in 
 the following correspondence : — 
 
 (Secret.) "-Fort William, 9th June, 1798. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 "Although I imagine that the enclosed 
 proclamation must have reached you, I think it 
 most advisable to transmit a copy of it to you. 
 There seems to be so little doubt that the procla- 
 mation really was published at the Mauritius, 
 that it must become a matter of serious discus- 
 sion between this Government and Tippoo. How 
 such a discussion may terminate, it is impossible 
 to say ; perhaps the result of it may be to prove 
 that M. Malartie has exaggerated, or wholly mis- 
 represented the intentions of Tippoo : but, on the 
 other hand, if Tippoo should choose to avow the 
 objects of his embassy to have been such as are 
 
WITH GENERAL HARRIS. 141 
 
 described in the proclamation, the consequences 
 may be very serious, and may ultimately involve 
 us in the calamity of war. I wish you to be ap- 
 prised of my apprehensions on this subject, and 
 to prepare your mind for the possible event. You 
 will, therefore, turn your attention to the means 
 of collecting a force, if necessity should unfortu- 
 nately require it ; but it is not my desire that 
 you should proceed to take any public steps to- 
 wards the assembling of the army, before you 
 receive some further intimation from me. 
 
 I am, &c., 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 " To Lieutenant-General Harris, 
 " Fort St. George." 
 
 ''Madras, 23rdJicne, 1798. 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 " Your Lordship's favour of the 9th is just 
 arrived. Sir Hugh Christian sent the proclama- 
 tion to this Government by the same opportunity 
 as to yours, and we had the honour to forward 
 your Lordship our answer to Sir Hugh the 7th 
 instant. 
 
 "For my own part, I have no doubt (as 
 matters now stand with the French) but that 
 Tippoowill explain away our just grounds of com- 
 plaint, although convinced he has committed him- 
 self to the full extent of the proclamation. 
 
 " His inveteracy to us will end only with his 
 
142 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 life, and he will always seize any ojDportunity that 
 offers to annoy us ; but notwithstanding this, and 
 that the political circumstances of India are now 
 much in our favour, it perhaps still remains matter 
 of serious consideration whether, in our very 
 great want of money, and the effect our being 
 engaged in war in this country may have on the 
 affairs of Europe, it would not be better that he 
 should be allowed to make the amende honor- 
 able, if he be so inclined, than that we should 
 avail ourselves of the error he has run into, and 
 endeavour to punish him for his insolence. On 
 my part, your Lordship may depend on my fol- 
 lowing your instructions most implicitly, in 
 respect of my secresy on this point, and until I 
 hear further from you, I shall only quietly move a 
 battalion or two towards the point of assembly, 
 and one of which was predetermined for the place 
 it will now go to. The 36th Regiment might 
 move from Pondicherry to Arnee, as we have in 
 the latter unoccupied barracks for Europeans ; 
 but for this I must wait Sir Alured Clarke's 
 final determination on that corps. A supply of 
 grain to our garrisons is actually in forward- 
 ness according to regulation, and it will be very 
 easy to make additions when necessary without 
 any suspicions arising. It was very pleasing to 
 hear that your Lordship has some cash to send 
 us ; but it is necessary you should understand that 
 the whole mentioned will not more than make up 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 143 
 
 our known deficiency to the end of September, 
 and our debts are so injurious to our credit, that 
 until something- is done in liquidation of them, 
 we cannot expect to raise a rupee by loan. 
 
 " I have taken up more of your Lordship's 
 time than I intended ; but the friendly confidence 
 you honoured me with during- the pleasant visit 
 you made us, has left such an impression on my 
 mind, that you have my thoughts as they rise 
 without disguise, or the least fear of misconstruc- 
 tion. Mrs. Harris, my daughter, and Mr. Lush- 
 ington, join in kind and respectful remembrances 
 with 
 
 My dear Lord, Yours, &c., 
 
 George Harris." 
 " The, Earl of Mornington" 
 
 (Secret.) To Lieut.-Gen. Harris. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " You have, before this time, received my 
 letter, enclosing- M. Malartie's proclamation, and 
 advising you of the probability of my being under 
 the necessity of making- a serious representation 
 to Tippoo Sultaun on that subject. I now take 
 the earliest opportunity of acquainting- you with 
 my final determination. I mean to call upon the 
 Allies without delay, and to assemble the army of 
 the coast with all possible expedition. You will 
 receive my public instructions in the course of a 
 few days. Until you have received them^, it will 
 
144 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 not be pi'opcr to take any public steps for the 
 assembling- of the army, but whatever can ])e 
 done witliout a disclosure of the ultimate object, 
 I authorize you to do immediately, intending to 
 apprise you by this letter, that it is my positive 
 resolution to assemble the army upon the coast. 
 I wish to receive from you, by express, a state of 
 the force which you can put in motion immediately, 
 and within what time you can make any large 
 additions to it. 
 
 "By the same express, you will also have the 
 goodness to inform me what station you deem the 
 best for assembling a force, with a view of marching 
 directly to Seringapatam, and at what period the 
 army must move for that purpose, so as to reach 
 Seringapatam before the coast of Malabar shall 
 become safe for the approach of any naval force. 
 I will send you, as soon as possible, the largest 
 supply in specie which I can procure. 
 
 " If you could despatch your answer to my 
 questions by any fast-sailing vessel, and could 
 send with your answers any intelligent officer who 
 might be capable of entering into all the details 
 of your force, of the seasons, and all other cir- 
 cumstances connected with the object of striking 
 a sudden blow against Tippoo, before he can 
 receive any foreign aid, you would greatly 
 assist me in the arrangement of my measures, 
 upon this serious occasion. 
 
 " You may rely on my unremitting attention 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 145 
 
 to whatever communications you may make to 
 me, and upon my most cordial support in all your 
 exertions. You will, of course, feel the absolute 
 necessity of keeping the contents of this letter 
 secret. 
 
 I am, &c., 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 Upon the receipt of this important letter, 
 General Harris proceeded without a moment's 
 delay in the execution of the different measures 
 required. By the post of that day, I wrote, by 
 his desire, to Major Beatson, the officer he thought 
 most capable of affording all the information re- 
 quired by Lord Mornington, the following letter. 
 
 " Fort George, July 3, 1798. 
 " Dear Beatson, 
 
 " I am directed by General Harris to desire 
 you will proceed to Masulipatam with all practi- 
 cable expedition, and be in readiness to embark 
 on a ship which will call for you at that port. It 
 will bring instructions for your guidance in a 
 secret service on which you are to be employed, 
 that will not be unpleasant to you. The General 
 recommends that you take with you all papers 
 and maps that can give information relative to the 
 Peninsula, and that you keep this communication 
 entirely secret. 
 
 Ever yours, sincerely, 
 
 S. R. LUSHINGTON." 
 
146 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 After an anxious night of meditation upon the 
 probable consequences of Lord Mornington's mo- 
 mentous communication, General Harris sent me 
 with the earl's letter to Mr. J. Webbe, tlie chief 
 secretary, that the matter might be confidentially 
 brought before the next council board. 
 
 As I had enjoyed many opportunities of be- 
 coming acquainted with the great attainments of 
 this extraordinary man, and knew with what de- 
 ference his opinions were regarded in the settle- 
 ment, I was dismayed by the expressions of asto- 
 nishment and alarm which this communication 
 called forth from Mr. Web be, which were too 
 remarkable to be ever forgot by me. 
 
 Our unprepared state for war, in the absence 
 of a large portion of our troops in the Eastern 
 Islands ; our empty treasury, and bankrupt credit 
 at Madras ; all the horrors of Hyder's merciless 
 invasion of the Carnatic, of Tippoo's sanguinary 
 destruction of Colonel Baillie's detachment, Sir 
 Hector Munro's disgraceful retreat to Madras, 
 and the first failure of Lord Cornwallis against 
 Seringapatam, rushed at once into Mr. Webbe's 
 mind, after reading Lord Mornington's letter, and 
 he exclaimed with bitterness and grief, " I can 
 anticipate nothing but a return of shocking disas- 
 ters from a premature attack upon Tippoo in our 
 present disabled condition, and the impeachment 
 of Lord Mornington for his temerity*." 
 
 * I have recently heard an anecdote so illustrative of the able 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 147 
 
 When I reported this interview to General 
 Harris, he was ninch embarrassed, fearing- that 
 the two Members of Council, who were naturally 
 timid men, would take their tone from the as- 
 cendant mind of the Chief Secretary ; and being- 
 himself vested only with a temporary authority, 
 he foresaw great difficulty in executing- Lord 
 Mornington's wishes with promptitude and suc- 
 cess. After a little pause, however, he said, " J 
 iam too old a soldier not to know that my own 
 course is quite clear : I will follow orders to the 
 utmost limit of my means, and leave the issue in 
 higher hands." 
 
 His own subsequent communication with Mr. 
 Webbe, and with the council, entirely confirmed 
 these anticipations, and he therefore desired the 
 Chief Secretary to state his opinions in writing, 
 that he might forward the paper to Lord Morn- 
 ington. In the mean time the following letter 
 was prepared to be sent to the earl : — 
 
 and fearless character of Mr. Webbe, that it deserves to be men- 
 tioned. 
 
 The numerous friends and admirers of this distinguished man, 
 besides erecting a public monument to his memory, published a 
 very large engraving of his portrait, done by Hickey at Madras, 
 ■which was not remarkable for the beauty of tlie garb in which it 
 was dressed. One of these prints is in the dining-room of the Duke 
 of Wellington at Strathfieldsaye, and attracted the curiosity of a 
 lady visitor, who asked the duke " who that man with such a 
 neckcloth and coat was meant for?" His Grace replied, "That 
 man was one of the ablest I ever knew, and what is more, one 
 of the honestest." 
 
 L 2 
 
148 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 '^Madras, Qth July, 1798. 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 " I received your Lordship's favour of the 
 20th ultimo late on Tuesday evening, the 3rd 
 instantj and I must confess that the momentous 
 importance and magnitude of the subject created 
 reflections which for the time totally absorbed 
 every other consideration. Adverting, however, 
 to your Lordship's wish of speedy communication, 
 my first step was to countermand the Bombay 
 frigate, on the eve of sailing as convoy to a trans- 
 port with stores for the fleet, and which the Victo- 
 rious took care of. 
 
 "I then directed my thoughts to find such 
 a description of person as your Lordship was 
 desirous should accompany my answer, and I 
 did not hesitate in fixing on Major Beatson as 
 particularly qualified to give your Lordship the 
 fullest satisfaction on every point that you may 
 refer to his judgment. An express was imme- 
 diately dispatched to him at Ellore with directions 
 to repair to Masulipatam with all possible expedi- 
 tion, where a vessel would touch for him with 
 further instructions, apprising him that for the 
 present he had only to take all his papers with 
 him that could be useful in giving information re- 
 specting the Peninsula, and to keep the commu- 
 nication made to him absolutely secret. 
 
 " Having effected these two points, it was too 
 late to take any further steps that evening, more 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 149 
 
 particularly as the official people I wanted had, I 
 found, left the Fort about the time your Lord- 
 ship's letter was received. 
 
 " Revolving the subject in my mind most part 
 of the night, the magnitude of the difficulties to 
 be encountered in an attempt to strike a sudden 
 blow against Tippoo, before he can receive any 
 foreign aid by the cessation of the monsoon on the 
 other coast, occurred to me so forcibly, and has by 
 subsequent reflection become so deeply impressed 
 upon my mind, that I should think myself cul- 
 pable, if I did not mention my thoughts on the 
 subject, even though your Lordship had not re- 
 quested information from me. Although the 
 same points have unquestionably occurred to your 
 Lordship, yet the practical experience of them 
 may readily be supposed to have made stronger 
 impressions on my mind than any that could have 
 been conveyed by a different way. The dilatori- 
 ness, indecision, and cowardice of our allies are 
 beyond belief to those who have not been eye- 
 witness to these qualities in them, and there is a 
 moral assurance that not one of them will take 
 the field, or be of the least use to us, even ad- 
 mitting that their own situation presented no 
 obstacle to their joining us, until we have secured 
 a position to cover their advance, or gained a 
 decided advantage over Tippoo. 
 
 " Thus they acted with Lord Cornwallis, and 
 as that conduct was governed by principles which 
 
150 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 have undergone no change, a re])etition of it must 
 be expected. From these data, it is to be argued 
 that any sudden blow must proceed entirely from 
 ourselves, and this cannot, I conceive, be at- 
 tempted without a very large reinforcement from 
 Bengal, aided by the Bombay army. When the 
 reinforcement from your presidency could join us 
 I need not speak of; but the Bombay army could 
 not begin to assemble until the cessation of the 
 monsoon on the other coast, the period at which 
 I understand your Lordship had hoped the im- 
 portant object in view would be in an advanced 
 state of accomplishment. The last is a difficulty 
 that might, perhaps, be rendered of less import- 
 ance by your Lordship's exertions in dispatching 
 a more ample force from Bengal ; but the difficul- 
 ties which press us here are, I fear, insuperable; 
 Draft and carriage cattle, even for the defensive 
 army, in Statement No. 1, cannot be collected to 
 enable us to do more than merely to reach the 
 Barrahmahal before the monsoon in October, or 
 to repel the incursion of an enemy. 
 
 "No. 2, from Mr. Cockburn, the best-informed 
 man, perhaps, in India on the subject, fixes nearly 
 the same period even for the equipment of the 
 defensive army ; but such a force as shall be 
 capable of undertaking the siege of Seringapatamy 
 with a reasonable prospect of success, could not, 
 in all probability, reach the place before the 1st 
 of February. 
 
 <^f. ^r^Y^ ^'^ty. ^-x rj, - ♦^■^^" 
 
 ^/- 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 151 
 
 "The last point I have to observe On is cer- 
 tainly the most material, — the feeding- of the army 
 when it has arrived at the point we wish. This 
 difficulty obliged Lord Cornwallis to relinquish 
 the idea of besieging Seringapatam the first time 
 he marched against it ; and but for the almost 
 despaired-of co-operation of the Mahrattas, it 
 would have been doubtful whether he would have 
 ever been able to return to it again. 
 
 "These considerations, the little dependence 
 to be placed in our allies, and the facility of com- 
 munication with the Bombay arffiy by Palagaut- 
 cherry, joined to the importance of possessing" 
 the Coimbatoor country, incline me at present 
 to be of opinion that when we engage in this 
 great undertaking, it will be advisable to do it 
 to the southward, by attempting the Caverri- 
 pooram Pass ; but this point, and the season 
 for the junction of the armies of the different 
 coasts, and for the final enterprise ; how far the 
 aid of the Nizam and Mahrattas, or one or other, 
 may be essential to our success in the attack ? 
 whether it may be practicable to subsist our 
 army during the siege without the assistance 
 of those native powers ? what posts should 
 be secured for magazines, so as to have the 
 shortest and most secure line of communica- 
 tion by which to receive supplies ? — and the 
 grand subject of brinjarries, whether the native 
 powers assist us or not ? are considerations on 
 
152 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 which there is not now any time for me to en- 
 large further, but on which, I can with confidence 
 refer your Lordship to Major Beatson for solid 
 information. Your Lordship will also find great 
 assistance from Lieutenant Colonel Scott; and on 
 the subject of feeding and carriage, I know no 
 one who can give you more correct information 
 than Captain Sandys, or on whom more depen- 
 dence can be placed for honest execution of 
 orders in that line. Notwithstanding, however, 
 the shortness of time and the aid your Lordship 
 will otherwise have from the practical knowledge 
 of the three gentlemen I have named, I should 
 have felt it incumbent on me to have stated my 
 sentiments in a more detailed and connected 
 manner, on a subject of such moment to the 
 national interests, if your Lordship had not the 
 advantage of Sir Alured's complete knowledge of 
 this army, and the resources of the Carnatic. 
 Upon the latter subject, your Lordship is also 
 perfectly informed from the pressing representa- 
 tions of this government, and the letter I had 
 before the pleasure to write to you, and both must 
 have convinced you that the whole expense of the 
 war must be borne by your presidency. 
 
 " Your Lordship may perhaps be inclined to 
 send the Bombay back immediately with trea- 
 sure ; if not, I think it necessary to mention that 
 we had intended to send her for Bombay when 
 the season for making a favourable passage should 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 153 
 
 arrive, in consequence of a communication from 
 Mr. Duncan, representing how much they re- 
 quired her assistance on that coast. 
 
 " Now, my dear Lord, having- taken such a 
 range of the subject as I trust you will not be 
 displeased with receiving, I have only to assure 
 you, that, however I may think it right to point 
 out difficulties, there can be none in your orders 
 that it may be my part to execute, which I. shall 
 not cheerfully and zealously attempt to overcome. 
 I should not, however, close this letter without 
 informing your Lordship that I have apprized 
 Admiral Rainier of the importance of preventing 
 any communication of the French with the 
 Malabar coast. 
 
 "The various subjects which press upon the 
 mind in deliberating upon this serious under- 
 taking, and the urgent necessity of a prompt 
 communication, render it far from improbable 
 but that some points may have been imperfectly 
 stated; if, however, upon a more mature consi- 
 deration any inaccuracy shall appear to have 
 crept in, your Lordship may be assured that I 
 shall have candour immediately to acknowledge 
 and correct the error. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 George Harris. 
 " P. S. For your Lordship's further informa- 
 tion, I send Colonel Close's answers to the 
 questions I put to him connected with this 
 
154 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 subject, to which I have subjoined such observa- 
 tions as have appeared to me necessary." 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Force ivhich it is supposed might be drawn toge- 
 ther at a convenient situation in the Carnatic. 
 
 Cavalry 
 
 19tli Reg. of Dragoons, effec- 
 tive, R. F. ... 380 
 25tli Reg. ditto . . 370 
 1st Native Regiment . . 400 
 2nd ditto ditto . . 400 
 3rd ditto ditto . . .400 
 4tli ditto ditto . . 400 
 
 2,.350 
 
 Artillery 
 
 1st Battalion 
 2nd ditto . 
 
 •.-.•. 
 
 European Infantry. 
 
 12tli Regiment 
 
 
 36th ditto . 
 
 . 
 
 
 73rd ditto 
 
 . 
 
 
 74th ditto . 
 
 . 
 
 Native Infantry 
 
 1st Battalion. 
 
 , 1st Regiment 
 
 
 2nd ditto 
 
 2nd ditto 
 
 
 2nd ditto 
 
 5th ditto . 
 
 
 1st ditto 
 
 6 th ditto 
 
 
 2nd ditto 
 
 7th ditto , 
 
 
 2nd ditto 
 
 9th ditto 
 
 
 1st ditto 
 
 12th ditto . 
 
 
 2nd ditto 
 
 ditto . 
 
 Gun Lascars . 
 
 30 Companies 
 
 3, effective, R. F. 
 
 Native Pioneers 
 
 . 5 ditto 
 
 
 255 
 243 
 
 498 
 
 565 
 518 
 681 
 682 
 
 900 
 950 
 950 
 950 
 950 
 650 
 600 
 900 
 
 1500 
 500 
 
 2,446 
 
 6,850 
 
 2,000 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 155 
 
 Abstract. 
 Total Europeans . . 3,694 
 Ditto Natives . . 10,450 
 
 Grand Total 14,144 
 
 N.B. This arrangement leaves a company of 
 artillery with its complement of gun lascars in the 
 Northern Circars. The additional privates at- 
 tached to each of the native battalions inserted 
 above it is supposed may be formed into com- 
 panieSj and stationed at Vellore and Ambore. A 
 detachment for Tyagar may be furnished from the 
 Barrahmahal. 
 
 No details are taken for the field from the 
 Northern Cu'cars, the Barrahmahal, or the southern 
 division, or Ceylon. It is not impossible, how- 
 ever, but circumstances may allow of a small force 
 being collected from those quarters. From the 
 troops at present in the Barrahmahal and Salem 
 district, it is imagined that Lieutenant Colonel 
 Read, assisted by a few cavalry, might be able to 
 form a little detachment, to be employed along 
 the frontier as occasion might require. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Respecting the Supply of Draught and Carriage 
 Cattle, from Mr. Cockburn. 
 
 The smallest number of cattle required for the 
 equipment of 12,500 men, including the camp 
 
156 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 equipage, ordnance, and provision departments, 
 must be 4,000 draught, and 16,000 carriage bul- 
 locks. This includes carriage for forty days' rice 
 and sixty days' arrack for Europeans, and forty 
 days' rice for the native fighting men, besides 
 forty days' grain for 1,200 horses. 
 
 The best means of making the provision is by 
 agency, on the footing established by Lord Corn- 
 wallis, or near it. I conclude the whole number 
 may be collected within two months from the 
 date of making advances for the provision — at 
 farthest in two and a half, everything com_plete. 
 An advance of 12,000 pgs. will be required for 
 the draught, and 32,000 for the carriage — in all 
 44,000 pgs., which is afterwards stopped out of 
 their hire. The month's hire of the draught, in- 
 cluding maes tries and drivers . 8,900 
 Of the carriage . . 25,800 
 
 34;700 pgs. 
 
 N.B. The cattle must be kept up at least four 
 months to repay the advance. 
 
 This inclusive of the salaries of the officers 
 employed in the department. It will expedite the 
 provision to direct the quarter-masters of corps 
 to supply the cattle of their corps, and the grain 
 agents to find cattle for the carriage of their 
 grain, which would leave the supply of the grand 
 department only to the agent. 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 
 
 157 
 
 Of course the troops will march to the centre 
 from the south and north : it will be easy to draw 
 a proportion of the supply from each quarter to 
 march with the several detachments, which will 
 expedite the general provision. 
 
 1 . A state of the force wliicli 
 can be put in motion imme- 
 diately. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Queries to Colonel Close; his Answers, and the 
 Observations of General Harris. 
 
 The paper delivered in yes- 
 terday shows the force that 
 could be assembled immedi- 
 ately. It might rendezvous at 
 "Walahajabad, and be collected 
 there in the space of six weeks. 
 It is difficult to say when it 
 could be put in motion, as 
 much would depend on the 
 manner in which it was to be 
 employed. The amount of its 
 equipment would turn upon 
 the objects it was destined to 
 accomplish, and the time re- 
 quisite for putting it in a state 
 capable to move depend upon 
 the amount of its equipment. 
 It is presumed, however, that 
 no force which could be col- 
 lected for field service under 
 this presidency could be equal 
 
 to more than defensive opera- 
 General Harris's Ohsermtions ^j^^^^^ y^^ ^^^^ ^ g^g^^^^ of 
 
 upon Colonel Close's Opinions. ^^^j^^ j^ ^^^^^^^ ^.^^^^j^g ^ ggj^j. 
 
 This differs materially from train of about 50 pieces, and 
 Mr. Cockburn's statement as conveyance for provisions for 
 to the period in which cattle at least that number of days. 
 
158 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 could be collected for the de- 
 fensive army. Your Lordsliip 
 will observe from my letter, 
 that I decidedly incline to Mr. 
 Cockburn's opinion. 
 
 2. Within what time certain 
 additions can be made to it, so 
 as to form a large army. 
 
 General Harris" s Ohservation. 
 An augmentation might be 
 made to the native infantry 
 from the Northern Circars, if 
 it was resolved their places 
 should be supplied by detach- 
 ments from the reinforcements 
 of native troops to be sent 
 from Bengal in their march 
 from Calcutta to join the coast 
 army. This, however, is the 
 only arrangement which can 
 be made for drawing any part 
 of the forces from the Northern 
 Circars, without leaving the 
 garrisons there in a defenceless 
 state. 
 
 3. What station is the best 
 for assembling an army with a 
 view of marching directly to 
 Seringapatam ? 
 
 4. At what period should 
 the army march for that pur- 
 pose ? 
 
 General Harris's Opinion. 
 If the reinforcements from 
 Bengal could arrive in time, 
 
 This equipment would require 
 aboiit 2.5,000 bullocks, and it 
 is imagined these might be col- 
 lected by the beginning of the 
 year, and not before. 
 
 It would not be possible to 
 add materially to the native 
 force at present under this pre- 
 sidency in an emergency. Some 
 of our native battalions are at 
 present incomplete. In case of 
 war, we should not be able to 
 procure recruits in numbers 
 sufficient to keep the corps in 
 the field complete. 
 
 This question answered in 
 reply to question No. 1 . What- 
 ever the plan of operations, 
 Walahajabad would be found 
 the most convenient situation 
 for assembling an army which 
 would, if necessary, draw al- 
 most the whole of its equip- 
 ments from the presidency. It 
 is presumed that an army des- 
 tined against the enemy's ca- 
 pital should leave the Carnatic 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 159 
 
 the whole should, if possible, immediately after the monsoon, 
 march from the place of ren- so as, if possible, to appear be- 
 dezvous, so as to arrive in the fore the place by the beginning 
 Barrahmahal before the com- of February. The Cavery at 
 mencement of the monsoon, Springapatam fills generally in 
 which they would then escape ; the month of May. 
 they might then possibly be in 
 motion in the enemy's country 
 by the 1st of January, though 
 not very 'probably. 
 
 From Mr. Josiah fJ'ebbe, Secretary to the 
 Government of Madras. 
 
 ''6th July, 1798. 
 Memorandum for General Harris, in consequence 
 of his late conversation upon the possibility of 
 an early rupture with Tippoo Sultaun. 
 
 " That Mons. Malartie's proclamation is 
 genuine I have no doubt, because it is a termina- 
 tion perfectly consistent with an intrigue which, 
 from respectable intelligence at the time, there was 
 reason to believe on foot previous to the departure 
 of his ambassadors for the Mauritius ; but whe- 
 ther we should take measures at this period for 
 punishing or preventing the effect of this negotia- 
 tion, is the most momentous question which can 
 be proposed in this place. Upon this question it 
 is certainly my duty to state my ideas, but the 
 shortness of time does not admit of any arrange- 
 ment. 
 
 "As all questions of national war should, I 
 suppose, be determined by the national interests. 
 
160 MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 
 
 it is natural to advert to the state in which India 
 was placed by the Treaty of Seringapatam, be- 
 cause that state was considered, at the time we 
 had the means of changing it, as most advan- 
 tageous to the British interests. The principle of 
 our policy then was the preservation of Tippoo as 
 a power of India, and the balance between him, 
 the Mahrattas, and the Nizam, by our superior 
 influence and force. Whether this principle has 
 been superseded by other notions in Europe I 
 know not, but whether any attempt can now be 
 made to introduce a new order of things, without 
 a greater danger of evil than a chance of good, I 
 doubt. 
 
 "Tippoo, if he has not advanced in actual 
 strength, has certainly the vantage ground, — the 
 three other powers have receded from the con- 
 dition they were in at the Treaty of Seringa- 
 patam. The shock vt^hich the balance between 
 the Nizam and the Mahrattas sustained from 
 the warfare that was allowed to terminate in 
 the Treaty of Kurdlah has driven him from his 
 position, and the distractions which have since 
 prevailed at Poonah incapacitate them from hold- 
 ing their ordinary sphere, while the force of the 
 English is checked and retarded by the pressure 
 of the French war. 
 
 " In the discussions which took place upon the 
 political state of India, when the expedition 
 against Manilla was under contemplation, it was. 
 
MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 161 
 
 I believe, acknowledged that the confusion at that 
 time in the Mahratta empire was such as to 
 render any exertion of their strength impro- 
 bable, or at least not formidable. The subsequent 
 confinement of Nana Furnanees, the eccentric 
 irregularity of young- Scindiah, and the want of 
 power in the Peishwah, certainly corroborated 
 that notion, which, if it then left us little to ap- 
 prehend from their enmity, can now give us little 
 to expect from their friendship. The only re- 
 spectable part of the Nizam's force is under the 
 uncontrolled command of the French party ; that 
 influence has increased, and whether our inertion 
 during the contest between his Highness and the 
 Mahrattas may have alienated the disposition 
 which his minister once manifested towards ours, 
 whether it is the natural consequence of a prevail- 
 ing interest inimical to us, we have much reason, 
 from Captain Kirkpatrick's late correspondence, 
 to apprehend that our weight at Hydrabad is not 
 great. The Nizam's irregular troops proved, 
 during the last war, one of our serious impedi- 
 ments ; his efficient force could hardly be em- 
 ployed — certainly not trusted under the com- 
 mand of Perron. In respect to ourselves, a very 
 large portion of the coast army is detached, our 
 means of resource curtailed by the war in Europe, 
 and our credit in this country, at least upon this 
 coast, bankrupt. If, therefore, with all the ad- 
 vantages we possessed in the year 1790, with the 
 
 M 
 
162 MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 
 
 liearty and effectual co-operation of the Mah- 
 rattas, and with the friendship of the Nizam, our 
 operations against Tippoo were not made suc- 
 cessful without the greatest difficulty, I am fearful 
 that, under the general change of circumstances 
 which I have mentioned, and which I believe to 
 be correct, an attack upon him now is more likely 
 to end in discomfiture than victory. 
 
 " But let us descend to more particular consi- 
 derations. Although we have every reason to be 
 satisfied that Tippoo's army has been kept in a 
 state efficient and prepared to meet the events 
 which there might be reason to expect from the 
 general appearance of a convulsion throughout 
 India ; yet in the same discussions on the subject 
 of the Manilla expedition, both Sir J. Shore and 
 Lord Hobart were of opinion that he was not 
 likely to hazard a rupture, without a very large 
 re-inforcement from the French. Whatever may 
 be the object of Tippoo's embassy to the Mau- 
 ritius, or whatever may be the event of it in 
 Europe, the late intelligence from the islands, 
 which leaves us no room to doubt that the military 
 have been sent to France, and the Fi-ench marine 
 dispersed, satisfies me that no immediate co-ope- 
 ration can take place, and consequently that no" 
 rupture is to be apprehended, but by our own 
 provocation. 
 
 " This argument I urge, in the perfect convic- 
 tion that, during this unprecedented contest in 
 
MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 163 
 
 Europe, peace in India is indispensably necessary, 
 and that it ought not to be risked without the 
 prospect of positive advantage. If, however, it 
 should be argued, that this very conjunction of 
 circumstances, which I have mentioned, should 
 impel us to make an immediate effort against 
 Tippoo, I answer, that all our former united and 
 unexampled exertions were made against Tippoo, 
 single and unsupported by the French ; but single 
 and unsupported as he was, except by the natural 
 obstacles which oppose our progress, the exertions 
 of the allies were only successful. For this I refer 
 to the chance by which Bangalore fell, to the 
 condition of Lord Cornwallis's army before the 
 junction of the Mahrattas in May, 1791, to the 
 difficulty with which the battering train was ad- 
 vanced to Seringapatam in the second campaign, 
 to the condition of the Bombay army, and to the 
 state in which our own army returned after the 
 conclusion of peace. With the war well advanced, 
 with our preparations and arrangements on foot 
 for twelve months before, and with such a com- 
 bined alliance as may be now despaired of, it still 
 cost Lord Cornwallis two campaigns before he 
 could besiege Seringapatam. 
 
 " From the intrigues at Seringapatam, and the 
 consequent embassy to the Isle of France, 1 have 
 no doubt that the French emissaries were em- 
 ployed in persuading Tippoo to hostilities with 
 us, under promises of immediate assistance. This 
 
 M 2 
 
164 MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 
 
 the Sultan appears to have considered insufficient 
 ground to provoke a war, but if he should be pro- 
 voked to a war by us, I conceive there would be 
 a material difference of circumstances ; for though 
 the French might find great difficulty in per- 
 suading him to war, from the great difficulty of 
 furnishing the force he requires, yet if he should 
 be absolutely plunged into a war, they would find 
 it easily practicable to foment and keep it alive. 
 Hostility with Tippoo, if it should be known 
 before the conclusion of peace, would inevitably 
 tend to protract the war in Europe, or even to 
 revive it, if peace should have been made. The 
 French, despairing perhaps of any successful at- 
 tempt upon England itself, would leave nothing 
 unattempted to subvert, or at least curtail, our 
 Indian empire. This argument is of the more 
 force, because a very small increase of French 
 soldiers is a very material addition to Tippoo's 
 strength. 
 
 •' In the event of hostility, I take it for granted 
 the object will be to make it a war of alliance 
 against Tippoo. I doubt that it is practicable to 
 obtain the assistance of the Mahrattas ; the pre- 
 sent disunion of the chiefs renders a hearty co- 
 operation impossible. The assistance of any 
 party, if even it could be persuaded to risk the 
 danger of absence from its own territories, might 
 have the natural effect of throwing its adversaries 
 into the opposite scale. If such an event should 
 
MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 165 
 
 take place, the Mahrattas would remain as they 
 now are — balanced against each other — while 
 Tippoo, freed from the apprehension of their 
 united force, would be at liberty to employ his 
 whole cavalry against us. It is known to every 
 officer in the field, that during the last war, the 
 Nizam's cavalry were a heavy incumbrance to us, 
 and if, notwithstanding- the apparent change in 
 Azim ul Omrah's dispositions towards us, we 
 should be disposed to rely on the fidelity of his 
 Royal Highness's infantry under the command of 
 M. Perron, it is not extravagant to anticipate an 
 event which has already happened, — that marching 
 into the Mysore country with his Highness in 
 alliance, we were compelled to march back again 
 with his Highness in alliance against us. In re- 
 spect both to the Mahrattas and the Nizam, I 
 think there is no reasonable ground to expect 
 effectual assistance from either, until we should 
 strike some signal blow. Neither of them were 
 hearty in the cause during the last war before the 
 fall of Bangalore. 
 
 " Not to dwell upon the possible predicament 
 in which we should be placed by a refusal of the 
 allies to. execute their engagements, let us look to 
 our own means of equipping a force sufficient to 
 support a remonstrance to Tippoo upon his em- 
 bassy to Mons. Malartie. It must never be for- 
 gotten that the army under General Medows, in 
 the month of November, 1790, consisted of about 
 
166 MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 
 
 5,500 European, and 18,400 native, seasoned men, 
 and that even this army was augmented by troops 
 from Bengal before it marched against Bangalore. 
 By the returns you have now received, a body of 
 about 14,000 men can be drawn together, in- 
 cluding Lascars and pioneers, a force so inade- 
 quate to an offensive war, that you could not 
 venture to quit the Carnatic. From Ceylon, you 
 could draw no reinforcements, but, on the con- 
 trary, might be called upon to increase the force 
 on that island, in the event of our army invading 
 the Mysore country. The whole reinforcement 
 must be sent from Bengal ; of what extent it 
 could be, we have no means of judging, but it is 
 obvious that it must be so large, as to place its 
 arrival here at a very remote distance. The 
 superiority of Tippoo in cavalry, and the greater 
 rapidity with whicli he moves, would render it 
 impracticable to proceed to the attack of Seringa- 
 patam without establishing a systematic chain of 
 posts for depots of stores and provisions. That 
 he has endeavoured to frustrate this, is evident 
 from his policy in the destruction of Oosoor and 
 Bangalore, and in making Seringapatam his only 
 and principal fortification. By the former, it is 
 his intention to increase' the difficulty of our ap- 
 proach by lengthening the line of our operations, 
 and by the latter, to oppose such impediments as 
 to make the capture of Seringapatam impracti- 
 cable in the course of one campaign. The Cau- 
 
MEMORANDUM BY MR. VVEBBE. 167 
 
 verypooram Pass is yet unexplored, but I under- 
 stand that the route from thence to Seringapatani 
 lies through a barren country, so much inter- 
 spersed with jungle, as to be extremely adverse to 
 the march of an army. The Guzilhutty Pass is 
 no longer thought of; as nothing, therefore, short 
 of the capture of Seringapatani can justly be con- 
 sidered as striking an effectual blow against 
 Tippoo, the achievement of any immediate suc- 
 cess appears to me to be utterly impracticable. 
 
 " This idea, then, of striking an immediate 
 blow being abandoned, let us look to the slow and 
 regular equipment of an army for the invasion of 
 Mysore. The different corps could, I believe, be 
 assembled at Wallajahbad in about two months 
 from the time of their being ordered to march. 
 The equipment of bullocks for the army, with its 
 train of field artillery, could not, according to my 
 estimation, be accomplished before the month of 
 January, but in respect to a train of battering 
 guns sufficient for the siege of Seringapatam, I 
 can form no motion, nor do I believe Mr. Cock- 
 burn can, of the time when it could be furnished 
 with cattle. This period of the season (January) 
 is, by the experience of Lord Cornwallis's cam- 
 paign, too late for the establishment of a depot at 
 Bangalore and the siege of Seringapatam in the 
 same season, for, though we should be able to 
 put Bangalore in a state to admit of its becoming 
 a depot, we could not avoid being overtaken at 
 
108 MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 
 
 Seringapatam by the monsoon, which sets in in 
 May. Hence the necessity of a second season, 
 and probably of a second ecpiipment of bullocks, 
 before an efficient army could invest Seringapa- 
 tam. Supposing it, however, there, and joined by 
 the Bombay army (the difficulty of which it is 
 here unnecessary to consider), I doubt whether 
 there are any well-grounded expectations that 
 they conld feed themselves. The experience of 
 Lord Cornwallis's army proves that we were un- 
 able to supply ourselves, or to open our rear for 
 the admission of brinjarries, until we had been 
 joined by the Mahratta army, and the whole 
 country embraced. 
 
 " At present, there is no grain at Arnee or 
 Vellore, and, I believe, no considerable quantity 
 could be stored in the forts of the Barrahmahal 
 before the harvests of November. The vessels 
 Avhich bring grain from the northern ports and 
 from Bengal do not arrive here before the months 
 of September and October. 
 
 '• Upon the whole, there are sufficient grounds 
 for concluding that the whole of the coast army 
 which could be assembled would be incapable of 
 offensive operations, and that they could not be 
 put in motion before the month of January. How 
 far, and at what period, they may be in a con- 
 dition to make a serious attack upon Tippoo, 
 must depend upon the extent and time of rein- 
 forcements from Bengal ; and as nothing of con- 
 
MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 169 
 
 sequence could be imdertaken without them, the 
 thue of our making- any serious impression must 
 be proportionably delayed. 
 
 " Meanwhile the movement of our troops and 
 military preparations could not escape the vigi- 
 lance of Tippoo ; his resources are always more 
 prompt than our own, and, as great part of his 
 army is said to be in a state of field equipment, 
 our attempt to strike a blow at him is likely to 
 produce an invasion of the Carnatic before we are 
 in a situation to resist him, for, as Tippoo can, in 
 my opinion, have nothing' to apprehend from the 
 Mahrattas, his whole attention will be directed 
 to us. A comparison between his own and his 
 father's wars, with the late experience of his own 
 misfortunes, has taught him that our strength 
 depends upon our supplies. The crops of the 
 Barrahmahal would be his first object, and the 
 consequences of such a policy, which he has 
 manifested by the demolition of Bangalore and 
 Oosoor, might fix the war in the Carnatic, until, 
 by the consumption of our supplies, and the failure 
 of our resources, we should be compelled to ac- 
 cept his terms of peace. 
 
 "When the war of 1790 begun, the funded 
 debt of this Presidency was 17 lacs of pagodas, 
 the Company's credit high, and the rate of inte- 
 rest low. Very large subscriptions were in con- 
 sequence made within the course of a few days to 
 a 12 per cent, loan ; large supplies of dollars. 
 
170 MEMORANDUM BY MU. WEBBE. 
 
 brought hither in the Canton ships, and intended 
 for the China investment, were converted to the 
 purposes of the war, and immense remittances 
 were made from Bengal, as well in specie as by 
 bills. At present, the funded debt of this Presi- 
 dency is 51 lacs of > pagodas, the Company's credit 
 so low, that their 8 per cent, paper bears a dis- 
 count of 18 and 20 per cent., and the scarcity of 
 money so great, that their 12 per cent, bonds do 
 not pass but at a discount of 4 per cent. Every 
 mode has been tried without effect to raise money 
 at this Presidency ; our only means of supply is 
 from Bengal. The bills which we have in conse- 
 quence been long compelled to substitute for 
 ready-money payments have overstocked the 
 market, and consequently pass at a discount. 
 After repeated and urgent ap])lications for money, 
 we have been disappointed for want of funds in 
 Bengal, and at this very moment, Avhen the ex- 
 penses of the military establishment for the en- 
 suing months cannot be provided for without 
 specie from thence, tlie only sum which we can 
 confidently expect is, as I understand, immaterial 
 in comparison with our wants. 
 
 " The deficit in the present resources of this 
 Government is at least 18 lacs of pagodas; the 
 expense of an army of 14,000 men in the field, 
 and the expense of providing carriage for them, is 
 34,700 pagodas per month. 
 
 " Nothing can be more urgent than our re- 
 
MEMORANDUM BY MR. WEBBE. 171 
 
 presentations to Bengal upon the state of our 
 finances, except the necessities which produce 
 them. It is a fact that, without assistance in 
 money from thence, our military expenses upon 
 the peace establishment cannot be provided for 
 beyond the month of September ; I am afraid, 
 therefore, that far from being in a state to equip 
 an army for the field, we shall scarcely have the 
 means of marching the different corps to Wallajah- 
 bad, while the state of the treasury renders it 
 utterly impracticable to make any suitable ad- 
 vance for draught and carriage cattle. 
 
 " I have not studied to exaggerate any part of 
 this memorandum ; but seeing that our resources 
 have, by the mere operation of the war in Europe, 
 been reduced to a state of the greatest embarrass- 
 ment, and having no hope of effectual relief but 
 in peace, I can anticipate none but the most bane- 
 ful consequences from a war with Tippoo. If this 
 war is to be a vindication of our national rights, 
 it is clear that we cannot undertake it in less than 
 six months, and this delay, with a reference to 
 our national interests, may probably admit of its 
 being postponed till we attain sufficient strength 
 to prosecute it with vigour. But if war is in- 
 evitable, and the present are judged the most 
 advantageous circumstances under which it can 
 commence, I fear that our situation is bad beyond 
 the hope of remedy. 
 
 " This memorandum only reaches to that 
 
172 GENERAL HARRIs's 
 
 period at which your military inquiries commence; 
 they will require no less serious reflection, and 
 must occupy the thoughts of those who are to 
 direct, as well as of those who are to execute, the 
 operations of the war. For myself, I ought to 
 apologise for the freedom of these opinions, but 
 the desultory manner in which they are stated 
 will acquit me of all premeditated intention to 
 give offence, and time does not admit of any 
 amendment. 
 
 J. Webbe." 
 
 When General Harris had read this paper, he 
 came from the council-room to my apartment, and 
 desired me to prepare a postscript to add to his 
 despatch to Lord Mornington, that this fearful 
 document might not go without some qualification 
 to the Governor-General. The following was 
 accordingly added to his letter. 
 
 " P. S. I also send a memorandum which I 
 have just received from Mr. Webbe, in conse- 
 quence of my request that he would state his 
 sentiments in writing upon the possible event of a 
 war with the Sultaun, in consequence of the Mau- 
 ritius proclamation, and upon the practicability 
 of striking a sudden blow against him before he 
 could receive any foreign aid. From the hurried 
 perusal which I have made of it, I observe that 
 he has taken a partial view of a question of too 
 great magnitude to be decided by our present 
 
OBSERVATIONS THEREON. 173 
 
 limited means of knowledge. That he has as- 
 sumed as a fact, that the choice of peace for some 
 time to comCj or of war at tlie present period, rests 
 with us ; not adverting- to the probability, if Azim 
 ul Omrah be really disaffected to us, of his here- 
 after joining Tippoo and tlie French, and the 
 equal chance of the Mahrattas being induced, 
 when they are able, to unite in ^the league against 
 us ; scarcely noticing the strong circumstance 
 that the islands can now afford him no further 
 aid ; passing over the immense benefits that will 
 be secured by success, and the advantage with 
 which we shall enter upon a war, having a perfect 
 knowledge of his country, and possessing a strong- 
 chain of posts on our frontiers, and a fruitful 
 country in the rear ; and lastly, that the French, 
 at the conclusion of a peace, will possess the desire 
 they now feel of subverting our Indian empire, 
 and that the Sultaun will at that period be fully 
 prepared to assist their purposes, if he should not 
 be now arrested in his progress. These, however, 
 are considerations which belong to your Lord- 
 ship's better judgment to decide, and I should not 
 have troubled you with the memorandum if 1 did 
 not feel an anxiety that you should be prepared 
 to meet all the arguments which will be stated 
 with so much virulence by the opposition at home 
 against the author of the war, if, unfortunately, 
 we should be compelled to endure that calamity. 
 
 G. H." 
 
174 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 General Harris having" made up his mind to 
 the course which his duty required him to pursue, 
 employed every means in his power to accelerate 
 the execution of Lord Mornington's instructions, 
 as the following letters and minutes fully 
 explain : — 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 " Madras, July lAth, 1798. 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 " Having, since the dispatch of my letter 
 to you of the 6th instant, a duplicate of which 
 I have now the pleasure to transmit, very seri- 
 ously deliberated upon the various topics which 
 it embraced, I have not been able to discover 
 that the necessity of immediate communication 
 occasioned any inaccuracy, though I must confess 
 that if there had been more leisure, I should have 
 adverted to a circumstance which, from the want 
 of it, I omitted to mention — I mean the different 
 views which might be entertained of the Mauritius 
 proclamation, correspondent to the different re- 
 ports which were made of the circumstances 
 which attended its publication. In my first letter 
 to your Lordship on this subject, I expressed my 
 conviction that Tippoo had committed himself to 
 the full extent of the proclamation. This opinion 
 arose from the united circumstances of two am- 
 bassadors from him being present when it was 
 published, his known resentment towards us, and 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 175 
 
 the great importance which had been attached to 
 the proclamation by Lord Macartney, Sir H. 
 Cliristian, and Mr. Pringle, all of whom had it in 
 their power to ascertain the circumstances under 
 which it had been pnbhshed, from the very channel 
 by which they had received it. The information 
 which I subsequently received from the mate of 
 country ship Greenwich^ and which was commu- 
 nicated by Mr. Lushington to Colonel Wellesley, 
 assigned a very different motive for the proclama- 
 tion; viz., the desire of M. Malartie to be relieved 
 from some restless spirits who were not particu- 
 larly attached to the interest of the island, but on 
 the contrary, suspected of favouring the plan of 
 liberating the slaves. Though this intelligence 
 changed entirely the colour of the proclamation, 
 yet as I knew not what degree of credit was due 
 to the author of it, I was unwilling upon such 
 grounds to hazard any opinion in opposition to 
 that I had before stated, particularly when I re- 
 flected that by sending this intelligence your 
 Lordship was put in possession of all the grounds 
 upon which any opinion from me could be formed, 
 and that you would probably have additional 
 means of passing a better judgment on the case 
 from the aid of Mr. Pringie's inquiries, and intel- 
 ligence from other quarters. It may, however, 
 be observed, that if the last explanation of the 
 cause of the proclamation be correct, Tippoo 
 becomes acquitted of any participation in it, and 
 
176 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 in respect to the circumstance of his ambassadors 
 being- present, when it was published, it may be 
 remarked that an intercourse has long prevailed 
 between him and the French, and from the inqui- 
 ries I have lately made, I find that vakeels and 
 others were often formerly sent to Pondicherry, 
 where he was supplied (and perhaps since from 
 Mauritius) with stores and various other articles, 
 and that Frenchmen sometimes, though not in any 
 great number, went to Seringapatam from Pondi- 
 cherry. These considerations, and the certainty 
 that the Sultaun could derive no very material 
 assistance from the small number of men already 
 received from the islands ; the little expectation of 
 his receiving from thence a more formidable sup- 
 ply; but above all, the silence of the officers in 
 charge of the frontier garrisons respecting the 
 movement of his troops, and the enclosed intelli- 
 gence this day received from Salem without any- 
 thing to contradict it from other quarters, incline 
 me to be of opinion that Tippoo does not meditate 
 immediate hostilities. What effect the knowledge 
 of our preparations may have upon him is yet to 
 be determined ; but the apprehension which we 
 have expressed in our public letter, that he might 
 attempt to lay waste the lower part of the Barrah- 
 mahal and the Carnatic, has been materially 
 diminished in my mind from a consideration of 
 the causes I have now stated. 
 
 " In the meantime, our preparations are going 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 177 
 
 on with every possible energy consistent with the 
 necessary regard to secresy, which I shall main- 
 tain until I am informed from General Floyd that 
 the corps south of the Coleroon are prepared to 
 move across it ; and I shall not fail to keep your 
 Lordship constantly advised of their progress, and 
 of the effect which they may appear to have on 
 the enemy. Your Lordship will observ^e that I 
 have forborne in ray present and former letters to 
 offer any opinion upon the political part of this 
 question, and this not from any disposition to 
 withhold my sentiments upon any subject of im- 
 portance to the national interests, but from a 
 consciousness of my inability to assist your Lord- 
 ship's judgment. Amidst the trouble of my present 
 situation, it is indeed a great consolation to me 
 that the momentous duty of determining whether 
 we must endure the calamity of war, or remain 
 peaceful, as we now are, does not belong to me, 
 but is entrusted to a person so well qualified to 
 decide it. This remark appears a proper intro- 
 duction to my reply to that part of your Lordship's 
 letter of the 26th ult., which respects the letter 
 written by this government to Admiral Rainier. 
 It had been so customary at this Presidency to 
 write to the Admiral that the secretary drafted the 
 letter, and we passed it as an ordinary occurrence, 
 without the most distant idea that we were trans- 
 gressing the strict line of our duty. In inadvert- 
 ence, therefore, not in any desire of infringing 
 
 N 
 
178 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 upon your Lordship's responsibility, this measure 
 originated, and whilst I fully acknowledge the 
 propriety of the public admonition we have re- 
 ceived, I cannot but feel gratified by the sentiments 
 which your Lordship has been pleased to express 
 in your private explanation. All the intelligence 
 which 1 have been able to collect respecting the 
 publication of the proclamation at the Mauritius, 
 and of the conduct of Tippoo's ambassadors 
 during their residence in that island, is contained 
 in No. 2, obtained from the mate of the Green- 
 wich, on whose report Mr. Lushington wrote his 
 letter to Colonel Wellesley ; if more can be collected 
 I will transmit it. In No. 1, a report from Cap- 
 tain Malcolm, and one from Captain Macleod, 
 your Lordship will find our latest advices respecting 
 the state of Tippoo's force, and of his actual pre- 
 parations for war. In my letter to your Lordship 
 of the 12th, I suggested to you the expediency of 
 our being authorized to send the French prisoners 
 now here to Calcutta. A strong impression of 
 the inconvenience we should feel by their conti- 
 nuing here in the event of hostilities, induced this 
 recommendation ; and in my desire to communi- 
 cate it to your Lordship as early as possible, the 
 mode which you had proposed through Mr. Wel- 
 lesley escaped my consideration. I shall now 
 endeavour to freight a ship, and send them to 
 Europe ; or rather, I will mention the circum- 
 stance to Lord Clive, who will probably have to 
 execute it, as his Lordship's arrival is daily ex- 
 
WITH TTPPOO SULTAUN. 179 
 
 pected. I have not the honour of being known 
 to him, nor am I even acquainted with his cha- 
 racter. If I find him open and candid, I shall 
 have pleasure in the most unreserved communica- 
 tion ; at all events, he shall not be led into errors 
 without being warned to the best of my judgment. 
 Tliis morning I received a letter from Admiral 
 Rainier, requesting the Bombay frigate might be 
 sent to Trincomalee to go round with the Cen- 
 turion to dock, as this ship is in so bad a state, 
 that she cannot sail with safety alone. I have in 
 consequence again informed him of her despatch 
 to Bengal, and that I would notice his request to 
 your Lordship. Though I imagine your Lordship 
 will have received the substance of the inclosed 
 intelligence. No. 3, respecting the destination of 
 Sir H. Christian's fleet, I think it proper to trans- 
 mit it to you. It may not be amiss to apprise 
 your Lordship that, in the event of our proceed- 
 ing to act against Seringapatam, we shall want 
 artillerymen from Bengal, and particularly some 
 good officers ; and if we even take the field, sup- 
 plies of rice and rum will also always be season- 
 able. Captain Malcolm's report is not yet con- 
 cluded, although I know that he was engaged in 
 it the greatest part of the night. 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 My dear Lord, ever yours, 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 '^Madras, Hth July, ] 798." 
 
 N 2 
 
180 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 "To Major Beatson. 
 
 ''Madras, ^Ist Juhj, 1798. 
 
 " Dear Beatson, 
 
 " Tlie delay in the fi-igate's arrival is pecu- 
 liarly unfortunate, and of equal disappointment 
 to yourself, General Harris, and Lord Morning- 
 ton. Though the General can hardly bear the 
 thought of your being- at Masulipatam in the 
 latter end of next week, yet, as the Si/hille frigate 
 sails from hence for Calcutta on Thursday morn- 
 ing, he has requested Captain Cooke to touch 
 there, and inquire for you, so that if the Bombai/ 
 frigate should not have ariived before that time, 
 you will be good enough to be in readiness to 
 embark on the Syh'dle. 
 
 Yours, sincerely, 
 (Sig'ued) S. R. Lushington." 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 ''Madras, Juli/ 22nd, 1798. 
 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 " When your Lordship is informed of our 
 difficulties from the want of money, you will not 
 be surprised that we begin to be very anxious to 
 hear from you on the subject. Yesterday we ad- 
 vertised your ten years' proposal, from not having 
 a better to offer ; but much cannot be expected 
 from it, as, in the present state of exchange be- 
 tween the Presidencies, it would be a great ad- 
 vantage to purchase your bills, and send them to 
 be placed in your remittance. To equalize the 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 181 
 
 exchange, we must remit the pagoda at nine 
 shillings, which we did not think ourselves autho- 
 rized to offer. We have also advertised that pro- 
 posals will be received for bills on Bengal, and 
 from which I have some expectations, or should 
 be under the necessity of entirely stopping our 
 preparations, and which partially is the case, 
 having stopped a further provision of bullocks 
 (draught) than will move our field train, and some 
 arrack carts. I have not brought the corps from 
 the westward of Wallajabad out of cantonments, 
 and I had intended to send the 36th into Arnee, 
 instead of allowing them to remain on field allow- 
 ances, but I shall wait until I hear further from 
 your Lordship. A few days will always join the 
 troops from the cantonments of Arcot, Coimba- 
 tore, Arnee, and Vellore, as their carriage and 
 camp equipage is ready. General Floyd informs 
 me the 3rd battalion of the 6th Regiment, the 
 first corps ready with him, begin to cross the 
 Coleroon the 17th or 18th, and will be five or six 
 days in effecting the passage, from his having but 
 three boats. His Majesty's 19th Dragoons and 
 12th Infantry will follow in about eight days. 
 Any one of these corps would enable us to watch 
 Tippoo, should he come to see us. Our intelli- 
 gence does not give us the least reason to believe 
 the Sultaun has any immediate intention to com- 
 mence hostilities, and if he even should, we must 
 be very unlucky, if we cannot get troops sufficient 
 to check him at least. 
 
182 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 " The camp at Wallajahbad will consist of His 
 Majesty's 12tli and 36th Regiments^ 19th Dra- 
 goons, 3rd and 4th Native Cavalry, 1st Battalion 
 1st Regiment Native Infantry, with the 74th and 
 two corps of Native Infantry in the cantonment. 
 A few days will always join these to the corps at 
 Arnee and A root, as carriage and camp equipage 
 is now all ready. This, from absolute want of 
 cash to make any further preparation, must be 
 the state until your Lordship supplies us. I 
 have now, my Lord, to address you on the sub- 
 ject of the French prisoners, whom I have been 
 mu(;h urged to send to Calcutta, but have refused 
 until I know your pleasure, — first, as being well 
 acquainted with the nuisance they would be in 
 Fort William ; secondly, as I am doubtful whe- 
 ther, under the capitulation of Pondicberry, we 
 can send them anywhere but to Europe, without 
 being guilty of a breach of it ; and, thirdly, as we 
 can get vessels here that will engage as cartels, 
 and which I should instantly have closed with, 
 but that I do not think it safe to dispatch them 
 without convoy, for fear of their going to Manga- 
 lore, instead of Old France. I shall write the 
 Admiral privately, to hear what he says in respect 
 to a convoy to the Cape, and your Lordship 
 may turn in your mind whether the Bombay 
 would not be well employed in this business, as it 
 is of such importance, in case of hostilities, as to 
 deprive us of one regiment of Europeans. If you 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 183 
 
 should approve the Bombaifs proceeding, she 
 should bring salt provisions, as we have not any 
 in store. The Bomhaij has been most unlucky in 
 her passage to Masulipatam. She left this the 
 6th instant in the evening, and was not heard of 
 the Kith at that place. She must certainly have 
 passed her port, which must be very vexatious to 
 your Lordship, as Major Beatson will be detained 
 until the Si/bille, which does not leave this till 
 Thursday next, can bring him. By Captain 
 Cooke you shall have duplicate of this, with any 
 further information I may be enabled to furnish 
 your Lordship by that time. 
 
 I remain, &c., . 
 
 George Harris. 
 
 " P.S. We have appointed the Commission for 
 Tanjore, consisting of Mr. Torin, Mr. Harris 
 (not even an acquaintance of mine), and Mr. 
 Stratton, as youngest member and secretary. 
 Your Lordship has a pretty good notion of the dif- 
 ficulties attending the finding of proper members 
 who are not more usefully employed. The above 
 young men have lately conducted themselves very 
 much to their credit, Mr. Harris in a business of 
 a similar nature in the Ramnad country, and Mr. 
 Stratton as secretary to Court of Cutchery. Your 
 Lordship's favourites, Messrs. Cock burn and 
 Lushington, are positively against accepting the 
 country from Serfogee, and I join them most cor- 
 
184 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 dially, but particulars will be forwarded by the 
 Syhille, and then your Lordship will decide. The 
 amount of fixed pay and allowance of the army 
 now under orders for the field is — 
 
 Pags 91,449 
 
 Additional in the field . . 1,18,105 
 
 2,09,551 
 
 " To Admiral Rainier. 
 
 "Madras, ^^ndJult/, 1798. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " As it would be of infinite consequence, in 
 case of hostilities, to get rid of the Frenchmen 
 who are prisoners here, and as I can procure 
 cartel ships, I lose no time to inquire if you can 
 give us anything by way of convoy to the Cape. 
 1 do not think it would be safe to trust them by 
 themselves, for fear they should prefer Mangalore 
 to Old France ; but as you are much more master 
 of this subject than I am, and equally sensible of 
 the nuisance they would be here, I shall thank 
 you for your opinion whether it would be advi- 
 sable to send them without convoy, in case you. 
 cannot assist. 
 
 I remain, &c., 
 (Signed) George Harris." 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 185 
 
 "To Major Beatson. 
 
 ''Madras, 23rdJuly, 1798. 
 "Dear Beatson, 
 
 " I wi'ote you a letter on the 21st instant, 
 apprising you that the Sijhille frigate would sail 
 from hence for Calcutta on Thursday morning, 
 and that Captain Cooke had promised to toucli 
 and inquire for you. The Hamburgh, by which 
 this letter is conveyed to you, proceeds immedi- 
 ately to Calcutta ; and as there is a possibiHty of 
 the Syhille passing the port, the General thinks it 
 will be advisable not to lose the opportunity of a 
 passage by this neutral vessel, if her accommoda- 
 tion be decent. 
 
 Yours, sincerely, 
 
 S. R. LUSHINGTON." 
 
 "The Earl of Mornington to General Harris. 
 
 ''Fort William, \5th July, 1798. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I transmit with this letter a despatch 
 from this Government in the secret department, 
 which I must request you not to record until you 
 receive further communications from me. The 
 measure directed to be executed in the secret 
 despatch, requires the utmost degree of prompti- 
 tude as well as of caution. My object is to restore 
 the Nizam to some degree of efficiency and 
 power. The measure forms part of a much more 
 extensive plan for the re-establishment of our 
 
186 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 alliances, previously to the moment when Tippoo 
 may expect to be enabled to attack us. The 
 whole of my arrangements will shortly be com- 
 municated to you; at present, I shall only recom- 
 mend to you in the most earnest manner, the 
 speedy and effectual execution of the measure 
 directed in the annexed despatch. As I know your 
 honest zeal for the public service, and the activity 
 which accompanies it, I look with confidence to 
 the accomplishment of my anxious wish for the 
 success of that part of my plan which is now 
 committed to your charge. I imagine that the 
 best position for assembling the troops destined 
 for Hyderabad would be in the Guntoor Circar. 
 You will feel the great importance of selecting a 
 proper officer for this very arduous command. 
 The British force at Hyderabad, after the pro- 
 posed addition, will amount nearly to seven thou- 
 sand men, officers and artillery included ; it is my 
 intention, if the plan should succeed, to recall the 
 Bengal regiment, and to draw the whole detach- 
 ment for Hyderabad from Fort St, George. This 
 will preserve a unity of discipline as well as pre- 
 vent jealousies in the detachment. You will at 
 once feel that such a command is an object for 
 the ambition of your most distinguished officers. 
 I need not recommend the most strict attention 
 to secresy in the whole of this proceeding ; the 
 least intimation of my design would instantly set 
 the whole French faction at Hyderabad in motion, 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 187 
 
 and frustrate the whole of my views. It will be 
 necessary to apprize the acting Resident at 
 Hyderabad of the intended station of the troops, 
 in order that he may communicate with the com- 
 manding officer. I repeat my reliance on you 
 for the expeditious and effectual performance of 
 this service, of which the importance in my esti- 
 mation is so high, that in addition to my applause 
 on public grounds, I shall consider your cordial 
 co-operation as a great claim on my private grati- 
 tude. I take this opportunity of suggesting to 
 you the expediency of as great an attention to 
 economy in the mode of assembling the army as 
 may be consistent with the great object of per- 
 suading Tippoo Sultaun, that we are really pre- 
 pared to repel his menaced attack, or to demand 
 such satisfaction for his late conduct as we may 
 deem just. The objects of economy and effectual 
 preparation would be, perhaps, best combined by 
 ordering native troops only to take the field, and 
 drawing the Europeans into the frontier garrisons 
 with all necessary equipments. I do not mean 
 to disarm until I shall have effected all my 
 objects of renewing the efficacy of our alliances, 
 and of obtaining satisfaction from Tippoo ; I 
 think, however, that I shall be able to accomplish 
 all my measures without a war, and the ultimate 
 effect of them will be either wholly to avert that 
 calamity for a considerable period of time, or to 
 enable us to meet it with increased strength. 
 
188 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 " You will soon receive my ideas with respect 
 to a permanent plan for the defence of the 
 CarnatiCj by constantly keeping considerable stores 
 of grain in the frontier fortresses, and by esta- 
 blishing a train of artillery at Arnee and Vellore 
 to be always maintained in a state of readiness 
 for the field ; I am aware of the expense of these 
 measures of precaution, but I am persuaded that 
 if we do not provide the permanent means of 
 moving our army suddenly into Mysore, as the 
 occasion may require, we never shall be safe in 
 the Carnatic. 
 
 " I have received your letter with an account 
 of your orders to the Resident at Tanjore, which 
 I entirely approve. You will perceive that I had 
 anticipated the want of the questions and an- 
 swers of the Pundit, and that I dispatched the 
 originals to you on the 16th of June. You will 
 communicate the whole proceeding to the Resi- 
 dents at Poonah and Hyderabad, for their inform- 
 ation only, and not to be imparted to their 
 respective courts. I am sorry that Mr. Cockburn 
 does not go to Tanjore, and very anxious to know 
 the names of your committee, on whose report 
 much will depend. I am, &c. 
 
 MORNINGTON. 
 
 "There can be no objection to the public 
 mention of your expectation of the 33rd* Regi- 
 
 * Then at Fort William, Bengal, Colonel Wellesley being 
 Licut.-Colonel, and ordered to Madras by Lord Mornington. 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 180 
 
 ment ; I should even be glad that the news 
 reached Tippoo, as it would convmce him that I 
 am in earnest. Should Tippoo desire from you 
 any explanation of our preparations, you will be 
 so good as to refer him to me for an answer. If 
 you should be of opinion that the not encamping 
 the European forces will be likely to lead Tippoo 
 to doubt the seriousness of my intentions, I beg* 
 you will not attend to my suggestions with res- 
 pect to the measure of stationing the English 
 regiments in the frontier garrisons, my object 
 being to impress the mind of Tippoo with serious 
 apprehension." 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 ''Juhj2Qth, 1 P.M., 1793. 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 " Your Lordship's public and private letters 
 of the 15th instant, are this moment received ; 
 you may be assured that no time shall be lost in 
 giving directions for carrying into effect the 
 orders they convey, when I have determined in 
 what manner your intention will be best effected, 
 which in the present scattered state of our troops 
 to the northward, and the urgent demand for 
 them in other quarters, requires nnich considera- 
 tion. July 30th. Having revolved the subject 
 much in my mind last night and this morning, I 
 have resolved to acquaint your Lordship with two 
 or three points, by express, before I enter fully 
 into the matter: — That unless we receive from you 
 
190 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 a supply of money before the end of Ang;nst, we 
 positively cannot proceed. That the Marine Bat- 
 talion should be sent with every possible expedi- 
 tion to Masulipatam, and the 33rd here. That 
 the force you have directed cannot be assembled 
 in the Guntoor Circar before the end of August, 
 as a battalion must go from hence, and I believe 
 two, where it is to be observed we have not a man 
 to spare in defending ourselves from any attack 
 that may be made ; and lastly, that the execution 
 of your Lordship's orders for sending round the 
 , men of the 36th on the arrival of the 33rd Regi- 
 ment, must be suspended if possible. I sent 
 orders last night, for steps to be taken for the 
 11th Regiment to be assembled, hoping that the 
 force could have been furnished from the Circars, 
 but shall stop them for a few days, as I am con- 
 vinced half of it must march from here. I must 
 again repeat that you may rely on every possible 
 exertion, and that, although depressed by want 
 of cash, I do not despond ; and am always your 
 Lordship's faithful 
 
 And devoted servant, 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 ''To LiEUT.-CoL. Robert Shawe. 
 
 ''Madras, July 31, 1798. 
 
 " My dear Shawe, 
 
 " By this night's tappal you will receive 
 directions to order the 2nd of the 7th Native 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 191 
 
 Infantry to get in marching- order, with all pos- 
 sible dispatch, and as I am very anxious that not 
 a moment should be lost in getting them to the 
 place of their destination, it has occurred to me, 
 that the carriage of Major Ferguson's corps may 
 be employed, in case you should not have had 
 bullocks sent from the paymaster ; to be in readi- 
 ness, if occasion requires, you are at liberty to 
 show this letter to Major Ferguson, with my 
 compliments, and request his assistance in the 
 way above-mentioned ; and I would have you 
 inform the commanding officer of the 7th, in 
 order to set at ease the minds of his Sepoys who 
 have families, that they are going northward, 
 which I fancy they all like ; you may also inform 
 him, that his exertions to be speedily in readiness 
 will be esteemed marks of his attention to his 
 Commander-in-Chief. The plot thickens, and 
 will, no doubt, succeed, while such zeal pervades 
 the coast army. Keep my two boys to their duty, 
 and believe me. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 George Harris. 
 
 " P. S. Don't let Lascars be a difficulty, if 
 you can raise them in the cantonment." 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 ^^ Madras, August ], ]798. 
 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 " My last letter to your Lordship, of which 
 
J 92 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 I now transmit a duplicate, was in a more de- 
 sponding sti'ain than you were probably prepared 
 to receive, but if it had been my wish to soften 
 the truths which it contained, I should have 
 deemed it treacherous to your Lordship to have 
 done so, for as the responsibility of the orders you 
 have given rests exclusively with your Government, 
 it was incumbent on me to apprise you of the 
 difficulties which opposed their execution, that 
 you might be enabled to send us early and effec- 
 tual succours. 
 
 " The selection of a person to command the 
 detachment has been justly considered an object 
 of great importance, and, after the fullest inquiry, 
 my choice has fallen upon Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Roberts, who commands the 11th Regiment, was 
 at Hyderabad wilh it till relieved by the Bengal 
 detachment, and gave great satisfaction to the 
 Nizam and his ministers. Sir Alured Clarke 
 knows his character. Lieutenant-Colonel Dal- 
 rymple, the brother of Colonel Roberts, is the 
 second in command, and an officer of high military 
 character. 
 
 " It will appear somewhat extraordinary to 
 your Lordship, upon a perusal of the accompany- 
 ing Minute, read in Council on the 13th inst. (but 
 withdrawn for the present), that the required 
 detachment would have been nearly ready by this 
 time, if the want of money had not opposed so 
 serious an objection, and if I had not been much 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 193 
 
 importuned to refrain from the measure, and per- 
 haps convinced that I should have been impeded 
 in it. 
 
 " The receipt of your instructions gave a differ- 
 ent aspect to the measure, and yesterday I de- 
 livered to the Council the Minute No. 2. Objec- 
 tions were, as I expected, started, but as I declared 
 my resolution to take the measure upon myself, 
 and execute it with my own funds if no public 
 money could be obtained, the opposition was 
 silenced, and the measures necessary for putting 
 the troops in motion were instantaneously adopted. 
 
 " The minute which I have delivered in has 
 relieved the disquietude of mind under which I 
 wrote my last letter, because I feel that I have 
 done my duty towards the public and myself, in 
 stating the difficulties to which we are exposed, 
 whilst I have placed at the same time your Lord- 
 ship's wishes in the best possible train of accom- 
 plishment, and write this letter under a deter- 
 mination of using my unceasing endeavours for 
 tlieir effectual completion. 
 
 " In the various considerations that will occupy 
 your Lordship's mind in deliberating upon this 
 great question, that of the limited powers allowed 
 to the Commander-in-Chief on the coast will not 
 escape you. In the event of hostilities, I should 
 most earnestly wish your Lordship to be here, and 
 the Commander-in Chief in India to be in the 
 command of the army, for, although I have no 
 
 o 
 
194 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 doubt your Lordship would endeavour to prevent 
 the certain bad consequences of placing me in the 
 command of the army without an extension of my 
 present powers, I am thoroughly convinced the 
 service would essentially benefit by your Lord- 
 ship's presence at Madras. 
 
 " I wish to draw your Lordship's particular 
 attention to the order for drafting the 36th Regi- 
 ment ; it is a seasoned corps, officers and men 
 well acquainted with the warfare of this country ; 
 and you may expect both the 12th and 33rd will 
 be skeletons after one campaign. I must also 
 beg you will take into your consideration the very 
 weak state of our European force actually in the 
 Carnatic. Our southern division is left with only 
 the sick and weakly of the 12th and 19th, until 
 two companies of Europeans arrive from JafFna- 
 patam ; and this I have been obliged to risk, or 
 we could not collect any thing like a respectable 
 force to meet Tippoo in the field. 
 
 " In adverting to your Lordship's suggestion 
 of combining economy with effectual preparations, 
 I may observe that the state of our finances had 
 obliged me to anticipate the idea of putting the 
 Europeans into garrison, and orders have been 
 issued to prepare the barracks at Arnee to receive 
 the 12th, and the 36th shall be put into Poona- 
 mallee, which will leave them ready to embark, or 
 to go to the field. 
 
 " The 19th Dragoons may be stationed at the 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 195 
 
 Mount, and 3rd Native Cavalry must double at 
 Arcot with the 25th Dragoons and 1st Native 
 Cavalry, and the 4th Native Cavalry need not 
 move from Cuddalore, nor the battalion of Native 
 Infantry from Pondicherry. 
 
 " This arrangement, and the corps at Am boor, 
 Vellore, Arnee, Arcot, and Coimbatore, being only 
 equipped for field service, without moving until 
 absolutely necessary, will be a material saving of 
 expense. 
 
 " The outline of your Lordship's ideas for the 
 defence of the Carnatic, appears to me perfectly 
 correct ; and so sensible am I of the necessity of 
 stores and a train in advance, that you will have 
 a plan immediately laid before you for putting the 
 Pettah of Kistnagherry into a state to make a 
 depot, and which appears to me and Colonel 
 Read to be so easily eflfected from his account of 
 it, that I would have instantly set about it had 
 the means been in my power. As matters now 
 appear, I shall make use of the cattle we have 
 been obliged to collect in transporting stores to 
 Vellore, as we must keep them on pay for some 
 months at least. 
 
 " The unusual swelling of the rivers at Trichi- 
 nopoly, and our total want of preparation in every 
 way (not a boat being ready, and the nabob's 
 people doing nothing), has caused a delay in that 
 quarter that might have been most fatal, had 
 
 o 2 
 
196 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 Tippoo come down on the first intellig-ence of our 
 preparations. 
 
 " The 3rd Native Cavahy commenced crossing 
 the 17th inst., and this moment I have a letter of 
 the 25th from General Floyd, which says, ' The 
 3rd Native Cavah-y over both rivers, and to march 
 towards Wallajahbad on the 28th. The twelve 
 tumbrils and artillery were expected to cross on 
 the 2yth ; the 12 th Foot are arrived at Trichino- 
 poly, and will cross after the artillery ; 19th Dra- 
 goons all ready, and follow the 12th Regiment.' 
 This will protract the junction of the troops till 
 the latter end of next month — a strong- proof of 
 the necessity of always having- an efficient army 
 for field movements in the centre division, nearly 
 as it will now be cantoned. 
 
 " I hope your Lordship will approve the sen- 
 timent I have expressed regarding Serfogee's 
 proffered assignment of his country. As the con- 
 sideration of such subjects is totally foreign to the 
 habits of a military man, some defect may reason- 
 ably be expected, but I must disclaim any that 
 may appear to have originated in precipitation or 
 want of inquiry. 
 
 " If your Lordship had not seen at Madras a 
 great part of the Company's civil servants on this 
 establishment, you would perhaps have been sur- 
 prised that my selection for the commission should 
 have fallen upon gentlemen so young in the ser- 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 197 
 
 vice. Mr. Torin's qualifications will be abun- 
 dantly manifest from his own letters. Mr. Harris 
 came to India in 1789, and is a young man of 
 much promise. Mr. Stratton, though a cove- 
 nanted servant of only five years standing, has 
 been ten years in the country, and has the cha- 
 racter of much patient inquiry and sound judg- 
 ment. The principles of the whole I believe to 
 be unquestionable, and I am certain they have 
 never been in any way concerned in the Tanjore 
 country ; and to remove the suspicion of patron- 
 age, I should mention that neither of these young 
 men were recommended to me, and that I have 
 scarcely a personal knowledge of Mr. Harris. 
 
 " This letter was begun the 30th of July, but 
 so much has my time been taken up, that I could 
 not have been able to forward it even by this 
 night's tappal, only for the imwearied assistance 
 of my son-in-law, Mr. Lushington. 
 
 I am, my dear Lord, 
 Your very faithful and obedient servant, 
 (Signed) Geo. Harris. 
 
 " P. S. Commodore Sutherland arrived here 
 this morning, in order to take the command of 
 the Bombay frigate, and will proceed to Bengal 
 by the first opportunity, and, I hope, be in time 
 to catch his ship. Duplicates of the present and 
 of our further proceedings shall be forwarded by 
 Commodore Sutherland." 
 
198 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 " No. 2. Enclosure in the foregoing letter. 
 '■'■Secret Department, July 3], 1798. 
 "The President lays before the Board a 
 letter from Bengal, which he recommends may 
 not at present be entered on the records, directing 
 that immediate orders may be issued for as- 
 sembling, with all practicable dispatch, two native 
 regiments of infantry, with field pieces, each bat- 
 talion completed to the war strength of 1,000 
 men, and intimating, that it is probable this force 
 will shortly be required for the service of the 
 Nizam. 
 
 " The President delivers in the following 
 Minute : — 
 
 " If the present order had been given after the 
 receipt of our letter to the Supreme Government 
 of the 10th inst., there would have been no cause 
 to doubt what conduct we ought to pursue, be- 
 cause the Governor- General in Council would 
 have issued his directions under a knowledge of 
 the difficulties in which we should be involved by 
 the execution of his first instructions for as- 
 sembling the coast army, with the ultimate view 
 of marching to Seringapatam. 
 
 "In that letter we stated our inability to 
 undertake any offensive operation ; that our whole 
 collected force was barely sufficient to repel any 
 invasion of our own territories ; and that, without 
 large and immediate supplies of money, we could 
 not put it in a state of field equipment ; it fol- 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 199 
 
 lows, then, that, by preparing and detaching- so 
 large a part of our army (and wliich it is probable 
 will shortly be entirely withdrawn from our pro- 
 tection) as 4,000 effective infantry, with their 
 complement of field artillery, that a very serious 
 reduction is made from our means of defence, 
 and that the very measure which we were before 
 scarcely in a condition to repel, is proportionably 
 provoked. 
 
 " The question, therefore, for our consideration 
 is, whether these consequences shall be risked by 
 the execution of the present order. 
 
 " If I believed that the stipulated force was 
 required only for the ordinary service of the 
 Nizam, I would not hesitate to recommend that 
 the execution of the order should be suspended 
 until a reply was received to the representation 
 which has been made to the Supreme Govern- 
 ment of our difficulties ; but, judging from the 
 very pressing private request of the Earl of Morn- 
 ington, that the detachment may be equipped 
 with the utmost promptitude and caution, that 
 its formation is of great importance to the British 
 interests in India, I should deem myself culpable 
 if I thwarted any general plan which may have 
 been formed by the Supreme Government, by 
 delaying, for a moment, to propose to the Board 
 the mode which I deem most proper for the 
 speedy and effectual accomplishment of the part 
 with which we are charged. 
 
200 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 " I am aware that difficulties of great magni- 
 tude oppose the arrangement I shall propose ; but 
 feeling that they ought to yield to the more imme- 
 diate object in view, it would be superfluous to 
 dwell upon them, and culpable to shrink from the 
 responsibility which may attach to us in meeting 
 them. 
 
 " The public and private promise of a supply 
 from Bengal in specie, lessens my apprehensions 
 on this account; and as I have again, in the most 
 urgent terms, pressed the immediate necessity of 
 its performance, I am confident that his Lordship 
 in Council will be as forward to afford effectual 
 relief to our particular difficulties, as we may be 
 to manifest a cordial co-operation in his plans for 
 the general safety. 
 
 Geo. Harris." . 
 
 The detachment was forthwith sent to Hyder- 
 abad, and soon after this Minute was written. 
 General Harris received from the Governor- 
 General the following letter, upon which I find 
 indorsed in the General's handwriting, — " This is 
 a most able production." 
 
 " (Private.) Fort William, July 16, 1798. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I return you many thanks for the despatch 
 received by the Bombay frigate, yesterday at four 
 o'clock, p. M. The frigate met with such bad 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 201 
 
 weather on the passage, that she could not touch 
 at Masulipatam, and she arrived here without 
 Major Beatson, and so much disabled, that she 
 will require a repair at Diamond Harbour before 
 she can return to sea. 
 
 *' The information with which you have fur- 
 nished me is sufficient for my present purpose, 
 and I cannot express in terms equal to my real 
 sentiments, my cordial approbation of the zeal 
 with which you have entered into all my views 
 for the public service, and of the alacrity, dili- 
 gence, and correctness, with which you have exe- 
 cuted the commission which I entrusted to your 
 charge. I perceive, however, that the object and 
 principle of my late directions to your Presidency 
 are not thoroughly understood ; for your satisfac- 
 tion, therefore, I will state very shortly a summary 
 view of both. 
 
 " I have obtained the fullest evidence of the 
 nature of Tippoo's designs against the British 
 power in India, and I have been apprized that, in 
 conformity to the public declarations of his am- 
 bassadors, he has actually made preparations for 
 carrying that design into effect. At what moment 
 he may think fit to strike the blow, which he has 
 openly menaced, must always be a matter of mere 
 conjecture ; the interests and wishes of France 
 are decidedly in his favour ; the precise period of 
 time when she may be able to afford him assistance, 
 must be uncertain ; it is equally uncertain, whe- 
 
202 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 ther the impetuosity of his temper will suffer him 
 to wait for that assistance : various events in 
 India might offer opportunities which he might 
 deem (and perhaps with reason) favourable to the 
 success of his hostile projects ; and without pre- 
 tending* to estimate the considerations which may 
 govern his conduct, it is evident that while we 
 remain without a soldier prepared to take the 
 field in the Carnatic, and without an ally to assist 
 our operations, we yield to this implacable adver- 
 sary the decided advantage of selecting the time 
 and mode of his long-meditated attack against 
 our defenceless possessions. Under these circum- 
 stances, I have never considered that the option 
 between temporary peace and immediate war 
 resided in our hands. The motionless condition 
 of our army on the coast, contrasted with the 
 advanced state of Tippoo's preparations, places in 
 his hands not only that option, but the choice of 
 the moment of conquest ; for in our present 
 weakness, his first assault must be successful, 
 whatever might afterwards be regained by our 
 perseverance and resolution. The true state of 
 the question, therefore, is, whether, by continuing 
 unarmed and unallied, we shall abandon the issues 
 of peace, war, and certain victory, to the discre- 
 tion of a vindictive enemy, or whether by resuming 
 the power of meeting him in the field, we shall 
 replace in our hands the advantages which he now 
 possesses. 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 203 
 
 " With this view of the subject, the assembling 
 our forces, and the placing- ourselves in a state of 
 preparation for war, at least equal to that of the 
 enemy, appeared to me from the first moment of 
 the authentication of the proclamation, to be 
 measures not of choice, but of irresistible neces- 
 sity, and of indispensable duty. But I did not 
 stop at this point ; my decided opinion was and 
 is, that every practicable reduction of the power 
 of Tippoo, is warranted by the principles of 
 justice, and demanded by those of policy; and I 
 therefore determined in the first instance to en- 
 deavour to anticipate the execution of his projects 
 of vengeance, by attacking him on all sides with- 
 out delay, and thus intercepting his means of 
 availing himself of the solicited aid of France, or 
 of any other assistance which might be presented 
 to him by the variable course of Indian politics. 
 But I never proposed to undertake any attack 
 upon him, of which the success could be doubtful 
 in the judgment of those whose opinions must 
 always govern my discretion on every question of 
 military detail ; and although my judgment re- 
 mains unaltered, with respect to the justice, policy, 
 and even indispensable necessity of an effectual 
 reduction of Tippoo's power, I have not under- 
 valued the practical difficulties of such an attempt 
 in the present moment. 
 
 " The delay which must attend any movement 
 of the army upon the coast, and the immense 
 
204 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 expense of protracted military operations, had 
 made a considerable impression upon my mind, 
 previously to the receipt of your letter dispatched 
 by the Bomhaij frigate ; and I had, in consequence 
 of that impression, relinquished all hope of effecting 
 within any short period, the only operation which 
 can afford permanent security to our possessions 
 on the coast. 
 
 " Your letter, together with the opinions of 
 Colonel Close, confirmed the decision which I had 
 already taken, and proved that any effectual blow 
 against the power of Tippoo must be deemed 
 utterly impracticable under the present circum- 
 stances of the army at your Presidency. But the 
 orders which I originally gave for assembling the 
 army upon the coast, although pointed more par- 
 ticularly at the object of an immediate attack 
 upon Seringapatam, were founded (as I have 
 already stated) upon principles independent of 
 the judgment which I might hereafter form of the 
 practicability of that object. The measure of 
 assembling the army, and of continuing it, if not 
 in the field, at least in a state of forward prepara- 
 tion, is indispensable to the present defence of the 
 Carnatic, the security of which it is my duty to 
 establish upon foundations more solid than can 
 be found in the forbearance of Tippoo Sultaun. 
 In addition to this most pressing object, my views 
 at every period of this crisis have been extended 
 to other general measures essentially connected 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 205 
 
 with the security of our power in India, and with 
 our means of restraining the enmity of Tippoo. 
 I have ahvays known that an offensive war of any 
 long duration in Mysore, would be difficult, if not 
 impracticable, without the co-operation of the 
 Peishwah and of the Nizam, at least to the extent 
 of facilitating- the supplies of provision to our 
 army in the field. A principal branch, therefore, 
 of the precautions which from the first moment I 
 proposed to take for our general defence, was the 
 restoration of these two members of the triple 
 alliance to the power of fulfilling their engage- 
 ments with us. And it was always my intention 
 that a negociation, accompanied with other mea- 
 sures for that purpose, should precede any attack 
 upon Tippoo. This part of my plan I have not 
 abandoned ; it is now in train with very fair pro- 
 spects of success. 
 
 " I have annexed to this despatch, copies of 
 several letters from the Residents at Poonah and 
 Hyderabad, and of my recent instructions to tliem. 
 These papers will furnish you with a complete 
 knowledge of the actual dispositions and interests 
 of the two courts, as well as of the nature of the 
 system which I have framed for the purpose of 
 uniting them with us upon the original basis of 
 our subsisting treaties of defence against Tippoo. 
 
 " You will observe that my views have also 
 been directed to avert another danger which I 
 have long considered with great apprehension, and 
 
206 PRR PA RATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 which is now aggravated by the inclination which 
 Tippoo has manifested to admit large bodies of 
 Frenchmen into his armies. The growth of a 
 French party in the councils and armies of the 
 several native powers of India, had attracted my 
 attention before I left Europe : this evil has now 
 reached an alarming height, and if not checked 
 will soon produce convulsions in the system or 
 Indian politics, which may facilitate the introduc- 
 tion of the power and influence of France, and 
 expose ours to imminent hazard. The French 
 army at Hyderabad is the main root of tnis mis- 
 chief, and I feel it to be a most urgent point of 
 my duty to extirpate it without delay. 
 
 " In considering the annexed papers, you will 
 perceive what erroneous notions have been formed 
 at Madras of the temper and views of Azim ul 
 Omrah and the Mahrattahs, as well with respect 
 to the reciprocal relations of the two courts to- 
 wards each other, as to their common disposition 
 towards the British Government. The moment 
 is very favourable for adjusting their mutual dif- 
 ferences, and for reconciling both parties to co- 
 operate with us against Tippoo. I do not expect 
 that Scindiah will be able to oppose any effectual 
 obstacle to the success of a plan founded on the 
 real interests of all parties, and calculated to con- 
 ciliate the approbation of all the ancient friends 
 of his family, and of all who possess any degree of 
 permanent mfluence in his armies or dominions. 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 207 
 
 It would be impossible to cany this plan into 
 execution^ without accompanying it by a respect- 
 able state of preparation in the Carnatic ; as it 
 cannot be supposed that Tippoo would remain an 
 inactive spectator of our negotiations at Poonah 
 and Hyderabad, unless he were checked by an 
 appearance of our ability to move upon his fron- 
 tier. Our preparations are the necessary conse- 
 quences of those which he has made, and it would 
 be neither rational nor just in him to consider 
 them as provocations of war. If the fear of an 
 attack from him in the early stage of our prepa- 
 rations, is absolutely to preclude us from making 
 them, we are, indeed, upon most unequal terms 
 with him ; and we must then at once determine 
 to leave our fate at his disposal, for it will then 
 appear that we dare not take the common precau- 
 tions of defence, while he with impunity pub- 
 licly enters into an offensive alliance for the 
 declared purpose of expelling the British nation 
 from India. 
 
 " Having already stated to you that I no 
 longer entertain any idea of an immediate attack 
 upon Tippoo, it will follow that my objects must 
 for the present be limited to those measures of 
 general preparation and defence which are abso- 
 lutely necessary for enabling us to recover the 
 efficiency of our alliances, to repel any attack 
 which Tippoo may make upon us, or even- 
 tually to support any representation which we 
 
208 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 may hereafter judge it advisable to make to 
 him. 
 
 " It is not my intention to forward any 
 despatch to Tippoo until the allies shall have con- 
 curred in it, shall be ready to second our demand, 
 and until our preparations shall be considerably 
 advanced ; the nature of our remonstrance to 
 Tippoo will be determined by the circumstances 
 of the moment in which it shall be made. 
 
 " I now proceed to state to you another part 
 of my general plan for the protection of the 
 Carnatic. The result of my earliest inquiries into 
 the nature and condition of the military establish- 
 ments on the coast convinced me that there 
 existed a radical defect in them, which rendered 
 them peculiarly ill adapted to secure the principal 
 object of their institution, more especially in the 
 actual state of Tippoo's preparati<ms, of his 
 temper, and of his povv^er. It is impossible for 
 any human foresight to ascertain the precise time 
 when an attack from Tippoo may be expected ; 
 but it is a matter of public notoriety, that he will 
 attack the Carnatic, whenever circumstances shall 
 appear to favour his declared design. To coun- 
 teract such a design, and to avert the dreadful 
 evils which must attend even the partial execution 
 of it, the character of the enemy, and the nature 
 of his force, require that our protecting- force 
 should be so constituted, as to be capable of 
 sudden and rapid movements at a short notice ; 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 209 
 
 but the want of an establishment of draught bul- 
 locks, the want of a regular system for the speedy 
 collection of the carriage bullocks from the 
 country, the inadequate stores of grain and of 
 other supplies necessary for the provision of an 
 army in the field, the defects in the regulations 
 for providing camp equipage, and lastly the want 
 of a regularly-established train of artillery with 
 all its proper equipments, nearly disqualify the 
 army upon the coast for any speedy operation even 
 of a defensive nature. 
 
 "This was my opinion previous to the receipt 
 of your despatch, from the perusal of which, and 
 of the papers accompanying it, I am compelled to 
 declare that I have received the most alarming 
 impressions of the totally defenceless state of the 
 Carnatic in the present condition of your army, 
 as well as of the utter inefficacy of that force, for 
 any present purposes, even of the most limited 
 nature of mere defence. 
 
 " The report of your Adjutant-General states 
 distinctly that the army in the Carnatic, under its 
 present circumstances, cannot be put in motion 
 even for the purpose of defending that valuable 
 possession, under a shorter notice than six months. 
 A body so tardy in its operations cannot be 
 deemed an efficient check upon the rapid and 
 active movements which are supposed to form the 
 characteristic qualities of the adversary to whom 
 it is opposed. 
 
210 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 " If the opinion of your Adjutant-General is 
 to be deemed correct, I have no hesitation in de- 
 claring that the army upon the coast^ notwith- 
 standing' its high state of discipline, and the ac- 
 knowledged gallantry, activity, and skill of its 
 officers, must be considered as an useless burden 
 upon the finances of the Company, being, from its 
 constitution, wholly unserviceable in the emer- 
 gency of that species of war which it must ever 
 expect to encounter, until the character of the 
 enemy, and the nature of his force, shall be en- 
 tirely changed. It cannot be doubted, that if 
 Tippoo, in consequence of his alliance with 
 France, had received the aid of one or two regi- 
 ments, either from the Mauritius or from France, 
 he would immediately have attempted an irruption 
 into the Carnatic with the whole force of his 
 cavalry, which, although diminished, is still con- 
 siderable. In such an event, if the Adjutant- 
 General's opinion be correct, your army could 
 have opposed no obstacle to the progress of 
 Tippoo for many months. The state of Tippoo's 
 preparations is supposed to be such as to enable 
 him to move with facility and celerity, even for 
 the purposes of offence, while the condition of our 
 protecting force is represented by the Adjutant- 
 General to be such as will not admit of its moving- 
 even for the purposes of defence before the 
 commencement of the ensuing year. The ac- 
 knowledged talents and experience of your Ad- 
 
WITH TIPrOO SULTAUN. 211 
 
 jutant-General will not allow me to treat his 
 opinion lightly upon a subject so important as 
 that which was submitted to his consideration. I 
 am persuaded that he is incapable of attempting 
 to exaggerate difficulties, and I can conceive no 
 motive which could induce him to endeavour to 
 impede the progress of measures which it is his 
 duty to execute with the full exertion of his zeal 
 and ability ; yet if I am to receive his judgment 
 implicitly, I cannot view it in any other light than 
 that of a sentence of disqualification upon your 
 army as far as relates to the primary object of its 
 institution — namely, "defence against a sudden 
 invasion of the Carnatic." I am, however, aware 
 that this sentence of disability is mitigated in a 
 considerable degree by your judgment, and that 
 of Mr. Cockburn, to both of which on every 
 account I pay the greatest deference and respect. 
 But even from the result of your opinion it ap- 
 pears that it would be nearly three months before 
 the army could be enabled to move even for 
 operations of a defensive nature. This, my dear 
 Sir, is a most serious consideration to me, who 
 am charged with the arduous responsibility of 
 preserving from injury every part of the British 
 empire in India. I am determined not only to 
 apply an immediate remedy to this evil, but to 
 encounter the expense which I know must be in- 
 curred, in providing a permanent security against 
 the future return of the peril of our present situa- 
 
 p 2 
 
212 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 tion. With this view, I mean to record my sen- 
 timents in the Secret Department upon the diffi- 
 culties which obstruct the movement of your 
 army. This step will be followed by a direction 
 to your Government to report to me in council 
 the most eligible plan for enabling- the army upon 
 the coast to be in constant readiness to take the 
 field expeditiously upon any sudden emergency. 
 On your report, combined with such information 
 as I shall receive from the Commander-in-Chief, 
 and from the authorities here, I propose to ground 
 a permanent system for the necessary purpose 
 already stated. In the meanwhile the measures 
 which it is my intention to suggest to you for our 
 present defence will lay the foundation of a more 
 regular establishment of your means of taking the 
 field in future, and will co-operate in promoting 
 my ultimate object. My wish now is, that you 
 should immediately encamp the native troops in 
 such a position as you may deem most eligible for 
 repelling any invasion of the Carnatic ; that you 
 should draw the European force immediately into 
 the frontier garrisons ; and if your point of union 
 should be, as I suppose it must be, the Baramahl, 
 that you should encamp the European force also 
 there before the period of the monsoon. You will 
 also immediately procure the necessary draught 
 bullocks for the artillery ; it is my opinion that 
 a permanent establishment of these will be abso- 
 lutely necessary for your future safety. The 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 213 
 
 carriage bullocks must be hired immediately 
 according to Mr. Cockburn's suggestion ; some 
 system must hereafter be regularly introduced 
 into the country, in order to facilitate the collec- 
 tion of these upon all future emergencies. Grain 
 and other necessary provisions must be stored in 
 whatever place shall be judged most proper for 
 such a depot. I am persuaded that means must 
 be found of constantly maintaining upon the 
 frontier such a store of grain as would serve a 
 large army for at least six months in the field. 
 The train of artillery must be provided without 
 delay ; this will serve as a foundation for a per- 
 manent establishment of artillery to be always 
 ready for use in the field. Camp equipage will 
 be provided, of course ; but the best mode of pro- 
 viding this article in future will be a leading 
 object of your report to me. 
 
 "Thus have I endeavoured to open to your 
 view the general outline of my arrangements for 
 frustrating the united efforts of Tippoo and of 
 France. My leading objects are, to place your 
 army in a respectable state of preparation for the 
 present, and to enable it to move with alacrity 
 and expedition on any future emergency ; to 
 restore to our allies the power of fulfilling their 
 defensive engagements with us, both now and 
 hereafter ; to destroy every seed of the French 
 party, now growing up in the heart of the domi- 
 
214 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 nions of one of our principal allies, and on the 
 confines of our own ; and by the natural and 
 necessary effect of this change in the poUtical state 
 of India, to strengthen our barrier against the 
 resentment and violence of Tippoo Sultaun, and 
 to place in our hands the option of reducing his 
 power according to our discretion, instead of 
 abandoning our tranquillity to his mercy. All 
 these objects appear to me to be attainable, but 
 if they should not be attained, the blame shall not 
 be imputable to any failure of diligence or labour 
 on my part. 
 
 " I am extremely pleased with the accounts 
 from Tanjore, and I flatter myself that the country 
 will at length become a scene of order and afflu- 
 ence, an honour to the Government of the Com- 
 pany and of the Rajah, and an increasing source 
 of profit to both. 
 
 " Pray remember me to Mrs. Harris, and to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lushington. Believe me, with 
 great regard and respect. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 Your faithful and humble servant, 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 " Lieutenmit-General Harris" 
 Sfc.f Sj-c., Sf^c. 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 215 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 *' Madras^ ^th August^ 1 798. 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 " I cannot express in adequate terms the 
 
 satisfaction which I have received from your 
 
 Lordship's letter of the 16th ultimo, and the 
 
 enclosures which accompanied it. 
 
 " This comprehensive explanation has dis- 
 pelled every doubt of the necessity of the mea- 
 sures which you have directed, and I congratu- 
 late your Lordship, that the peril of our situation 
 is diminished every day by the assembling of our 
 troops and the forbearance of the enemy, whilst 
 the measures you have in contemplation will 
 certainly prevent the future return of it. At the 
 close of the present, or the beginning of next 
 month, I hope to have our army in a state of 
 preparation, sufficiently advanced for our defence ; 
 but if that object should not be attained, it shall not 
 be owing to any want of activity or diligence in me. 
 
 " In my former remarks on this subject, I did 
 not advert to one of the difficulties we at present 
 feel in assembling our army, I mean the detach- 
 ment of a very considerable part of it on foreign 
 service. This compels us to draw our force from 
 distant garrisons to the place of rendezvous and 
 necessarily occasions a very material delay, but as 
 I have received your Lordship's public letter 
 upon the most eligible plan for enabling us to 
 take the field expeditiously, and am preparing to 
 
216 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 
 
 reply to it, I shall not now trouble you further, 
 particularly since your Lordship will have per- 
 ceived from my letter of the 1st instant, (of which 
 I have the pleasure to transmit to you a dupli- 
 cate) that I have been aware of the necessity of 
 having- always an efficient army for field move- 
 ments in the centre division, nearly as it will now 
 be cantoned. 
 
 " That you may have a perfect idea of the 
 plan of our cantonment, I have the pleasuie to 
 send you a sketch by Major Allan, which shows 
 that we shall always be able in the event of any 
 emergency to join in three days at Wallajahbad 
 and at Arnee in five. To effect the junction at 
 Wallajahbad, the advanced stations must fall 
 back, but this can only be rendered necessary by 
 one of the Sultaun's most rapid movements, and 
 this from our latest intelligence he does not 
 appear in any condition to make. Besides, as 
 different confidential persons are employed on the 
 frontier and in the southern districts, to obtain 
 information of the motions of his army, I have 
 little apprehension of a surprise. The prevention 
 of this is obviously a most important object ; and 
 I have, therefore, directed Lieut.-Col. Read to 
 report as soon as possible upon the practicability 
 of establishing signals in all the garrisons in 
 the Barrahmahal, and from thence to the Presi- 
 dency, or at least as far as Vellore, whence the 
 common tappal reaches us in a day; the result 
 
WITH TIPPOO SULTAUN. 217 
 
 shall be reported to your Lordship as soon as 
 possible. 
 
 " At present, I am of opinion that your Lord- 
 ship's suggestion of stationing the European 
 troops in the frontier garrison ought not to be 
 adopted. It will be first necessary to have a 
 complete arsenal and a magazine of grain in the 
 Barrahmahal. By encamping in so advanced a 
 situation, the whole of the coast and the centre 
 division would be left without defence, and as 
 offensive operations are not at present meditated, 
 the objects to be attended to, are the general 
 defence of our possessions, and the easiest mode 
 of putting the army in a condition to meet any 
 circumstances that may arise, which I conceive 
 can be best done by cantoning it in the way I 
 have pointed out ; upon this subject I shall, how- 
 ever, address your Lordship more fully hereafter. 
 " Yesterday morning, I saw the 2nd Battalion 
 2nd Regiment march for Guntoor in high spirits 
 and great strength. I directed the commanding 
 officer to march with as much rapidity as possible 
 after the first three days, which will give time to 
 the Sepoys and their families to get in proper 
 marching order. The 2nd Battalion 7th Regi- 
 ment were to march towards Guntoor from 
 Wallajahbad this morning. These are two of the 
 best corps in the service. The train of artillery 
 for the detachment will be as follows : — two 12- 
 pounders, eight 6-pounders, already ordered ; 
 
218 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 
 
 two howitzers to be added. But as the number 
 of men who can be spared for this train^ even 
 with the addition of the Bengal company at 
 Hyderabad, will not be sufficient, I beg your 
 Lordship will send a company to Masulipatam as 
 soon as possible, and a part of it may follow the 
 detachment, the whole of which will, I expect, 
 be in complete readiness at the appointed place 
 at the end of the month. 
 
 " I should be extremely neglectful if I closed 
 this letter without acknowledging that the very 
 flattering manner in which your Lordship has 
 been pleased to speak of my disposition to pro- 
 mote the public and your views, has given me 
 the highest satisfaction. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 George Harris. 
 
 " P. S. The outline of the return is tolerably 
 correct, but there will be still some difference 
 when we get the return of corps after going into 
 cantonment. 
 
 " I have made economy no further an object, 
 than as combined with being ready, but it will 
 yet take near a month to have our train for the 
 field complete. 
 
 " Our party will, I flatter myself, be ready by 
 the 1st of September for your orders." 
 
219 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Lord Clive relieves General Harris from the charge of the 
 Government at Madras.^ — Perfect success of Lord Mor- 
 nington's policy at Hyderabad. — 14,000 troops officered by 
 Frenchmen, disarmed and disbanded. — Detailed account of 
 that transaction. 
 
 Lord Mornington's letter of the 16th July was 
 the last he wrote to General Harris as Acting 
 Governor of Fort St. George, for Lord Clive, the 
 new Governor, arrived at that presidency on the 
 21st August, 1798, and from that period the 
 communications with the Governor-General de- 
 volved upon him. 
 
 The letters of Lord Clive mark very forcibly 
 the deep impression made upon his mind by the 
 representations he received from the public 
 officers of the embarrassments in which the 
 affairs of that presidency were then involved. 
 They prove at the same time that the manly 
 heart which he derived from his great ancestor, 
 was not intimidated by these statements of the 
 peril and responsibility of his station, but that he 
 regarded them as became one who felt that he 
 had an hereditary right to share in the danger, 
 and to contribute to the glory and prosperity of 
 the British empire in India. 
 
220 
 
 STATE OF AFFAIRS 
 
 As his Lordship's letters accurately describe the 
 state of affairs at that time at Madras, I shall 
 here transcribe two of them. 
 
 " Lord Clive to the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 ^' Fort St. George, ^^nd August, 1798. 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " Having barely had time under the cir- 
 cumstances of my recent arrival to read your 
 Lordship's confidential letters of the 16th ultimo 
 to General Harris, and of 29th to myself, I shall 
 not now enter upon the very important topics 
 they contain, but content myself for the pre- 
 sent with expressing the grateful sense I enter- 
 tain of the friendly and unreserved manner in 
 which you have done me the honour to open 
 your correspondence ; and with assuring your 
 Lordship that I am entering upon the important 
 duties of my station, with a mind fully impressed 
 by the great advantages which must result from 
 mutual confidence and co-operation, and with the 
 intention of showing the highest deference, and 
 giving the most cordial support to the measures 
 of the Supreme Government. 
 
 With great consideration and esteem. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Clive." 
 
AT MADRAS. 221 
 
 " Lord Clive to the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 ^^ Fort St. George, September 11, 1798. 
 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " I embrace the opportunity which Colonel 
 Kirk Patrick's return to Bengal presents to me of 
 renewing- my most sincere thanks to your Lord- 
 ship for the open and unreserved communication 
 of your sentiments in your letter of the 29 th of 
 July*, as well as for the assurance of friendly 
 support in the conduct of my government, which 
 you have had the goodness to give me. Upon 
 my part, your Lordship may rely with confidence 
 upon my zealous endeavours to meet the views 
 and co-operate in the measures of the Supreme 
 Government, for the prosperity of the Company. 
 It gives me concern to find your Lordship has 
 had any reason to complain of any thing like 
 counteraction or party spirit in this settlement. 
 I can venture to affirm that any tendency of that 
 kind is foreign to my disposition, and do assure 
 you that, should it ever be my misfortune to differ 
 in opinion with your Lordship, though it may 
 become my duty to express my sentiments with 
 freedom, I shall never lose sight of the relation in 
 which this Government stands to the Supreme 
 Government, nor of the respect and obedience 
 which is due to its directions. The point which 
 has chiefly absorbed my attention since my arrival, 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
222 STATE OP AFFAIRS 
 
 and which indeed presses with the greatest ur- 
 gency, is the prospect of a war with Tippoo Sul- 
 taun, when contrasted with the means this coun- 
 try possesses of meeting such an event. I cannot 
 view this important object, nor the embarrass- 
 ment in which the affairs of this country are in- 
 volved, very far exceeding what there was reason 
 to expect when I left England, without the most 
 extreme solicitude. 
 
 " The particulars of our situation are so well 
 known to your Lordship, that I shall have occa- 
 sion to bring them before you in a general point 
 of view, for the purpose of expressing my senti- 
 ments upon the subject, and not with the hope of 
 being able to convey information upon what has 
 been so much the object of your Lordship's atten- 
 tion. Our main army, consisting of about 8,000 
 fighting men, being in cantonments in the vicinity 
 of Wallajahbad, is deemed to be a force totally in- 
 adequate to offensive operations, and cannot be 
 strengthened from this Presidency without ma- 
 terially weakening the necessary garrisons, or 
 drawing our troops from Ceylon ; a sufficient re- 
 inforcement of native corps to enable our army, 
 in co-operation with that of Bombay, to under- 
 take the siege of Seringapatam, can only be 
 drawn from Bengal ; and if reliance is to be put 
 upon the judgment of the best-informed persons 
 here, such a reinforcement cannot be expected to 
 arrive in the Carnatic before the end of February 
 
AT MADRAS. 223 
 
 or beginning of March — a period too late for the 
 commencement of hostilities with a view to the 
 taking of Seringapatam in the course of next 
 year, the time for besieging that place being, as I 
 am also informed, hmited nearly to the months of 
 February, March, and April. It therefore seems 
 to follow that our army cannot be put in condition 
 to act offensively, and with a speedy prospect of 
 accomplishing the main object of a war with 
 Tippoo, the capture of Seringapatam, earlier than 
 January twelvemonth. When to these considera- 
 tions is added the discouraging state of our 
 finances, that our debt amounts to 54 lacs of 
 pagodas, that an investment is expected to be 
 provided of 12 lacs, that our ordinary expenses 
 exceed our ordinary revenue by about 13 lacs, 
 that the revenue of this year is expected to fall 
 short of what it was estimated at by nearly 6 
 lacs, that our 12 per cent, bonds are at a dis- 
 count of 5 or 6 per cent., that our treasury is 
 empty, our credit nearly gone, that the Govern- 
 ment shortly before my arrival had taken up a 
 lac of pagodas by bills on Bengal at 410 A. Rs. 
 the 100 pagodas, and that I have been under the 
 necessity of resorting to the same expedient, your 
 Lordship will not be surprised at my viewing the 
 situation of this country with extreme anxiety, 
 nor at my expressing an earnest hope that the 
 calamity of a war, for which we are so ill pre- 
 pared, may be averted. 
 
224 STATE OF AFFAIRS 
 
 " Having expressed what my feelings and my 
 duty have urged me to state, I beg to assure 
 your Lordship, in the event of your being forced 
 into a war with the Sultaun, or in that of your 
 ultimately determining to attack him, of my most 
 cordial co-operation to the extent of my means in 
 this Presidency, and of my most zealous and 
 scrupulous attention to the directions of the 
 Supreme Government. In the event of war, it is 
 to your Lordship and Bengal that we must look 
 for resources, for I am concerned to say, that I 
 see no prospect of our being ^ble to raise any con- 
 siderable sum in this settlement, but, on the con- 
 trary, considerable defalcations are to be appre- 
 hended from the predatory warfare which the 
 Sultaun may be expected to wage, and little, I 
 fear, is to be expected from his Highness the 
 Nabob. 
 
 " I have to thank your Lordship for the com- 
 munication of the papers relating to the negotia- 
 tions of Poonah and Hyderabad. The restoration 
 of the Triple Alliance to the situation in which it 
 stood when Lord Cornwallis left India, is an 
 object of the first importance, and the measures 
 which your Lordship has pursued with so much 
 energy for its attainment, appear to me decisive 
 and highly judicious ; that you may succeed, and 
 reap the applause due to your exertions, must be 
 the wish of whoever has British glory and British 
 interests at heart. The reinforcement destined 
 
AT MADRAS. 225 
 
 for Hyderabad, with the views of overthrowing 
 the French party there, of securing the succession 
 to Secunder Jah, and of establishing a permanent 
 influence in the councils and conduct of the 
 Nizam's court, has been contemplated by me 
 with peculiar satisfaction. Should this decisive 
 measure be crowned with success, and be pro- 
 perly followed up, it will, without doubt, tend 
 more than any other event to fix the British 
 power in India. 
 
 I have the honour to be, with sincere 
 respect and esteem. 
 My Lord, 
 Your Lordship's most faithful servant, 
 
 LIVE. 
 
 It is due to Lord Harris that I should here 
 advert to the manner in which the Earl of Morn- 
 ington regarded his zealous exertions on this 
 important occasion, because Major Beatson has 
 erroneously stated that tlie Government of Madras 
 were ignorant of what was going on at Hyder- 
 abad, and Mr. Mill has adopted the mistake in 
 his book. In the following letter the Governor- 
 General thus warmly expressed his feelings. 
 
 " My dear General, 
 
 " You will be glad to hear that I have this 
 day ratified in Council a subsidiary treaty with 
 
 Q 
 
226 THE EARL OF MORNINGTON's TESTIMONY 
 
 the Nizam, which was signed by his Highness on 
 the 1st of September, conformable in every re- 
 spect to the plan proposed in my instructions to 
 the Resident of Hyderabad. Yom- detachment 
 was ready even before it was wanted, and I cannot 
 express the extent of my approbation of the zeal 
 and alacrity with which it was assembled. 
 
 " If any public good should be the result of 
 my proposed measures, a large share of the merit 
 is to be ascribed to you, for, without your personal 
 exertion, my plan would have been inevitably de- 
 feated. I sincerely assure you that what I now 
 state to you shall be stated to Mr. Pitt, to Mr. 
 Dundas, and to the Court of Directors ; and if 
 my advice and solicitation can have any weight, 
 you will not remain long without some mark of 
 his Majesty's favour. 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 " Fort William, September 18, 1798." 
 
 It must be most gratifying to those who, like 
 myself, hold the memory of Lord Harris in affec- 
 tionate reverence, to know that the lapse of nearly 
 forty years has made no change in the sentiments 
 which the Earl of Mornington felt and expressed 
 on that occasion, for in the volume of the Marquis 
 Wellesley's Despatches, recently published, I find 
 this most just recognition of General Harris's 
 services. 
 
TO GENERAL HARRIs's CONDUCT. 227 
 
 " Upon the discussion in Council at Fort St. 
 George (31st July, 1798), relative to the furnish- 
 ing pecuniary funds for the detachment of the 
 army, ordered by the Governor-General to be 
 sent to Hyderabad, General Harris, then acting 
 Governor, offered to be responsible in his private 
 funds for the sum required to put the troops 
 in motion. This most generous and patriotic 
 offer completely silenced all opposition, and orders 
 were immediately issued for the advance of the 
 troops to Hyderabad*." 
 
 The two letters which I have quoted from 
 Lord Clive show how strongly his mind was at 
 first impressed by those around him with the dif- 
 ficulties under which the Madras Presidency then 
 laboured. Happily these fearful views were soon 
 dispersed. The detachment sent under Lord 
 Mornington's special injunction to Hyderabad by 
 General Harris, produced the immediate and 
 entire destruction of the French influence, and at 
 once restored the Soubah of the Deccan to the 
 power of becoming a useful ally in the war 
 against Tippoo. This first great master-stroke of 
 Lord Mornington's policy roused the courage and 
 spirits of all classes at Madras, as was well ex- 
 pressed in the following letter from General Harris 
 to Lord Mornington : — 
 
 * Lord Wellesley's Despatches^ p. 617. 
 
 Q2 
 
228 DISARMING OF 
 
 "To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 ''Madras, 29th October, 1798. 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 "Your kind favour of the 18th ultimo 
 would have been acknowledged the moment it 
 was received, if I had only attended to the grateful 
 feelings it occasioned ; but convinced as I am 
 how precious every moment of your Lordship's 
 time is to the public, I should not even now have 
 interrupted you, if the great and important news 
 from Hyderabad did not compel me to congratu- 
 late you on it. Never was any event more com- 
 pletely the work of an individual, than that has 
 been your Lordship's, and much am I flattered 
 that you should think the part you consigned to 
 me was performed with zeal and alacrity, which 
 it certainly was, and will ever continue to be, 
 while executing orders so pleasantly and clearly 
 detailed. 
 
 " It is a grand stroke, and I think will ensure 
 all the rest of your excellent plan in the same 
 bloodless style. We are going on with even in- 
 creased vigour for this fillip. The second ten-gun 
 battery sets off this day for Veliore, and as the 
 monsoon still holds off, I am in hopes they will 
 get there without being stopped by it. Lord 
 Clive is very zealous, and only wants to know 
 your Lordship's wishes to have them executed. 
 
THE nizam's troops. 229 
 
 With my warmest congratulations once more, 
 and those of my whole family added, on the com- 
 plete success of your Lordship's policy, 
 I am, with great sincerity, 
 
 My dear Lord, 
 Your faithful and obliged servant, 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 " The great and important news" here alluded 
 to by General Harris is so well described in the 
 following letters from Captain (afterwards Sir 
 John Malcolm) who was for some time an inmate 
 in General Harris's family, that they will be gra- 
 tifying to those who are interested in the details 
 of achievements by which the wisdom of British 
 Governors, and the vigour of British courage in 
 subordinate officers, have been so frequently dis- 
 tinguished in India ; and never were both com- 
 bined with happier effects than in the instance 
 here recorded : — 
 
 '■'• Hyderabad^ Wth October y 1798. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " Mr. Dennison (whose interests I will on 
 all occasions promote) yesterday delivered me 
 your letter. The kindness with which it was 
 written called to my recollection so many proofs 
 of your friendship, that I felt as if I had acted an 
 ungrateful part in leaving a house where I had 
 ever been treated more on the affectionate footing 
 
230 LETTER FROM CAPTAIN MALCOLM. 
 
 of a son than as one (which I was) who had 
 casually dropped into a family, upon whom he 
 had no claims, and from whom he had only a 
 right to expect common civility. I am too inti- 
 mately acquainted with your character, to be at a 
 loss for the motives which influenced your con- 
 duct towards me. They are such as to give you 
 a right to my sincerest gratitude, and of a nature 
 never to be forgot. 
 
 " From your patronage and favour I have been 
 enabled to lay the corner-stones of both fortune 
 and reputation, and it is my fault, not yours, if I 
 do not erect two goodly buildings. But I have 
 done on this subject ; I know you are convinced 
 of my sincerity, and more anxious that I should 
 do credit to your friendship by my actions, than 
 words. 
 
 " As you will probably have my appointment 
 notified from Bengal before this, I trust you will 
 not hesitate a moment, on my account, in naming 
 a successor to me as Persian interpreter at head- 
 quarters. Perhaps my retaining any claim on 
 that appointment, even for a few months, might 
 be an objection to some person that you might 
 wish to name : if so, I beg you will at once con- 
 sider it relinquished — indeed, when I reflect on 
 circumstances, I am ashamed of ever having made 
 the request I did. 
 
 " I will in a day or two write you on the politics 
 here, which are in a critical state. The removal of 
 
DISARMING OF THE NIZAM's TROOPS. 231 
 
 a few democrats is all that is wanting to secure us 
 here on a most permanent and honourable foot- 
 ing- ; but these gentlemen are at the head of 12,000 
 men, and may not be inclined to resign such dis- 
 tinction with a good grace — if not, they must do 
 it with a bad one, for till they are extirpated, 
 nothing is done. I cannot convince myself we 
 will be able to settle a taimahle with our French 
 friends, but I may be mistaken. 
 
 Believe me, my dear Sir, with respect. 
 Your much obliged, 
 
 And most obedient humble servant, 
 John Malcolm." 
 
 " 2\st Sf 22nd October, 1798. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " You are, no doubt, fully informed of the 
 new treaty formed with the Nizam, a secret 
 article of which stipulated for the immediate dis- 
 mission of the French officers, &c., and the com- 
 plete disorganization of the corps which they had 
 commanded. 
 
 " Though prudence would perhaps have dic- 
 tated this Article to have been carried into 
 execution when the corps under the French were 
 in a dispersed state, the minister thought if that 
 mode was adopted, much property of the Govern- 
 ment might be lost ; he therefore resolved to 
 bring them all to one spot, and, on the 13th 
 instant, they were all assembled except a few 
 small detachments at their usual cantonments 
 
232 LETTER FROM CAPTAIN MALCOLM. 
 
 within two miles of Hyderabad. I enclose you a 
 state of their force, which you will observe was 
 by no means despicable, particularly when it is 
 considered that their discipline and appointments, 
 though inferior to ours, were every way superior 
 to that of the common troops in a Native service, 
 and the extraordinary punctuality with which 
 they had since the first formation been paid, 
 secured to the officers the choice of the men of 
 the country. 
 
 "From the moment Colonel Roberts's detach- 
 ment arrived, Captain Kirkpatrick lu-ged the 
 necessity of prompt and vigorous measures, but 
 such are repugnant to the habits of this court. 
 Fortunately, as it afterwards proved, a strong and 
 spirited remonstrance of his against further delays 
 delivered on the morning of the 19th, led to a 
 discovery that the most serious intrigues against 
 the accomplishment of the treaty were carried 
 on, and the Minister, influenced by fear, (for he 
 is the most timid of cowards,) avowed language 
 that militated against a faithful and full per- 
 formance of it. In a situation so delicate and 
 important, there was no time for reflection. A 
 moment's delay might have produced incalculable 
 evils. The enemies of our connexion were nume- 
 rous, and though they had no force at hand, they 
 might in a few days have assembled one. 
 
 '^ The Minister's forwardness to form this con- 
 nexion, left no doubt of his inwai'd wish to see it 
 
DISARMING OF THE NIZAm's TROOPS. 233 
 
 fully accomplished ; while a knowledge of his 
 character and situation gave reason to conclude, 
 that he was under the most alarming apprehen- 
 sion, and that this was the cause of his change of 
 language. These considerations, and many others, 
 founded on private intelligence, determined the 
 Resident on the most spirited and decided mea- 
 sures. He ordered Colonel Hyndman's detach- 
 ment of two battalions to a strong post, about 
 four hundred yards in the rear of Monsieur Piron's 
 camp, between which and him there was the river 
 Moussy, which could only be forded by infantry; 
 the guns could, however, play from the bank of 
 the river, with excellent effect, on the principal 
 magazine, and right of the camp. Colonel Roberts 
 was encamped on a commanding spot, from whence 
 he could have marched to the attack of the front 
 and left of the French camp. The moment the 
 troops had reached this position, the Resident in- 
 formed the Minister, that after what he had heard 
 from himself and others, he thought it his duty 
 to provide both for the honour and safety of his 
 own state ; that he had, to accommodate to the 
 disposition of the Nizam's court, admitted, con- 
 trary to his instructions, a procrastination of nine 
 days, and he now could only give the court twenty- 
 four hours, to send the French officers their dis- 
 mission, to publish the Nizam's pleasure to their 
 troops, and to send him (the Resident) a body of 
 horse, to use coercive measures in co-operation 
 
234 LETTER FROM CAPTAIN MALCOLM. 
 
 with the English troops, if such was necessary. 
 If they did not conform with these requisitions in 
 the period prescribed, they were plainly told that 
 an attack would be made on Monsieur Piron's 
 lines ; and that they might take the consequences 
 upon their own heads, as the natural effect of 
 their crooked and unprincipled policy. This lan- 
 guage, and the unexpected motion of the troops, 
 which left no doubt of the intention, aided by the 
 spirited remonstrances of Meer Allum, who told 
 the Minister that if he continued his trifling, the 
 English would cancel the present advantageous 
 treaty, and make a new one for themselves, 
 worked the desired effect. All Captain Kirk- 
 Patrick's requisitions were complied with. 
 
 " The French officers, the moment their dis- 
 missal was officially given, signified to the Resident 
 their readiness to comply with the orders of the 
 Presence, and that they wished to receive the 
 protection of the English nation, as they were 
 convinced (although general policy had dictated 
 their removal,) they would be individually consi- 
 dered as having a right to that, in the fullest 
 extent it could be granted them. It was impos- 
 sible for a body of men to behave better than they 
 did : in the first instance, by making every exer- 
 tion to prepare to receive us as enemies ; and in 
 the next, by the most cheerful obedience to the 
 orders of the Prince they served, the moment 
 these were officially communicated. 
 
DISARMING OF THE NIZAM's TROOPS. 235 
 
 " On the officers preparing to leave camp on 
 the morning" of the 21st, a violent mntiny broke 
 out, in several of the corps, on account of their 
 pay, though only twenty-one days in arrear, and 
 every assurance had been given them of being 
 retained in the service. They confined Monsieur 
 Piron, and all the commandants of corps ; the 
 former, however, contrived to make his escape to 
 Colonel Roberts's camp, though not without a 
 scuffle, in which several were wounded. 
 
 " On the morning of the 22nd, as it was 
 resolved to reduce them to obedience, and as the 
 mutiny aiforded an admirable opportunity of dis- 
 cU'ining and disbanding the whole corps at once, 
 which otherwise would have been a work of time, 
 the Resident sent instructions to Colonel Roberts, 
 to advance with his corps, and after he had made 
 himself master of the heights that commanded 
 the French camp, to give the men one quarter of 
 an hour to stack their arms, and march off to a 
 cowle (or protection) flag, which was pitched by 
 one of the Nizam's principal officers, about half 
 a mile to the right of their camp. If they did 
 not comply with the terms of this summons, they 
 were immediately to be attacked, and on such 
 commencing. Colonel Hyndman was to advance 
 also. A body of near two thousand horse were 
 placed under my orders, with which I occupied 
 their right flank, while five hundred were sent to 
 the left. As I reached the ground two hours 
 
236 LETTER FROM CAPTAIN MALCOLM. 
 
 before Colonel Roberts came up, and observing 
 they were extremely alarmed, I ventured near, 
 though cautiously, as I had with difficulty made 
 my escape from them the day before. Four or 
 five subadars came to meet me, and after I had 
 explained the intentions of Colonel Roberts, they 
 returned to explain it to their corps, from whom 
 they instantly brought me a message that they 
 were ready to comply with all the conditions, but 
 trusted Company's Sepoys would be sent to take 
 possession of their lines, as the Nizam's horse, 
 if admitted, would plunder everything. On ob- 
 serving this favourable aspect, I advanced, and 
 found that they were completely disunited, antl 
 terrified, and ready to obey any orders, and as a 
 proof of their having returned to their senses, 
 they released all the officers they had confined. 
 
 " I went to meet Colonel Roberts, to inform 
 him of this favourable turn : he took immediate 
 possession of the heights, and advanced eight 
 Grenadier companies to take possession of the 
 grand magazine, store-houses, and cannon, while 
 the natives of the French corps moved off in 
 a deep column to the appointed flag, and the 
 Europeans all joined our camp, the latter full of 
 spirits : for the fears they had experienced from 
 the fury of the men made them view us, not as 
 belonging to a nation who had by its policy ruined 
 all their prospects, but as men who had exerted 
 themselves to save their lives. At five o'clock 
 
DISARMING OF THE NIZAM's TUOOPS. 237 
 
 their whole lines were in our possession, and a 
 corps consisting of sixteen thousand men in all, 
 had been annihilated in six hours, without shed- 
 ding one drop of blood. 
 
 Ever, my dear Sir, 
 
 faithfully your obliged, 
 
 John Malcolm." 
 " To Lieutenant-General Harris" 
 
238 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Progress of the military preparations for the campaign against 
 Tippoo — General Harris recommends the Governor-General 
 to give the command of the army to Sir Alured Clarke — ■ 
 His confidence established by the kind and encouraging 
 treatment of the Governor-General — Joins the army at 
 Vellore, and relieves Colonel Wellesley from the command. 
 
 From this time, the preparations of every kind 
 went forward with increased vigour. Lord Clive 
 and all the officers under the Government, civil and 
 military, emulated each other in their exertions 
 for the advancement of the important purpose, 
 which had been at first contemplated with great 
 alarm by nearly every civil and military servant 
 at the Presidency, except Mr. Cockburn. His 
 able and ardent mind entered cordially into the 
 wisdom and necessity of Lord Mornington's 
 policy, and he rendered every aid in his power to 
 its success by his comprehensive knowledge and 
 animated example. The high qualifications of 
 this excellent man had not escaped the sagacity 
 of the Earl of Mornington, although he had only 
 seen him for a short time at Fort St. George on 
 his way to Calcutta. In writing to Lord Clive, 
 the new Governor, upon the state of the civil 
 service, Lord Mornington thus expressed himself. 
 
CONFIDENCE RESTORED AT MADRAS. 239 
 
 ''Fort William, July 29th, 1798. 
 " Your Lordship will find all the members of 
 the Board of Revenue worthy of confidence. Mr. 
 Cockburn, however, deserves particular notice. 
 He bears the highest reputation for integrity, 
 talents, and knowledge of the business of the 
 country, and I found him fully answerable to his 
 general character. I have very seldom met with 
 a more valuable man in any part of the world ; 
 and I take the liberty of recommending him 
 earnestly to your Lordship's attention, as a 
 person on whom you may rely for the most 
 accurate information, and for the soundest and 
 most honest opinions, entirely exempt from any 
 taint of passion, prejudice, or self-interest*." 
 
 The period of the greatest danger was now 
 happily passed. Tippoo had done nothing whilst a 
 considerable body of our troops had been gra- 
 dually assembling in the southern division under 
 General Floyd, and at Wallajahbad and Vellore 
 under Colonel Harvey Aston, upon whose death 
 the command devolved upon Colonel Wellesley. 
 
 The Earl of Mornington's admirable des- 
 patches and measures, and the presence of Colonel 
 Wellesley at Madras, had wrought so great a 
 change in the feelings of the leading men in the 
 settlement, that when the Governor- General 
 arrived at Fort St. George, in December, he had 
 
 * See also Lord Cornwallis's character of Mr. Cockburn in 
 the Appendix. 
 
240 MR. WEBBE AND COLONEL CLOSE. 
 
 soon the satisfaction of seeing- all hearts and 
 hands united for the furtherance of his wise and 
 vigorous counsels. But as a proof of the feeling 
 of opposition to Lord Mornington's policy, which 
 at one period prevailed at Madras, and of the diffi- 
 culties which General Harris had to contend against, 
 I insert in the Appendix a letter from Colonel 
 Wellesley to General Harris, in October, 1798. 
 
 The decided, but honest, repugnance which 
 Mr. Webbe and other public officers had felt when 
 the noble earl's intentions were first disclosed, gra- 
 dually yielded to the course of events and to their 
 own niaturer reflections. This happy change was 
 accomplished with the greater facility, because 
 General Harris had not only not resented or 
 aggravated the pain and embarrassment which he 
 had himself suffigred from their first opposition, 
 but had done all in his power to allay the dis- 
 pleasure which Lord Mornington naturally felt 
 when it became known to him. So strongly did 
 the authorities at home enter into the feelings 
 first expressed by Lord Mornington, that, in a 
 moment of anger, a letter was actually written by 
 Mr. Dundas, ordering Mr. Webbe and Colonel 
 Close to be sent home. Most fortunately for the 
 public service, however, a second letter from Lord 
 Mornington arrived in time to prevent the degra- 
 dation of these two most distinguished officers, 
 which would have been a great public calamity. 
 The epitaphs upon their monuments in St. Mary's 
 
DEATH OF MR. WEBBE. 241 
 
 Church, at Madras, the one raised by public sub- 
 scription, the other by tlie East India Company, 
 abundantly manifest that two more distinguished 
 men never adorned the civil and military services 
 of India. 
 
 But to Mr. Webbe, this was but a respite 
 from affliction. He was subsequently removed, 
 by the misguided interposition of the authorities 
 at home, from the Chief Secretaryship of Madras, 
 in defiance of the indignant remonstrances of the 
 Governor, Lord Clive, and notwithstanding the 
 Governor-General had publicly declared that he 
 possessed knowledge, talents and virtues, never 
 surpassed in India, and had devoted the best 
 years of his valuable life for the honour and the 
 benefit of the Company. In his way to his 
 appointment of Resident at Nagpore, he died on 
 the banks of the Nerbudda, and amidst the 
 general mourning for his loss, none more sincerely 
 lamented him than the Governor-General and 
 Colonel Wellesley. The opportunities which the 
 noble earl had of appreciating his character, 
 encouraged the principal inhabitants of Madras 
 to request that his Lordship would be pleased to 
 write such epitaph as he might deem appropriate 
 for the public monument they had determined to 
 raise in honour of Mr. Webbe, and though the 
 Governor-General's official relations to those who 
 had removed Mr. Webbe from his office, pre- 
 vented his compliance with their wishes, his 
 
 R 
 
242 GENERAL HARRIS TAKES 
 
 Lordship cordially shared in the feelings which 
 dictated that just record, by which the memory 
 of this great statesman will ever be remembered*. 
 To repeat the words of the Duke of Wellington, 
 he was " one of the most able, and what is more, 
 one of the most honest men he ever knew." 
 
 Amidst the many proofs which Mr. Webbe's 
 honourable life afforded of the justness of this 
 character, was the impression his mind received 
 from the manner in which he had been treated 
 by General Harris, on the occasion of his oppo- 
 sition to the measures first proposed by the 
 General in furtherance of Lord Mornington's 
 policy. He never forgot the forbearance and 
 good temper shown to him at that period, and he 
 manifested it in the way which he knew would be 
 most acceptable to General Harris, by his kind- 
 ness to myself after the General returned to 
 England f. 
 
 But the change which had taken place in the 
 opinions of Mr. Webbe and other influential per- 
 sons at Madras, in regard to Lord Mornington's 
 measures, encouraged no presumptuous thoughts 
 in the mind of General Harris. His natural 
 equanimity remained undisturbed, and he earn- 
 estly recommended his Lordship, now, that 
 Zeman Shah had retreated from the Company's 
 western frontier, to send for the Commander-in- 
 Chief, Sir A. Clarke, then at Calcutta, that he 
 
 * See Epitaph in the Appendix. t See his Letters. 
 
THE COMMAND AGAINST TIPPOO. 243 
 
 might be himself relieved from the chief com- 
 mand of the expedition against Mysore. 
 
 The noble earl received this communication 
 with the respect and kindness due to so great an 
 instance of modesty and self-denial. But being 
 satisfied that the arrangements he had already 
 made for conducting the Government in Bengal, 
 and for the command of the army on the coast, 
 were well calculated to promote the public 
 interests, he desired General Harris to consider 
 well before he declined this great appointment, 
 and after a night's rest to return to him with his 
 answer in the morning. 
 
 Happily for the General, and for all con- 
 nected with him, his confidence was re-established 
 by the Governor-General's kind reception of his 
 modest doubts of his own sufficiency, and by 
 earnest prayer to the Giver of all victory, that he 
 might be endowed with the powers necessary for 
 this great undertaking. 
 
 His fine cheerful countenance, when he re- 
 turned to Lord Mornington in the morning, so 
 plainly spoke the result of his night's reflections, 
 that before he could give utterance to them, the 
 noble earl, by anticipation, congratulated him 
 upon his decision, in that frank and generous 
 spirit, which won the hearts of all who ap- 
 proached him, and made them serve in all his 
 counsels in India, as fervently as if they had been 
 of their own suggestion. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 STRENGTH OF THE ARMY. 
 
 From this moment every arrangement pros- 
 pered. Those individuals who had money, Eu- 
 ropean and native, animated by the Governor- 
 General's own subscription of 12,000/. to the 
 public loan, came handsomely forward with their 
 contributions, and thus filled up the measure of 
 those great supplies which this important expedi- 
 tion required. 
 
 All the preparations and arrangements for the 
 campaign being nearly completed, and the troops 
 assembled in the vicinity of Vellore, General 
 Harris, accompanied by the general staff, left 
 Madras on the 26th of January, 1 799, and joined 
 the army on the 29th of the same month. 
 
 The army consisted of 2,678 cavalry (of which 
 912 were Europeans), 576 European artillery, 
 4,608 European infantry, 11,061 native infantry, 
 2,726 gun lascars and pioneers, forming altoge- 
 ther a force of 21,649 men, with 60 field-pieces 
 (including 12 equipped as horse artillery, and 
 attached to the cavalry), 40 heavy guns, of which, 
 two were 24-pounders, thirty 18-pounders, and 
 eight 12-pounders, each having 1,200 shot, and a 
 proportionate quantity of stores of every kind. 
 
 This was the army of the Carnatic under the 
 command of General Harris, and an army more 
 perfect in all points had never taken the field in 
 India. As a specimen of what the cavalry were, 
 I insert in the Appendix a letter from Colonel 
 Wellesley to General Harris. 
 
 The army on the coast of Malabar, com- 
 
GENERAL HARRIs's POWERS. 245 
 
 manded by General Stuart, and most efficiently 
 equipped, was destined to act under General 
 Harris, when he approached Seringapatam. And 
 a considerable force was assembled to the south- 
 ward under Lieut.-Colonel Brown, to join the 
 detachment of Colonel Read in the Barrahmahal, 
 and from their co-operation in bringing supplies 
 to the grand army through the Caverypooram 
 Pass, essential aid was anticipated during the siege 
 of Seringapatam. 
 
 But the most important of all the advantages 
 which General Harris enjoyed, was the unbounded 
 confidence of the Governor-General, and the 
 extent of power delegated to him. He was 
 authorised to call upon all the servants of the 
 Company, civil and military, for every aid and 
 resource they could supply ; and their knowledge 
 that the Governor-General was at Fort St. George, 
 prepared to enforce the just exercise of these 
 powers by all the ample means which the law had 
 conferred upon him, inspired one universal spirit 
 of prompt obedience and vigorous exertion. 
 
 Under these circumstances, it was not presump- 
 tuous in Lord Mornington to anticipate the most 
 decisive success, for all that human power could 
 do to secure it, had been done. General Harris 
 had, however, seen such examples of the reverses 
 to which military enterprise were subject in India, 
 from the infirmity of the cattle, where a great 
 battering train is indispensable, and from the 
 
246 LORD CORNWALLTS'S RETREAT 
 
 difficulty of obtaining supplies of food, and he also 
 remembered so accurately the mournful result of 
 Lord Cornwallis's first attack upon the enemy 
 with whom he had now to contend, that he could 
 not divest himself, though surrounded by this 
 splendid armament, of considerable doubts of the 
 practicability of arriving at Seringapatam in time 
 to take it before the Malabar monsoon, if Tippoo 
 vigorously opposed his daily progress. The 
 month of February had now begun, and he had 220 
 miles to march, chiefly through a hostile country, 
 before he could reach Seringapatam. He recol- 
 lected that Lord Cornwallis, after having defeated 
 Tippoo under the gates of his capital, in the 
 month of May, 1791, was compelled to destroy 
 his battering train, and lead back his victorious 
 army in a state of miserable destitution, thus 
 feelingly described by Major Dirom, who was, 
 like General Harris, a partner in that misery : — 
 
 "The Mahratta armies having advanced to 
 Seringapatam, in May, 1791, later than the ap- 
 pointed period, their delay, and other unfortunate 
 circumstances, reduced Earl Cornwallis to the 
 necessity of destroying his battering train, after 
 having defeated Tippoo Sultaun on the 15th of 
 that month in a pitched battle, and obliged his 
 Lordship to lead back his victorious army, leaving 
 the siege of the enemy's capital to be the object of 
 another campaign. 
 
 "The Bombay army, commanded by Major- 
 
FROM SERINGAPATAM IN 1791. 247 
 
 General Abercromby, had^ with infinite labour, 
 formed roads, and brought a battering train, and 
 a large supply of provisions and stores, over fifty 
 miles of woody mountains called Ghauts, that 
 immense barrier which separates the Mysore 
 country from the Malabar coast. Part of General 
 Abercromby's train also fell a sacrifice to the ne- 
 cessity of the times ; and his army, who thought 
 they had surmounted all their difficulties, had the 
 mortification to find their exertions of no utility, 
 and had to return, worn down by sickness and 
 fatigue, exposed to the incessant rains which then 
 deluged the western coast of the Peninsula. 
 
 " Lord Cornwallis had advanced to Caniam- 
 baddy, eight miles above Seringapatam, with 
 a view to form a junction with the Bombay 
 army, which the swollen state of the Cavery, 
 and the unexpected badness of the ford, render- 
 ing impracticable, his Lordship remained some 
 days on the banks of the river, to cover their 
 march, as they retired from Periapatam to the 
 Ghauts, and began to move himself towards Ban- 
 galore on the 26th of May. The army had suf- 
 fered exceedingly from the inclemency of the 
 weather, from wounds, and from extreme fatigue 
 in bringing on the battering train and stores, 
 which had required much assistance on the march 
 from Bangalore to Seringapatam, and from thence 
 to Caniambaddy had been dragged almost en- 
 tirely by hand. The season of the year was un- 
 
248 LORD CORNWALLIS'S RETREAT 
 
 favourable to the cattle : they were infected with 
 an epidemic disorder, which killed them in vast 
 numbers, and rendered the greater part of what 
 remained of little service. The scarcity of grain 
 was such, that the lower class of followers were 
 reduced to the necessity of subsisting chiefly on 
 the putrid flesh of the dead bullocks, and, to add 
 to this scene of distress, the small pox unfortu- 
 nately raged in the camp. 
 
 " The public store of rice being nearly ex- 
 hausted, and the loss which had taken place from 
 the negligence or embezzlement of the bullock- 
 drivers on the march having decreased the ori- 
 ginal stock in a most alarming degree, it became 
 necessary to issue to the troops the greater part 
 of what remained, as the only means of securing 
 it for their subsistence. The fighting men were 
 thus provided, at the rate of half their usual 
 allowance, with a quantity sufficient to support 
 them till the army might by easy marches reach 
 Bangalore, the followers depending chiefly on the 
 casual supply, which, by taking a new tract, would 
 be found in the adjacent countries. The distress 
 of the officers was still more severe than that of 
 the soldiers ; for having given part of their private 
 carriage (cattle and carts) to the public depart- 
 ments, to assist in transporting shot and stores 
 from Bangalore for the siege of the capital, and 
 disappointed in the supplies they expected from 
 the Bombay army, they were now in want of 
 
FROM SERINGAPATAM IN 1791. 249 
 
 everything, and many were under the necessity of 
 requesting permission to draw the same allowance 
 as the private men. The tents and the clothing 
 were nearly worn out; the arrack, as well as the 
 rice, was almost expended ; and, in this situation, 
 the assistance of the troops was necessary to carry 
 back part of the intrenching tools, which it might be 
 difficult to replace, and to drag the field-pieces and 
 tumbrils attached to their corps, — a task to which 
 the surviving cattle were unequal in their weakly 
 state. Great part of the horses of the cavalry 
 were so reduced by want and fatigue, that they 
 could no longer carry their riders, and many, unable 
 to march, were noAv shot at their picquets. The 
 ground at Caniambaddy, where the army had en- 
 camped but six days, was covered in a circuit of 
 several miles with the carcases of cattle and 
 horses ; and the last of the gun-carriages, carts, 
 and stores of the battering train left in flames, 
 was a melancholy spectacle, which the troops 
 passed as they quitted this deadly camp." 
 
 The resolution which the remembrance of 
 these mournful events excited in General Harris's 
 mind was the wisest and best that could be 
 formed. He determined that nothing should in- 
 duce him to hazard a battle, or to march one foot 
 out of the line by which he had determined to 
 proceed to Seringapatam with such a quantity of 
 heavy stores and guns, but Tippoo's stopping the 
 course of his march. To this he firmly adhered ; 
 
250 COLONEL wellesley's services. 
 
 and it was bis constant study to inspire all the 
 officers and departments of the army with an 
 honest and ardent zeal like his own for the fur- 
 therance of this all-important purpose. From no 
 individual in the army did he derive greater aid 
 than from Colonel Wellesley, as his first report 
 of that officer's masterly arrangements to the 
 Governor-General expressed in the following 
 letter : — 
 
 " Camp near Vellore^ 2nd February^ 1709. 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " Having had leisure, since my arrival here, 
 to inspect the division of the army which has 
 been since its formation under the orders of the 
 Honourable Colonel Wellesley, I have much sa- 
 tisfaction in acquainting your Lordship that the 
 very handsome appearance and perfect discipline 
 of the troops do honour to themselves and to 
 him ; while the judicious and masterly arrange- 
 ments in respect to supplies, which opened an 
 abundant free market, and inspired confidence 
 into dealers of every description, were no less cre- 
 ditable to Colonel Wellesley, than advantageous 
 to the public service, and deservedly entitle him 
 to my thanks and approbation. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 With great respect, &c., 
 
 G. Harris." 
 
251 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The Army moves towards the Frontier — Parting letter from the 
 Governor-General — Reply thereto — Letter to Captain, after- 
 wards Sir, George A. Robinson, describing his situation and 
 expectations. 
 
 Not an hour was now lost in moving towards the 
 frontier; and in his march General Harris had 
 the gratification of receiving the following heart- 
 stirring letter from Lord Mornington. 
 
 « (Private.) Fort St. George, February 23, 1799. 
 
 " My dear General, 
 
 " Having answered all your public and 
 private letters, adopted every arrangement sug- 
 gested in your several minutes, and furnished you 
 with detailed instructions applicable to every con- 
 tingency for which I can provide, I now proceed 
 to communicate to yOu without reserve my private 
 sentiments with regard to your own situation, and 
 to my expectations of the result of the important 
 expedition which I have entrusted to your charge. 
 The army of the Carnatic immediately under your 
 command is unquestionably the best appointed, 
 the most completely equipped, the most amply 
 and liberally supplied, the most perfect in point 
 of discipline, and the most fortunate in the ac- 
 knowledged experience and abilities of its officers 
 
252 FAREWELL LETTER FROM 
 
 in every department, which ever took the field in 
 India. It comprises a more numerous and better 
 appointed corps of cavalry than any European 
 power in India ever brought into action. The 
 army on the coast of Malabar appears by all 
 accounts to be in an equally efficient state, and 
 the command on that coast never before was 
 lodged in such able hands. All the departments 
 relating to supplies from that quarter promise to 
 afford a far more effectual assistance than was 
 derived from thence during the last war. The 
 powerful force which is destined to co-operate 
 from the southward is an advantage not possessed 
 in the last war, and which will become doubly 
 useful under the conduct of Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Brown ; and in the Baramahl, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Read has already contributed the fruits of his 
 experience in the collection of supplies, and every 
 measure has been taken to secure the earliest 
 benefits from his exertions. The appearance of 
 so large a fleet on Tippoo's coasts is a circum- 
 stance of advantage not possessed in the last war, 
 and which cannot fail to aid your operations, by 
 intimidating the enemy and by encouraging de- 
 fection among his subjects. With regard to the 
 allies, the Nizam's force has appeared in the field 
 at a much earlier period than in the last contest 
 with Tippoo ; and the cordial zeal of the court of 
 Hyderabad for our success (which was so ques- 
 tionable during the last war) now admits of no 
 doubt. 
 
THE EARL OF MORNINGTON. 253 
 
 "The Mahrattahs have accepted a detach- 
 ment from Bombay ; and during the siege of 
 Seringapatam there is no reason to apprehend 
 that the Peishwa will not make every effort to 
 assist you with a large body of cavalry. You are 
 invested with powers fully adequate to the 
 management of these extraordinary and numerous 
 advantages, and you are surrounded by a staff 
 appointed in the most liberal manner, and uniting 
 every species of knowledge and ability which can 
 tend to give additional force to the efforts of your 
 own experience and zeal. The object of your 
 operations is single, distinct, and definite, and the 
 means of attaining it have been the continual 
 study of yourself, and of those acting under your 
 orders. The enemy's country, the nature of his 
 resources, the strength of his defences, and the 
 character of his force, are subjects perfectly fa- 
 miliar to the whole of your staff, and to most of 
 your principal of!icers. He cannot make a move- 
 ment which they will not anticipate, nor is any 
 contingency likely to arise against which they will 
 not have provided. On the other hand, Tippoo 
 Sultaun's army is known to have suffered essen- 
 tially both in numbers and discipline since the 
 last war. His finances are in great disorder ; he 
 no longer possesses the confidence of his army, 
 his councils are distracted by a variety of con- 
 tending factions, and his spirits are dejected and 
 broken by the disappointment of his hopes of 
 
254 FAREWELL LETTER FROM 
 
 French assistance, by the retreat of Zemaun Shah, 
 by the failure of his intrigues at the courts of 
 Poonah and Hyderabad, and by the unexampled 
 vigour, alacrity, and extent of our military pre- 
 parations. You possess, therefore, every advan- 
 tage which the most sanguine mind could expect, 
 or the most anxious could desire, in the strength 
 of your own army, in the cordiality of the allies, 
 in the comparative weakness and dejection of the 
 enemy, in the efficiency of your power, in the sup- 
 port of the Government under which you are to 
 act, in the ability of the counsels which you can 
 command, and in the unity and simplicity of the 
 object which you are directed to pursue. Under 
 such circumstances, it is not presumption to ex- 
 pect the most decisive success. With a full con- 
 fidence that you will make a just use of the un- 
 precedented and unlimited advantages of your 
 present enviable and commanding situation, and 
 with a persuasion that you will conduct your 
 army with a degree of vigour and alacrity pro- 
 portioned to that with which you have equipped 
 it, I cannot entertain the smallest doubt that 
 (under Providence) the issue of the expedition 
 will be as speedy and prosperous as the means 
 which you possess are abundant and unexampled. 
 I am, however, aware that, in all great enterprises, 
 difficulties will occur ; but where previous mea- 
 sures have been well combined, and every season- 
 able precaution provided, a manly firmness will 
 
THE EARL OF MORNINGTON. 255 
 
 surmount obstacles even of a formidable appear- 
 ance, and the trivial ordinary embarrassments of 
 detail are conquered the moment they are despised. 
 Recollect the difficulties which opposed the de- 
 tachment of a large portion of the central army 
 to accomplish an arduous undertaking at the 
 court of the Nizam ; you encountered every im- 
 pediment with resolution and spirit, and within 
 two months you saw the happy effects of your 
 own firmness in the complete and easy success of 
 that important measure, and you now feel those 
 effects in the great accession of strength which 
 has resulted from that measure to the common 
 cause of the allies. 
 
 " Recollect that the equipment of the very 
 army which you now command was long repre- 
 sented to be utterly impracticable within the pre- 
 sent season ; and that difficulties absolutely insur- 
 mountable were supposed to preclude the possi- 
 bility of raising the necessary funds for carrying 
 on the present campaign. Every impartial mind 
 must now admit that a more striking example 
 of the efficacy of perseverance and resolution in 
 overcoming practical obstacles of detail cannot be 
 exhibited than that which appears in the actual 
 state of your order of battle, and of your tumbrils. 
 These reflections will naturally animate you to an 
 unremitting exertion of the same spirit of alacrity 
 and promptitude, which has brought your army 
 to its present unrivalled and admirable condition. 
 
256 LETTER FROM EARL OF MORNINGTON. 
 
 The magnitiule of the enterprise, and the means 
 which you possess of commanding its success by 
 a vigorous use of your extensive powers, will raise 
 your mind above the consideration of all tempo- 
 rary inconveniences, will enable you to overcome 
 every delay, and will accelerate the rapidity of 
 your progress towards that object, which, how- 
 ever great and valuable, is easily attainable by 
 diligence, fortitude, and despatch. With these 
 sentiments, my dear General, I take my leave of 
 you (I trust for a very short period of time), in 
 the firm conviction, that, within a few weeks, I 
 shall have the satisfaction of congratulating you 
 on the prosperous issue of a service, combining 
 more solid advantages and more brilliant dis- 
 tinctions than the favour of fortune, season, and 
 circumstances, ever placed within the reach of 
 any British subject in India, from the earliest 
 success of our arms to the present day. 
 
 Believe me, my dear General, 
 With the greatest regard and good wishes. 
 Your faithful friend and servant, 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 This admirable letter was not lost upon Ge- 
 neral Harris. He felt deeply the generous con- 
 fidence reposed in him by Lord Mornington, 
 to whom he immediately sent the following 
 answer. 
 
GENERAL HARRIs's REPLY. 257 
 
 "Lieut.-General Harris to the Earl of 
 
 MORNINGTON. 
 
 " Caukengena^ seven miles W. of Tripatove, 
 Feb. 25, 1799. 
 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 " Your Lordship's final instructions are re- 
 ceived, and their very satisfactory contents per- 
 fectly understood. 
 
 " I shall not attempt an elaborate letter of 
 thanks for them, or for all the noble and liberal 
 confidence and encouragement they contain ; but 
 I trust to that Providence on whom I depend, 
 that your Lordship shall be paid by a thorough 
 conviction that everything to the best of my abili- 
 ties shall be tried, to ensure that success which 
 your Lordship's exertions give so fair a prospect 
 of. And allow me here to relieve your Lordship's 
 mind from the fear that I shall permit myself to 
 become a despondie* in the business, by the 
 assurance that never in my life was I known to 
 have the smallest tendency or turn that way. — 
 On the contrary, in some severe trials I have been 
 most cheerful in tiie support of others, and thank 
 God, have always found my spirits rise in the hour 
 of danger. It is true I am anxious to examine 
 the worst side of things, in order to provide a 
 substitute if possible ; but when prevention is no 
 
 * A " despondie" is an Hindostanee word, which appears in 
 the Revenue transactions. Lord M. had applied it in a hidicrous 
 sense to those who " desponded" of success in the war. 
 
258 GENERAL HARRIs's REPLY. 
 
 longer in my power, I trust you will hear that I 
 make the best of everything, and meet with cheer- 
 fulness the accidents which must happen in our 
 peregrinations. At present we are in a great way 
 of supplies, and, with Read and Macleod's exer- 
 tions, I have great hopes we shall escape similar 
 distresses to those we experienced last war. 
 
 " You may depend upon it, that there is no 
 man in the army who wishes the business over 
 more than myself; but no selfishness, or, I trust, 
 persuasion, shall induce me to push the cattle 
 beyond their powers, for that would be risking 
 everything. On them we must depend for getting 
 our noble battering train along, and we will soon 
 make up any time supposed to be lost in this way, 
 when once we begin the siege. 
 
 " Your Lordship's last communications have 
 been particularly grateful to me ; and as you have 
 taken care to secure me by every tie dear to man 
 — by gratitude, by my own honour and conscience 
 being pledged, and even by the Eastern policy of 
 having my wife and children in your hands*, — 
 I think you will not be deceived. That you may 
 not, is my earnest prayer ; and that your Lordship 
 will believe me. 
 
 My dear Lord, with great esteem. 
 Your devoted and faithful servant, 
 George Harris." 
 
 * Mrs. Harris and tte General's children were all left at 
 Madras, under the Governor-General's care. 
 
LETTER TO CAPTAIN ROBINSON. 259 
 
 This was the last letter written by General 
 Harris, before he marched into Tippoo's country, 
 except one to Captain Robinson, (afterwards Sir 
 George Robinson,) a much honoured chairman of 
 the East India Directors. This describes all his 
 good feelings so accurately, that it will repay the 
 reader the trouble of perusing it. 
 
 *' Camp Moodoor, Feb. 26, 1799. 
 " My dear Robinson, 
 
 " The public prints must have announced 
 to you 7)11/ Excellencifs Titles and Powers. My 
 constant scene of occupation follows, of course, 
 and all my friends have equal reason with yourself 
 to complain of my silence. Not a line have I 
 written to any except Sir A. Clarke, about a fort- 
 night since. So here we may close this account. 
 
 "Would that I could as easily settle the 
 account with Tippoo. You are for negotiation ? 
 So am I ! But the rascal would humbug me, and 
 make me lose the season, if he could once get me 
 to listen to him. Wonderful exertions have been 
 made to fit out the army which Dame Fortune, in 
 her freaks, has placed me at the head of. Even 
 the season that is unfavourable to the country 
 from the failure of rain, has promoted our views 
 in allowing our bringing the battering train so 
 forward, and no doubt the army is appointed 
 beyond every expectation. I have found the most 
 liberal support from Lord Mornington, with all 
 
 S 2 
 
260 LETTER TO CAPTAIN ROBINSON. 
 
 the sincere advice I could have expected from a 
 long- established friend, and he has given me the 
 clearest instructions possible for my future pro- 
 cedure. In sliort, my dear Robinson, every cir- 
 cumstance now seems to combine, for a most 
 brilliant conclusion to the flattering- situation I 
 have been forced into. 
 
 " Lord Mornington's plans seem everywhere 
 to succeed. We shall have a very formidable 
 force to the southward under Browne, and Read 
 will also be left so strong as to despise anything 
 short of Tippoo's army. These great sources for 
 supplies he might have prevented. Indeed, had he 
 thrown his cavalry into the Barrahmahal, I doubt 
 much whether we could have proceeded before 
 the next monsoon. But he seems infatuated and 
 delivered into our hands. 'Tis true we shall have 
 our struggles, though most things are so favour- 
 able. Our bullocks are much harassed, and the 
 small-pox has crippled many, and our Europeans 
 of the I2th and Scotch Brigade fall down fast ; 
 but I trust the latter will recover as they get into 
 the cooler climates of the Mysore country, and to 
 Read's collections I trust for recruiting- our car- 
 riage. Sanguine anticipations are formed, no 
 doubt, of the most decisive success ; and, all things 
 considered, his Lordship has just reason, as far as 
 his own exertions are concerned, and the unlimited 
 powers and advantages he has given to me, to 
 expect it. 
 
LETTER TO CAPTAIN ROBINSON. 261 
 
 " You will not doubt that I shall endeavour 
 to conduct the business with vigour and alacrity, 
 under the impression of such uncommon liberality, 
 and when I consider the abilities of the staff I 
 have chosen, I am sometimes led to indulge in 
 the pleasing prospect that it will end well. 
 
 " The command of such a body was at first 
 seen by me in the most formidable point of view, 
 and I rather shrunk from the magnitude of the 
 object I had to encounter. Indeed, I would have 
 given a large share of my little fortune to have 
 been off; but seeing the thing inevitable, I did at 
 last what I should have done in the first instance, 
 — threw myself on that Providence for support 
 who never fails to assist the humble ; and thanks 
 to that Almighty Being who only knows what is 
 right, I daily seem to gain confidence ; and what 
 was at first labour, sorrow, and disappointment, 
 is becoming familiar and easy to perform. 
 
 " The intricacies and labyrinths I was in, are 
 clearing fast away, and I can now combine mea- 
 sures, and take precautions to obviate obstacles, 
 and remove difficulties, whose formidable appear- 
 ance would at first have completely embarrassed 
 me. The support I have thus found will, I trust, 
 be continued ; for this alone can animate me to 
 the unremitting exertions my arduous station re- 
 quires. This alone can enable me to support and 
 overcome all the numerous difficulties and tem- 
 porary inconveniences I must have to encounter ; 
 
262 LETTER TO CAPTAIN ROBINSON. 
 
 and this alone can raise the mind to the state 
 necessary for the achievement of great designs, 
 such as that with which I am entrusted. 
 
 " I shall now descend from my altitude, and 
 talk a little like one of this world. I have taken 
 the liberty with you, nolens volens, to nominate 
 you, jointly with my friend White, my attorney, 
 or rather Mrs. Harris's and the brats, and I think 
 1 may rest satisfied you would not refuse your 
 assistance to them in case they should want it. 
 Ever your affectionate friend, 
 
 Geo. Harris." 
 
263 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Madras army enters the Mysore country — Colonel "Wellesley 
 appointed to command the Nizam's subsidiary force — Tippoo 
 attacks a portion of the Bombay army at Sedaseer under 
 Colonel Montresor — Is repulsed with great slaughter— 
 Faithful conduct of the Rajah of Coorg. 
 
 From the date of this letter to Sir George Robin- 
 son, the public despatches of the Commander-in- 
 Chief to the Governor-General afford the most 
 clear and satisfactory account of every operation 
 of the campaign in Mysore. But they are too 
 voluminous to be inserted here. The object 
 which I profess in this memoir of doing justice to 
 Lord Harris will be sufficiently answered by quo- 
 tations from his public letters, his private journal, 
 and other confirming testimony, relative to those 
 events of the campaign which have been greatly 
 misrepresented. These will abundantly fulfil the 
 purpose I have in view, and at the same time 
 establish " the fact, which," to use the language 
 of the Duke of Wellington's Despatches, " is not 
 sufficiently known, that General Harris himself 
 conducted the details of the victorious army 
 which he commanded." 
 
 From the 3rd of February to the 4th of 
 March the Madras army was occupied in passing 
 
264 COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES. 
 
 through the Company's territories to Tippoo's 
 frontier. 
 
 On the 5th of March General Harris for- 
 warded to Tippoo Sultaun the Governor-General's 
 letter, dated the 22nd of February*, published 
 the declaration in the name of the allies f, and 
 commenced hostilities by sending a detachment 
 to take possession of the hill forts of Neildroog 
 and Anchittydroog. These measures were in 
 strict conformity to Lord Mornington's public 
 instructions of the 22nd of February, 1799 J. 
 
 On the 6th of March General Harris reported 
 to the Governor- General that the army under his 
 command, accompanied by the contingent of his 
 Highness the Nizam, then assembled within the 
 frontier of Mysore, with every article of equip- 
 ment which could be purchased without delay, of 
 which the season would not admit, would com- 
 mence its march towards Seringapatam on the 
 following morning. 
 
 In order to give to the force under Meer 
 Alium Bahadur the utmost respectability, and 
 render it equal to any service to which it might 
 be exposed. General Harris liad deemed it proper 
 to strengthen the detachment under Colonel Ro- 
 berts with an European regiment from his line, 
 and as that officer had expressed a wish to be 
 relieved from his command, he had placed his 
 
 * See Appendix. t Ibid. J Ibid. 
 
THE nizam's contingent. 265 
 
 Majesty's 33rd Reg-iment with the Nizam's con- 
 tingent, giving to the Hon. Colonel Wellesley the 
 general command of the British forces serving 
 with his Highness's troops. 
 
 This arrangement, which was highly pleasing 
 to Meer AUum Bahadur, added greatly to the 
 confidence of his troops, and promised to render 
 them essentially useful in assisting to protect the 
 baggage and stores of the army. But as the 
 services of Lieutenant- Colonel Dalrymple with 
 that detachment had merited every attention. 
 General Harris considered this arrangement only 
 temporary, and Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple as 
 succeeding Colonel Roberts in the command of 
 the subsidiary force, although at present, whilst 
 acting with his Majesty's 33rd Regiment, ne- 
 cessarily subordinate to the Honourable Colonel 
 Wellesley. 
 
 In the same letter General Harris reported to 
 Lord Mornington that the small hill forts of 
 Woodiadroog, Anchittydroog, and Ruttengerry, 
 had been taken and occupied by the British 
 troops, which would greatly facilitate Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Read's endeavours to forward supplies for 
 the army, to make arrangements in those parts of 
 Tippoo Sultaun's dominions in the rear of our 
 army, and to protect the Company's districts ; 
 and that it would be highly beneficial if measures 
 were adopted at the Presidency without delay for 
 
26() DIFFICULTIES IN THE MARCH 
 
 sending supplies of rice to such parts of the 
 Barrahmahal as Colonel Read might point out, 
 where brinjarries. returning to the army, would 
 reload their cattle with it. General Harris closed 
 this report with assuring the Governor-General 
 that no endeavour on his part should be wanting 
 to obtain that success which he was warranted to 
 expect from the force he had the honour to com- 
 mand and his Lordship's liberal support. 
 
 From this time the Commander-in-Chief made 
 regular reports of his progress through the 
 enemy's country. These reports prove that he 
 was soon severely pressed by those difficulties 
 which Mr. Webbe and many experienced officers 
 had apprehended would prevent the British army 
 reaching Seringapatam with a large battering 
 train, so as to reduce this strong fortress in one 
 campaign before the Malabar monsoon should 
 fill the river Cavery in May, and render the 
 passage of the river impracticable. 
 
 From the month of June to the month of 
 December in every year it was impossible for an 
 army to approach Seringapatam ; and Tippoo 
 well knew the value of this singular advantage 
 which this fort had over every other in India. 
 But though nothing was seen of him, or any con- 
 siderable portion of his troops, until the grand 
 army was within forty miles of Seringapatam^ 
 on the 26th of March, the interval was one of 
 
TOWARDS SERINGAPATAM. 267 
 
 great anxiety to General Harris, from the failure, 
 disease, and death of the cattle of the Carnatic, 
 when urged to severe labour in dragging ttie 
 guns, upon scanty food, and confined to the water 
 impregnated with the soil of Mysore, to which 
 they were unaccustomed. 
 
 After each day's march came a mournful cata- 
 logue of losses of stores, of shot (left with the 
 dying cattle in the jungles and roads), and of 
 rice, indispensable to the support of the fighting 
 men of the army, and their fourfold, but unavoid- 
 able, number of followers. To replace these 
 losses in the enemy's country was hopeless, and 
 at one time they had accumulated so rapidly, that 
 General Harris apprehended the necessity of drag- 
 ging the guns forward by the hands of the Euro- 
 peans. By unceasing attention to this, which was 
 at that period the most urgent part of his duty 
 and responsibility, he had at length the gratifica- 
 tion of seeing his guns and stores safe in the open 
 plain of Mysore, about forty miles from Sering-- 
 apatam, having sustained no interruption of im- 
 portance from the enemy. 
 
 It was, indeed, amongst the fortunate events 
 which marked this campaign, that Tippoo's first 
 effbrts of stratagem and strength were directed 
 against the troops of Bombay, on the opposite 
 coast, before they had left the jungles of Coorg. 
 To conceal his purpose, the Sultaun gave out at 
 
268 TIPPOO'S ATTACK UPON 
 
 Seringapatam, in the beginning of the month of 
 March, that he was going to attack General 
 Harris at Muddoor, intending, however, to pro- 
 ceed with all possible secresy and dispatch 200 
 miles in the opposite direction to Periapatam. 
 There he accordingly arrived on the 5th of 
 March, with the flower of his army, bent upon 
 the destruction of a portion of the Bombay troops, 
 before they could be succoured by the army to 
 which they belonged. This design was, un- 
 doubtedly, well calculated to make a serious im- 
 pression upon the strength of the Bombay troops, 
 and to embarrass not only their future movements, 
 but to delay the completion of the great object of 
 the campaign, until the descent of the Cavery in 
 the month of May should render it impracticable. 
 Nor can one feel any surprise at this attempt. 
 Tippoo had a strong encouragement to such an 
 enterprise, in the remembrance of the complete 
 destruction of Colonel Baillie's detachment, in 
 the war of 1780 by his father Hyder Ally and 
 himself, not thirty miles from Madras, and within 
 ten miles of the army, under Sir Hector Munro, 
 the commmander-in-chief. When he found, upon 
 his arrival at Periapatam, three Native battalions 
 separated from the Bombay army, and stationed 
 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Mon- 
 tresor, at Sedaseer, he beheld them as the prey of 
 his " tigers of war," for the following morning. 
 
THE BOMBAY FORCE. 269 
 
 and stimulated their efforts accordingly. But the 
 determined bravery with which Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Montresor and his gallant brigade of Sepoys de- 
 fended themselves, held him at bay, until half 
 past two o'clock in the day, when Lieutenant- 
 General Stuart came to their relief with one 
 European Regiment, the 77th, and the two 
 flank companies of the 75th. The British detach- 
 ment was in a most perilous condition, when 
 General Stuart arrived at Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Montresor's post. He found the men exhausted 
 with fatigue, and their ammunition almost ex- 
 pended. Tippoo had taken his measures with 
 such secresy and effect, that he was reported 
 by two hircarrahs, recently arrived in General 
 Stuart's camp from Seringapatam, to have marched 
 with all his forces on the 20th of February, to 
 oppose General Harris's army, and, therefore, 
 General Stuart had no reason to expect any 
 attack on the Malabar side. But on the morn- 
 ing of the 6th of March, Tippoo pierced through 
 the jungles with such expedition, that he attacked 
 the rear and the front of Colonel Montresor's 
 line, almost at the same instant. That he would 
 have succeeded in destroying this detachment, 
 cannot be doubted, but for the accidental disco- 
 very of his encampment, on the 5th of March, 
 by the Rajah of Coorg and a party of observa- 
 tion, whom he had conducted to the top of 
 Sedaseer, the highest hill in his country, for the 
 
270 LETTER FROM 
 
 purpose of looking- into the Mysore territory. 
 Their discovery of Tippoo's camp is well de- 
 scribed in the following letter from the Rajah, to 
 the Governor General. 
 
 "On Tuesday, the 5th of March, myself, 
 Captain Mahony, and some other English sirdars, 
 went to the hill of Sedaseer, which is within my 
 territories. This mountain, which is exceedingly 
 lofty, the English sirdars and myself ascended, 
 and we remained there. Having from thence re- 
 connoitred, we observed nothing for the first four 
 or five hours (Malabar hours) ; after this we 
 observed one large tent in the direction of Peria- 
 patam, which is within the territories of Tippoo 
 Sultaun, and continued to see some other white 
 tents rising ; a large green tent then appeared, 
 and then another tent which was red, and after 
 that five or six hundred tents. Upon this, the 
 English sirdars and myself were satisfied that it 
 was the army of Tippoo Sultaun ; we then re- 
 turned to the English army at Sedapoor, and 
 acquainted the General that Tippoo's army was 
 at Periapatam. The army was accordingly pre- 
 pared, as were also the battalions at Sedaseer, 
 imder the command of Colonel Montresor. Next 
 morning, Tippoo's army advanced close to the 
 battalions under the command of Colonel Mon- 
 tresor, and there was a severe action. After the 
 battle commenced, the battalions put a great 
 
THE RAJAH OF COORG. 271 
 
 many of Tippoo's people to death. Tippoo, un- 
 able to sustain their fire, and having no road by 
 which to advance, divided his army into two 
 divisions, with the intention of getting into the 
 rear of Colonel Montresor's battalions by a secret 
 path. The Colonel having received intelligence 
 of this division, made a disposition of his force so 
 as to sustain both attacks ; and maintained the 
 fight from the morning, uninterrupted, till two 
 o'clock. The enemy were beaten and unable to 
 show their faces. When the information of 
 Tippoo's attack reached the main body, General 
 Stuart, in order to assist the force at Sedaseer, 
 marched with two regiments of Europeans ; 
 keeping the remainder of the army in the plain 
 of Karrydygood. Upon this occasion, I accom- 
 panied General Stuart. 
 
 "Tippoo, in order to prevent the two regi- 
 ments from advancing to the relief of the troops 
 at Sedaseer, was posted in the road between. 
 General Stuart, upon approaching, ordered the 
 two regiments to attack the enemy. A severe 
 action then ensued, in which I was present with 
 my people. Many of the enemy were slain, and 
 many wounded ; the remainder having thrown 
 away their muskets, and swords, and their tur- 
 bans, and thinking it sufficient to save their lives, 
 fled in the greatest confusion. 
 
 " Tippoo having collected the remains of his 
 troops, returned to Periapatam. Having consi- 
 
272 FIDELITY OF THE RAJAH OF COORG. 
 
 dered for five days, but not having taken up 
 resolution to attack the Bombay army again, he 
 marched on the sixth day (Saturday) back to 
 Seringapatam. My continual prayer to the Al- 
 mighty is, that the English Circar may continue 
 as my parent, tliat I may remain as their child ; 
 that all their enemies may be defeated ; and that 
 their territories, measures, and prosperity, may 
 increase without end ; and that I may enjoy 
 peace under their protection. In this manner I 
 approach the Sovereign Ruler with my constant 
 prayer, night and day, and all times in humble 
 supplication." 
 
 I have transcribed a great part of the Rajah 
 of Coorg's letter to the Governor-General, that 
 I may do an act of strict justice to him, and also 
 to Lieutenant-Colonel John Montresor, who was 
 an officer of high reputation in the army, and 
 much beloved by the troops who had served under 
 him. He was, unfortunately, lost in too early 
 life to his country's service from the climates of 
 India and Egypt. 
 
 The joy with which the Rajah of Coorg wit- 
 nessed the success of the British arms, his ex- 
 ample of fidelity to us, and his prayers to the 
 Almighty, have, I lament to hear, availed but little 
 in favour of his posterity. His immediate succes- 
 sor became frantic, destroyed the greatest part 
 of his own family, and rose in rebellion against 
 
HIS TRIBUTE REMITTED. 273 
 
 the Company, so that the jungles of Coorg are 
 now under assumption by the British Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The following letter recorded by the Earl of 
 Mornington, marks most strongly his sense of the 
 services of the Rajah of Coorg, and greatly in- 
 creases the regret inseparable from the necessity 
 which has placed the poor country of Coorg in 
 the Company's hands. 
 
 " To the Governor of Bombay. 
 
 " Fort St. George, 8th May, 1799. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " The exemplary conduct and distinguished 
 character of the Coorg Rajah, having ren- 
 dered me desirous of manifesting some public 
 testimony of my approbation of his recent 
 services ; the remission of his annual tribute to 
 the Company, appears to me a measure which 
 would combine the effects of an honourable dis- 
 tinction and a profitable reward. My intention 
 is, that of the whole amount of the Rajah's pre- 
 sent tribute, which I understand to be about 
 24,000 rupees, a sum not exceeding a thousand 
 rupees be reserved to the Company, or that in 
 place of tribute, some article of value be annually 
 required from him, as an acknowledgement of his 
 allegiance to the British Government. I request 
 that, after having determined the nature of the 
 acknowledgement to be required according to 
 
 T 
 
274 THE RAJAH OP COORG. 
 
 your own judgment, you will take the necessary 
 measures for carrying my intentions into effect. 
 I think the arrangement should be made to take 
 place from the day of the junction of the army of 
 Bombay with the detachment commanded by 
 Major-General Floyd. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 '* Tq the Governor of Bombay." 
 
275 
 
 CHAPTER XYII. 
 
 Progress of General Harris's army tlirougli Tippoo's country. — 
 Battle of Mallavelly. — Tippoo driven off witli slaughter. — 
 Disabled state of the draught and carriage cattle precludes the 
 effectual pursuit of his army. — General Harris crosses the 
 Cavery at Soosilly. — Encamps in view of Seringapatam. 
 
 Although imperfect rumours of the unsuccessful 
 attack made upon Colonel Montresor's detach- 
 ment had reached the camp, a passage through 
 Tippoo's country was then such a perilous under- 
 taking, that no authentic intelligence was received 
 by General Harris until the 25th of March. Two 
 messengers then arrived, bringing letters _^^of dif- 
 ferent dates from General Stuart. They highly 
 commended the gallantry and skill with which 
 Colonel Montresor had defended his outpost 
 against all Tijjpoo's attacks for several hours, thus 
 giving time for General Stuart to arrive with the 
 Europeans, and beat off' the enemy with great 
 slaughter. 
 
 On the following day, after marching about 
 three miles^ General Floyd sent an officer "to 
 acquaint me" (says General Harris in his journal) 
 " that he had drawn up in open column on the 
 right of the road, as a large body of cavalry was 
 on his right, and Tippoo's army in front. 
 
 " Sent two of my suite to General Floyd to see 
 
 T 2 
 
276 BATTLE OF MALLAVELLY. 
 
 liow things appeared. Colonel Wellesley's coliinin 
 not having yet made its appearance, I directed 
 ours to move very slow, and sent off two troopers 
 with a note to him to move on briskly, but before 
 he could get parallel, we had gained the rising 
 ground the army was proposed to encamp upon, 
 and found, if Tippoo was in our front, he was now 
 moving off in the direction of Mallavelly. 
 
 " Some of my staff urged me to march to- 
 morrow against Tippoo very early, leaving the 
 park here ; but to this I gave a decided negative. 
 I told them my object was to set down before 
 Seringapatam as speedily as possible ; that the 
 pains I had taken to be ready to fight Tippoo was 
 entirely with the hope it would enable me to avoid 
 it : that nothing but his stopping the high road 
 should make me seek him." 
 
 This event happened on the following day. 
 The Sultaun chose his own field of battle on the 
 plain of Mallavelly ; and I find this entry in the 
 General's journal, written with that modesty and 
 good feeling which were habitual to him at every 
 period of his life. 
 
 " March 27th. — Let me only record my 
 humble submission to that all-protecting Provi- 
 dence for the support I have found through this 
 day — a scene new to me, and difficult, perhaps, to 
 any one. To-morrow I shall attempt to describe 
 the course of events. 
 
 " March 28th for 27.— Marched for Mallavelly 
 
BATTLE OF MALLAVELLY. 277 
 
 in the expectation of being- cannonaded while cross- 
 ing the swampy ground before it, but found it 
 abandoned. On reconnoitring* from a cavalier 
 in the fort, we perceived Tippoo's army in motion 
 about three miles from us, find I was much 
 pleased to see he was going off. I directed the 
 Quartermaster-General to mark out our ground, 
 which he had scarcely effected, before a can- 
 nonade opened from two 24-pounders at so great 
 a distance, that the balls fell dead. Observing 
 that they fell amongst a brigade of sepoys, which 
 had formed in column instead of line, and also 
 that the picquets were going too far and too near 
 a large body of horse moving from their ground 
 of encampment, I went down with the design of 
 changing the position of the brigade, and rein- 
 forcing the picquets, when several other guns 
 opened, and the horse came so close to the picquets 
 as to oblige them to give a fire of the division in 
 front. Colonel Sherbrooke also sent me informa- 
 tion that large boches of infantry and cavalry 
 were very near him. 
 
 " I ordered a regiment of cavalry to support 
 him as quick as possible, and a native battalion 
 to follow, when meeting Close, I agreed to adopt 
 his idea of forming our line on the picquets to be 
 ready, ])ut still in the intention of only showing 
 it. But the cannonade increasing, and informa- 
 tion being brought me that there was a very large 
 force in the hollow way beyond the ridge of the 
 
278 BATTLE OF MALLAVELLY. 
 
 hill, I thought it advisable to advance the line to 
 see what they were. I soon perceived a large 
 force of cavalry and infantry on the side of the 
 next ridge apparently not retiring, and some force 
 in the bottom. 
 
 " Judging it advisable to drive them away, I 
 ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver's guns to open 
 on them from the ridge of the hill we had formed 
 the line under, and, under their cover, to advance 
 on them in line, taking my post in rear of the 
 brigade. 
 
 " On descending into the valley, I had soon 
 good reason to be satisfied with having attacked 
 them, as it was very evident they had intended to 
 be more than usually troublesome ; and it is very 
 certain they were more than usually bold, for their 
 infantry, instead of retiring (according to their 
 former conduct) on our advancing, advanced on 
 us, firing irregularly, and, as we understood after- 
 wards, with the intention to charge our line, and 
 to try the bayonet with us, by particular orders 
 from Poorniah, who commanded. Their resolution, 
 however, failed them ; for, after a very feeble fire 
 for a few minutes, and receiving a very heavy one 
 from His Majesty's 12th Regiment, commanded 
 by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Shawe, they ran 
 oif much too fast for me to allow our men to follow 
 them. 
 
 *' Besides, we had several large parties of 
 horse close to us, and a part of one of them, 
 
BATTLE OF MALLAVELLY. 279 
 
 consisting of 300 men, under the influence of 
 stimulants, were so daring as to charge the Scotch 
 Brigade. Luckily I perceived their intention, and 
 ordered the men to get ready, but not to fire till 
 they came quite close. There was no time to 
 call to the commanding officer, for the horse 
 broke out from the jungle in the moment I had 
 got the troops ready, when I gave the words 
 ' Present' and ' Fire,' so opportunely, that about 
 forty men and horses fell within twenty yards 
 of us. One man was bayoneted by the grenadier 
 company, and another cut through it close to 
 me, the rest wheeling to their right, galloped 
 along four or five regiments, and sustained their 
 whole fire, without a man falling. 
 
 " The right wing now moved on in tolerable 
 line, both the horse and infantry running be- 
 fore us much too fast for us to catch them ; and 
 here I may say the engagement with the right 
 wing ended, although we followed them with a 
 cannonade near two miles. We now halted, and 
 remained a considerable time on the ground in 
 search of water, but none of any consequence 
 being found, I determined to fall back to Malla- 
 velly. But while waiting to see if attempts would 
 be made to annoy the rear, a party of infantry 
 began to appear from a jungle in front of our 
 right, and whilst doubting what they were, we saw 
 a body Ave knew must be our picquets, under Co- 
 lonel Sherbrooke, and the 25th "Dragoons, under 
 
280 BATTLE OF MALLAVELLY. 
 
 Colonel Cotton*, supporting them. They had 
 worked round the left flank of the enemy in a 
 very masterly style, and had they made a second 
 stand, would, no doubt, have done great service 
 by charging them. 
 
 " 1 had great satisfaction in my staff, who 
 who were all active and alert, but there was an 
 animation in Allan that was delightful. 
 
 "Colonel Hart was particularly and kindly 
 attentive, and Macleod, and Pearce, and Young 
 as much so." 
 
 Here ends the Commander-in-Chief's account 
 of his personal view of what passed in the right 
 wing of the army. 
 
 The operations of the left wing are thus 
 described : — 
 
 "The division commanded by Colonel Wel- 
 lesley was formed nearly opposite the enemy's 
 extreme right, which was strongly posted on the 
 elevated crest of a rocky ridge. General Harris 
 having sent an aide-de-camp to Colonel Wellesley, 
 approving of the attack he proposed, and also to 
 General Floyd to support it. Colonel Wellesley 
 advanced in echellon of battalions, supported by 
 three regiments of cavalry, when a column of the 
 enemy, consisting of about 2,000 infantry, moved 
 forward in excellent order towards the 33rd Regi- 
 ment, which corps reserving its fire with the 
 
 * Now Viscount Combermere. 
 
BATTLE OF MALLAVELLV. 281 
 
 utmost steadiness, received that of the enemy at 
 a distance of about sixty yards ; then quickening 
 its advance, the cohnnn gave way, and was thrown 
 into disorder. General Floyd seized this critical 
 moment, and with a charge of cavalry, led on 
 by Major Dallas*, destroyed great numbers, and 
 took their six standards. The retreat of the 
 enemy soon became general, their cannon were 
 drawn off, and, at two o'clock, the action had 
 entirely ceased." 
 
 I find, in a memorandum written by Lord 
 Harris not long before his decease, an explanation 
 respecting this Mallavelly affair as follows : — 
 
 " There can be no doubt that the failure of 
 this attempt decided the battle in Tippoo's mind, 
 as his army instantly retreated ; but Poorniah 
 afterwards confirmed it to me, and explained his 
 hope of breaking our line by these 300 devoted 
 men, and then of pouring in his whole cavalry. 
 What might have been the consequence had the 
 attempt succeeded cannot be known ; but it surely 
 may be noted as a remarkable circumstance 
 among the many in my fortunate trajet through 
 this world, that as Commander-in-Chief of the 
 army, I should be the executive agent to defeat 
 
 * Afterwards Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Dallas; whose 
 deeds in the view of admiring armies throughout the wars of 
 Coote, Medows, Cornwallis, and Harris, will be long remembered 
 in India. He was as remarkable for the strength, symmetry and 
 beauty of his person, as for his cool and daring courage. 
 
282 BATTLE OF MALLAVELLY. 
 
 this best proof of soldiership that I saw in my 
 antagonist. 
 
 " It may disarm the envious (if any there are) 
 to hear that 1 never mentioned the circumstance, 
 and that probably it would have been quite for- 
 gotten, had not the captain of the grenadier 
 company that day, now Major Cragie of the 
 Perth Militia, put me in mind of it several years 
 after it happened. 
 
 " I now recollect that the foregoing circum- 
 stance gave rise to another of some importance in 
 the heat of fire, when moments are ages. On my 
 first suspecting Tippoo's intention, I had ordered, 
 I think, Major Allan to bring up a Native regi- 
 ment of cavalry, that was covering us, and with 
 orders to watch a large party of men on our right, 
 and to support Colonel Cotton if necessary. It 
 was commanded by Major Torin, and came up 
 just as I had fired ; when I immediately ordered 
 an opening in the right of the 12th Regiment, and 
 directed the Major to go in and cut the runaways 
 up. He had scarcely got through the line, and 
 was off in the gallop, when the firing began on 
 our left. Recollecting the probability, that in the 
 confusion our Native cavalry might be mistaken, 
 I hallooed out, ' Major Torin, halt,' which he in- 
 stantly obeyed, threw up his sword, and repeated 
 the order to his regiment." 
 
 There was another qualification which General 
 
BATTLE OF MALLAVELLY. 283 
 
 Harris had for an occasion like this, besides quick- 
 ness of sight and readiness of execution. He had 
 one of the most powerful of human voices, and I 
 have shown that he was in the position on this 
 day where it could be exerted with the very best 
 effect. 
 
 A sketch of the action near Mallavelly on the 
 27th of March, 1799, as made by Captain B. 
 Sydenham, will give to the military reader a perfect 
 understanding of the operations of that day*. 
 
 The efficient state of the Mysore gun cattle, 
 and the miserable condition of the Carnatic bul- 
 locks, precluded all idea of a successful pursuit of 
 Tippoo's army, and this gave him the confidence 
 to venture upon the experiment of this battle on 
 the high land of Mallavelly, and a finer field of 
 action it would be difficult to find. 
 
 This affair cost to the British army only a loss 
 of 66 men killed, wounded, and missing, whilst 
 that of Tippoo was nearly 2,000, amongst whom 
 were many of his bravest men and best officers. 
 The entire failure of his two attacks of cavalry 
 and infantry made a deep impression on the Sul- 
 taun's mind ; but he prepared to obstruct the 
 further march of the British army on the line by 
 which he felt assured they would march from 
 Mallavelly to Seringapatam, then little more than 
 thirty miles distant. 
 
 On the following day the British army marched 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
284 THK BRITISH AUMV 
 
 about four miles towards the Cavery, and halted 
 at Angarapooram, in the usual route to Seringa- 
 patam^ where alone they could get water from 
 the tanks. This necessity served to cover their 
 nearer advance to the river, without exciting any 
 suspicion in Tippoo's mind of the Commander-in- 
 Chief's purpose in approaching it. 
 
 General Harris now prepared to execute the 
 intention he had already formed and announced 
 to Lord Mornington of crossing the Cavery near 
 Soosilly, if it should appear possible, and of 
 attacking Seringapatam on the western side, in 
 order to facilitate the junction of the Bombay 
 army from the confines of Coorg, and of the 
 supplies of grain which were to come through the 
 Caverypooram Pass, escorted by Colonels Read 
 and Browne's detachments. 
 
 Major Allan, commanding the guides, and 
 Captain Macaulay, General Harris's private secre- 
 tary*, were accordingly sent from Angarapooram 
 with the picquets of the cavalry on the evening of 
 the 28th of March, to ascertain the distance of 
 the Cavery, and to reconnoitre the country. They 
 did not return till ten o'clock at night to the 
 General's tent, and reported the distance to be 
 about nine miles, through a fine open country, 
 and the last three miles a gentle descent to the 
 river. 
 
 * Afterwards General Colin Macaulay, a man of distin- 
 guislied talents and integrity. 
 
CROSSES THE CAVERV AT SOOSILLY. 285 
 
 General Harris immediately determined to 
 marcli to the Cavery in the morning ; and as the 
 secresy of this movement was essential to its suc- 
 cess, it was communicated to no one until the 
 moment for moving down to the river arrived. 
 By this precaution the left wing of the army was 
 actually across the Cavery before the day closed, 
 whilst Tippoo was looking for them at a distance 
 in the direct road to Seringapatam. 
 
 On the 30th the whole of the park and ord- 
 nance, and the remainder of the army, crossed the 
 river, and encamped near the fort of Soosilly, 
 where they found ample forage, some grain, and 
 the public stock of provisions was recruited with 
 a large supply of fine cattle and sheep. 
 
 When the intelligence of this masterly move- 
 ment reached Tippoo, it filled him with despair. 
 Having assembled the whole of his principal 
 oflicers, " We have arrived," he said, " at our 
 last stage ; what is your determination ?" — " To 
 die along with you," was the universal reply. 
 
 That this march was equally judicious and 
 beneficial cannot be doubted ; for such was the 
 exhausted state of the gun cattle, that General 
 Harris could not reach the position he had deter- 
 mined to take up before Seringapatam in less 
 than five days, although the distance was only 
 twenty-eight miles, and his march undisturbed by 
 any hostile attempt from Tippoo's army. 
 
 On the 4th of April, I find in the private jour- 
 
286 TOILSOME MARCH OF THE ARMY. 
 
 nal this observation : *' The poor miserable starved 
 bullocks made out wonderfully, but some of the 
 spare carriages were not in before nine o'clock in 
 the evening." 
 
 The army had now arrived within three miles 
 of the ground taken up by General Harris for the 
 siege of Seringapatam. 
 
 But this vast mass of men, stores, battering- 
 guns, and followers, whose success depended 
 mainly upon their early arrival at the place to be 
 attacked, had not proceeded in the direct road, 
 but in an irregular and angular direction, so as 
 greatly to extend the distance to be marched*, 
 and to the selection of this circuitous line must 
 be attributed the comparative facility with which 
 the army had reached its present encampment, 
 because it had completely deceived the enemy, 
 and preserved forage and water for the army. 
 Their rate of marching, from the 11th of February 
 to the 5th of April, had been only five miles per 
 day, and this, notwithstanding the attention of the 
 Commander-in-Chief and his principal officers 
 was constantly directed to this most important 
 of his duties ; and, notwithstanding his enemy 
 had offered no impediment to his march till after 
 the tanks at Achel had been seized, and a posi- 
 tion was taken up between Sultaunpet and Malla- 
 velly, on the 25th of March. 
 
 This slow progress was entirely owing to the 
 
 * Their daily progress is shown in the Appendix. 
 
ARRIVAL NEAR SERINGAPATAM. 287 
 
 complete failure of the system then in force for 
 the draught and carriage departments. This 
 defect in the organization of the Indian army had 
 been felt from our earliest wars. It had been 
 complained of by every succeeding Commander- 
 in-Chief from the time of Sir Eyre Coote to that 
 of Lord CornwalliSj but nothing had been done to 
 amend it. With every new war the wild and 
 small cattle of the Carnatic were to be purchased 
 at whatever price, and attached to the guns with- 
 out previous training, or experienced drivers ; and 
 hence it was that Hyder and Tippoo, from the 
 great superiority of the Mysore cattle, defeated 
 every attempt made by our commanders to over- 
 take them in the field. 
 
 Daily experience of this great evil had pressed 
 heavily upon General Harris's mind during this 
 march, as it had done upon all who had preceded 
 him in high military command, and especially 
 upon Sir Eyre Coote. He declared after the 
 battle of Cuddalore, " If Hyder Ally, buoyed up 
 with former success, had not come to seek us, I 
 could not have moved the army to follow him, 
 and this is a situation so trying to the respons- 
 ible military commander, that an officer of cha- 
 racter shudders at the idea of being placed in 
 such a predicament." This serious defect was 
 effectually removed after this campaign*, for 
 
 * See in the Appendix an able paper on this subject by 
 Colonel Cubbon ; also Duke of Wellington's Despatches^ vol. ii. 
 p. 359. 
 
288 GENERAL ORDER. 
 
 General Harris iininediately recommended the 
 use and protection of Tippoo's admirable esta- 
 blishment of cattle, which was unequalled in 
 India. 
 
 When he had the gratification of seeing- his 
 battering train safe before Seringapatam, and this 
 fine fortress was once more within the view of an 
 English army, and all eyes were looking with 
 anxious solicitude upon the object of their wishes, 
 he lost no time in publishing the following order 
 to the troops. 
 
 " Camp in view of Seringapatam, April 4, 1799. 
 
 " The Commander-in-Chief takes this oppor- 
 tunity of expressing his deep sense of the general 
 exertions of the troops throughout a long and 
 tedious march in the enemy's country with the 
 largest equipment ever known to move with any 
 army in India. He congratulates officers and 
 men on the sight of Seringapatam. A continu- 
 ance of the same exertions will shortly put an end 
 to their labours, and place the British colours in 
 triumph on its walls." 
 
289 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The first operations of the siege, in which Major-General Baird, 
 the Honourable Colonel "Wellesley, and Colonel Shawe were 
 engaged — Failure of the first and second attempts to main- 
 tain possession of the Sultaunpettah Tope — Success of the 
 third, which gave us excellent posts extending two miles in 
 front of the Fort — Letters from Colonel Wellesley to General 
 Harris. 
 
 As the first operations of the siege have been 
 much misunderstood and misrepresented, I shall 
 here give the details, exactly as they are authen- 
 ticated by three different but most competent 
 authorities, — the private journal and public des- 
 patches of General Harris ; the letters of Colonel 
 Wellesley; and the confirming- evidence of Major- 
 General Baird. 
 
 In his Journal of the 4th of April, General 
 Harris wrote as follows, — being then within three 
 miles of Seringapatam. 
 
 "Commissioned General Baird to form a 
 party of not less than the flank companies of the 
 Brigade, supported by the picquets, to beat up a 
 Tope in front of the ground the picquet was 
 upon, and said to have parties of men with arms 
 assembling on it. 
 
 " It appears to me from the report, they are 
 
 u 
 
290 SIR DAVID BAIRD's ATTACK ON 
 
 only intended for rocketting ; but at any rate, 
 our beating- them up instead of their attempting 
 us, will have the best effect. If our intelligence 
 is true, Tippoo's whole army are in a complete 
 state of terror. Of course we should keep it so." 
 
 General Baird accordingly proceeded on this 
 service with the flank companies of His Ma- 
 jesty's 12th, 74th, and Scotch Brigade, and the 
 battalion companies of the 74th ; the advanced 
 picquets were also directed to be in readiness in 
 case they should be wanted. This party left the 
 camp at ten o'clock at night, and arrived at the 
 Tope at eleven. They traversed the whole with- 
 out discovering a single person, for the enemy 
 had quitted it before General Baird reached it, 
 and no one was either heard or seen. A great 
 part of the night having elapsed, General Baird 
 determined not to remain in possession of the 
 Tope, but to return to the camp. In doing so 
 he missed his way, and was marching to the Fort, 
 when Lieutenant Lambton (afterwards Lieute- 
 nant-Colonel Lambton, the celebrated surveyor 
 and astronomer, who was upon his staff) con- 
 vinced the General, from his observation of the 
 stars, that he was going north instead of south, 
 and that he must face about in order to regain 
 the head-quarters of the camp. The party were 
 accordingly halted, faced about, and in their 
 return they fell in with a small detachment of 
 
THE SULTAUNPETTAH TOPE. 291 
 
 Tippoo's looties, some of whom they took 
 prisoners, dispersing- the rest. General Baird 
 returned to the camp at four o'clock in the 
 morning. 
 
 When the day dawned, a great number of the 
 enemy were again seen going into this Tope, and 
 as it lay between the camp and the Fort, General 
 Hrrris determined to get possession of it, and 
 also of the post occupied formerly by the Bombay 
 troops, which extended farther to the westward 
 and nearer to the Fort. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Shawe, w^ith the 12th Re- 
 giment and two battalions of Sepoys, was directed 
 to attack the post on the left, which was a water- 
 course, with its embankment running between the 
 Fort and the encampment. Colonel Wellesley 
 was ordered to attack the Tope with the 33rd 
 Regiment. It was with reference to this service 
 that Colonel Wellesley wrote the following note 
 to General Harris. 
 
 " Colonel the Honourable A. Wellesley to 
 Lieutenant-General Harris, Commander- 
 in-Chief. 
 
 " Camp, 5th A^nil, 1799. 
 '' My dear Sir, 
 
 " I do not know where you mean the post 
 to be established, and I shall therefore be obliged 
 to you if you will do me the favour to nieet me 
 this afternoon in front of the lines, and show it 
 
 IT 2 
 
292 COLONEL wellesley's 
 
 to me. In tlie mean time, I will order my bat- 
 talions to be in readiness. 
 
 " Upon looking at the Tope as I came in just 
 now, it appeared to me that w^hen you get pos- 
 session of the bank of the nullah, you have the 
 Tope as a matter of course, as the latter is on the 
 rear of the former. However, you are the best 
 judge, and I shall be ready. 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 Your most faithful servant, 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
 It should be remembered that this note was 
 written on the day the Madras army encamped 
 before Seringapatam, at the distance of 5,000 
 yards from the rampart, and when the inter- 
 vening ground was very little known. The near- 
 est part of the Sultaunpettah Tope to the camp 
 was about 900 yards, and Shawe's post about 
 lj700 yards from the camp ; but the watercourse, 
 where it went through the Tope, ran in a serpen- 
 tine direction, and the enemy were posted under 
 the cover of its windings in the Tope, so that 
 whichever way the attacking party placed its 
 front, it was flanked by them. 
 
 The two parties, under Colonel Shawe and 
 Colonel Wellesley, left the camp at eight o'clock 
 in the evening ; at nine, heavy firing of musketry 
 was heard every where in front, and information 
 was brought to the camp, that the two Sepoy 
 
FIRST ATTACK ON THE TOPE. 293 
 
 battalions were separated fiom the 12th Regi- 
 ment, which was in possession of the watercourse, 
 and that not a shot had been fired by the 12th. 
 
 It afterwards appeared that Lieutenant- Colonel 
 Oliver's battalion of Sepoys getting into confu- 
 sion, paid no regard to orders, and that Major 
 Campbell, who commanded, was killed, while en- 
 deavouring to rally them. Colonel Shawe was then 
 present with that battalion, having gone in search 
 of it, and found it in this confused situation, 
 firing in every direction, but refusing to come 
 forward. Colonel Shawe, with the utmost diffi- 
 culty and danger, at last found his way back to 
 his own regiment. 
 
 The other Sepoy battalion, commanded by 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, had moved more 
 forward to a part of the same watercourse ; the 
 fire of the enemy coming thick upon them, they 
 fell back on the left of the 12th Regiment, and 
 there remained, by Colonel Shawe's orders, until 
 day-light, sheltered under the mud walls near to 
 the J2tli Regiment. 
 
 Colonel Wellesley entered the Tope with the 
 flank companies of the 33rd Regiment, supported 
 by the battalion companies under Major Shee. 
 He was immediately assailed by a hot fire in front 
 and flank from the enemy, and in the unevenness 
 of the ground and the darkness of the night, the 
 advanced party was separated from the regiment. 
 Lieutenant Fitzgerald and several of the men 
 
294 COLONEL wellesley's 
 
 were killed, and some missing'. Lieutenant West 
 with a few grenadiers arrived at the main picquet 
 about ten o'clock. Major Shee^with five companies 
 of the 33rd, lost his way, and fell in with Colonel 
 Shawe, and took shelter under the embankments of 
 the watercourse, where he remained till daylight, 
 and then returned to the camp. He could give 
 no other information than that they had separated, 
 and that Colonel Wellesley and one company 
 were missing*. Colonel Wellesley arrived at the 
 Commander-in-Chief's tent at twelve o'clock, and 
 reported the failure of his attack on the Tope, 
 which is thus noted in General Harris's Journal. 
 
 " 6th jJpril, 1799. Remained under great 
 anxiety till near twelve at night, from the fear 
 our troops had fired on each other. Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Shawe very soon reported himself in pos- 
 session of the post, but a second firing commenced, 
 and as he had previously sent to know what 
 had become of the two Native battalions, I could 
 not be satisfied but that, in the dark, they had 
 mistaken each other. It proved that all the firing 
 was from the enemy, his Majesty's 12th Regi- 
 ment scarcely firing a shot the whole night. Near 
 twelve. Colonel Wellesley came to my tent in a 
 good deal of agitation, to say he had not carried 
 the Tope. It proved that the 33rd, with which 
 he attacked, got into confusion, and could not be 
 formed, which was great pity, as it must be par- 
 
FIRST ATTACK ON THE TOPE. 295 
 
 ticularly unpleasant to him. Altogether, circum- 
 stances considered, we got off very well. General 
 Baird's expedition of last night so far answered 
 our expectations, as he fell in with a small party 
 of the enemy's horse, and cut up eight or ten of 
 them, which will tend to prevent their plaguing- 
 us with rockets, I trust. He missed his road 
 coming back, although one would have thought it 
 impossible; no wonder night attacks so often fail." 
 
 At daylight on the 6th of April large bodies 
 of Tippoo's infantry crossed over from the Island 
 and the Fort to support those in the Tope and 
 water-course, and under cover of the houses and 
 mud walls ; a considerable number of cavalry also 
 took post in the rear of the Tope. Every move- 
 ment of the enemy manifested a determination to 
 drive Colonel Shawe from the post which he had 
 taken in the early part of the night, and still re- 
 tained possession of with His Majesty's 12th 
 Regiment and one battalion of Sepoys. 
 
 When General Harris saw the extent of the 
 enemy's preparations, he made all the dispositions 
 he thought necessary both to support Colonel 
 Shawe, and to execute successfully his intention, 
 which had failed in the two preceding nights, of 
 driving the enemy out of the Sultaunpettah Tope, 
 and maintaining possession of it. 
 
 The Scotch Brigade and two battalions of 
 Sepoys were first ordered for this service^ under 
 
296 THE SECOND ATTACK. 
 
 tlie command of Colonel Wellesley ; but when 
 more of Tippoo's infantry and cavalry were seen 
 marching in that direction^ General Harris or- 
 dered four 12-pounders, covered by four compa- 
 nies of Sepoys, to take post within about 400 
 yards of the Tope, in order to fire into it, while 
 Colonel Wellesley was marching to the attack ; 
 and the 25 th Regiment of Light Dragoons, under 
 the command of Colonel Cotton, now Lord Com- 
 bermere, and the 2nd Regiment of Native Ca- 
 valry, under Colonel Pater, were directed to sup- 
 port the right flank. Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace 
 was also sent down with the grenadier company 
 of the 74th Regiment, and four companies of 
 Sepoys, to occupy a rock on Colonel Shawe's left, 
 and prevent the enemy's galling the troops on that 
 flank during the attack. 
 
 When all was ready. Colonel Wellesley was 
 not present ; and as General Harris had ordered 
 that he should command, he could not compre- 
 hend why he was absent, especially when so much 
 time had elapsed whilst the additional forces were 
 marching down to their allotted stations. 
 
 After waiting a little longer, and inquiring 
 from his staff" what could be the reason of Colonel 
 Wellesley's absence. General Harris became uneasy 
 and apprehensive that tjie favourable moment for 
 the attack would be lost ; and he directed General 
 Baird, who was on the spot, to take the command, 
 and proceed to the attack. General Baird im- 
 
THE TOPE TAKEN. 297 
 
 mediately drew his sword, and, turning his horse, 
 rode towards the column for this purpose. He 
 had not moved many paces, when General Harris 
 called him back, and said, " On further consider- 
 ation, I think that we must wait a little longer 
 for Colonel Wellesley," in which General Baird 
 expressed his hearty concurrence. 
 
 Colonel Wellesley appeared in a few moments 
 afterwards, having, by an omission in the Adjutant- 
 General's office, been only just then warned for 
 the duty. He instantly took the command of the 
 troops, and proceeded to the attack. 
 
 As the troops approached the Tope, the 12- 
 pounders opened, and threw in a heavy fire in 
 different directions into it. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Shawe at the same time ordered his battalion- 
 guns to fire in that direction, but remained quiet 
 with the infantry. As the troops moved on to 
 the attack, the 12-pounders ceased. 
 
 The head of the column soon approached the 
 left of the Tope, when they formed and entered, 
 advancing in line with their guns. The firing 
 then commenced, but the shot from the 12- 
 pounders had dispersed the enemy considerably, 
 so that not much resistance was made, and in less 
 than twenty minutes Colonel Wellesley had com- 
 plete possession of the post which had caused so 
 much confusion and anxiety the two preceding 
 nights. When this object was accomplished 
 Colonel Shawe moved out at the head of the 
 
298 THE TOPE TAKEN. 
 
 12tli Regiment, which had continued under a heavy 
 fire during- the whole night, and up to this hour 
 of the morning, without returning a single shot. 
 They now received Colonel Shawe's orders to ad- 
 vance, and, placing himself at their head, they 
 rushed gallantly forward, and, at the point of the 
 bayonet, drove from the watercourse, with consi- 
 derable slaughter, the troops which had filled it 
 from the Fort. Thus was secured the complete 
 possession of strong and well-connected posts of 
 nearly two miles, forming an excellent parallel, 
 well covered from the Fort, and within a mile 
 distant from it. 
 
 I have stated all the circumstances of the 
 well-timed and well-executed attacks of this day 
 in such detail, and exactly as they occurred, be- 
 cause they have been very differently related by 
 Mr. Hook and other persons. To remove all 
 doubt of the accuracy of this statement, so far as 
 General Harris, General Baird, and Colonel Wel- 
 lesley are concerned, I shall here insert the 
 account given by Sir David Baird himself, only 
 the year before he died, to Colonel Meyrick 
 Shawe, of the circumstances which took place on 
 the morning of the 6th of April, 1799 : — 
 
 " In the month of October, ] 828, I passed some days 
 with Sir David Baird at his residence, Fernton, near Crief, 
 in Perthshire, and had a great deal of conversation with 
 him relative to the campaigns of 1791 and 1792, in Mysore, 
 when I served with him in the army under Lord Corn- 
 
SIR DAVID BAIRd's STATEMENT. 299 
 
 vvalHs, and also respecting the memorable campaign of 1799, 
 when I was not present. 
 
 " In the course of conversation, I inquired whether a 
 statement was correct, which I had not heard in India, but 
 which had recently been circulated in this country, that he. 
 Sir David Baird, had declined the command of the troops 
 assembled on the morning of the Gth of April, 1799, to 
 take possession of the Tope and post of Sultaunpettah, 
 which had been attempted, without success, by Colonel 
 Wellesley on the preceding night, and that he had repre- 
 sented to General Harris (who had proposed the command 
 to him,) the injustice of conferring it upon any other person 
 than Colonel Wellesley. 
 
 "Sir David Baird immediately replied, — ''The state- 
 ment is very incorrect, although there is a mixture of truth 
 in it, and it is especially very unjust to Lord Harris. The 
 facts are these. The troops destined for this service were 
 assembled early on the morning of the 6th of April. 
 General Harris was on the spot on horseback, and several 
 officers of rank, as well as myself, were present as spectators. 
 But Colonel Wellesley was absent, although it was gene- 
 rally understood that he was to command the attack. We 
 afterwards learnt that, by some accident. Colonel Wellesley 
 was not warned for that duty, and, of course, he did not 
 attend, but waited in his tent for the usual order or 
 summons. 
 
 " ' As the morning advanced. General Harris became 
 impatient and apprehensive that the favourable moment for 
 the attack would be lost by further delay ; and he directed 
 me to take the command, and proceed to the attack. I 
 certainly was surprised and embarrassed by this unexpected 
 order, which I felt would interfere with Colonel Wellesley. 
 But I need not remark to you, or to any soldier, that it 
 would have been impossible for me to show any hesitation, 
 
300 SIR DAVID BAIRD's STATEMENT. 
 
 or to make any observation, upon receiving an order from 
 the Commander-in-Chief to proceed forthwith and assume 
 an arduous and honourable service. 
 
 " ' I made no reply, but drew my sword, and, turning my 
 horse, I rode towards the column. I had not moved many 
 paces, when General Harris called me back, and said, " I 
 think, upon reflection, that we must, wait a little longer for 
 Colonel Wellesley." 
 
 " ' I then expressed to General Harris, in the hearing of 
 all around us, my great satisfaction at this determination, 
 because I felt that it could not fail to be painful and mor- 
 tifying to Colonel AVellesley, if any other person was em- 
 ployed to complete the operation which he had begun. 
 
 " ' General Plarris's mind was obviously influenced by 
 the same reflections, when, of his own accord, he recalled me, 
 and it is therefore unjust to ascribe to any one else, whatever 
 merit may belong to it. 
 
 " ' Colonel Wellesley (who I presume was sent for as soon 
 as the mistake w^as discovered,) appeared in a few moments 
 afterwards, and, taking the command of the troops, he led 
 the attack, which, in a short time, was completely suc- 
 cessful."' 
 
 " In the hand- writing of Meyrick Shawe, Colonel." 
 
 The following letters from Colonel Wellesley 
 to General Harris abundantly prove that neither 
 the failure of the attack on the night of the 5th^ 
 nor the accidental waiting for Colonel Wellesley 
 on the morning of the 6th of April, (from no fault 
 of his,) interrupted for a moment those feelings 
 of perfect confidence and kindness which pre- 
 vailed between the Commander-in-Chief and 
 Colonel Wellesley : — 
 
COLONEL WELLESLEY's LETTERS. 301 
 
 " Camjy, 6th April, 1799. 
 " Mj dear Sir, — I find that by moving Malcolm''s corps 
 to the rear a little, and by an arrangement of my posts on 
 my right and rear, I shall be able to protect Meer Allum, 
 the brinjarries, the park, and the cavalry, from any attempts 
 that may be made by horse and rocket boys, which alone 
 seems to me to be destined to annoy ns in that quarter. 
 
 " I shall now go out, and see what support I can give to 
 my post at Sultaunpettah, and will report to you on my 
 return. I am, my dear Sir, &c., 
 
 AllTHUR WeLLESLEY." 
 
 " Ca7np, 7th Apr-il, 1799. 
 " My dear Sir, — I shall be much obliged to you if 
 you will let me know whether you think the guards for the 
 outposts can now be reduced a little, as between foraging 
 parties and outline picquets, we have not men enough left 
 to give a relief. The outline picquets were not relieved 
 this morning for want of men. You were talking yesterday 
 of looking at these posts this afternoon, and if you have an 
 inclination, I will go with you at any hour you may ap- 
 point. I think I can show you a situation where two 
 embrasures might be opened in the bank of the nullah with 
 advantage, and that would add to the strength of the post. 
 I am, my dear Sir, &c., 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
 ''3 p.m. 7th April, 1799. 
 " My dear Sir, — A body of horse, of about seven or 
 eight hundred, has passed, and is getting round by my right 
 and your rear. They keep clear of our picquets, and are 
 most probably a reconnoitring party. 
 
 " They have some few straggling horsemen with them, 
 but I have seen no infantry. 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, &c., 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
302 COLONEL wellesley's letters 
 
 ''Camp, 'Jth April, 1799. 
 " My dear Sir, — I have the pleasure to inform you 
 that the foragers are coming in fast, well loaded with forage, 
 and I have therefore ordered the battalion to stay where it 
 is, ready to turn out, but (as battalions are now scarce 
 articles) not to move till further orders. 
 
 " The body of cavalry has passed our right flank, and 
 seems inclining rather to its left. It appears more like a 
 line of march than a body intended for a coup de main, as 
 there are with it bullocks and baggage of different kinds. 
 At all events, it can do our right no harm, as, excepting by 
 the high road, which Malcolm's corps will cover as soon as 
 it shall have moved, no cavalry can approach us. 
 
 I am, ray dear Sir, &c., 
 
 Arthur Wellesley. 
 
 " I see the cavalry has come more round our right, and 
 I have, therefore, ordered the battalion on to the high road, 
 where it will afford protection to the foragers coming in, as 
 well as to the rear of our camp, should they be inclined to 
 molest it." 
 
 " Camp, 'Jth April, J 799. 
 " My dear Sir, — I have drawn back the battalion, as 
 the foragers are come in, and the cavalry have disappeared. 
 As soon as Schoey"'s brigade shall have taken up its ground, 
 we shall have four field-pieces, at least, bearing upon that 
 road. When I shall have an opportunity of looking at it 
 again, I will let you know whether they will be sufficient, 
 or what will. 
 
 " I have fourteen 6-pounders, of which eight are out of 
 the lines at the outj)osts and picquets. 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, &c., 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
TO GENERAL HARRIS. 303 
 
 " Camp, ^th April, 1799. 
 
 " My clear Sir, — Since I returned home, I have 
 received a report from the outposts in Sultaunpettah, that 
 some infantry had passed, this evening, in the same direc- 
 tion in which the cavalry passed this morning, and there 
 are some persons in this camp who say they saw guns pass 
 likewise. 
 
 " I have not received a report from my picquets in my 
 front ; when I do, I will let you know what it is. 
 
 " At all events, I am prepared for him, if his attack is 
 directed against this flank of your line, whether it be made 
 by day or by night ; I do not intend to relieve the outposts 
 until after it is ascertained whether or not he intends to 
 make his push here : if he does attack us here, he will pro- 
 bably attack the outposts at the same time, and, in that 
 case, we must depend upon your line for the support of our 
 posts. 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, &;o. 
 
 Arthur Welleslky." 
 
 ''•Camp, "Jth April, 1799. 
 " My dear Sir, — The field oflicer of the day was at 
 the picquet in my front till sunset ; saw cavalry pass, but 
 no infantry or guns. 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, &c., 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
 The extracts which I have already given from 
 General Harris's private journal show how little 
 he was disquieted by Colonel Weilesley's separa- 
 
304 GENERAL HARRIs's DESPATCH 
 
 tion from the troops in the darkness of the night 
 of the 5th of April, 1799; the accident so extra- 
 vagantly described by Mr. Hook, " as spreading 
 like wildfire through the camp." The foregoing 
 notes and letters in the Duke's handwriting (of 
 which the originals are now lying before me,) 
 prove also that his serenity was not at all dis- 
 turbed by this occurrence, or by the accidental 
 omission of the Adjutant-General's office on the 
 morning of the 6th of April. They show, at the 
 same time, the terms upon which he was with his 
 General before, and subsequent to, the attacks of 
 the Sultaunpettah Tope on the night of the 5th 
 and the morning of the 6th of April. Here are 
 no less than six reports from Colonel Wellesley to 
 his Commander-in-Chief in the course of a single 
 day respecting the different movements of the 
 enemy he was watching, and those which in his 
 opinion would meet them, all written in the 
 clearest manner and in the kindest spirit towards 
 his superior officer, anxious to know distinctly 
 what he desired to have done, and to do it 
 effectually. 
 
 The impression left upon the mind of General 
 Harris by this Sultaunpettah Tope affair, which 
 has been so misrepresented and exaggerated, is 
 distinctly shown in the following public despatch 
 to the Governor- General. 
 
TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL. 305 
 
 " Camp before Seringapatam, Ajnil 7> 1799. 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " After crossing the Cavery on the 30th ult. 
 at Soosilly, where the army halted the next day, I 
 advanced by easy marches to this place, and took 
 up my position on the 5th of this month. Wish- 
 ing- to occupy the post where General Aber- 
 cromby's picquets were attacked in 1792, and the 
 large tope and village of Sultaunpettah, both were 
 attacked the night of our arrival ; but, owing in 
 great measure to the darkness of the night, the 
 attempt on the first only was partially successful. 
 We sustained some loss from the fire of the 
 enemy, which was continued heavily till late next 
 morning, when the posts were again attacked with 
 perfect and rapid success. They give us a strong- 
 position, and greatly confine that of the enemy. 
 Major-General Floyd, with four cavalry and six 
 infantry corps, twenty field-pieces, and a body of 
 the Nizam's horse, marched on the morning of 
 the 6th to join General Stuart. This force is 
 considered superior to any thing that can possibly 
 be opposed to it by the enemy. The army has 
 taken up its position for the siege. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 &c., &c., &c., 
 
 George Harris. 
 
 " T/ie Earl of Morningt<m'' 
 
 This letter proves beyond all doubt that these 
 
306 HIS CONDUCT TO COLONEL WELLESLEY. 
 
 operations did not interrupt for a moment General 
 Harris's feelings of perfect confidence in Colonel 
 Wellesley, from whom he was daily receiving all 
 the aid this accomplished officer could afford in 
 the progress of the siege. But the situation in 
 which all parties had been placed by the partial 
 success of the preceding night, and the accidental 
 omission of the Adjutant-General's office in the 
 morning, was painful and critical ; for they en- 
 couraged and enabled Tippoo to send more troops 
 from the Fort ; but these very circumstances 
 turned much to our advantage. They made our 
 success much more important, and his loss con- 
 siderably greater. Tippoo's attention was, more- 
 over, so entirely engrossed by the operations then 
 going on, that the march of General Floyd, to 
 bring the Bombay army from Periapatam, was 
 unheeded, and he thereby gained twenty-four 
 hours' start, for Cummur-ud-Deen was not sent 
 with Tippoo's cavalry in pursuit until the next 
 day. 
 
 These considerations entirely outweighed in 
 General Harris's mind the little annoyance arising 
 from the failures of the two preceding nights, and 
 the omission of the Adjutant-General's office on 
 the morning of the Gth. He had himself too 
 often shared in the perils and chances of war not 
 to make due allowance for occasional failures, and 
 for accidental omissions ; and therefore, the dan- 
 ger from which General Baird and his party had 
 
GALLANTRY OF COLONEL SHAWE. 307 
 
 escaped on the night of the 4:th, when he was 
 marching into tlie liands of the enemy, and that 
 from which Colonel Wellesley had escaped on the 
 night of the 5th, left no other impression on his 
 mind in regard to either, than a determination to 
 have no more night attacks, being satisfied that, 
 if they failed under such officers, there could be 
 no hope of success under any other. But when 
 the day for heroic deeds arrived, these were the 
 very officers who received the highest marks of 
 his confidence; General Baird was appointed to 
 command the assault of Seringapatam, Colonel 
 Wellesley to succour him if he should be beaten 
 off. 
 
 I find recorded in General Harris's Journal a 
 just tribute of his admiration of the gallantry dis- 
 played on this day by Colonel Robert Shawe, one 
 of his old comrades at the battle of the Vigie. 
 
 He says, " Colonel Shawe's post had been 
 much fired on all the time the preparations for 
 Colonel Wellesley's attack were going on, and 
 I had been obliged to advance a six-pounder 
 and three companies of Sepoys to cover his rear, 
 and thought it advisable to strengthen them by 
 the grenadier companies of the 74th, and four 
 companies of Sepoys, under Lieutenant- Colonel 
 Wallace, with the intention he should turn the 
 flank of the people opposed to Colonel Shawe 
 when Colonel W^ellesley's attack commenced. 
 
 X 2 
 
308 BARBARITY OF TIPPOO SULTAUN. 
 
 The effect of the attack was very fine ; and Shawe 
 advanced several yards on the bank the enemy 
 had annoyed him from, leading on the grenadiers, 
 which placed him in a most glorious point of view." 
 
 Nor is it irrelevant here to notice an instance 
 of the gallantry of one of Tippoo's youthful sirdars 
 on this occasion. Hussein Ally Cawn, a jagheer- 
 dar and nobleman of high rank, on seeing his 
 troops retreat from the Tope, charged a party of 
 the 2nd Battalion 7th Regiment with a few of his 
 adherents ; and though he succeeded in getting 
 through, was immediately afterwards shot. Some 
 of his relations were permitted, after the action, 
 to approach the battalion, and to carry away his 
 body, which was put into a dooley, and sent, with 
 his grateful followers, under the escort of a sepoy, 
 over to the island. The sepoy and the dooley- 
 bearers were rewarded by the Cawn's people, and 
 faithfully escorted back to their post. But in 
 this evidence of good and gallant feeling on both 
 sides, the Sultaun did not share ; his sullen and 
 ferocious nature remained unchanged to the last, 
 as was cruelly exhibited in the cold-blooded 
 murder of his European prisoners only a few days 
 before his death. 
 
309 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 General Harris's Journal of the Siege — Daily progress of the 
 Siege before the assault. 
 
 On the day after Colonel Wellesley had carried 
 the Sultaiinpettah post, General Harris walked 
 down with General Baird and Macleod to the 
 advanced post, and " found it," as his Journal 
 states, " very strong against such an enemy as we 
 have to deal with, and which may, with a little 
 work, be made very strong against any ; how for- 
 tunate thus to find a good parallel prepared to 
 our hands ! 
 
 " A long line of cavalry seen coming out of 
 the Fort about twelve ; reported at three, by 
 Colonel Wellesley, to have come more round our 
 right, and that he has, therefore, ordered the bat- 
 talion we spoke of (when looking what they were 
 about) on the road which leads to Periapatam. 
 
 " Our foraging party coming in fast, but this 
 cannot be their object, or they would move more 
 rapidly than they have done. It may perhaps be 
 an intended attack on Floyd when returning. 
 
 " Great many of us much fatigued. Our 
 duties pretty severe, but if the whole is not 
 pressed on with vigour, we shall fail, for no doubt 
 there will be more difficulties to overcome, than 
 we yet foresee. 
 
310 DAILY PROGRESS 
 
 ''%th. — ^\^isited the post taken possession of 
 by Colonel Wellesley on the 6tli instant. Found 
 it a continuation of tile nullah which makes 
 Shawe's post, but not so favourable in that part 
 for keeping hold of. — Directed a burnt village on 
 a rise above the nullah to be made the right- 
 hand post, by barricading the streets and cutting 
 down the walls to six feet, thickening them next 
 the Fort, and putting a banquet within. 
 
 " Brisk cannonade from the Fort. Colonel 
 Close brought Dallas and Hart to speak in favour 
 of the bullock-owners, and to point out to me the 
 certain ruin a muster would be to them. After 
 long discussion, agreed to postpone it. But 
 there's no being aware of the roguery of those 
 who live in a camp. At last, got a sketch of our 
 camp from Beatson, not accurate, but sufficiently 
 clear to prove we are very strongly posted. 
 
 " Tuesday, 9th. — Visited the ordnance de- 
 partment — rather in fear and doubt of its state. 
 Much pleased to find Lieutenant Colonel Carlisle 
 quite confident he had a good report to make me 
 of those articles he had not yet been able to 
 ascertain. 
 
 " Gave some directions for the further security 
 of the powder, and came away easier in my mind 
 than I expected. 
 
 " A letter from Tippoo to me brought about 
 ten. 
 
 " Its purport to inquire the meaning of the 
 
OF THE SIEGE. 311 
 
 advance of the English ai-inies, and inclosing copy 
 of Lord Mornington's letter, February 22nd. In- 
 solent enough* — but, under Providence, I trust 
 he will be humbled. 
 
 " Directed the chief engineer to give me a 
 plan for the attack of the Fort without going on 
 the Island, and another with possession of a 
 certain part of it. Both regulated under the 
 idea of our being established on both sides of the 
 river. 
 
 " lOth. — Visited the chief engineer, and the 
 village on the right, where Captain Mackenzie is 
 making a post, and gave all the necessary direc- 
 tions upon the necessity of exertion, and of 
 distributing our working parties methodically. 
 If this be not attended to, we shall be ruined. 
 
 "llth. — Visited the whole rear of the encamp- 
 ment ; altered one picquet to a pagoda on the 
 bank of the Cavery, with orders to communicate 
 with Captain Schoey's picquets on its left, and 
 prize agent's guard. This forms a complete chain 
 of sentries round the rear, an extent of many 
 miles. 
 
 "l'2th. — Employed Agnew and Beatson in 
 ascertaining the ford on the Cavery, where 
 General Abercromby passed in 1792, and Syden- 
 ham to examine the ground from the river to the 
 
 * This wa? the first notice he had taken of Lord Morning- 
 ton's letter of the 22ud of February and the Declaration of the 
 Allies. 
 
312 DATLY PROGRESS 
 
 point proposed for Shawe's right, in order to 
 prevent his coming round a march of some miles, 
 whereas the short cut is abont a mile. 
 
 " Wrote to Malcohn to send us a daily report 
 of work done by his people; no intimation from 
 Floyd. 
 
 " Many of our young' men complaining-. James 
 Lushington very ill in sick tope, when I imagined 
 him gone with his corps to meet General Stuart. 
 Had his tent pitched in the rear of mine. 
 
 " liSth. — When the difficulties and delays at- 
 tending the getting a large equipment out of a 
 jungle are considered, and of these, we are tole- 
 rable judges, we need not be uneasy, although 
 General Floyd should not arrive before the 15th. 
 But, knowing that all the enemy's horse are de- 
 tached to annoy him, we cannot but be anxious. 
 At the same time, there is every moral certainty, 
 they cannot do anything that will now impede 
 the siege. 
 
 " Visited Shawe's post ; much satisfied with 
 the view of the western angle, as it proves there 
 is plenty of ground to form on, clear of the river 
 and rocks. 
 
 "A man of Captain Macleod's just come in 
 from the Island. Reports that General Floyd's 
 moving on the morning of the 6th, gave him 
 twenty-four hours' entire start of the enemy, and 
 our attacking tiieir posts the same day, took them 
 in in every way. 
 
OF THE SIEGE. 318 
 
 " Engineers and Beatson nnited in opinion 
 on the point of attack. 
 
 " S/(U(hn/, the Mfli. — Took the 25th Dragoons 
 and the 2nd Regiment of Cavahy, with a large 
 party of Nizamites, to meet Floyd ; did not get in 
 till past six, owing to the jaded state of the 
 bullocks." 
 
 J have made these lengthened extracts from 
 General Harris's Journal, in confirmation of the 
 fact that he did himself conduct the details of 
 his victorious army. On his return to camp with 
 the Bombay army, he had the gratification of 
 finding an hurkarrah, or native messenger, from 
 the Governor- General, with the following letter in 
 his own hand-writing. It was written on both 
 sides of a very narrow slip of paper, and was sealed 
 up in a quill, that the man to whom it was in- 
 trusted might conceal it about his person in his 
 journey through Tippoo's country, or swallow it, if 
 necessity compelled him to do so. This precaution 
 was adopted, because both Hyder and Tippoo were 
 in the constant practice of ordering such mes- 
 sengers to be hanged whenever they were found. 
 
 " Gardens, ^rd April, 1799. 
 " My dear General, 
 
 " I sincerely congratulate you on the com- 
 plete success of the 27th ultimo ; I trust that you 
 will continue to prosper until you have effected 
 
314 LETTER FROM LORD MORNINGTON. 
 
 your object ; I know you have experienced diffi- 
 culties in moving your prodigious equipment ; but 
 I trust you will have brought it to bear against 
 Seringapatam before you can receive this note. All 
 are well here, and satisfied with your conduct and 
 happy in your success. Mrs. Harris is very well. 
 I am delighted with our allies, the Nizamites. I 
 imagine you do not now repent the detachment 
 from the Central Division in August last. Do not 
 allow Arthur to fatigue himself too much. I con- 
 clude that you are all in good humour, as you 
 have all done so well. 
 
 Believe me always, 
 
 Yours, most faithfully, 
 
 M." 
 
 The Journal of General Harris thus con- 
 tinues : — 
 
 " Got the Europeans in Shawe's post covered 
 from the sun and dews. 
 
 " Lieutenant-Colonel Reade's move towards 
 the Caverypooram Pass is of the greatest conse- 
 quence. 
 
 "A 24-pound beat shot fell in the cords 
 of my dining tent ; supposed a range of 5,200 
 yards. 
 
 " I5th. — No supplies for us with the Bombay 
 army. Their supplies for themselves scarcely 
 equal to ours. From a mortality amongst their 
 bullocks, they have lost nearly 4,000. This is one 
 
SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 315 
 
 of the accidents of war which cannot be provided 
 against. 
 
 "\6tJi. — Received the chief engineer's plan 
 for the attack on the western angle of the Fort, 
 and directed him to take care that no delay may 
 occur in constructing the necessary works. Or- 
 dered him to transmit to me regularly the number 
 and nature of the working parties he would 
 require, that every assistance in the power of the 
 army might be given to accelerate the progress of 
 the works. 
 
 " I am sorry to add that this day, on measur- 
 ing our rice to ascertain the exact quantity in 
 store, we discovered that, from loss or fraud, the 
 bags were so extremely deficient, that only eigh- 
 teen days' rice, at half allowance, is in camp for 
 the fighting men. 
 
 "Unless Colonel Reade's supplies arrive be- 
 fore the 6th of May, the army will be without 
 provision. 
 
 •' There is plenty in the Coorg country, but 
 we have no means to convey or escort it hither. 
 
 " But I hope to be in Seringapatam before the 
 end of the month. 
 
 " 17th — Visited General Stuart and his out- 
 posts ; much afraid he has not fifteen days' rice 
 in the camp. Anxious times. Found the enemy 
 very busy at work on the post we meant to seize 
 for our battery. This determined me to make the 
 attack as soon as possible. 
 
316 VILLAGE OF AGUAR AND 
 
 "The party to consist of tlie 74th and 75th, 
 and two battalions of Sepoys. Met the 74th on 
 my retnrn. Shook hands with George (his eldest 
 son, now Lord Harris, then in the 74th) and bid 
 him ' do his duty.' " 
 
 The more active operations of the siege com- 
 menced from this time. At 4 p.m., a detachment 
 of the Bombay army, consisting of His Majesty's 
 75 th Regiment, and two battalions of Sepoys, 
 supported by the 74th Regiment and a battalion 
 from the main army, all under the command of 
 Colonel Vaughan Hart, attacked and drove the 
 enemy from their posts near the village of Agrar, 
 on the north side of the river, with the greatest 
 gallantry. The troops advanced under a severe 
 cannonade, and took possession of the ruins of an 
 old redoubt and village, about 900 yards distant 
 from the east angle of the Fort. A breast-work 
 was thrown up on the left of the ruins, which 
 afforded good cover for the troops, and a battery 
 for six 18-pounders completed in the course of 
 the night, on the right of the redoubt, to enfilade 
 the enemy's intrenchment on the south side of 
 the river. This attack was supported by the 
 fire of two 12-pounders from the right of Shawe's 
 post. 
 
 About the time of this attack, another was 
 made on a nullah, called the Little Cavery, about 
 500 yards in advance of Shawe's post, which was 
 
OTHER POSTS CARRIED. 317 
 
 taken possession of by the 2nd Battalion 12tli 
 Regiment of Native Infantry, and hence called, 
 from the name of the commandant, " Macdonald's 
 Post." The nullah was filled with water by a 
 dam joining- the south bank of the river, and an 
 island west of Montresor's ; it ran parallel to the 
 river, as far as the eastern extremity of Montre- 
 sor's Island, where it struck off, nearly at right 
 angles, and afforded good cover for 600 yards. 
 Hence, it took a turn to the Fort, and for a short 
 distance was enfiladed. But it was afterwards 
 secured, and used to cover the troops and the 
 engineers' tools and materials. Upon the result 
 of these attacks. General Harris noted in his 
 Journal : 
 
 " 7 p. M. Success in all our attempts, and 
 with very little loss. 
 
 "ISth. — We have no other account of Colonel 
 Reade, and none of Colonel Browne from any 
 quarter ; this is extremely distressing. Distance 
 of depot, weakness and want of cattle, and diffi- 
 culty of sparing convoy sufficiently strong, render 
 our large Coorg supplies of no immediate use. 
 
 " \9th. — Twenty-four years since the fight of 
 Lexington. Disagreeable enough that was, but 
 to our present situation it was ease and plenty, 
 for Stuart sent his commissary, to acquaint me 
 he had but two days' provision in camp for his 
 Europeans. 
 
318 SUCCESSFUL ATTACK 
 
 '^ Ordered a quantity equal to eight days' con- 
 sumption for his use, which leaves us, by Corner's 
 report, sixteen, but this, allowing for casualties, 
 should be called twelve. 
 
 " 20th, 2\st. — Detailing the progress of the 
 siege. 
 
 " 22>?^. — We want only provisions and cattle 
 at present. Of rice, we have collected, by various 
 modes, enough to subsist our fighting men to the 
 middle of May. 
 
 " 23r^. — Made a special report to the Gover- 
 nor-General on this subject. 
 
 " 25M. — A violent storm of wind and rain last 
 night ; the appearance of the weather very mon- 
 soonish ; trust we shall not have more rain, or it 
 will be next to impossible to get our guns into 
 the batteries. Providence directs all things for 
 the best ; then let us bow down in humble re- 
 signation. 
 
 ^'Friday, 26th. — Our new battery and the 
 altered one opened, and very soon had every 
 success expected. Ordered the men an extra 
 dram. 
 
 " Determined to attack the enemy's post in 
 our front and right in the evening. 
 
 " Disposition made and communicated to Col. 
 Wellesley, who commanded in the trenches, with 
 the 73rd Scotch Brigade, 2nd Battalion Bengal 
 Volunteers, the 2nd Battalion 3rd Regiment Coast 
 Sepoys. 
 
UPON THE enemy's FRONT. 319 
 
 " 27///. — The attack had all the success pos- 
 sible, but we have sustained more loss than usual." 
 
 This operation was the most important of all 
 that took place before the assault ; it furnished 
 the ground where the breaching batteries were to 
 be erected, and when Tippoo discovered the posi- 
 tion of our troops on the morning of the 27th, he 
 made so violent an attack upon them from the 
 guns of the Fort, and from the stone bridge, that 
 Colonel Sherbrooke (as stated in General Harris's 
 Journal) " was afraid he should not be able to 
 sustain his right flank. Ordered to keep it to the 
 last extremity ; succeeded, and all quiet from nine 
 or thereabouts." 
 
 As this was the last effort of any vigour made 
 by Tippoo, it is worthy of being detailed. 
 
 Colonel Wellesley's order for the attack was 
 as follows : — 
 
 " The troops are to move out in two divisions, 
 one to th-e right from the four-gun battery, con- 
 sisting of four companies of the 73rd Regiment, 
 supported by four companies from the 2nd Bat- 
 talion Bengal Volunteers, and commanded by 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Moneypenny ; the left division 
 to consist of four companies of the Scotch Brigade, 
 supported by four companies of the 2nd Battalion 
 Bengal Volunteers, under the command of Major 
 Skelly" 
 
 At the hour proposed the guns from our 
 
320 SUCCESSFUL ATTACK 
 
 batteries coinmenced a heavy fire of grape, which 
 was the signal for the attack. The Europeans 
 then moved out, followed by the Native troops. 
 The enemy, seeing this movement, began an active 
 fire from behind their breastwork ; guns from 
 almost every part of the Fort opened upon our 
 troops with great effect, and, by the time they 
 had quitted the trenches, the fire of cannon and 
 small arms was general. The companies from 
 the 73rd Regiment and Scotch Brigade then 
 pushed on with great rapidity to the enemy's 
 works, who, seeing the determined spirit of Eng- 
 lish troops, fled from their posts in great confusion 
 and dismay ; but many fell by the bayonet while 
 endeavouring to escape. 
 
 The relief from the trenches, which was this 
 evening commanded by Colonel Sherbrooke, had 
 by this time arrived ; a part of the 74th Regiment, 
 and the Regiment De Meuron, composed the 
 Europeans of that relief, and were ordered imme- 
 diately to advance to support the rest. These 
 pushed on to the right of the attack. A heavy 
 fire was continued from the ramparts, and by 
 those of the enemy who had fled from the part of 
 their intrenchments first attacked, and taken post 
 behind the traverses more to the right ; severed 
 made a desperate stand, and fell by the bayonet ; 
 the Europeans dashed in, forcing the traverses in 
 succession, until they had extended as far as the 
 turn of the nidlah towards the stone bridge. At 
 
UPON THK ENEMY'« FRONT. 321 
 
 this turn there is a redoubt, open to the south- 
 east angle of the Fort, but which flanked a water- 
 course running parallel and close to the intrench- 
 nient thjit was carried. This redoubt was stormed 
 by the 74th Regiment, and left in their possession, 
 while Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, with a small 
 party of that corps, and a few men from the Regi- 
 ment De Meuron, pushed forward along the in- 
 trenchments and the road, till he came to the 
 bridge leading over the great river, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Wallace at the same time advancing con- 
 siderably more to the right, till fearful of risking 
 too many lives wiiile acting in the dark, he pru- 
 dently fell back, and took possession of the 
 enemy's post at the stone bridge, on the road to 
 Shawe's post ; but this post being too much de- 
 tached from the main body of the troops, he 
 withdrew the party left to defend it during the 
 night. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell crossed tlie 
 bridge, and went some distance on the Island ; 
 but it was necessary to make an immediate retreat 
 from that dangerous situation, and nothing but 
 the night and the consternation of the enemy 
 could iiave given the smallest chance for the party 
 to escape. Tiiey returned under a heavy fire from 
 all sides, and made their way back to the redoubt, 
 where Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace had taken post 
 with the few of the 74th Regiment who had re- 
 mained with him, and the rest of the troops whom 
 
 Y 
 
.S22 SUCCESSFUL ATTACK 
 
 he had placed to the left along' the watercourse, 
 which rims close to the intrenchment, and in this 
 situation they remained all night, exposed to grape 
 from the Fort, and galled by the musqiietry from 
 the ground on the right flank, and from the post 
 at the stone bridge, which took them in the rear. 
 The enemy continued firing grape and mns- 
 quetry at intervals the whole night ; at lengtli the 
 daylight appeared, and discovered both to us and 
 to them the critical state of our men. Lieute- 
 nant-Colonel Campbell having been crippled the 
 preceding night by being barefooted during his 
 excursion across the bridge, was obliged to return 
 to camp, and Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace being 
 next in command, he sent to inform Colonel 
 Sherbrooke of their situation, and to request 
 further support, as the enemy were collecting in 
 great force on the right flank, and at the post 
 they occupied near the stone bridge, from which 
 they galled our people in the rear to a great 
 degree. Colonel Sherbrooke, on receiving this 
 report, instantly ordered all the Europeans who 
 had remained in the trenches to advance to 
 Colonel Wallace's post, and each man to take with 
 him a pickaxe, or momitie*. Colonel Wallace, in 
 the mean time, seeing the necessity of dislodging 
 
 * A sort of sjiade, used tliroiiglioiit India in the removal of 
 earth, and very efi&cient in the hands of those v^^ho are accus- 
 tomed to it. It is chiefly employed in the formation of those 
 magnificent reservoirs for water, to which the Peninsula owes 
 its fertility. 
 
UPON THE enemy's FRONT. 323 
 
 the enemy from the bridge, ordered Major Skelly, 
 with a few men of the Scotch Brigade, to move 
 down and attack that post. He was followed by 
 a company from that regiment, and soon got pos- 
 session. 
 
 The Europeans had by this time arrived from 
 the trenches, and by their exertion and the assist- 
 ance of the pioneers, an intrenchment was thrown 
 np and completed by ten o'clock ; but from the 
 dawn of day to that hour continued efforts were 
 made by the garrison to regain what had been 
 lost, but in vain. The determined bravery of our 
 troops baffled all their endeavours. The post 
 gained at the bridge secured the rear of the other, 
 and presented a new front to the enemy ; it was 
 strengthened by another company from the 74th 
 Regiment and two companies of Sepoys, and in a 
 short time the whole of them were under cover. 
 
 The loss on this occasion was great. Two 
 officers and 60 men killed, 10 officers and 216 
 men wounded ; 19 men also missing ; altogether, 
 killed, wounded, and missing, 307 officers and 
 men. 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The breacliing batteries open with great effect — Report from 
 Colonel Wellesley, commanding officer in the trenches — 
 General Harris resolves to storm the Fort next day — Com- 
 municates his intention to General Stuart — That officer's 
 answer — General Baird appointed to command the troops in 
 the assault. — His instructions. — Seringapatam falls. — Tippoo 
 killed in the assault with thousands of his troops. 
 
 From this time the operations of the siege went 
 vigorously forward with very little disturbance 
 from the enemy. A breaching battery for six 
 guns, built on the 28th at night, was opened on 
 the .30th in the morning, and in the course of the 
 day demolished part of the outer wall of the west 
 angle of the Fort, considerably shaking the ma- 
 sonry of the bastion within. On the 1st General 
 Harris reported to the Governor-General that the 
 fire of this battery had continued with increased 
 effect, that an additional battery, constructed the 
 preceding night, was to be opened on the 2nd, 
 and that he anticipated early possession of the 
 fortress. His journal states that the last battery 
 opened with such effect, that Tippoo did every 
 thing in his power to repair the first breach, not- 
 withstanding the fire kept up, and that he suc- 
 ceeded in some measure, because the working- 
 of our people in front preparatory to the assault. 
 
REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TRENCHES. 325 
 
 prevented the firing of grape shot npon the 
 breach ; but on the morning of the 3rd Colonel 
 Wellesley reported the completion of this work in 
 the following letter. 
 
 "To Lieutenant-General Harris. 
 
 "7 k.u.,^rd May. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " We did all our work last night, except 
 filling the sand bags, which conld not be done 
 for want of tools. I shall have them filled in the 
 course of this morning, and there will be no in- 
 convenience from the delay, as it was not deemed 
 advisable last night to do more than look for the 
 ford ; and it is not intended to do any thing to it 
 nntil the night before it is to be nsed. 
 
 " Lieutenant Lalor, of tlie 73rd, crossed over 
 to tlie ghicis. On the left of the breach, he 
 found the wall wliich he believes to be the 
 retaining wall of the gkicis, seven feet high, and 
 tlie water (included in those seven feet) fourteen 
 inches deep. It is in no part more so, and the 
 passage by no means difficult. Several other 
 officers crossed by different routes, but none went 
 so far as Lieutenant Lalor. All agree in the 
 practicability of crossing with troops. The enemy 
 built up the breach in the night with gabions, 
 &c., notwithstanding the fire which was kept 
 upon it. . It was impossible to fire grape, as our 
 working party was in front of the six-gun battery, 
 
326 PREPARATIONS FOR THE STORM. 
 
 from which alone we could fire as we repaired the 
 other. 
 
 " Lieutenant Lalor is now on duty here with 
 his regiment, but if you wish it, he will remain 
 here to-night, and try the river again. 
 I am, &c., 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
 General Harris, being now satisfied that the 
 breach would be practicable next day, immedi- 
 ately proceeded to settle with General Stuart 
 what portion of the Bombay army should be 
 employed in the storm, and in the course of the 
 day received the following letter from that gallant 
 officer. 
 
 " 3rd May, half-past 10 o'clock. 
 " My dear General, 
 
 " Our European flank companies are formed 
 under Lieutenant-Colonel Dunlop, and our Se- 
 poys are likewise formed under Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Mignard, both esteemed good officers. 
 The whole will consist of upwards of 1,200 men, 
 including non-commissioned officers, and are the 
 whole of the flank companies of the Bombay 
 army. It required both the flank companies of 
 our Sepoy corps to make up one of the present 
 establishment. These troops are in camp ready 
 to move when ordered. Our detail at the ad- 
 vanced post is reduced to 300 Europeans and 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THP: STORM. 327 
 
 about 800 Sepoys, for which, with our picquets 
 (which are also reduced to the lowest possible 
 number), we hav^e not quite or about a relief. 
 But this is of little consequence, as it cannot now 
 last long*. Should your commissary send any 
 refreshments for your European troops employed 
 in the assault, it would be well he sent for ours 
 also (644 men), in case ours should not arrive in 
 time ; besides, it would be well that both armies 
 received it at the same time. I have ordered our 
 troops, besides the twenty-four rounds of ammu- 
 nition in their pouches, to carry twelve spare 
 rounds in boxes. Surgeons likewise attend them. 
 I am, my dear General, 
 Ever and most sincerely yours, 
 
 J. Stuart." 
 
 Major-General Baird having been already in- 
 formed that the Commander-in-Chief had deter- 
 mined that he should command the troops em- 
 ployed in the assault, was now sent for to receive 
 his instructions. The detail of the forces to be 
 placed under him, and the manner in which the 
 assault was to be made, were fully explained to 
 him. 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief instructed Major- 
 General Baird to make the capture of the ram- 
 parts his first object ; with this view, the force 
 placed under his command would be divided into 
 two colunms, one to move along the northern 
 
328 GENERAL BAIRd's INSTRUCTIONS. 
 
 raiii}3art, under tlie command of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Diinlop, the other column to be com- 
 manded by Colonel Sherbrooke, and to proceed 
 along- the soutliern rampart until the two columns 
 joined on the east face, thus making- the entire 
 circuit of the rampart before they descended into 
 the town, for the attack of the enemy's troops in 
 the town, if this should be necessary, or of such 
 of the cavaliers as might not be seized at the first 
 onset. To prevent all confusion or delay at the 
 time fixed for the assault, and to conceal the in- 
 tended attack as much as possible, the different 
 corps were to proceed to the trenches at such 
 hours during the night, and in such succession, as 
 should place them in the trenches agreeably to 
 the order in which they were to march to the 
 assault. Thus every officer and man would pre- 
 viously know his place, and be ready to move out 
 of the trenches when the signal was given. This 
 M^as the plan formed for the assault by the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, and official orders to this effect 
 were delivered to Major-General Baird by Co- 
 lonel Close, afterwards Sir Barry Close, the dis- 
 tinguished Adjutant-General of the army, as 
 follows : — 
 
 "To ]Ma,joii-General Baird. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 "You have been informed by the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief that he proposes placing you in 
 
GKNEllAL BAIUD's INSTRUCTIONS. 329 
 
 the command of tlie troops which are to assault 
 the Fort of Seringapatam. 
 
 "A statement of the troops intended for this 
 service is by his desire enclosed*. He wishes the 
 whole to be lodged in the trenches during this 
 night, in the order detailed in tlie enclosure, from 
 which you will perceive that the European flank 
 companies, from the division under Lieutenant- 
 General Stuart, are to lead tlie attack. Of the 
 troops destined for the supporting party in the 
 trenches, the 2nd battalion, 5th Regiment, is to 
 be ordered from camp ; it will be on the general 
 parade at three o'clock, and there wait to receive 
 your orders. The whole of the troops for the 
 assault will be placed under your orders this 
 evening, and you will be pleased to direct the 
 different corps to proceed to the trenches at such 
 hours during the night, and in such succession, 
 as will place theui in the trenches agreeably to 
 the order prescribed, a little before daybreak. 
 
 " Colonel Sherbrooke, coming on the duty of 
 a general officer of the trenches, will be directed 
 to obey such instructions as you may have occa- 
 sion to send him relative to the movement, or 
 disposition, of the troops in the trenches. 
 
 * Abstract of the Force. 
 Euiupeaiis ..... 2594 
 Natives 1882 
 
 Total . . . 4476 
 See the detail in the Appendix, and also a Return of the killed 
 and wounded in each of the attacking coluniui;. 
 
330 CiKNEHAL UAIRD's INSTRUCTIONS. 
 
 " When the whole of the troops intended for 
 the assault have left camp, you will report on the 
 subject to the Commander-in-Chief, who will 
 then give you his further instructions. 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your very obedient servant, 
 
 Barry Close, 
 " Head Quarters, Adj.-Gen, of the Army" 
 
 Camp before Seringapatamy 
 3rd May, 1799." 
 
 " Enclosure. 
 
 " Disposition of the Troojys ordered for the Assault of the Fort of 
 Seringapatam, on the 4th May, 1799, under the command of 
 Major-General Baird. 
 
 " Left attack, under Lieutenant-Colonel Dunlop, to consist 
 of six companies of European flankers from tlie Bombay army. 
 
 "His Majesty's 12tli Regiment. 
 „ 33rcl do. 
 
 " Ten companies of Bengal Sepoy flankers, under Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Gardiner. 
 
 " Fifty artillerymen, with a proportion of Gun Lascars, under 
 Captain Prescott. 
 
 " To move in column, left in front. 
 
 " To take possession of tlie cavalier, close to tlie breach, and 
 move along the north rampart of the Fort ; to proceed till they 
 join the right attack, leaving a battalion company of the 33rd 
 Regiment in charge of the cavalier already mentioned, close to 
 the breach, and occupying such other parts on the ramparts, by 
 detachments from the 12th and 33rd Regiments, as shall be 
 thought necessary by Lieutenant-Colonel Dunlop. 
 
 " Right attack i;nder Colonel Sherbrooke, to consist of four 
 companies of European flankers, from the Scotch Brigade and 
 Reoiment de Meuron. 
 
GENERAL BAIRD's INSTRUCTIONS. 331 
 
 " His Majesty's 73rd Regiment. 
 „ 74th do. 
 
 "Eight companies of the Cocist Sepoy flankers, under 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple. 
 
 "Six companies of Bombay Sepoy flankers, under Lieute- 
 nant-Colonel Mignard. 
 
 " Fifty artillerymen, with a proportion of Gun Lascars, under 
 Major Bell. 
 
 " To move in column, right in front. 
 
 " To move along the south rampart of the Fort, leaving such 
 parties as may be thought necessary by Colonel Sherbrooke, from 
 the 73rd or 7-4th Regiments in charge of such parts of the ram- 
 parts as he may deem it essentially necessary to occupy. 
 
 " Half of the European and half of the Native pioneers to 
 accompany each attack with hatchets : the European pioneers to 
 carry the scaling ladders, assisted by forty men from the bat- 
 talion companies of each of the leading regiments ; the Native 
 pioneers to carry a proportion of fascines. 
 
 " If the road across the river and the breach shall be deemed 
 sufficiently broad, the two attacks to move out to the assault at 
 the same moment; on coming to the top of the breach, they are 
 to wheel to the right and left, so as to get on the face they are 
 ordered to move on ; but if the road and breach are too narrow, 
 the left attack is to move out first. The leading companies of 
 each attack to use the bayonet principally, and not to fire but 
 in cases of absolute necessity. 
 
 " Each attack to be preceded by a serjeant and twelve 
 volunteers, supported by a subaltern officer and twenty-five 
 men. 
 
 " The leading flank companies of each attack to be provided 
 with hand-hatchets. 
 
 Barry Close, Adj. -Gen." 
 
 Major-General Baird engaged with his wonted 
 ardour in a duty so congenial to his gallant 
 nature, and before the morning dawned, all the 
 
332 STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM. 
 
 troops ordered for the assault were quietly lodged 
 in the trenches. 
 
 A heavy fire had been kept up all night from 
 our batteries, which prevented the enemy doing- 
 anything" at the breach, and at dayliglit it was 
 reported by the chief engineer to be practicable. 
 Every preparation having been thus made, and no 
 extraordinary movement on the part of the enemy 
 having- indicated their expectation of the assault, 
 all were eager for the signal. Tiie hour appointed 
 by the Commander-in-Chief for the storm, one 
 o'clock, had nearly arrived, when, a little before 
 this time, while General Harris was sitting- alone 
 in his tent, anxiously reflecting- upon the course 
 he had resolved upon, if the Sultaun should suc- 
 ceed in beating- off the first assailants, Captain 
 Malcolm (afterwards Sir John Malcolm) came 
 into his tent, and seeing him full of thought, 
 cheerily exclaimed, " Why, my Lord, so thought- 
 ful ?" "Malcolm," said the General sternly, 
 " this is no time for compliments : we have 
 serious work on hand ; don't you see that the 
 European sentry over my tent is so weak from 
 want of food, and exhaustion, that a Sepoy could 
 push him down — we must take this fort, or 
 perish in the attempt. I have ordered General 
 Baird to persevere in his attack to the last extre- 
 mity ; if he is beat off, Wellesley is to proceed 
 with the troops from the trenches : if he also 
 should not succeed, I shall put myself at the head 
 
STORMINCi OF SRRINGAPATAM . 333 
 
 of the remainder of the army, for success is neces- 
 sary to our existence*." 
 
 The important moment of the assault had now 
 arrived ; at half-past one o'clock General Baird 
 stepped out of the trenclieSj drew his sword, and 
 gallantly exclaimed, "Now, my brave fellows, 
 follow me, and prove yourselves worthy of the 
 name of British soldiers." 
 
 The flank companies instantly rushed out of 
 the trenches, followed by the supporting- corps, 
 and, under the cover of a heavy fire from our bat- 
 teries, entered and crossed the river, assailed by 
 rockets and musquetry from the Fort. The for- 
 lorn hope of each attack consisted of a serjeant 
 and twelve Europeans, who were followed by two 
 subaltern's parties ; that of the right column was 
 commanded by Lieutenant Hill, of the 74th Re- 
 giment, that of the left by I^ieutenant Law- 
 rence, of the 77th Regiment. The forlorn hope 
 was accompanied also by John Best, (of whom I 
 have before made mention,) who could not be 
 restrained by his former master, the Commander- 
 in-Chief, from joining- in this perilous service. He 
 was severely wounded in the bed of the river, but 
 sat on a rock cheering the flank companies of the 
 two attacks as they passed headed by Colonel 
 Nherbrooke and Lieutenant-Colonel Dunlop. A 
 
 * This anecdote was told to me in 1813 by Sir J. jMalcolm, 
 and aniong-st the late Lord Harris's papers I found a letter of 
 mine reinindinor him of it. 
 
,334 STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM. 
 
 brigade of engineers, under Captain Caldwell, now 
 Sir James Lillyman Caldwell, an officer of distin- 
 guished science and gallantry, accompanied the 
 storming party, but he also was wounded in 
 crossing the river. Both the attacking parties 
 ascended the glacis and the breaches in the 
 faussebraye together. Some opposition was made, 
 but the enemy were soon repulsed or cut down. 
 In six minutes the forlorn hope, closely followed 
 by the front companies of the two divisions, 
 reached the summit of the breach, where the Bri- 
 tish colours were instantly displayed. This was, 
 indeed, a glorious sight. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Dunlop was here wounded in the hand, and was 
 obliged to remain behind from loss of blood. 
 General Baird having ascended with the flank 
 companies of the right attack was now on the 
 ramparts, when the leading companies of the two 
 divisions took their respective routes along the 
 northern and southern ramparts, succeeded by 
 the other troops who were yet under a heavy fire 
 while crossing the river. 
 
 The right attack under Colonel Sherbrooke 
 marched rapidly forward on the southern rampart, 
 according to the order prescribed by the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief for the asssault, and met with 
 little opposition until they came to the Mysore 
 gateway, when a large body of the enemy endea- 
 voured to oppose their getting within the interior 
 rampart, but they were driven out with great 
 
STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM. 335 
 
 slaughter. Lieutenant Shawe fell here, and a 
 number of Europeans were killed and wounded. 
 Having- forced the gateway, Colonel Sherbrooke 
 continued his march, and gained possession of all 
 the rest of the cavaliers with very inconsiderable 
 loss, hoisting the British colours as he went along 
 as signals of success and victory. 
 
 The flank companies of the European corps 
 on the other attack meeting with more resistance, 
 their progress was much slower ; some of the 
 traverses were obstinately defended, for Tippoo 
 himself was here present, and led on that fire, by 
 which their front was frequently brought to a 
 stand. But a part of the 12th Regiment having 
 got across the ditch, found its way within the 
 parapet where the enemy were posted, and drove 
 them out ; their fire, and that of the companies 
 in front of the left, soon cleared the rampart, and 
 the fugitives who were not shot or drowned in the 
 ditch crowded into a gateway. Before they had 
 time to get off', they were met by part of the 
 12th Regiment, and between their fire and that 
 of the troops on the main rampart multitudes lost 
 their lives. The two divisions, as they respec- 
 tively passed along the north and south ram- 
 parts, overcame all opposition, destroying those 
 within their reach. Neither officers nor men knew 
 when they could with safety arrest the hand of 
 victory, for both had been taught, by mournful 
 experience, that there was no hope of mercy from 
 
.330 MAJOR Allan's mission 
 
 Tippoo, or of peace with him, or those under his 
 command, whilst his power and life remained. The 
 path of tlie soldiers was therefore destructive and 
 sang-uinary. Thousands fell by their hands — 
 indeed, the carnage did not cease, until the two 
 divisions joined on the eastern rampart. All re- 
 sistance was here at an end, for the whole works 
 of the fortress were now in possession of our 
 troops : nothing- remained to be taken but the 
 palace of Tippoo. Here the utmost confusion 
 prevailed ; for the family of the Sultaun knew not 
 what had i)efallen him since he left them in the 
 morning-. A report had, indeed been brought to 
 the killedar that he had been shot, and was lying 
 dead under one of the gateways ; but whilst un- 
 certain of his destiny, they did not dare to open 
 the gates of the ptdace without his permission. 
 For themselves, too, they feared a dreadful retali- 
 ation from our soldiers, in consequence of the 
 cold-blooded murder, by Tippoo's express orders, 
 a few days before, of twelve of the grenadiers of 
 the 33rd Regiment who had fallen into his hands ; 
 much address was therefore required to calm their 
 apprehensions, and induce them to open the gates 
 of the palace to the British troops, who were 
 drawn up on the outside prepared either to storm 
 the walls, or to take peaceful possession. 
 
 Happily the person employed by General 
 Baird upon this duty was pre-eminently fitted to 
 perform it with success. Major Allan (afterwards 
 
TO THE SULTAUn's PALACE. 337 
 
 Sir Alexander Allan,) of whom the Commander- 
 in-Chief speaks, in his account of the battle of 
 Mallavelly, as delighting him by his animation, 
 was deputed on this service. Nature had given 
 to Major Allan a heart, a form, and a countenance 
 admirably fitted for this humane duty. He had, 
 besides, learned and practised his profession under 
 the eyes of Medows and Cornwallis. Medows had 
 taught him that '^ an enemy conquered is an 
 enemy no more," and the whole career of I^ord 
 Cornwallis in India was a beautiful illustration of 
 that divine precept which teaches us 
 
 That earthly power does then shine likest God's, 
 When mercy seasons justice. 
 
 Major Allan performed this duty in the manner 
 thus simply and modestly described by himself : 
 — " Having fastened a white cloth on a sergeant's 
 pike, I proceeded to the palace, where I found 
 Major Shee and part of the 33rd Regiment drawn 
 up opposite the gate ; several of Tippoo's people 
 were in a balcony, apparently in great consterna- 
 tion. I informed them that I was deputed by the 
 General, who commanded the troops in the Fort, 
 to ofter them their lives, provided they did not 
 make resistance, of which I desired them to give 
 immediate intimation to their Sultaun. In a 
 short time the killedar, another officer of conse- 
 quence, and a confidential servant, came over the 
 terrace of the front building, and descended 
 by an unfinished part of the wall. They were 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 MAJOR ALLAN S MISSION 
 
 greatly embarrassed, and appeared inclined to 
 create delays, probably with a view of eifecting- 
 their escape as soon as the darkness of the night 
 should afford them an opportunity. I pointed 
 out the danger of their situation, and the neces- 
 sity of coming to an immediate determination, 
 pledging myself for their protection, and propos- 
 ing that they should allow me to go into the 
 palace, that I might in person give these assur- 
 ances to Tippoo. They were very averse to this 
 proposal, but I positively insisted on returning 
 with them. I desired Captain Scohey, who speaks 
 the native languages with great fluency, to accom- 
 pany me and Captain Hastings Fraser. We 
 ascended by the broken wall, and lowered our- 
 selves down on a terrace, where a large body of 
 armed men were assembled. I explained to them 
 that the flag which I held in my hand was a 
 pledge of security, provided no resistance was 
 made ; and the stronger to impress them 'with 
 this belief, I took off" my sword, which I insisted 
 on their receiving. The killedar and many others 
 affirmed that the princes and the family of Tippoo 
 were in the palace, but not the Sultaun. Thej- 
 appeared greatly alarmed, and averse to coming to 
 any decision. I told them that delay might be 
 attended with fatal consequences, and that I could 
 not answer for the conduct of our troops by whom 
 they were surrounded, and whose fury was with 
 difficultv restrained. They then left me, and 
 
TO THE SULTAUN's PALACE. 339 
 
 shortly after I observed people moving- hastily 
 backwards and forwards in the interior of the 
 palace : I began to think our situation rather 
 critical. I was advised to take back my sword, 
 but such an act on my part might, by exciting 
 their distrust, have kindled a flame which, in the 
 present temper of the troops, might have been 
 attended with the most dreadful consequences — 
 probably the massacre of every soul within the 
 palace walls. The people on the terrace begged 
 me to hold the flag in a conspicuous position, in 
 order to give confidence to those in the palace, 
 and prevent our troops from forcing the gates. 
 Growing impatient at these delays, I sent another 
 message to the princes, warning them of their 
 critical situation, and that my time was limited. 
 They answered, they would receive me as soon as 
 a carpet could be spread for the purpose, and 
 soon after the killedar came to conduct me. 
 
 " I found two of the princes on the carpet, 
 surrounded by a great many attendants. They 
 desired me to sit down, which I did in front of 
 them. The recollection of Moize U'Deen, who, 
 on a former occasion, I had seen delivered up, with 
 his brother, hostages to Marquis Cornwallis, the 
 sad reverse of their fortunes, their fear, which, 
 notwithstanding their struggles to conceal, was 
 but too evident, excited the strongest emotions of 
 compassion in my mind. I took Moize U'Deen (to 
 whom the killedar, &c., principally directed their 
 
 z 2 
 
340 MAJOR Allan's mission 
 
 attention) by the band, and endeavoured, by every 
 mode in my power, to remove his fears, and to 
 persuade bim tbat no violence sbould be offered 
 to him or bis brother, nor to any person in the 
 palace. I then entreated him, as the only means 
 to preserve his fatlier's life, whose escape was 
 impracticable, to inform me of the spot where he 
 was concealed. Moize U'Deen, after some conver- 
 sation apart with bis attendants, assured me that 
 the Padshah was not in the palace. I requested 
 him to allow the gates to be opened. All were 
 alarmed at this proposal, and the princes were 
 reluctant to take such a step, but by the authority 
 of their father, to whom they desired to send. At 
 length, however, having promised that I would 
 post a guard of their own Sepoys within, and a 
 party of Europeans on the outside, and having 
 given them the strongest assurances that no 
 person should enter the palace but by my autho- 
 rity, and that I would return and remain with 
 them until General Baird arrived, I convinced 
 them of the necessity of compliance, and I was 
 happy to observe that the princes, as well as their 
 attendants, appeared to rely with confidence on 
 the assurances I had given them. 
 
 " On opening the gate, I found General Baird 
 and several officers, with a large body of troops 
 assembled. I returned with Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Close into the palace for the purpose of bringing 
 the princes to the General. We had some diffi- 
 
TO THE SULTAUN's PALACE, 341 
 
 culty in conquering the alarm and objections 
 which they raised to quitting the palace ; but 
 they at length permitted us to conduct them to 
 the gate. The indignation of General Baird was 
 justly excited by a report which had reached him 
 soon after he had sent me to the palace, that 
 Tippoo had inhumanly murdered all the Euro- 
 peans who had fallen into his hands during the 
 siege : this was heightened^ probably, by a mo- 
 mentary recollection of his own sufferings during 
 more than three years' imprisonment in that very 
 place : he was, nevertheless, sensibly affected by 
 the sight of the princes, and his gallantry on the 
 assault was not more conspicuous, than the mo- 
 deration and humanity which he displayed on this 
 occasion. He received the princes with every 
 mark of regard, repeatedly assured them that no 
 violence or insult should be offered to them, and 
 he gave them in charge to Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Agnew and Captain Marriott, by whom they were 
 conducted to head-quarters in camp, escorted by 
 the light company of the 33rd Regiment ; as 
 they passed, the troops were ordered to pay them 
 the compliment of presenting arms. 
 
 " General Baird now determined to search the 
 most retired parts of the palace, in the hope of 
 finding Tippoo. He ordered the light company 
 of the 74th Regiment, followed by others, to enter 
 the palace-yard. Tippoo's troops were immedi- 
 ately disarmed, and we proceeded to make the 
 
342 DISCOVERY OF THE BODY 
 
 search through many of the apartments. Having 
 entreated the killedar, if he had any regard for 
 his own life, or that of his Sultaun, to inform us 
 where he was concealed, he put his hands upon 
 the hilt of my sword, and in the most solemn 
 manner protested that the Sultaun was not in the 
 palace, but that he had been wounded during the 
 storm, and lay in a gateway on the north face of 
 the Fort, whither he offered to conduct us, and if 
 it was found that he had deceived us, said the 
 General might inflict on him what punishment he 
 pleased. General Baird, on hearing the report of 
 the killedar, proceeded to the gateway, which 
 was covered with many hundreds of the slain. 
 The number of the dead and the darkness of the 
 place made it difficult to distinguish one person 
 from another, and the scene was altogether 
 shocking; but aware of the great political impor- 
 tance of ascertaining, beyond the possibility of 
 doubt, the death of Tippoo, the bodies were 
 ordered to be dragged out, and the killedar and 
 the other two persons were desired to examine 
 them one after another. This, however, appeared 
 endless, and as it was now becoming dark, a light 
 was procured, and I accompanied the killedar 
 into the gateway. During the search, we disco- 
 vered a wounded person lying under the Sultaun's 
 palanquin; this man was afterwards ascertained 
 to be Rajah Cawn, one of Tippoo's confidential 
 servants; he had attended his master during the 
 
OF Tippoo. 343 
 
 whole of the day, and on being made acquainted 
 with the object of our search, he pointed out the 
 spot where the Sultaun had fallen. By a faint 
 glimmering light it was difficult for the killedar 
 to recognise the features, but the body being- 
 brought out, and satisfactorily proved to be that 
 of the Sultaun, was conveyed in a palanquin to 
 the palace, where it was again recognised by the 
 eunuchs and other servants of the family. 
 
 " When Tippoo was brought from under the 
 gateway, his eyes were open, and the body was so 
 warm, that for a few moments. Colonel Wellesley 
 and myself were doubtful whether he was not 
 alive. On feeling his pulse and heart, that doubt 
 was removed. He had four wounds, three in the 
 body, and one in the temple, the ball having 
 entered a little above the right ear, and lodged in 
 the cheek. His dress consisted of a jacket of 
 fine white linen, loose drawers of flowered chintz, 
 with a crimson cloth of silk and cotton round his 
 waist ; a handsome pouch, with a red and green 
 silk belt hung across his shoulder, his head 
 was uncovered, his turban being lost in the con- 
 fusion of his fall ; he had an amulet on his arm, 
 but no ornament whatever. 
 
 "Tippoo was of low stature, corpulent, with 
 high shoulders, and a short thick neck, but his 
 feet and hands were remarkably small, his com- 
 plexion was rather dark, his eyes large and pro- 
 minent, with small arched eye-brows, and his 
 
344 LETTER TO THE EAUL OF MORNINGTON. 
 
 nose aquiline : lie bad an appearance of dignity, 
 or perhaps of sternness, in his countenance, which 
 distinguished him above the common order of 
 people." 
 
 The fact of the Sultan's death having- been 
 thus established beyond all doubt, Major-General 
 Baird immediately directed Major Beatson to 
 communicate to the Commander-in-Chief his 
 request, that himself and the storming party 
 might be relieved that night, as they were nuich 
 fatigued with the labours of that important 
 day. Major Beatson, accordingly, hastened to 
 convey the Major-General's request to head- 
 quarters, and General Harris at once directed 
 the Deputy Adjutant-General, Major Turing, who 
 was sitting in his tent, to put the officer next for 
 duty in orders, to relieve Major-General Baird, 
 and Colonel Wellesley being that officer, pro- 
 ceeded into the Fort for this purpose early the 
 next morning. 
 
 General Harris wrote to the Governor-General 
 that night the following laconic letter. 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 '•'•Camp, Seringajxitam, Ath May^ 1799. 
 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " I have the pleasure to announce to you, 
 that this day at one o'clock, a division of the 
 army under my command assaulted Seringapa- 
 tam, and that at half-past two, the place was 
 
FUNERAL OF THE SULTAUN. 345 
 
 entirely in our possession. Tippoo Sultaun fell 
 in the assault. Two of his sons, the Sultaun 
 Padshah and Moize U' Deen, are prisoners, with 
 many of the principal sirdars. Our loss is trifling, 
 and our success has been complete. I will for- 
 ward to your Lordship details hereafter. 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 With the highest respect, 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 The body of the Sultaun was buried the next 
 day, with military honours, in the mausoleum of 
 his father, and a violent storm of thunder and 
 lightning-, which destroyed several Europeans and 
 natives, gave an awful interest to the last solemn 
 rites paid to a tyrant, whose life had been a con- 
 tinued career of ambition and cruelty. His 
 treaties with the French Directory, his intended 
 plan of co-operation with Buonaparte, then in 
 Egypt, with Zemaun Shah, the King of Cabul, the 
 Mahrattahs, and other Indian powers, for the 
 avowed purpose of driving the English from the 
 land, all came to light, and confirmed the impres- 
 sions which had been so long entertained of him. 
 They all proved that his enmity to us was like 
 that which the son of Hamilcar had sworn against 
 the Romans, and ceased only with his life. 
 
 On the 7th, General Harris dispatched the 
 following letter. 
 
346 GENERAL HARRIs's REPORT 
 
 "To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 '' My Lord, 
 
 " On the 4th instant, I had the honour to 
 address to your Lordship a hasty note, containing- 
 in a few words the sum of our success, which I 
 have now to report more in detail. 
 
 " Tlie fire of our batteries, wliich had begun 
 to batter in breach on the 30th of April, had on 
 the 3rd instant so much destroyed the walls 
 against which it was directed, that the arrange- 
 ment was then made for assaulting the place on 
 the following day, when the breach was reported 
 practicable. 
 
 " The troops intended to be employed, were 
 stationed in the trenches early in the morning of 
 the 4th, that no extraordinary movement might 
 lead the enemy to expect the assault ; which I 
 had determined to make in the heat of the day, 
 the time best calculated to ensure success, as 
 their troops would then be least prepared to 
 oppose us. 
 
 " The flank companies of Europeans taken 
 from those regiments necessarily left to guard 
 our camps and out-posts, followed by the 12th, 
 33rd, 73rd, and 74th Regiments, and three corps 
 of Sepoy grenadiers, taken from the troops of the 
 three Presidencies, with 200 of his Highness the 
 Nizam's hifantry, formed the party for the as- 
 sault, accompanied by 100 artillery and the 
 
TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL. 347 
 
 corps of pioneers, and supported in the trenches 
 by the battalion companies of the regiment De 
 Meuron, and four battaUons of Madras Sepoys. 
 Colonel Sherbrooke, and Lieutenant-Colonels 
 Dunlop, Dalrymple, Gardner, and Mignard, com- 
 manded the several flank corps ; and Major- 
 General Baird was entrusted with the direction 
 of this important service. 
 
 " At one o'clock the troops moved from the 
 trenches, crossed the rocky bed of the Cavery 
 under an extremely heavy fire, passed the glacis 
 and ditch, and ascended the breaches in the 
 faussebraye and rampart of the Fort ; sur- 
 mounting in the most gallant manner every 
 obstacle which the difficulty of the passage and 
 resistance of the enemy presented to oppose their 
 progress. Major-General Baird had divided his 
 force for the purpose of clearing the ramparts to 
 the right and left^. One division was commanded 
 by Colonel Sherbrooke, the other by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Dunlop : the latter was disabled in the 
 breach, but both corps, although strongly op- 
 posed, were completely successful. Resistance 
 continued to be made from the palace of Tippoo, 
 for some time after all firing had ceased from the 
 works. Two of his sons were there, who, on 
 
 * According to tlie Commander-in-Chief's instructions, as 
 detailed in the Adjutant-General's letter to General Baird, of 
 the preceding day. 
 
348 GENKUAL Harris's report 
 
 assurance of safety, surrendered to the troops 
 surrounding- them, and guards were placed for 
 the protection of the family, most of whom were 
 in the palace. It was soon after reported that 
 Tippoo Sultaun had fallen. Syed Saheb, Meer 
 Sadeck, Syed Goffiir, and many others of his 
 chiefs, were also slain. Measures were immedi- 
 ately adopted to stop the confusion, at first una- 
 voidable, in a city strongly garrisoned, crowded 
 with inhabitants, and their property in ruins from 
 the fire of a numerous artillery, and taken by 
 assault. The princes were removed to camp. 
 
 " It appeared to Major-General Baird so im- 
 portant to ascertain the fate of the Sultaun, that 
 he caused immediate search to be made for his 
 body, which, after much difficulty, was found late 
 in the evening* in one of the gates, under a heap 
 of slain, and placed in the palace; the corpse was, 
 the next day, recognised by many of his family, 
 and interred with the honours due to his rank, in 
 the mausoleum of his father. 
 
 " The strength of the Fort is such, both from 
 its natural position and the stupendous works by 
 which it was surrounded, that all the exertions 
 of the brave troops who attacked it, in whose 
 praise it is impossible to say too much, were re- 
 quired to place it in our hands. Of the merits of 
 the army I have expressed my opinion in orders, 
 a copy of which I shall forward to-morrow, — 
 
TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL. 349 
 
 and I trust your Lordship will point out their 
 services to the favourable notice of their King 
 and country. 
 
 " I am sorry to add, that on collecting the 
 returns of our loss, it is found to be much heavier 
 than I had at first imagined. An accurate state- 
 ment shall be sent to-morrow. 
 
 " On the 5th instant, Abdul Khallik, the elder 
 of the princes, formerly hostages with Lord 
 Cornwallis, surrendered himself at our outposts, 
 demanding- protection ; Kereem Saheb, the bro- 
 ther of Tippoo Sultaun, had before sought refuge 
 with Meer Alluin Bahadur. A cowl-nameh * 
 was yesterday dispatched to Futteh Hyder, the 
 eldest son of Tippoo, inviting him to join his 
 l)rothers. Poorniah and Meer Cummur-ud-Deen 
 Khan have also been summoned to Seringapa- 
 tam. No answers have yet been received, but I 
 expect them shortly, as their families are in the 
 Fort. 
 
 " This moment Ali Reza, formerly one of the 
 vakeels from Tippoo Sultaun to Lord Cornwallis, 
 has arrived from Meer Cummur-ud-Deen Khan, 
 to ask my orders for 4,000 horse now under his 
 command. Ali Reza was commissioned to de- 
 clare that Meer Cummur-ud-Deen Khan would 
 make no conditions, but rely on the generosity of 
 the English entirely. He desired merely to state 
 
 * A passport. 
 
350 GENERAL ORDERS. 
 
 that his title to the jaghire of Giirriimcondah 
 was well known, as was his family and character. 
 If these, and his connexion with the unfortunate 
 family of the late Tippoo Sultaun, should give 
 him a claim to this ancient possession of his 
 house, his obligation would bind him ever to 
 the British interests. If this could not be granted 
 to him, he hoped he might obtain permission to 
 retire with his family to Hyderabad. On this 
 subject I have promised to ask your Lordship's 
 pleasure ; — he will shortly arrive, and as the army 
 of the late Sultaun look up chiefly to him, I hope, 
 through his means, to be enabled at once to 
 restore tranquility. 
 
 " Monsieur Chapuy, and most of the French, 
 are prisoners. They have commissions from the 
 French Government. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 Geo. Harris." 
 
 " Seringapatam, ^th May, 1799." 
 
 " General Order. 
 " Camp at Seringapatam^ 5th May^ 1799. 
 
 " The Commander-in-Chief congratulates 
 the gallant army which he has the honour to 
 command, on the conquest of yesterday. The 
 effects arising from the attainment of such an 
 acquisition, as far exceed the present limits of 
 detail, as the unremitting zeal, labour, and unpa- 
 
GENERAL ORDERS. 351 
 
 ralleled valour of the troops surpass his powers 
 of praise. For services so incalculable in their 
 consequences, he must consider the army as well 
 entitled to the applause and gratitude of their 
 country at large. 
 
 " While Lieutenant-General Harris sincerely 
 laments the loss sustained in the valuable officers 
 and men who fell in the attack, he cannot omit to 
 return his thanks in the warmest terms to Major- 
 General Baird, for the decided and able manner 
 in which he conducted the assault, and the hu- 
 mane measures which he subsequently adopted 
 for preserving order and regularity in the place. 
 He requests that Major- General Baird will com- 
 municate to the officers and men, who on that 
 great occasion acted under his command, the 
 high sense v/hich he must ever entertain of their 
 achievements and merits. 
 
 ''The Commander-in-Chief requests that Col. 
 Gent, and the corps of Engineers under his com- 
 mand, will accept his thanks for their unremitting* 
 exertions in conducting the duties of that very 
 important department ; and his best acknow- 
 ledgments are due to Major Beatson for the 
 essential assistance given to this branch of the 
 service by the constant exertions of his ability 
 and zeal. 
 
 " The merit of the Artillery corps is so strongly 
 expressed by the effects of their fire, that the 
 Conmiander-in-Chief can only desire Colonel 
 
352 GENERAL ORDERS. 
 
 Smith to assure the officers and men of the ex- 
 cellent corps under his command that he feels 
 most fully their claim to approbation. In thus 
 publicly expressing his sense of the good conduct 
 of the army, the Commander-in-Chief finds him- 
 self called upon to notice in the most particular 
 manner the exertions of Captain Dowse and his 
 corps of pioneers, which during the present service 
 have been equally marked by unremitting labour, 
 and the ability with which that labour was 
 applied. 
 
 " On referring to the progress of the siege, so 
 many occasions have occurred for applause to the 
 troops, that it is difficult to particularise individual 
 merit ; but the gallant manner in which Lieut.- 
 Colonel Shawe, the Hon. Colonel Wellesley, Lieut.- 
 Colonel Moneypenny, the Hon. Lieut.- Colonel St. 
 John, Major M'Donald, Major Skelly, and Lieut.- 
 Colonel Wallace, conducted the attacks entrusted 
 to their guidance on the several outworks and 
 posts of the enemy, demand to be recorded, and 
 the very spirited attack led by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Campbell, of His Majesty's 74th Regiment, which 
 tended so greatly to secure the position our troops 
 had attained in the enemy's works on the 26th 
 ultimo, claim the strongest approbation of the 
 Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 "The important part taken by the Bombay 
 army from the commencement of the siege in all 
 the operations which heve led to its honourable 
 
GENERAL ORDERS. 353 
 
 conclusion, has been such as well sustains its long-- 
 established reputation ; the gallant manner in 
 which the post at the village of Agrar was seized 
 by the force under Colonel Hart, the ability dis- 
 played in directing the fire of the batteries esta- 
 blished there, the vigour with which every attack 
 of the enemy on the outposts of that army was 
 repulsed, and the spirit shown in the assault of 
 the breach by the corps led by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Dunlop, are points of particular notice, for which 
 the Commander-in-Chief requests Lieutenant- 
 General Stuart will offer his best thanks to the 
 officers and troops employed. 
 
 "Lieutenant-General Harris trusts that Lieute- 
 nant-General Stuart will excuse his thus publicly 
 expressing his sense of the cordial co-operation and 
 assistance received from him during the present 
 service, in the course of which he has ever found 
 it difficult to separate the sentiments of his public 
 duty from the warmest feelings of his private 
 friendship. 
 
 " Prize rolls of corps to be made out as soon 
 as possible. All corps and detachments above 
 the Ghauts on the 5th May, 1799, or occupying 
 garrisons or posts captured from Tippoo Sultaun 
 during the present war, to be considered as 
 entitled to share in the general distribution 
 which may take place, in the same manner as 
 if they had been present at the assault of Se- 
 ringapatam." 
 
 2 A 
 
354 COLONKL WELLKSLEY APPOINTED 
 
 Extract from General Order, 8th May, 
 1799. 
 
 "■ Lieutenant-General Harris feels parti- 
 cular pleasure in publishing* to the army the fol- 
 lowing extract of a report transmitted to him 
 yesterday by Major-General Baird, as it places in 
 a distinguished point of view the merit of an 
 officer on the very important occasion referred to, 
 whose general gallantry and good conduct since 
 he has served with this army have not failed to 
 recommend him strongly to the Commander-in- 
 Chief. 
 
 " ' If, where all behaved nobly, it is proper to 
 mention individual merit, I know no man so justly 
 entitled to praise as Colonel Sherbroohe, to whose 
 exertions I feel myself much indebted for the 
 success of the attack.' " 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 ''Camj), QthMai/, 1799. 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " I have the honour to enclose to your Lord- 
 ship an official return of the killed, wounded, and 
 missing, of the army, from the commencement of 
 the siege of Seringapatam to its close. The diffi- 
 culty of communication prevented the regular 
 returns of casualties being transmitted as they 
 occurred during the continuance of our operations 
 before the place. 
 
 "The importance of an early communication 
 
GOVERNOR OF SERINGAPATAM. 355 
 
 to Europe of the success of this army has induced 
 nie to address letters to Mr. Dundas and the 
 Chairman of the Court of Directors ; copies of 
 which, and of those I have written to the Admiral, 
 the Governor of Bombay, and the public officers 
 of Government on the Malabar coast, I have the 
 honour to enclose. 
 
 " A temporary garrison for Seringapatam has 
 been arranged. The Hon. Colonel Wellesley 
 commands in the place ; and I have made some 
 appointments of staff, subject to the approbation 
 of Government, which I shall soon report in de- 
 tail, in the hope that your Lordship will approve 
 and confirm them. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 &c., &c., &c., 
 
 Geo. Harris." 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Lord Mornino'ton receives the intelliofence of the fall of Serlnga- 
 
 n n CD 
 
 patam — His letters and orders thereupon — Expresses to the 
 Authorities at Home his warmest admiration of the conduct of 
 General Harris, and of the officers and men who had achieved 
 the conquest of Mysore — General Harris highly commends 
 the conduct of the staff officers — The Governor-General's 
 orders in consequence — His Lordship directs the immediato 
 distribution of the booty taken by the troops. 
 
 " The Earl of Mornington to Lieutenant- 
 General Harris. 
 
 " Fort St. George, May 12, 1799. 
 " I had yesterday the satisfaction to receive 
 your letter of the 4th instant, advising* me of the 
 capture of Seringapatam, and of the death of 
 Tippoo Snltaun. 
 
 " With the warmest sensations of admiration, 
 affection, and attachment, I offer my cordial 
 thanks and zealous congratulations to you, and 
 to all the officers and privates composing the gal- 
 lant army which has achieved this glorious and 
 decisive victory, with a degree of energy, rapidity, 
 and skill, unparalleled in this quarter of the 
 globe, and seldom equalled in any part of the 
 world. 
 
 " It has afforded me peculiar satisfaction on 
 this important occasion to learn, that every pos- 
 
LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS. 357 
 
 i^ible attention has been paid to the family of 
 Tippoo Sultaun, and to those of his chieftains. 
 
 " Althongli I have not yet received directly 
 from you any official details of the circumstances 
 attending the assault and capture of Seringapa- 
 tam, it is evident that the acquisition has been 
 attended with circumstances of a nature to facili- 
 tate a final and satisfactory arrangement of the 
 country. 
 
 " I entirely approve all your proceedings of a 
 political nature (as far as you have reported them 
 to me) relative to the negotiations with the Sul- 
 taun previously to the assault of the city. You 
 have faithfully pursued the spirit of my instruc- 
 tions, and departed from the letter only in such 
 cases as would have compelled me to adopt simi- 
 lar alterations of principles and measures if I had 
 been on the spot. 
 
 " The subject of a final adjustment of Mysore 
 is, however, so complicated and delicate, as to 
 appear to require my presence at Seringapatam. 
 For this reason, I intend forthwith to proceed to 
 Ryakottah ; from which fortress I can advance to 
 Seringapatam, if such a measure should appear to 
 be necessary. In the meanwhile, I have deter- 
 mined to dispatch my brother, Mr. Henry Wel- 
 lesley, and Lieutenant-Colonel Kirkpatrick, to 
 Ryakottah, with orders to proceed to the army, 
 whenever the communication shall be sufficiently 
 open, for the purpose of acting with the conimis- 
 
358 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 sioners appointed under my instructions of the 
 22nd February, and of ascertaining a variety of 
 points of detail on which it is necessary that I 
 should be fully and accurately informed pre- 
 viously to the formation of any definitive adjust- 
 ment of the affairs of the kingdom of Mysore. 
 
 " But it is requisite immediately that the 
 Company should obtain full possession of all 
 Canara (including Bilghuy, and the heads of all 
 the Ghauts communicating between Canara and 
 the upper country), as well as of the Coimbatoor 
 country; you will, therefore, without delay, re- 
 quire from the proper persons the most peremp- 
 tory and unequivocal orders for the immediate 
 delivery to the Company's officers of all the forts, 
 and of all other public property comprehended in 
 these countries. 
 
 " For the purpose of taking possession of Ca- 
 nara, you will (unless you should deem it impru- 
 dent), as soon as possible, detach the army of 
 Bombay, or such part of it as may be necessary. 
 It appears probable that you may safely detach 
 the army of Bombay on this service ; on the other 
 hand, the possibility of a French invasion in India 
 from the Red Sea makes it desirable that the 
 army of Bombay should return to the coast of 
 Malabar, and that we should obtain possession of 
 Canara as soon as possible. 
 
 " For the purpose of securing the Coimbatoor 
 country, it will perhaps be sufficient if you send 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 359 
 
 thither the detachment under the command of 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Brown as soon as may be 
 practicable. 
 
 " The Barrahmahal at present containing an 
 inconsiderable force, you will return Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Read's detachment as soon as you may 
 judge expedient. 
 
 " At the same time that you demand from 
 the proper authorities the necessary orders for 
 the surrender to the Company of the specified 
 countries and forts, you are to require similar 
 orders for the prompt and unconditional delivery 
 to the officers of His Highness the Nizam of the 
 forts and districts of Gooty, Bellary, Gurrum- 
 conda, and Colar, with the exception only of any 
 forts in the two latter, which may be situated at 
 the head of passes leading from the table-land of 
 Mysore into any of the districts of the Company, 
 or of the Nabob of the Carnatic, it being my in- 
 tention that all such forts shall be occupied by the 
 Company's troops. 
 
 " For the purpose of occupying and securing 
 these countries, it will be necessary that the con- 
 tingent of His Highness the Nizam, and the sub- 
 sidiary detachment, should move towards the 
 north-east as soon as possible. 
 
 " The country and principal forts situated be- 
 tween the north bank of tiie Cavery and Colar, 
 may be occupied for the present either by the 
 necessary detachments from your army, or by 
 
360 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 Colonel Read. The ultimate allotment of this 
 tract is a point for future consideration. 
 
 " The Sirdars, on whose ready acquiescence 
 and submission the Company and the Nizam 
 most depend for an early and easy possession of 
 the forts and countries which have been men- 
 tioned, must be plainly informed that the measure 
 of favour and protection to be extended to them 
 will be regulated by the alacrity and sincerity with 
 which they shall exert themselves to satisfy the 
 allies on this occasion. 
 
 " With regard to Bednore, and other parts of 
 the late Tippoo Sultaan's possessions bordering- 
 on the Mahrattah frontier, I wish those countries 
 to remain unoccupied for the present, until I shall 
 have determined what portion of territory shall 
 be assigned to the Peishwah. Accordingly, no 
 orders for the delivery of any forts, or the cession 
 of any districts to the Mahrattahs, must be issued 
 by the Sirdars in authority without my specific 
 requisition ; and they must be apprized that I 
 shall hold them responsible for the conduct of 
 their respective managers and subordinate officers 
 in the countries in question. All the French you 
 may be able to secure (and you will make the 
 most diligent inquiry after persons of that nation,) 
 must be sent to the Presidency by the most favour- 
 able opportunity. 
 
 " I wish you to send a detachment of your army 
 to meet me at Ryakottah, whenever you deem it 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 361 
 
 prudent to spare such a force. By the first oppor- 
 tunity you will inform me how far the state of 
 Mysore may either require or admit of my pro- 
 ceeding* to Seringapatam. 
 
 I am^ &c., 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 " The Earl of Mornington to Lieutenant- 
 General Harris. 
 
 "Fort St. George, \bth May, 1799. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I have already expressed to you, in my answer 
 to your note of the 4th instant, my distinguished 
 sense of the invaluable services of the admirable 
 army under your command, and having now re- 
 ceived the details of the assault of the 4th, I 
 shall immediately issue a General Order in Council 
 respecting the conduct of the rapid and brilliant 
 campaign which terminated with such lustre on 
 that memorable day. 
 
 " My private and military secretaries will set 
 out for Seringapatam by Ryakottah this evening, 
 charged with instructions for your guidance until 
 my arrival can take place. In the meanwhile, I 
 authorize you to assure Meer Cummur-ud-Deen 
 Khan that I receive with great satisfaction iiis un- 
 conditional submission to the generosity of the Bri- 
 tish power ; and that he may rely with confidence 
 on my countenance and protection : you will add 
 
362 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 that, in concert with His Highness the Nizam, I 
 will readily take into consideration Meer Cummur- 
 ud-Deen's claim to the Jaghire of Gurrumconda, 
 bnt it would be premature at present to enter into 
 any specific engagement on that head. How- 
 ever, I empower you to declare to Meer Cummur- 
 ud-Deen immediately, in my name, that if I shall 
 be satisfied with his services in the restoration of 
 tranquillity, I will make an ample and liberal 
 provision for him, fully equal to whatever may 
 appear to be his just claims. As it may tend to 
 inspire Meer Cummur-ud-Deen with additional 
 confidence, I enclose a letter for him under my 
 own hand and seal. 
 
 " You will inform all the Sirdars, and persons 
 lately in high office in the government of Mysore, 
 that the degree of favour and protection to be 
 extended to them by the Company and the allies 
 will be regulated according to the fidelity with 
 which they shall respectively render an account 
 of all the property of the Sircar under their 
 charge, referring in particular to the stable horse, 
 to the draught and carriage cattle, and to all arms, 
 ordnance, and ordnance stores, belonging to the 
 Sircar. 
 
 " I desire that you will issue such orders as 
 you may judge necessary to the different asophs 
 and officers of Tippoo Sultaun's government, 
 requiring them to hold the public property of 
 every description at present in their charge, as 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 363 
 
 well as the revenue which may hereafter ])e col- 
 lected, at the disposal of the allies, and apprising 
 them that a regular account of all such property 
 and revenue will be taken with the greatest accu- 
 racy as soon as circumstances will permit. I 
 think it expedient that all their orders should be 
 issued in your own name, until my arrival at 
 Seringapatam, as well for the purpose of giving 
 the greater degree of force to them, as of obviating 
 any jealousies which might arise from the imme- 
 diate appointment of officers on the part of the 
 Company for the collection of the revenues. 
 
 " I have no doubt you have adopted every 
 necessary measure for securing to persons of every 
 description the safe and undisturbed possession of 
 their private properties. 
 
 I am, &c., &c., 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 " General Orders of the Governor-General 
 IN Council. 
 
 ''Fort St. George, 15tk May, 1799. 
 "The Right Honourable the Governor 
 General in Council, having this day received from 
 the Commander-in-Chief of the allied army in the 
 field, the official details of the glorious and deci- 
 sive victory obtained at Seringapatam on the 4 th 
 of May, offers his cordial thanks and sincere con- 
 gratulations to the Commander-in-Chief, and to 
 
'MH LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 all the officers and men composing the gallant 
 army which achieved the captnre of the capital 
 of Mysore on that memorable day. His Lordship 
 views with admiration the consummate judgment 
 with which the assault was planned, the une- 
 qualled rapidity, animation, and skill with which 
 it was executed, and the humanity which distin- 
 guished its final success. Under the favour of 
 Providence, and the justice of our cause, the 
 established character of the army had inspired an 
 early confidence, that the war in which we were 
 engaged would be brought to a speedy, prosper- 
 ous, and honourable issue. But the events of the 
 4th of May, while they have surpassed even the 
 sanguine expectations of the Governor-General in 
 Council, have raised the reputation of the Bri- 
 tish arms in India to a degree of splendour and 
 glory unrivalled in the military history of this 
 quarter of the globe, and seldom approached in 
 any part of the world. The lustre of this victory 
 can be equalled only by the substantial advan- 
 tages which it promises to establish, by restoring 
 the peace and safety of the British possessions in 
 India on a durable foundation of genuine security. 
 The Governor-General in Council reflects with 
 pride, satisfaction, and gratitude, that in this 
 arduous crisis the spirit and exertion of our Indian 
 army have kept pace with those of our country- 
 men at home ; and that in India, as in Europe, 
 Great Britain has found, in the malevolent designs 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 365 
 
 of lier enemies, an increasing source of her own 
 prosperity, fame, and po^yer. 
 
 "By order of the Right Honourable the 
 Governor-General in Council. 
 
 J. Webbe, 
 
 Secretary to Government." 
 
 " The Earl of Mornington to the Right 
 Honourable Henry Dundas. 
 
 ''Fort St. George, IQth Mmj, 1790. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " Yesterday, T received the enclosed des- 
 patch from Lieutenant-General Harris, containing* 
 the details of the capture of Seringapatam ; they 
 require no comment ; and I am persuaded tliat 
 no solicitation is necessary on my part to induce 
 you to recommend the incomparable army, which 
 has gained this glorious triumph to the particular 
 notice of his Majesty, and to the applause and 
 gratitude of their country. The unconditional 
 submission of Cummur-ud-Deen, accompanied by 
 that of Futteh Hyder, will, I trust, much facilitate 
 the means of making* a new settlement. I am on 
 the point of setting out for Seringapatam, and I 
 have no doubt that, in any possible case, I shall 
 be able to add to the annual revenues of the 
 Company, in the Peninsula of India, a sum not 
 less than twelve lacs of pagodas, with the addi- 
 tional advantage of contracting and strengtlien- 
 
366 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 ing our frontier, and of establishing a continuity 
 of our territory from the coast of Coromandel to 
 that of Malabar. 
 
 "In our present situation, the arrrival of a 
 French force in India would be rather a desirable 
 event than otherwise, as I am confident that the 
 result must be an accession of reputation and 
 honour to our troops, and the disappointment and 
 ruin of the enemy. If the French should be esta- 
 blished in Egypt, it might be advisable to consider 
 whether an expedition might not be fitted out 
 from India, to co-operate, by way of the Red Sea, 
 with any attempt which might be undertaken 
 from the Mediterranean. I cannot venture to 
 prepare any such expedition without orders from 
 England ; but if I should receive them, you may 
 be assured that they will be executed with alacrity 
 and diligence, not only by me, but by the whole 
 army in India. 
 
 Believe me, my dear Sir, 
 Yours, most faithfully and affectionately, 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 '•'' Seringapatam^ May 13, 1799. 
 " My Lord, 
 
 "I have forwarded to your Lordship, by 
 
 various hircarrahs, an account of the success of 
 
 the army in the assault of Seringapatam, with 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 367 
 
 copies of tlie orders issued on that occasion. In 
 those orders I expressed my approbation of the 
 conduct of the troops in general, and my sense of 
 the merits of those officers, whose behaviour had 
 attracted particular notice. 
 
 "It remains for me to state what is in justice 
 due to others, whom, for obvious reasons, I could 
 not present in the same manner to your Lord- 
 ship's notice. These are, officers on the general 
 staff, in my family, and others whose zeal 
 induced them to forward the public service, by 
 the exertion of their abilities, in aid of depart- 
 ments to which they were not officially attached. 
 
 " In every point of view, I must call your 
 Lordship's attention to the Adjutant-General of 
 the army. His general character, as an officer, 
 is too well established by a long and distinguished 
 course of the most meritorious service to require 
 my testimony, but the particular exertion of his 
 talents on the present service, in directing, regu- 
 lating, and assisting the progress of our Depart- 
 ments, when embarrassed by all the difficulties 
 attending a deficiency of conveyance for an un- 
 commonly extensive equipment, during the ad- 
 vance of the army, and the ability, zeal, and 
 energy displayed by him in superintending the 
 various operations of an arduous siege, where he 
 was ever present stimulating the exertions of 
 others, or assisting their judgment and labours 
 with his own, claim from me to be stated to your 
 
368 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 Lordship in the most forcible terms. It is my 
 earnest wish that my sentiments on this subject 
 may be publicly recorded ; and it is my firm 
 opinion^ that if the success of this army has been 
 of importance to the British interests^ that success 
 is to be attributed in a very considerable degree 
 to Lieutenant-Colonel Close. 
 
 " From the officers more immediately in my 
 family, I have derived all the assistance in the 
 conduct of the public service which I had reason 
 to expect from their experience ; and I am highly 
 indebted to your Lordship for the indulgence 
 with which you attended to my wishes in the 
 selection of Lieutenant-Colonel Agnevv^ and Cap- 
 tain Macauley, as my confidential staff. 
 
 " The gentlemen of the commission named by 
 your Lordship to assist me with their advice on 
 subjects of a political nature, have in every 
 instance, when I have found it expedient to refer 
 to their judgment, acted in a manner with which 
 I am particularly satisfied. Your Lordship is in 
 possession of their proceedings on the subject of 
 the various overtures for negotiation made by 
 Tippoo Sultaun ; and the orders I have since 
 received on this head, leave me no ground to 
 doubt your Lordship's approbation of the line of 
 conduct which they have uniformly pursued. 
 
 " Major Dallas has strong claims to be parti- 
 cularly recommended to your Lordship's notice : 
 the readiness with which he came forward to 
 
THE FALL OF SRRINGAPATAM. 3()9 
 
 exert his personal influence with the principal 
 natives in the bullock department, at a period 
 when it seemed scarcely possible to move forward 
 the public stores ; the effectual aid which he gave 
 to the store department, by his personal assist- 
 ance in its arrangements, and the duty, equally 
 important and laborious, which he voluntarily 
 took npon himself, of seeking- and securing forage 
 for the public cattle during the marches of the 
 army, are amongst the many instances in which 
 his zeal has been distinguished, and which entitle 
 him to the attention of Government. In the 
 department of the Quarter-Master General, the 
 conduct of Lieutenant-Colonel Richardson and 
 Major Allan has been very satisfactory to me. 
 Captain Turing has ably assisted Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Close in the Adjutant-General's office ; 
 and Captain Orr, of the Guides, has merited great 
 praise by his judgment, diligence and activity, in 
 conducting the marches of the army, and of all 
 detachments of importance, which, since our 
 encampment hei-e, it has been necessary to make 
 under Major-General Floyd. 
 
 " Captain Macleod, of the IntelHgence depart- 
 ment, has been employed in the management of 
 the bazaars of the army, and on a variety of 
 services not specially the duty of any regularly 
 established officer, but which required a perfect 
 knowledge of the customs of India, and the 
 strictest integrity in the person charged with this 
 
 2 B 
 
370 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 avocation. I have, on all such occasions, given 
 
 my full confidence to Captain Macleod, and his 
 
 conduct has shown him deserving of the trust. 
 
 " I have thought it a necessary part of my 
 
 public duty to make this report to your Lordship 
 
 for the information of Government ; and have the 
 
 honour to be. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship's most obedient 
 
 and faithful servant, 
 
 Geo. Harris." 
 
 " General Orders of the Governor-General in 
 Council. 
 
 " Madras, May 24, 1799. 
 
 " The Right Honourable the Governor- 
 General in Council, directs the Commander-in- 
 Chief of the allied army in the field, to assure 
 the oflftcers in the general staff of the army, those 
 composing the confidential staff of the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, and those whose zeal, ability, 
 and exertion, have been distinguished in aid of 
 the departments to which they were not officially 
 attached, that his Lordship entertains the highest 
 sense of their several eminent services during the 
 late glorious campaign in Mysore. 
 
 "The conduct of the Adjutant-General, Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Close, has amply justified the 
 implicit confidence reposed by the Governor- 
 General in Council in his extensive knowledge, 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 371 
 
 approved experience, superior talents, ardent va- 
 lour, and indefatigable activity. 
 
 "The uniform zeal, perseverance and forti- 
 tude, with which Lieutenant-Colonel Close has 
 exerted all these great qualities, in every trial of 
 difficulty and danger, entitle him to the praise, 
 respect, and esteem of the Governor-General in 
 Council. His Lordship feels himself bound, by 
 every obligation of justice and public duty, to 
 recommend the extraordinary merits of Lieute- 
 nant-Colonel Close to the particular approbation 
 of the Honourable the Court of Directors, and to 
 the applause and gratitude of his country. The 
 selection which the Commander-in-Chief had so 
 judiciously made of Lieutenant-Colonel Agnew 
 and Captain Macauley, for his confidential staff, 
 was confirmed by the Governor-General in 
 Council, with a just expectation that his Excel- 
 lency would derive considerable advantage to the 
 public service from their able assistance. 
 
 " The Governor-General in Council is happy 
 to record a public acknowledgement of the dis- 
 tinguished conduct of Major Dallas, and to assure 
 that officer that his Lordship has a just sense of 
 the important services which he has rendered in 
 his successful superintendence of the laborious 
 departments under his charge. 
 
 " It is very satisfactory to his Lordship to 
 remark, that the conduct of the Quarter-Master 
 General's department under Lieutenant-Colonel 
 
 2 B 2 
 
372 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 Richardson and Major Allan, and that of the 
 department of the Guides under Captain Orr, has 
 met with the approbation of the Commander-in- 
 Chief; his Lords liip desires that his public thanks 
 may be conveyed to those officers, and on this 
 occasion, his Lordship thinks it proper to publish 
 to the army the particular thanks which he had 
 already directed the Commander-in-Chief to con 
 vey to Major Allan and Captain Macauley, for 
 the essential services rendered by them on the 
 28th of March last, after the battle of Mallavelly. 
 
 " His Lordship is also happy to concur in the 
 honourable testimony borne by the Commander- 
 in-Chief, to the merits of Captain Turing and of 
 Captain Macleod, and directs that his thanks may 
 be conveyed to those meritorious officers. 
 
 " In all ranks and departments of the allied 
 army, his Lordship has observed, with sincere 
 pleasure, a general spirit of harmony and concord 
 which (under the happy auspices of the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief) has united every heart, head, 
 and hand, in the common cause, signalized each 
 progressive operation of the campaign with a 
 peculiar character of alacrity and ardour, and 
 crowned its early conclusion with victory, triumph 
 and renown. 
 
 "By order of the Right Honourable the 
 Governor-General in Council. 
 
 J. Webbe, 
 
 " Secretary to Government." 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 373 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 ''^ Seringapatam^ May 17, 1799- 
 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " Two letters from your Lordship of the 
 12th instant were received last night. I have 
 communicated to the army the very flattering- 
 terms in which you have been pleased to mark 
 your approbation of their gallant conduct, and I 
 am extremely happy that, in the negotiations with 
 the Sultaun prior to the capture of the place, the 
 measures I adopted have been such as your Lord- 
 ship thought expedient. 
 
 " Your Lordship's presence at Seringapatam 
 will, I have no doubt, greatly facilitate the adjust 
 mcnt of the affairs of Mysore ; and some points 
 in your Lordship's letter of the 1 0th instant render 
 me extremely desirous that you should adopt the 
 resolution of making- your arrangements on the 
 spot. 
 
 " A regiment of cavalry accompanies Colonel 
 Read's detachment, which he will send to attend 
 your Lordship, if required, from Ryakottah. The 
 contingent of his Highness the Nizam moves im- 
 mediately to Chinapatam, to procure forage for 
 the cavalry and cattle ; but this corps cannot for 
 some time proceed further towards the frontier. 
 To the Coimbatoor country I shall order a detach- 
 ment without delay. 
 
 " My former letters would inform your Lord- 
 
374 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 ship that I had anticipated your orders to search 
 for treaties and correspondence of the late Sultaun 
 with foreign states and Europeans. I had also 
 taken measures to secure the revenue accounts. 
 Your Lordship's further instructions shall receive 
 from me every possible attention. 
 
 " I enclose duplicates of a variety of papers 
 transmitted when the communication was less 
 secure than at present, and have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 Your Lordship's most obedient 
 
 faithful servant, 
 Geo. Harris.'* 
 
 " To Lieutenant-General Harris, Commander- 
 in-Chief, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 " Fort St. George, June 2, 1799. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " The Right Honourable the Governor-Gene- 
 ral in Council having considered your report upon 
 the ordnance, ammunition, military stores, treasure, 
 and jewels, taken in the Fort of Seringapatam, 
 directs me to acquaint you that his Lordship in 
 Council has resolved to order an immediate dis- 
 tribution of the treasure and jewels, which have 
 fallen into your hands. At the same time that 
 the Governor-General in Council communicates 
 this resolution to you, his Lordship thinks it ex- 
 pedient to impress upon your attention the prin- 
 ciples of the law of nations, by which all property 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 375 
 
 conquered from an enemy becomes the property 
 of the State, and by which all idea of positive 
 right in the captors to property in a fort taken by 
 assault is exploded. In conformity to these prin- 
 ciples, the King has been pleased to grant to the 
 Company, by letters patent bearing date January 
 14, 1758, the right of all booty and plunder which 
 shall be taken by their troops alone, reserving in 
 express terms his royal prerogative of distribution 
 in such manner and proportions as he shall think 
 fit, in all cases in which the royal forces may have 
 co-operated with those of the Company. 
 
 " Although the orders of the Court of Direc- 
 tors, prescribing the mode of carrying these letters 
 patent into execution, expressly prohibit their 
 governments in India from disposing of the 
 * whole plunder and booty which shall be taken 
 in wars, hostilities, or expeditions, by the Com- 
 pany's forces ;' and although his Majesty, by the 
 letters patent themselves, has reserved to himself 
 in express terms his ^ prerogative royal to distri- 
 bute the said plunder and booty in such manner 
 and proportion as he shall think fit,' in all cases 
 in which his own troops may have been employed; 
 yet, having no doubt that the gracious bounty of 
 his Majesty, and the liberality of the Court of 
 Directors, will be proportioned to the important 
 services of the gallant army under your com- 
 mand, his Lordship has no hesitation in charging 
 himself with the responsibility of anticipating the 
 
376 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 royal sanction, and the determination of the Court, 
 of Directors. In adopting- this decision, his Lord- 
 ship trusts that he will manifest to the army an 
 unequivocal proof of the gratitude which he feels 
 for the continued exertion of their matchless 
 bravery and discipline, by the prompt distribution 
 of a reward, which their decisive success has 
 enabled him to bestow. In their letter of the 8th 
 March, 1758, the Honourable Court of Directors 
 have ordered that, ' in land operations all cannon, 
 ammunition, and military stores of all kinds, are 
 not to come into the division, but are to belong- 
 to the Company.' Upon a further consideration, 
 therefore, of this positive injunction, as well as of 
 the principles of the law of nations applied to 
 the right of booty, plunder, and conquest, and to 
 the expenses incurred by the Company for the 
 support of the present war, the Right Honourable 
 the Governor-General in Council directs me to 
 inform you of his Lordship's intention to re- 
 serve all ordnance, ammunition, and miUtary 
 stores (including- grain), for the ultimate deci- 
 sion of his Majesty, on such application as shall 
 be made to him by the Honourable the Court of 
 Directors. 
 
 " It will accordingly be necessary that a proper 
 board of officers should be selected and appointed 
 for the purpose of valuing, and of taking an exact 
 inventory of, all that part of the captured property 
 which is included under the denomination of 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 377 
 
 ordnance, ammunition, and military stores of all 
 kinds, for transmission to the Honourable Court 
 of Directors. In ordering the distribution of the 
 treasure and jewels, the Governor-General in 
 Council directs you to be guided by the esta- 
 blished usages, which have been observed in the 
 British service in all cases of a similar nature ; 
 and to take upon yourself the decision of all 
 points whatever, referable to this distribution, 
 without further communication to his Lordship 
 in Council. The proportion of prize-money, to 
 be allotted to the contingent of his Highness the 
 Nizam, is to be determined by the number of his 
 Highness's troops, actually employed in the field 
 with the army before Seringapatam at the time of 
 taking that place. 
 
 " The British subsidiary force, serving with 
 the contingent of his Highness the Nizam, will, 
 of course, be included in the Company's army ; 
 and receive its proportion of prize-money accord- 
 ing to the distribution made to the rest of the 
 British forces. As it is probable that Meer AUum 
 Bahadur may not be inclined to dispense with 
 the right of his Sovereign over that part of the 
 captured property which may be allotted to his 
 Highness the Nizam, the Governor-General in 
 Council directs you to consult him upon this 
 point ; and to give ordei-s for the appropriation of 
 the Nizam's share, in such a manner as shall be 
 most agreeable to Meer Allum. 
 
378 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 " I have the honour to inclose a general order 
 by Government, which the Governor-General in 
 Council directs you to publish to the army, in 
 order that the distribution of the prize-money 
 may be immediately announced to them. 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 J. Webbe, 
 
 " Seeretary to Government.*' 
 
 " To Lieutenant-General Harris, Commander- 
 in-Chief, &c., &c., &c. 
 
 ^^Fort St. George., \Ath June, 1799. 
 "Sir, 
 
 "1 am directed by the Right Honourable 
 the Governor-General in Council to acknowledge 
 the receipt of your several letters noted in the 
 margin, with the papers which respectively acom- 
 panied them. 
 
 " The Right Honourable the Governor-General 
 having, in his Lordship's separate despatches, 
 communicated to you his sentiments upon your 
 several arrangements and dispositions for the 
 march and progress of the army towards the 
 capital of Mysore, it becomes unnecessary to give 
 a detailed answer to those parts of your despatches 
 further than to repeat the expression of his Lord- 
 ship's entire approbation of the several measures 
 adopted by you, as well as his perfect satisfaction 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 379 
 
 of the zeal, exertion, and perseverance which 
 enabled the army to surmount those serious diffi- 
 culties which appeared to oppose its progress 
 towards Seringapatam. 
 
 *^The Governor-General in Council feels the 
 importance of the masterly movement which you 
 made for crossing the river Cavery at Soosilly after 
 the battle of Mallavelly, as well as the promptitude 
 of your arrangements for detaching Major-Ge- 
 neral Floyd, after your arrival in the neighbour- 
 hood of Seringapatam, — measures no less admi- 
 rable for the judgment and decision with which 
 they were planned, than important in their con- 
 sequences to the success of your operations. The 
 period which comprises the operations from the 
 commencement to the close of the siege exhibits 
 a series of animated exertions, indefatigable per- 
 severance, and heroic valour in the several corps 
 of the army who progressively drove the enemy 
 from their works, maintained their own positions, 
 and finally pushed their success to the walls of the 
 place. The animation and example which pro- 
 duced these efforts, and the judgment, skill, and 
 promptitude with which your several advantages 
 were applied to the furtherance of your main 
 object, are clearly distinguishable in the harmony, 
 vigour, and vivacity of the siege. 
 
 " Upon the memorable conquest of the capital 
 of Mysore by assault, the Governor-General in 
 Council has already conveyed to you his Lord- 
 
380 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 ship's high sense and admiration of the important 
 services rendered to the Company, and to the 
 nation, by the army under your command. 
 
 " The Governor-General in Council directs me 
 to express his perfect approbation of the manner 
 in which you conducted the political communi- 
 cations betvreen you and Tippoo Sultaun, under 
 the commission and instructions with which you 
 were furnished by his Lordship for that purpose. 
 
 " His Lordship in Council also approves your 
 several communications with the principal Sirdars 
 subsequently to the fall of Serin gapatam, and 
 upon the several points which relate to this sub- 
 ject will transmit his Lordship's separate instruc- 
 tions to the Commission appointed for the final 
 arrangement of the affairs of Mysore. 
 
 " The Governor-General in Council is entirely 
 satisfied with the promptitude witli which the army 
 under the command of Lieutenant-General Stuart 
 returned to the Malabar coast, and trusts that the 
 most vigorous and effectual measures will have been 
 taken, as well for the defence and security of that 
 province against any attempt which may be made 
 by the French to invade it, as for subjecting to 
 the Company's authority with all practicable ex- 
 pedition the several districts and fortresses in the 
 province of Canara. 
 
 " His Lordship also commends the alacrity 
 with which the detachment under the command 
 of Lieutenant-Colonel Read was equipped and 
 
TlIK FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 381 
 
 despatched for the purpose of taking* possession of 
 the several fortresses situated to the northward of 
 Bangalore. 
 
 " Tlie Governor-General in Council is deeply 
 impressed with the importance and necessity of 
 using the utmost degree of vigour and alacrity 
 in the measures to be adopted for the restoration 
 of order and system in the government of Mysore ; 
 his Lordship therefore directs me to express his 
 anxiety that the army should be put in a state of 
 equipment with the least possible delay, as well 
 for the purpose of moving in such directions as 
 circumstances may render necessary, as of pre- 
 serving that continuation of energy and efficiency 
 which have hitherto distinguished your operations, 
 and which are requisite for the permanent estab- 
 lishment of the Company's autliority. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 J. Webbe, 
 
 Secretary to Government." 
 
 " To Rear-Admiral Rainier, commanding His 
 Majesty's Fleet in India. 
 
 ''June^lth, 1799. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I have the pleasure to acknowledge the 
 
 receipt of your letter, dated off Decala, 20th 
 
382 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS RELATING TO 
 
 May, informing me of your having ordered the 
 Carysfort frigate to proceed direct to England 
 with my despatch. 
 
 " The readiness with which you were pleased 
 to accede to my wish of an early transmission to 
 England of the important intelligence of the cap- 
 ture of Seringapatam, while it demands my 
 warmest acknowledgements, furnishes an addi- 
 tional instance of the public spirit and disin- 
 terested zeal which on all occasions have eminently 
 distinguished your services. 
 
 "Your congratulations to me, and to the army 
 under my command, upon our successes, afford 
 me peculiar satisfaction. Never, during the 
 brightest period of her glory and renown, has 
 Great Britain experienced such ardent loyalty and 
 union as now pervades her navies and armies. 
 The cause is obvious. The heroic deeds of the 
 navy in every quarter of the globe have not only 
 called forth from all ranks and descriptions of our 
 countrymen the warmest admiration, but have 
 excited an enthusiastic eagerness of emulation, 
 without a parallel in the history of the world. 
 
 "These sentiments, and this happy union, 
 must bear Great Britain towering and triumphant 
 over all difficulties, and secure upon a durable 
 basis the dignity of the Crown, and the happiness 
 and liberties of the people. 
 
 " I rejoice to hear you are arrived at Madras, 
 
THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM. 383 
 
 and in good health, where I hope soon to shake 
 you by the hand, being, with great regard. 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 G. Harris." 
 
 " To the Earl of Mornington. 
 
 " Camp, 21s< Jum^ 1799. 
 " My Lord, 
 
 "I have the honour to acknowledge the 
 receipt of a letter from Mr. Webbe, the Secretary 
 to Government, under date the 14th instant, con- 
 veying to me the orders of your Lordship in 
 Council on various points, to which I shall pay 
 implicit obedience. 
 
 " In consequence of the intelligence from 
 Chittledroog, announced to your Lordship in my 
 letter of the 1 6th instant, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Dalrymple marched from camp on the 20th 
 instant with two battalions of Native infantry and 
 one regiment of cavalry, carrying with him a 
 supply of money for the immediate wants of that 
 garrison. Orders have been sent to Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Grant, with the Bengal regiment of the 
 Contingent under his orders, to join Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Dalrymple at Sera, who has instructions 
 to advance from that place to Chittledroog when 
 joined by Lieutenant- Colonel Grant's detach- 
 ment ; or prior to this junction, should his intel- 
 ligence lead him to think it can be done with 
 
384 LETTERS AND GENERAL ORDERS. 
 
 propriety. The instant the army is sufficiently 
 equipped, I shall move with it in the same 
 direction. 
 
 " Major-General Hartley informs me, in a 
 letter of the 15th instant, that having received 
 from tlie killedar of Deria Bahadar Ghur, assu- 
 rances of his disposition to receive a British 
 garrison and obey the orders of that Circar, he 
 has directed a detachment to march and occupy 
 that fort. 
 
 I have the honour, &c. 
 
 Geo. Harris." 
 
385 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 General Harris obtains possession of the different forts and 
 countries belonging to Mysore. — Dlioondiak is driven into 
 the Mahratta territories. — Tranquillity being established. 
 General Harris appoints Colonel Wellesley to command in 
 Mysore, and returns to the Presidency. — Sees the Governor- 
 General before his departure for Calcutta. — Lord Morning- 
 ton's letter to Mr. Dundas. — Thanks of the House of 
 Commons and Court of Directors to General Harris. — Fare- 
 well letter from Colonel Wellesley. 
 
 The two succeeding months of July aad August 
 were occupied by General Harris in obtaining 
 and securing possession of the different forts and 
 countries belonging to Mysore. On the coast of 
 Malabar no difficulty was experienced so soon as 
 the cessation of the Western monsoon enabled our 
 troops to move ; and, early in July, the important 
 fortress of Chittledroog was surrendered to Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Dalrymple, who had been detached 
 by the Commander-in-Chief with a light force of 
 cavalry and infantry in that direction. No ob- 
 stacle to the general tranquillity now remained, 
 but the disturbances excited in Bednore by 
 Dhoondiah, who had been confined by Tippoo, 
 and was imprudently released by our troops, with 
 other prisoners, on the day of the assault. He 
 immediately returned to his old avocations of 
 plunder and murder, and being joined by some of 
 
 2 c 
 
386 EXPULSION OF DHOONDIAH. 
 
 the disbanded silladars of Tippoo's cavalry, pro- 
 ceeded into the rich country of Bednore. Here 
 the disaffected civil and military servants of 
 Tippoo's government combined in putting some 
 of the principal places into his possession, before 
 it was in the power of General Harris to send a 
 sufficient force against him. 
 
 So soon as the Commander-in-Chief could 
 leave Seringapatam, he marched towards Chittle- 
 droog; and having detached Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Dalrymple against Dhoondiah, no time was lost 
 in making an example of the banditti under him, 
 whose shocking cruelties had spread great con- 
 sternation in the districts which were the scenes 
 of their enormities. Colonel Stevenson, with 
 another light corps, was also detached into Bed- 
 nore, and, by their united vigour and talents, 
 Dhoondiah and his marauders were driven, before 
 the middle of August, completely out of the 
 country, himself escaping by a boat into the Mah- 
 , ratta territory. Here the pursuit ceased, as the 
 Governor-General had strictly prohibited any 
 violation of the Mahratta frontier. 
 
 All the objects of the campaign having been 
 now satisfactorily completed, and General Harris 
 having received from the Governor-General in 
 Council the following letter, immediately prepared 
 to return to the Presidency, leaving the Honour- 
 able Colonel Wellesley in command of the troops 
 in Mysore. 
 
RECALL OF GENERAL HARRIS. 387 
 
 "To His Excellency Lieutenant-General 
 Harris, Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 " Fort St. George, 7th August^ 1799. 
 "Sir, 
 
 "The Right Honourable the Governor- 
 General in Council, trusting that the arrange- 
 ments made by the treaties of Mysore and 
 Seringapatam for effecting a settlement of the 
 dominions of Tippoo Sultaun, with the late rapid 
 success of the detachment against the banditti 
 attached to the rebel Dhoondiah, will now admit 
 of measures being taken for a permanent distri- 
 bution of the subsidiary forces in Mysore, directs 
 me to desire that you will accordingly take the 
 subject into your serious consideration. His 
 Lordship is anxious to consult your opinion, 
 previous to his departure for Bengal, with respect 
 to the appointment and distribution ot the subsi- 
 diary force, as well as with regard to the general 
 military arrangements which will be rendered 
 necessary by the late change in the political 
 state of India ; he therefore directs you to pro- 
 ceed to the Presidency as soon as you shall judge 
 your presence no longer necessary for conducting 
 the public service in Mysore. 
 
 "The Governor-General in Council further 
 directs you to leave such a force above the Ghauts 
 as you may think necessary for completely sup- 
 pressing the commotions prevailing in Bednore, 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 LETTER FROM 
 
 and for garrisoning- the principal fortresses in the 
 northern and north-western frontiers of the Rajah 
 of Mysore, and to order the remainder of the 
 army to the Carnatic. 
 
 "In communicating to you his Lordship's 
 orders for quitting the army, the Governor-Ge- 
 neral has great satisfaction in availing himself of 
 the opportunity to express, in terms of the 
 warmest gratitude, his entire approbation of your 
 distinguished conduct in executing the important 
 trust committed to your charge at the commence- 
 ment of the late rapid and brilliant campaign. 
 His Lordship has already conveyed to you, and 
 to the gallant army under your command, his 
 cordial thanks and sincere congratulations on the 
 conquest of the capital of Mysore ; and the Go- 
 vernor-General in Council now directs me to 
 signify his particular sense of the firmness, con- 
 stancy, and perseverance with which you subdued 
 the difficulties opposed to the progress of your 
 army through the enemy's country, of the zeal 
 and unanimity with which you inspired all the 
 great departments of your army, and the judg- 
 ment displayed in the whole conduct of the cam- 
 paign, especially in the passage of the Cavery, 
 and in the position taken before Seringapatam, 
 and the vigour and skill with which the siege was 
 conducted. This great achievement entitled you 
 to the gratitude and respect of the Company 
 and your King and country ; and the Governor- 
 
THE EARL OF MORNINGTON. 389 
 
 General has already discharged, with particular 
 satisfaction, the grateful duty of stating to the 
 Honourable Court of Directors, and to his 
 Majesty's Ministers, your eminent services in a 
 manner adequate to the honour and advantage 
 which the British empire is likely to derive from 
 the splendid victories obtained by the army under 
 your command. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 J. Webre, 
 Secretary to the Government." 
 
 To this letter General Harris returned the 
 following answer : — 
 
 " To the Right Hon. the Earl of Mornington, 
 K. P., Governor-General in Council, &c. 
 
 " Gamp opposite HooncUi/^ 
 24t/i Anr/ust, 1799. 
 " My Lord, 
 
 "The dispersion of the followers of 
 Dlioondiali, and the flight of that rebel to the 
 Mahratta territory, leaving me little doubt of the 
 immediate settlement of affairs in the Bednore 
 province, I have issued orders to Colonel Steven- 
 son,, commanding the troops employed in that 
 service, to detach two Native battalions to occupy 
 Bednore, Cowley Droog, and other principal 
 stations, and to hold Lieutenant-Colonel Dal- 
 
390 ARRANGEMENTS I OH 
 
 rymple's detachment in readiness to return in a 
 short time to the Nizam's dominions. 
 
 " Under this view of affairs, it is my intention 
 to quit the army to-morrow, and to proceed 
 towards the Presidency to pay my respects to the 
 Right Honourable the Governor-General before 
 his departure for Bengal. 
 
 "I have directed the Honourable Colonel 
 Wellesley to command the troops serving in 
 Mysore, and have, conformably to the orders of 
 your Lordship in Council, arranged a temporary 
 establishment of staff, nearly similar to that 
 allowed to the subsidiary force serving with His 
 Highness the Nizam, to assist him in conducting 
 the details of the troops under his command. 
 
 "In the event of an additional force being 
 required in the Bednore district, after Lieute- 
 nant-Colonel Dalrymple's detachment shall have 
 been withdrawn, I have authorized Colonel Wel- 
 lesley to request a reinforcement of two Native 
 battalions from Major-General Hartley, and di- 
 rected that officer to comply with such request, 
 if made to him. 
 
 "His Majesty's 12th Regiment, now at Sera, 
 is ordered to march to the Presidency in obedi- 
 ence to your Lordship's order of the 1 7th instant. 
 The 25th Regiment of Light Dragoons, which has 
 been extremely sickly, and a battalion of Artillery, 
 has also been ordered to the Carnatic. 
 
 " A return of the state and distribution of the 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF MYSORE. 391 
 
 army remaining- above the Ghauts, and a proposed 
 distribution for the army of the Madras Esta- 
 blishment, shall be submitted to your Lordship 
 in Council soon after my arrival at the Pre- 
 sidency. 
 
 "The very flattering* manner in which your 
 Lordship in Council has been pleased to mention 
 my services, in the late campaign, has been highly 
 gratifying to my feelings, by the conviction it has 
 afforded, that my earnest endeavours to conduct 
 the important service entrusted to me, agreeably 
 to the wishes of Government, have been attended 
 with success. 
 
 I have the honour, &c., 
 
 Geo. Harris." 
 
 In his journey to the Presidency, General 
 Harris received the following letter from Colonel 
 Wellesley : — 
 
 " To Lieutenant-General Harris, Commander- 
 in-Chief. 
 
 ''August 26, 1799. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I have received Colonel Agnew's private 
 and public letters, and I am much obliged to you 
 for the additional mark of your favour and confi- 
 dence in allowing me to appoint my own staff. 
 Colonel Agnew will communicate to you what I 
 have written to him upon this subject. 
 
392 GENERAL HARRISES 
 
 " Before I left Seringapatam, Colonel Scott 
 desired me to request your permission for him to 
 go to England in a letter which I wrote to you. 
 I have this day informed him that you have left 
 the army, and have given him leave to go to 
 Madras. I have also desired him to make his 
 application to you in the regular form through 
 Captain Young. 
 
 " I wish you joy of the successful termination 
 of every thing here, and I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 Ever your faithful and obliged servant, 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
 The troops serving in Mysore having been 
 thus delivered over to the command of Colonel 
 Wellesley, the Commander-in-Chief, made all the 
 haste in his power to reach Madras before the 
 departure of the Governor-General for Calcutta. 
 The manner in which this journey was accom- 
 plished is thus described, by himself, in a letter to 
 Sir W. Medows. 
 
 " In seven months' absence from Madras, 
 we not only took the capital of that enemy, who, 
 you observe, should never have been left the 
 power of being troublesome, but marched to the 
 northern extent of his empire, and left it in so 
 settled a state that I journeyed from the banks of 
 the Toondjudra, three hundred miles across, in 
 my palankeen, without a single soldier as escort. 
 
RKTURN TO MADRAS. iJO.'j 
 
 except, indeed, at many places, the polygars and 
 peons of the conntry, who insisted on being' my 
 guard through their respective districts. This 
 was a kind of triumphal journey I did not dream 
 of when setting off. The Almighty has been 
 wonderfidly bountiful to us. A conquest so com- 
 plete in all its effects has seldom been known, and 
 certainly in my respect left me nothing- to ask." 
 
 General Harris had the gratification of 
 arriving at Madras before the departure of the 
 Governor-General for Calcutta, and of assisting 
 in the military arrangements which the late 
 change in the political state of India rendered 
 necessary. 
 
 Early in September, tlie Earl of Mornington 
 sailed from Madras for Calcutta, leaving on the 
 minds of the people of that Presidency the deepest 
 feelings of admiration and gratitude. They were 
 the first to feel the consequences of the wisdom, 
 vigour, and justice of his measures, in their de- 
 liverance from the perpetual alarm of a cruel 
 invasion by the most implacable and powerful 
 enemy of the British name in India. The glorious 
 success of a just and necessary war, and the 
 prospect of future peace in the Carnatic (which 
 has never since been disturbed by any hostile 
 aggression), gladdened all hearts, and inspired 
 one universal feeling of reverence towards the 
 immediate author of these blessings. 
 
394 THE EARL OF MORNINGTON's LETTER 
 
 How deeply the noble Earl felt the import- 
 ance of those services which he had called into 
 activity, and by which he had eifected this great 
 and happy change in the affairs of the East India 
 Company, is fully and generously manifested in 
 the following letter which he addressed to Mr. 
 Dundas before he left Madras. 
 
 *'The Earl of Mornington to the Right 
 Honourable H. Dundas. 
 
 " Fort St. George, 1799. 
 
 " You will not be surprised at any degree 
 of earnestness which I may feel to promote the 
 interests of that gallant army, by whose assistance 
 I have effected the late important and happy 
 revolution in the affairs of the British nation on 
 this side of India. 
 
 "Your own zeal for the public service, and 
 the honourable support which it has always been 
 your peculiar pride and pleasure to afford to 
 those who have co-operated with you in the great 
 cause in which we are all engaged, inspire me 
 with a confident expectation, that I shall find in 
 your sentiments a degree of cordiality and ardour 
 correspondent with my own. 
 
 "The army at large have received, in the 
 captured property taken at Seringapatam, a 
 reward in some degree proportioned to their 
 merits, and it is rather the province of the Com- 
 
TO MR. DUNDAS. 395 
 
 mander- in-Chief than mine to appreciate and 
 recommend to notice the conduct of the officers 
 of inferior rank to that of Generals on the staff. 
 I shall therefore confine my recommendations to 
 that rank. 
 
 " I have already had repeated occasion to ex- 
 press to you my feelings of public and private 
 gratitude towards Lieutenant-General Harris, as 
 well as to explain the strong grounds on which 
 both those sentiments are founded in my mind. 
 The share which General Harris has received of 
 the prize taken at Seringapatam has placed his 
 fortune above the want of any public aid ; other- 
 wise, I have no doubt that the magnitude of his 
 services would have insured to him a liberal 
 and munificent provision from the East India 
 Company. 
 
 " Under Lieutenant-General Harris's actual 
 circumstances, I should hope that his Majesty 
 might deem it proper to confer a distinguished 
 mark of honour upon that deserving officer ; and, 
 impressed as I am with the importance of the con- 
 quest achieved under Lieutenant-General Harris's 
 command, I trust that his Majesty will confer no 
 honours on General Harris below those of the 
 order of the Bath, and of a peerage of Great 
 Britain. It is my duty to state to you, that any 
 honom-s inferior to these would not meet the 
 public opinion entertained in India with respect 
 to the importance of the late victories, nor satisfy 
 
396 THE EAIIL OF MORNINGTOM's LETTER 
 
 that sentiment of honourable pride whieh they 
 have diffused through every branch of the civil 
 and niihtary service in this country. I must, 
 therefore, make it my most anxious and earnest 
 request to you, that you will omit no endeavour 
 to obtain for Lieutenant-General Harris the 
 honours which he has so well merited. 
 
 " Lieutenant-General Stuart, Commander-in- 
 Chief of the Army of Bombay, has long- been 
 distinguished for the ability and eminence of his 
 services in India. During the late war, he has 
 added considerably to liis former laurels, and the 
 victory obtained by the troops under his com- 
 mand at Sedaseer must ever be remembered as 
 one of the most brilliant events in our military 
 history of India. His health is now declining, 
 and he proposes to return to Europe in the ap- 
 proaching season. His circumstances, even with 
 the addition of his prize-money, will be mode- 
 rate ; and certainly, no military character in this 
 quarter of the globe, whether considered on the 
 ground of long service, eminent success, or ap- 
 proved integrity, ever was a more proper object 
 for the munificence of the East India Company. 
 I also trust that the splendid and important vic- 
 tory of Sedaseer will recommend Lieutenant- 
 General Stuart to his Majesty for the order of 
 the Bath. 
 
 " It is impossible to bestow too much com- 
 mendation on the conduct of Major- General 
 
TO MR. DUNDAS. 397 
 
 Baird, in the assault of Seringapatam. A more 
 judicious operation, conducted with more heroic 
 gallantry and spirit, never was achieved ; and 
 when you recollect the decisive consequences 
 of the success of that day, effecting within tlie 
 course of two hours the entire destruction of 
 our most formidable eneniy in India, I am per- 
 suaded you will concur with me in an anxious 
 solicitude to see the gallant leader of the assail- 
 ants of Tippoo Sultaun's capital rewarded in a 
 manner suitable to his exertions, and to their 
 beneficial effect. I have made it my particular 
 business to inquire into Major-General Baird 's 
 circumstances, and I have ascertained that they 
 are by no means affluent ; it would therefore be a 
 peculiar satisfciction to me if the East India Com- 
 pany should exercise their known liberality in this 
 case. When it is remembered, that in the course 
 of active and arduous service during the former 
 war, he fell into the hands of Tippoo Sultaun, and 
 suffered a long and cruel imprisonment in the 
 dungeons of that fortress, which, on the 4th of 
 May, 1799, submitted to his irresistible valour 
 and skill, I am persuaded that his claim to public 
 reward and honour will be deemed peculiarly 
 interesting and powerful. I should also hope 
 that his extraordinary merits on the 4th of May 
 would induce his Majesty to consider him as a 
 proper object for the order of the Bath. I en- 
 close a letter from Major-General Baird^ which 
 
398 THE EARL OF MORNINGTON's LETTER 
 
 reflects the highest credit on his sentiments of 
 honoin- and public spirit. 
 
 " The Commander-in-Chief has made a very 
 favourable report to me of the conduct of Major- 
 General Floyd, who commanded the cavalry 
 during the war. I understand that General Floyd 
 proposes to return soon to Europe, and that his 
 principal object is to obtain a regiment. The 
 Commander-in-Chief has also made a very fa- 
 vourable report to me of the conduct of Major- 
 Generals Bridges and Popham, of the Company's 
 service, during the campaign ; and I have already 
 had occasion, in my letters to the Court of Di- 
 rectors, to applaud the services of Major-General 
 Hartley on the coast of Malabar. 
 
 " It appeared to me that even those parts of 
 this letter which relate to the bounty of the East 
 India Company would be more properly addressed 
 to you than to the Court of Directors, who might 
 deem it presumptuous in one of their servants to 
 affect to point out to them the proper objects of 
 then' liberality on such an occasion as the present. 
 You will, however, make whatever use of this 
 letter may appear to you most advisable. 
 
 " With regard to the several able and gallant 
 officers, whom I have named, their persons were 
 entirely unknown to me previously to my arrival 
 in India, nor have I any knowledge of their re- 
 spective families or connections in Europe. The 
 services which they have rendered to the public 
 
TO MR. DUNDAS. 399 
 
 form the sole ground of my own acquaintance 
 with them, and the only motive of the interest 
 which I take in their welfare and honour. I 
 know that the same circumstances will be their 
 best recommendation to your countenance and 
 protection. 
 
 Believe me, dear Sir, 
 
 with great respect and regard. 
 Yours, most faithfully and affectionately, 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 Before General Harris embarked for England, 
 he had the satisfaction of receiving "the thanks 
 of the House of Commons and of the Court of 
 Directors, for the whole of his able and merito- 
 rious conduct in the command of the forces of 
 his Majesty and the East India Company, during 
 the late glorious and decisive war with the 
 Sultaun of Mysore, and particularly for the 
 ability, judgment and energy with which he 
 planned and directed the assault of Seringapatam, 
 the success of which brilliant achievement had so 
 highly contributed to the glory of the British 
 name, and to the permanent tranquility of our 
 possessions in the East." 
 
 General Harris had the further gratification^ 
 of hearing from Colonel Wellesley, that all was 
 quiet and prosperous in Mysore, in the following 
 farewell letter. 
 
400 lh:tti:r from colonel wellesley. 
 
 '"'' Serhigapatam^ Ath Decenihet\ 1799. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " My piil)lic communications with the 
 Adjutant-General and with Government, hav^e 
 made you acquainted with the manner in which 
 I have been going* on here. You left me but little 
 to do, and we are now quiet and prosperous every 
 where. 
 
 " I hear that you sail shortly for England 
 with Mrs. Harris and your family. I beg that 
 you will do me the favour to present my best 
 respects to her. 
 
 " I shall never forget the many marks of 
 favour and kindness I have received from you, 
 for which I again return my thanks. Wherever 
 you go I shall always be glad to hear of your 
 happiness, (of your success there is no doubt,) 
 And believe me, my dear Sir, 
 Your most faithful and obliged servant, 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
401 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 In answer to the unfounded remarks contained in Mr. Hook's 
 
 L\fe of Sir David Baird, upon the appointment of tho 
 
 Honourable Colonel Wellesley to the command of the 
 Nizam's subsidiary force. 
 
 To have closed the account of General Harris's 
 services in Mysore, with these just tributes of 
 approbation, would have been the most natural, 
 and to me the most gratifying-, conclusion of my 
 narrative. Bat the biographer of Sir David 
 Baird, Mr. Hook, has thought himself at liberty, 
 not only to treat that gallant officer as he would 
 the hero of a novel, but to scatter unfounded 
 censures upon the Commander-in-Chief, the 
 Governor-General, and Colonel Wellesley, as con- 
 spirators against that monopoly of merit, which 
 Mr. Hook assumes for Sir David Baird in the 
 fall of Seringapatam. 
 
 In the support of this absurd claim, Mr. 
 Hook has adopted the petty scandal of the 
 gossips of the campaign of Mysore, in 1799, as 
 authentic history, and has thus abused the name 
 of Sir D. Baird, as a medium for defaming those 
 who were the chief instruments of that great 
 national service. As if the heads and hearts of 
 Englishmen were not clear and large enough to 
 
 2 D 
 
402 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 appreciate the just claims which each had upon 
 his country's gratitude, and as if it were neces- 
 sary for the character of Sir David Baird — 
 
 To raise 
 
 Tropliies for him from other men's dispraise. 
 
 The substance of the imputations against 
 Lord Harris in the Life of Sir David Baird, is, 
 that he disregarded his superior claims by ap- 
 pointing Colonel Wellesley to commands, which 
 properly belonged to Major-General Baird ; and 
 that this partiality originated in a servile defer- 
 ence to the secret commands and private wislies 
 of the Earl of Mornington, then Governor-General 
 of India. He further states that Lord Harris 
 was led by malice and envy to withhold from 
 General Baird the applause he deserved. 
 
 The instances referred to in respect to Colonel 
 Wellesley are, that he was appointed to command 
 the Nizam's subsidiary force, in February, 1799, 
 and afterwards selected to command the fortress 
 of Seringapatam, when it had fallen by siege and 
 assault of the British troops, on the 4th of May, 
 1799. 
 
 The simple statement of these transactions, 
 confirmed by the letters of Sir David Baird and 
 Colonel Wellesley, will satisfy every impartial 
 reader, (and especially those who have any 
 remembrance of the characters of the parties 
 alluded to,) not only that these charges are 
 entirely destitute of foundation, but that the kind 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEy's APPOINTMENTS. 403 
 
 disposition and forbearance of the Commander- 
 in-Chief, at Seringapatain, tovyards General Baird 
 contributed greatly to the increased reputation, 
 and well-earned independence, which that gallant 
 officer had the opportunity of acquiring-, after the 
 conchision of the campaign in Mysore. 
 
 When General Harris selected Colonel Wel- 
 leslcy for the command of the Nizam's subsidiary 
 force, the officers superior in rank to the Colonel 
 were thus employed, — 
 
 Major-Gen. Floyd . . . Commanding Cavahy, 
 ^Major-Gen. Bridges . . Commanding Right Wing. 
 Major-Gen. Popham . . Commanding Left Wing. 
 
 All these officers were senior to General Baird, 
 and were of a reputation and service not to be 
 superseded by a junior officer. No appointment, 
 therefore, remained for General Baird in the line, 
 but that of a brigade, and he was accordingly 
 directed to command the European Brigade in 
 the Right Wing. 
 
 In this order the army marched from Vellore 
 on the 6th of February, 1799. On the 16th the 
 Nizam's subsidiary force arrived at Goriatum, and 
 the Commander-in-Chief determined that it should 
 be strengthened by one European regiment from 
 his army, and he selected the 33rd Regiment, 
 Colonel Wellesley's, and, as senior officer, the tem- 
 porary command of the subsidiary force neces- 
 sarily devolved upon him. 
 
 2 D 2 
 
404 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 He regretted to learn soon afterwards that 
 Major-General Baird considered this appointment 
 a snpercession of his senior claims. The Com- 
 mander-in-Chief sent for him, and explained to 
 him that this was a political as well as a military 
 appointment, and had reason to believe he had 
 satisfied Major-General Baird that he had taken 
 a very erroneous view of the matter ; but General 
 Baird thought fit to write the following letter to 
 General Harris. 
 
 " Camp^ near Ri/akottah, March 4, 1798. 
 
 " Dear General, 
 
 " By a conversation this morning with Cap- 
 tain Young, I was happy to learn your present 
 sentiments with regard to me, and that the reasons 
 that induced you to appoint a junior officer to a 
 higher command in this army than that which I 
 hold, were such as would have been satisfactory 
 to me had they been publicly known. I am per- 
 fectly sensible of your having the undoubted right, 
 without being obliged to assign your reasons to 
 any one, to select such officers as you may think 
 proper for any service that may offer, and I am 
 the last person that would expect you to act in- 
 consistent with your situation. It must, however, 
 appear extraordinary that a major-general, sent 
 out expressly by his Majesty to serve on the staff 
 in India, should remain in the command of three 
 battalions, whilst a colonel serving in the same 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 405 
 
 army is placed at the head of seven^ or rather 
 thirteen^ corps^ and I may add a lieutenant-colonel 
 (BroAvne), commanding a separate army, with the 
 probability of having- two of his Majesty's corps 
 under him. Meer Allum's request to have the 
 Governor-General's brother in command of the 
 troops under him is certainly a good reason on 
 that head ; but this is only known to me privately, 
 whilst, as the order now stands, I am apparently 
 degraded in the eyes of the army and of my friends 
 at home. Under these circumstances, I trust to 
 your adopting such measures as to you may 
 appear pioper, in order that the real cause may 
 be known of the appointment of Colonel Wel- 
 lesley to a superior command. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 With nmch respect. 
 Dear sir, yours, most truly, 
 
 D. Baird." 
 " To Lieutenant-General Harris, ^c, Sfc, ^x." 
 
 I find upon this original letter from Major- 
 General Baird the following endorsement in the 
 Commander-in-Chief's hand. 
 
 " To have answered it even as the rough 
 draft enclosed mnst have been disagreeable ; a 
 fortunate turn saved me the necessity." 
 
406 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 "To Major-General Baird. 
 
 *' I have received your letter of the 4th in- 
 stant, and am sorry you should have thought it 
 necessary to renew the subject of Colonel Wel- 
 lesley's late appointment. It appears to me, after 
 what had passed between us, that you should have 
 treated it, as it really is, as a political arrangement 
 likely to be highly beneficial to the public service, 
 and not as having any reference to command in 
 the line, with which it has nothing to do. My 
 personal regard for you induces me to give this 
 explanation, and makes me wish thus to relieve 
 your mind from every idea that there could be 
 any inattention to your situation, and which, I 
 trust, will be perfectly clear to you when you are 
 acquainted that the contingent of the Nizam can 
 only be commanded by a colonel*." 
 
 " The fortunate turn " here alluded to was 
 the acknowledgment of Major-General Baird to 
 the Commander-in-Chief that he had been wrong- 
 in his impressions respecting Colonel Wellesley's 
 appointment, and therefore he requested the 
 matter might be no further noticed. This, Gene- 
 ral Harris, with his usual kindness, very readily 
 promised, and he faithfully kept his word. He 
 did not comment severely, as he might have done, 
 
 * The agreement wltli the Nizam ]">rovided for tlie pay 
 and allowances of all ranks, of which the highest was a colonel 
 commanding. 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEy's APPOINTMENTS. 407 
 
 upon the manifest inconsistency of avowing that 
 the Commander-in-Chief had a right to select 
 such officers as he might think proper, for any 
 service, without being- obliged to assign his rea- 
 sons to any one, and in the next sentence pre- 
 suming to call upon him, not only to assign his 
 reasons, but to make those reasons public. 
 
 When General Harris selected the 33rd Regi- 
 ment for service with the Nizam's detachment, 
 Colonel Wellesley, who commanded it, was the 
 senior officer belonging to the European regiments 
 with the army. 
 
 The selection of any other person would, 
 therefore, have been a supercession of the officer 
 who had the first claim to it, and who possessed 
 all the personal qualities, and all the political 
 advantages, required in the commandant of this 
 force, enjoying as he did the entire confidence of 
 the Commander-in-Chief, and having before him 
 the reasonable expectation of acquiring the con- 
 fidence and respect of the Nizam's native com- 
 mander, Meer Allum, who was very desirous of 
 his appointment. General Harris, therefore, lost 
 not a moment in giving effect to that measure 
 when the contingent force joined his army ; and it 
 may be a profitable meditation for those who have 
 a habit of being dissatisfied with everything not 
 precisely of their own arrangement, to consider 
 what would have been the effect upon Sir David 
 Baird's future life if either of his desires, as ex- 
 
408 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 pressed in his hasty letter to the Commander-in- 
 Chief, had ])een comphed with. 
 
 If lie had been appointed to the Nizam's con- 
 tingent, Colonel Wellesley, and not Sir David 
 Baird, would have commanded the assault of 
 Seringapatam, and I may at least venture to say 
 that Colonel Wellesley would have been as perfect 
 a hero of that day as Major-General Baird. 
 
 On the other hand, if his desire of superseding 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Browne in the command of 
 what he calls that " separate army " had been 
 complied with, he would not have reached Sering- 
 apatam until ten days after the place had fallen, 
 and the prize-committee would have excluded 
 him, as they did Lieutenant-Colonel Browne, from 
 all share of the booty. This exclusion, it is true, 
 was disapproved by General Harris, severely re- 
 prehended by the Governor- General, and tinally, 
 -though too tardily, corrected by the authorities at 
 home ; but still, if General Baird had followed the 
 fortunes and march of that detachment, he would 
 have received the same injustice from the prize- 
 committee instead of that large share of applause 
 and honourable prize, which General Hai'ris's 
 kinder and wiser employment of his services ob- 
 tained for him. 
 
 It is " a little curious, too," as Mr. Hook so 
 often observes in the course of his narrative, that 
 the copy which he gives of Major-General Baird's 
 letter to General Harris respecting Colonel Wei- 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESI.EY's Al'FOINTMENTS. 409 
 
 lesley's appointment to the Nizam's conting-ent, 
 should entirely omit that part about " Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Browne commanding a separate army, 
 with the probability of having two of his Majesty's 
 corps under him," to the prejudice of Major- 
 General Baird's superior claims. The passage 
 thus omitted contains within itself a refutation 
 of the complaint which Mr. Hook labours to 
 establish, per fas et nefas, — namely, that Colonel 
 Wellesley was his only unworthy rival, and alone 
 intruded upon his path, and this because of 
 General Harris's servility to his brother, the Go- 
 vernor-General. However, to adopt again Mr. 
 Hook's candid phraseology, " It is not our pro- 
 vince to assign motives or aiTaign intentions ; 
 truth should be the historian's guide." Ge- 
 neral Baird's original letter, in his own hand- 
 writing, is now lying before me ; it may be seen 
 by any body *, it has been exactly copied in the 
 preceding page, and the argument founded upon 
 Mr. Hook's imperfect copy is not worthy of an- 
 other remark in this place, except that which was 
 addressed to a celebrated French biographer — 
 '' Ah, Monsieur, que votre ouvrage est beau! plus 
 beau que la verite." 
 
 * At Mr. Parker's, West Strand. 
 
410 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 In answer to tlie nnfonnded remarks contained in Mr. Hook's 
 Life of Sir David Baird, upon the appointment of Colonel 
 Wellesley to command in Seringapatam. 
 
 The second instance of the injustice and neglect 
 which Major-General Baird is alleged to have 
 suffered from General Harris, was the appoint- 
 ment of Colonel Wellesley to relieve him after 
 Seringapatam had fallen by siege and assault. 
 
 And here I am indebted to Mr. Hook for fur- 
 nishing me with materials for the complete defence 
 of my noble friend, and the condemnation of the 
 prudence of General Baird's biographer. 
 
 I well remember Lord Harris expressing to me 
 the great pleasure he felt when Major-General 
 Baird saw the folly of some complaining* letters 
 which he had written to him upon the subject of 
 Colonel Wellesley's appointment to Seringapatam, 
 and how readily he had complied with his request 
 that they might be cancelled and forgot ; there- 
 fore, neither the originals nor copies of them were 
 found among his papers, but Mr. Hook has given 
 the copies as follow. 
 
COMMAND OF SERTNGAPATAM. 411 
 
 " To Lieut.-General Harris, Commander-in- 
 Chief, &c., &c. 
 
 " Camp^ Seringapatam, May 6, 1799. 
 '' Sir, 
 
 " Having, in a letter which I had this morn- 
 ing the hononr to address to yon, given a detailed 
 account of the assault of the Fort of Seringapa- 
 tam, the conduct of which you did me the honour 
 to entrust to me, permit me now, sir, to address 
 you on the subject of the events which Iiave taken 
 place since that time. Having been honoured 
 with the conduct of the assault, and having exe- 
 cuted that duty to your satisfaction, I naturally 
 concluded that I should have been permitted to 
 retain the command of Seringapatam, or, at least, 
 that I should not be superseded in it by a junior 
 officer. Judge, then, my surprise, when expecting 
 to have the honour of delivering to you the keys 
 of Seringapatam in the palace of the late Tippoo 
 Sultaun, and of congratulating you on the most 
 brilliant victory that ever graced the British arms 
 in India, to have an order put into my hands by 
 Colonel Wellesley, by which I found myself in- 
 stantly superseded in the command by that officer. 
 I am really ignorant what part of my conduct 
 could merit such treatment. When, on a former 
 occasion. Colonel Wellesley was appointed to the 
 command of the detachment serving with his 
 Highness the Nizam, while I remained in charge 
 of a brigade, you informed me that matters of a 
 
412 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 political nature made it necessary to have that 
 officer with the Nizam's army. Although I severely 
 felt the appointment of a junior officer to so dis- 
 tinguished a command while I remained in an 
 inferior station, I submitted to the necessity which 
 you informed me dictated the measure ; but this 
 second supercession I feel most sensibly, as it 
 must have the effect of leading* his Majesty and 
 the Commander-in-Chief in England to believe 
 that I am not fit for any command of importance, 
 when it has been thought proper to give the com- 
 mand of Seringapatam to Colonel Wellesley, while 
 he, at the same time, continues to hold the com- 
 mand of the Nizam's detachment. In camp it is 
 rumoured to have been at my own request, that 
 another officer was appointed to the command of 
 Seringapatam ; you, sir, must know that this is 
 not the case ; the request, if made, must have 
 been made by me to you, and, so far from its ever 
 being- my intention to make such a request, if, 
 after the assurances I have repeatedly received 
 from you, that you would take the first opportu- 
 nity of placing* me in a situation more adequate 
 to the rank I hold than that of the command of a 
 brigade, I had deemed it necessary to make 
 any request to you, it would have been to be 
 placed in the command of Seringapatam ; and 
 when I reflected that my two seniors, belonging* 
 to the coast army, continued to stand appointed 
 to the northern and southern divisions of the 
 
RESPECTING COL, WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 413 
 
 Camatic, and that the Honourable Colonel Wel- 
 lesley, the next junior to me, stood appointed to 
 the command of an army, while I remained in 
 charge of a brigade, I should have felt I was 
 hinting a doubt, which I never entertained, of the 
 sincerity of those assurances, if I made a parti- 
 cular application for the command of Seringapa- 
 tam ; indeed, I could not think it necessary. 
 Some mistake may have arisen from my having, 
 through Major Beatson, expressed a desire that 
 the whole storming party might be relieved from 
 camp, so that order might be established, and 
 troops more equal to take the fatigue of guard 
 mounting during the night be placed in the Fort ; 
 and I wished to be relieved for a short time, that 
 I might myself have had the honour of reporting 
 our success, and informing you in person of every 
 particular relating to the storm. This not having 
 been found convenient, I desired Captain Young, 
 Deputy Adjutant-General of his Majesty's troops, 
 who was proceeding to camp at daylight next 
 morning, to inform you that, as I was much re- 
 covered from the fatigues of the preceding day, I 
 wished not to be relieved till I had examined the 
 state of the works, and ascertained the number 
 of cannon captured. I received a letter from 
 Captain Young, long before Colonel Wellesley 
 superseded me, informing me that he had made 
 my request known to you. I cannot but feel 
 obliged by your having enabled me to act so dis- 
 
414 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 tingiiished a part in the storm, though I find so 
 little attention has, in every other instance, been 
 paid to my requests, that I am almost led to 
 believe my being employed on that occasion, was 
 owing to my being- the only officer of rank who 
 had made a voluntary offer of his services. I 
 request that copies of this letter may be trans- 
 mitted to His Royal Highness the Commander- 
 in-Chief, for the information of his Majesty, that, 
 at the same time he is informed of my having" 
 been twice superseded by Colonel Wellesley, he 
 may be in possession of such reasons as you shall 
 think proper to give for it, that he may be satis- 
 fied the measure was dictated by necessity, and 
 not by any want of capacity on my part to fill 
 the situation. 
 
 I have the honour, &c. 
 
 D. Baird." 
 
 " To Major-General Baird. 
 
 " Camjy^ Serwcjapatam^ 8/A May. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " The Commander-in-Chief directs me to 
 
 inform you, that he has this day received from 
 
 Major of Brigade Falconer, your report of the 
 
 assault entrusted to your conduct on the 4th 
 
 instant, and that, ever ready to do justice to the 
 
 merits of officers under his command, he is 
 
 happy in the occasion you have given him for 
 
 taking particular notice of the conduct of Colonel 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEy's APPOINTMENTS. 415 
 
 Sherbrooke. I am also directed to acknowledge 
 the receipt of the very improper letter which 
 accompanied yonr report. The distinguished 
 command for which you were selected by the 
 Commander-in-Chief, and the sentiments he has 
 so publicly and recently expressed on that occa- 
 sion, sufficiently mark what was his sense of your 
 military merit ; and it is with regret that he now 
 finds himself compelled to blame a total want of 
 discretion and respect in an officer of your high 
 rank and length of service, in terms so opposite 
 to those in which he was lately so happy to ap- 
 plaud your gallantry, humanity, and zeal. Lieu- 
 tenant-General Harris is persuaded that an officer 
 who thinks himself authorized to remonstrate 
 with his immediate superior, can never be use- 
 fully employed in the army he commands. Should 
 you, therefore, continue to hold sentiments so 
 opposite to the principles of military subordina- 
 tion, you have his permission to proceed by the 
 first safe conveyance to Fort St. George. The 
 Commander-in-Chief will certainly forward to 
 His Royal Highness the Duke of York, copies of 
 your letter and his reply. 
 
 I have the honour to be. Sir, 
 
 Your very obedient servant, 
 
 P. A. Agnew, 
 
 Mil. Sec. to the Commander-in-Chief." 
 
416 REPLY TO MR. HOOK's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 "Sir, 
 
 " I yesterday received a letter from Lieute- 
 nant-Colonel Agnew, your public secretary, which 
 has created in me the greatest astonishment. 
 Conceiving" myself injured, and my military cha- 
 racter in some degree impeached, in the repeated 
 preference that had been shown to my junior, 
 the Honourable Colonel Wellesley, in nominating 
 him to distinguished commands, whilst I, serving 
 with the same army, was still left in my original 
 situation of commandant of a brigade ; and feel- 
 ing as I conceived every military man in a 
 similar situation would have felt, on being super- 
 seded by the same officer in the command of tlie 
 important fortress of Seringapatam, I thought it 
 due to my own character to address you on that 
 subject; and I can safely affirm that, in the 
 address, it was my firm intention to make to you 
 the most respectful statement of facts. On the 
 receipt of your secretary's letter, I again and 
 again perused the one I had had the honour to 
 address to you ; and, after every attempt, must 
 acknowledge myself unable to discover one para- 
 graph, or even one word, which can be construed 
 into the smallest disrespect. God knows, such 
 an idea was the furthest from my thoughts ; I, 
 therefore, feel with double sensibility the un- 
 merited asperity of your secretary's letter, which 
 I can hardly bring myself to believe to contain 
 your real sentiments. If, however, I am wrong 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 417 
 
 in this conjecture, I trust you will enable me to 
 clear myself before a general coiirt-martial, from 
 which I can have nothing to fear, being- satisfied 
 in my own mind that there is not an officer in 
 this, or in any army, who more abhors the crime 
 of which I stand accused. It was my intention, 
 from the moment I was superseded in the com- 
 mand of Seringapatam, to apply for permission 
 to quit the army, as soon as I deemed my services 
 to my King and country no longer required my 
 remaining with it. My wish is still to do so, and 
 I shall, when there is no longer an appearance of 
 the army's being actively employed, make an 
 application to you to that effect. If, however, 
 you still persevere in your determination of 
 ordering me from the army, in consequence of 
 the respectful representation I have thought 
 myself authorized to make to you, I shall, in that 
 case, only have to regret the necessity there will 
 be for making my remov^al from the army, and 
 the circumstances which occasioned it, equally 
 public. 
 
 (Signed) D. Baird." 
 
 " To Major-General Baird, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 " Seringapatam. 
 " Sir, 
 
 "The Commander-in-Chief has received 
 
 your letter of the 9th instant, and directed me to 
 
 inform you in reply, that the explanation therein 
 
 2 E 
 
418 REPLY TO MR. HOOK's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 given has produced no change in the sentiments 
 expressed by his order on the 7th instant, in my 
 letter to you. It was not on the words, but the 
 tenor of your letter of the 6th instant, that the 
 Commander-in-Chief thought it his duty to re- 
 mark. He never can admit the right of any 
 subordinate officer to remonstrate with him on 
 the propriety of measures he has adopted for the 
 pubHc service ; or on his selection of officers for 
 situations of public trust. In assuming this 
 privilege, he still thinks that you have been 
 wanting in discretion and respect ; and your 
 letter of yesterday has in a great measure removed 
 the concern he felt at tlie necessity which obliged 
 him to inform you that such were his opinions. 
 Lieutenant- General Harris desires that this letter 
 may conclude a correspondence which you are at 
 liberty to make as public as possible. 
 
 I have the honour to be. Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 P. A. Agnew, 
 
 Mil. Sec. to the Commander-in-Chief." 
 
 It appears clearly from Major-General Baird's 
 first letter, that after the assault, he did himself 
 that very night convey to the Commander-in- 
 Ciiief, through Major Beatson, his desire that the 
 "whole storming party might be relieved from 
 the camp, and troops more equal to take the 
 fatigue of euard-mountine- durinir the nidit be 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 419 
 
 placed in the Fort;" and the letter adds, "I wished 
 to be relieved for a short time that I might my- 
 self have the honour of reporting- onr success, and 
 informing you in person of every particular 
 relative to the storm." 
 
 But the Major-General's wish to be relieved 
 that night was not, and could not properly be 
 complied with ; although Colonel Wellesley, who 
 was next on the Roster, was put in orders that 
 night. The lateness of the hour at which one of 
 the most important operations of the day was 
 concluded forbad it. The Sultaun's body was 
 not found till torch-light, and the introduction of 
 fresh troops under the circumstances in which 
 the Fort was then placed, would have added 
 greatly to the confusion and horrors of the night. 
 Every part of the relief was necessarily and pru- 
 dently postponed until the sun rose, to shed his 
 light upon the awful deeds which had been done 
 on the preceding day and night, within the walls 
 of the fortress, where no less than 9,000 human 
 bodies were claiming the rites of sepulture. 
 
 But if the Commander-in-Chief had never 
 received any application from Major -General 
 Baird, his own sense of duty would have led him 
 to pursue exactly the course which the Major- 
 General had recommended. He would have sent 
 the next senior officer from the trenches who had 
 not been on the storming party, and a competent 
 number of fresh troops, to relieve the whole at the 
 
 2 e 2 
 
420 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 earliest practicable moment, and Colonel Wel- 
 lesley being- that officer, it fell to him, as matter 
 of ordinary duty, to be employed upon it. 
 
 There was, in the first instance, no selection 
 of Colonel Wellesley, because he was the brother 
 of the Governor-General, or because he was the 
 best person that could be sent. I have found a 
 memorandum of a conversation between the 
 Commander-in-Chief and the Deputy Adjutant- 
 General, Major Turing, on this occasion, which 
 sets this matter quite at rest. Upon receiving- 
 General Baird's application to be relieved, he 
 communicated it to Major Turing, and asked 
 who was the next officer for duty. "Colonel 
 Roberts," said Major Turing. "Then put him in 
 orders to go," replied General Harris. Presently 
 afterwards Major Turing, looking more atten- 
 tively over the order, said, "No, Sir, I have made 
 a mistake ; Colonel Wellesley is the next for duty, 
 not Colonel Roberts." " Then let Colonel Wel- 
 lesley be put in orders for the relief," said General 
 Harris. Colonel Wellesley, accordingly, v/ent in 
 the common routine of military duty, expecting 
 himself to be relieved whenever the Commander- 
 in-Chief should think fit. Indeed, at the moment 
 when Colonel Wellesley entered the Fort, and 
 General Baird left it, the Commander-in-Chief 
 could not say that the presence of both these 
 distinguished officers might not be immediately 
 required in the active duties of the field. We 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 421 
 
 had, it is true, got Sering-apatam, and found 
 Tippoo's body, late in the evening-, under a heap 
 of slain, and it was removed to the palace. All 
 that could then have been positively said, was, 
 as the immortal Gray sung of the merciless 
 Edward, 
 
 Mighty Victor, miglity Lord, 
 
 Low on his funeral couch he Hes, 
 
 No pitying heart, no eyes afford 
 A tear to grace his obseqiiies. 
 
 The sable warrior's fled, 
 
 He rests among the dead. 
 
 But whether the "swarm that in his noon-tide 
 beam were born," should be quickly ranged under 
 some of his ferocious progeny, was still to be seen, 
 and until this was decided, no permanent com- 
 mandant could be properly appointed for the 
 fortress of Seringapatam. 
 
 On the following day, Abdul Khadir, the 
 elder of the princes formerly one of the hostages 
 with Lord Cornwallis, surrendered himself at our 
 outposts. Kureem Saheb, the brother of Tippoo, 
 sought refuge with Meer AUum, and on the 
 succeeding two days, he had reason to look for 
 Cummur-ud-Deen's immediate submission ; and 
 as the army of the Sultaun relied chiefly upon 
 him, the Commander-in-Chief expected, through 
 his means, to be enabled at once to restore tran- 
 quillity. 
 
 It was in the progress of these happy events 
 that General Harris received the following letter 
 
422 REPLY TO MR. HOOK's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 from Colonel Wellesley, and to which, I desire to 
 call the particular attention of the reader. 
 
 '■'• Seringapatain, May 6, 1799. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " Plunder is stopped — the fires are all extin- 
 guished, and the inhabitants are returning to 
 their houses fast. I am now employed in burying 
 the dead, which I hope will be completed this 
 day, particularly if you send me all the pioneers. 
 
 " It is absolutely necessary that you should 
 appoint a permanent garrison and a commanding 
 officer to the place. Till that is done, the people 
 will have no confidence in us, and everything 
 must be in confusion. That which I arrange this 
 day, my successor may alter to-morrow, and his 
 the next day, and nothing will ever be settled. A 
 garrison which would be likely to remain here 
 would soon make themselves comfortable, although 
 it might be found convenient hereafter to change 
 some of the corps first sent in ; but these daily 
 reliefs create much confusion and distrust in the 
 inhabitants, and the camp is at such a distance, 
 that it is impossible for the officers, or soldiers, 
 or sepoys, to get down their dinners. 
 
 " I si) all be obliged to you if you will order 
 an extra dram and biscuit for the 12th, 33rd, 
 and 73rd Regiments, who got nothing to eat 
 yesterday, and were wet last night. 
 
 " In hopes that you will attend to my rccom- 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEy's APPOINTMENTS. 423 
 
 mendations to send a garrison to-morrow, I'll 
 look out a place to accommodate one or two 
 battalions of Europeans, and three or four of 
 Sepoys. 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 Your most faithful servant, 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
 For all the reasons stated in this letter, and, 
 in consideration of the happy change which had 
 taken place in the two days which had intervened 
 since General Baird was relieved by Colonel 
 Wellesley, the Commander-in-Chief determined 
 to appoint Colonel Wellesley to the command of 
 the fortress, and to give him a more permanent 
 garrison. This was no sooner done, than General 
 Baird was persuaded to remonstrate, in the unbe- 
 coming terms already quoted, against the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief's selection. He received the 
 reproof which he felt that he well deserved, and 
 it had the happy effect of recalling him to a more 
 correct view of his duty. He requested that he 
 might be allowed to withdraw the correspondence 
 which had passed, and to this the Commander- 
 in-Chief consented, from " personal regard." 
 These are the very words used in General Harris's 
 private journal respecting this transaction, written 
 in his own hand, and, on the following day, he 
 wrote to the Earl of Mornington as follows : — 
 
424 REPLY TO MR. HOOK's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 '•'• Sermgapatam, May 9th, 1799. 
 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 "That I most sincerely congratulate your 
 Lordship on our most fortunate successes I feel 
 you will give me entire credit for, without my 
 dwelling further on the point. The Almighty 
 has been pleased to grant a victory so complete 
 in all its events, as to leave nothing on my side 
 to ask, but that your Lordship will come and 
 regulate the political concerns for the benefit 
 of all. 
 
 "You may be assured that every order or 
 wish of yours, signified to me, shall in future, as 
 heretofore, be carried into execution with all pos- 
 sible despatch, but for the good of our country, I 
 really think your presence here necessary. For 
 my part, politics have never been my study, ex- 
 clusive of which my constitution is evidently 
 giving way to the anxieties I have already gone 
 through, and I am fearful will fail altogether, 
 unless allowed to recruit in quiet. I cannot expect 
 that the world shall allow that the anxieties of 
 the expedition were proportionably great to the 
 shortness of the period in which it has been 
 executed, but I best know, that had mine been 
 divided into as many years, as we have been 
 months, they would still have worn me down; 
 added to this, I am not so equal to fatigue as I 
 thought myself, — from all which I shall be much 
 obliged by your Lordship making such arrange- 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 425 
 
 ments, as to let me return as soon as convenient 
 after our meeting- here. In the meantime you 
 may depend that the same active measures which, 
 under Providence, have so greatly tended to our 
 success, shall still be continued, and that we shall 
 not sit down content with having taken the 
 capital, but proceed, with all possible despatch, to 
 secure the country. 
 
 I am, with the greatest regard, my Lord, 
 
 Your most truly faithful and obliged 
 Friend and servant, 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 In this letter there is no allusion to Major- 
 General Baird's intemperate proceeding, although 
 the Commander-in-Chief had felt it most acutely : 
 the more so, because his own health had been 
 sinking, during the preceding fortnight, under 
 disorder and anxiety, which, to use his own 
 expressions, "had not yielded even to the great 
 event which had given him fortune and fame." 
 "My complaint still continues, and I remain 
 weak and enervated as before." Indeed, it Vv^as 
 not until the latter end of the month that his 
 strength began to return, as the disorder (the 
 Seringapatam fever) subsided ; and, in the begin- 
 ning of June, I find the following entry in his 
 Journal : — 
 
 " June 8th. — Delivered to Major-General Baird 
 the sword voted to him by the Prize Committee. 
 
426 REPLY TO MR. HOOKS IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 I had directed officers commanding- wings, bri- 
 gades, and corps to meet me at my tent, when I 
 addressed them nearly as follows : — 
 
 " ' Gentlemen, I have assembled this very 
 respectable meeting on an occasion which I have 
 no doubt will give equal pleasure to us all. The 
 Prize Committee, of which Major-General Floyd 
 is President, have requested me to present to 
 Major-General Baird, in the name of the army, 
 the sword of Tippoo Sultaun, found in his bed- 
 chamber on the day the tyrant fell, with an ex- 
 tract of their proceedings.' The extract I then 
 read, and, taking the sword from Scott (my aide- 
 de-camp) said, ' Major-General Baird, I have now 
 the pleasure to present you the sword you have 
 so honourably obtained, and most sincerely wish 
 you long to wear it.' He was too much agitated 
 to make any connected answer." 
 
 In the evening he sent to the Commander-in- 
 Chief a letter, of which the following is an exact 
 copy :— 
 
 "To Lieutenant-General Harris, Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. 
 
 " Camp near S&rlngapatam^ Juno Qth, 1790. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " From the state of my feelings this morn- 
 ing, I really was incapable of making any reply 
 to the distinguished honour which the army has 
 been pleased to present to me through you, and 
 which I receive with the utmost gratitude and 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEy's APPOINTMENTS 427 
 
 respect. To know that I possess the good o])inion 
 of this gallant army is most gratifying to my 
 feelings, particularly so, as it insures that of my 
 King and country, which is the highest ambition 
 of a soldier. 
 
 " Permit me to return you my warmest thanks 
 for the very handsome manner in which you 
 expressed yourself to me on that occasion ; and I 
 request you will have the goodness to forward 
 these, my sentiments, to Major-General Floyd, 
 President of the Committee of Prize. 
 I have the honour to be. Sir, 
 
 With the utmost respect, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 D. Baird, 
 
 Major-General." 
 
 Thus closed the correspondence of Major- 
 General Baird and his Commander-in-Chief. 
 From that time until the year in which they died 
 (1829), I never heard of any unkind word or deed 
 — indeed, in the year before Sir David Baird's 
 death, his sense of justice prompted him volun- 
 tarily to disclaim whatever merit might belong to 
 an act which had been imputed to him, instead 
 of to General Harris, and upon this erroneous 
 imputation Mr. Hook has founded one of the 
 most sentimental passages in his biography of 
 Sir David Baird. It is lamentable, however, to 
 read, in a publication professing to be a faithful 
 record of the life of Major-General Baird, such a 
 passage as the following : — 
 
428 REPLY TO MR. HOOIv's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 " It SO happens that, in all Lord Wellesley's 
 despatches to England, after the capture of 
 Seringapatam, the name of General Baird does 
 not once appear, — a fact rendered more striking, 
 because General Harris has observed a similar 
 silence in all the despatches which he addressed 
 to the Governor-General. We might, perhaps, 
 rather say that the silence of the Governor- 
 General upon the conduct of General Baird, arose 
 from the apparently studied omission of his name 
 in all the documents upon which his Excellency 
 had to form an opinion of the various merits of 
 the officers concerned in that brilliant affair." 
 
 And then follows, in a note, these observa- 
 tions : — 
 
 " It is not our province to assign motives, or 
 arraign intentions, more especially as years have 
 passed since the occurrence of the events here 
 recorded, and the gallant object of our care and 
 affection is gone to a place where neither malice 
 can assail, or envy thwart him ; but it is a curious 
 circumstance, that in nothing com.municated by 
 General Harris to Lord Wellesley, except General 
 Orders, mention is made of General Baird per- 
 sonally, nor, as we have observed in the text, does 
 Lord \^'ellesley name in any despatch to Eng- 
 land." 
 
 After such assertions and comments as tJiese, 
 what will the reader think of this part of Mr. 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 429 
 
 Hook's biogTaphy, when he recurs to the letter 
 written by the Earl of Mornington to Mr. 
 Dnndas, President of the Board of Control, and 
 to General Harris's letter to the Governor-General 
 of the 7th of May, 1799*? 
 
 The following- is an extract from the Earl of 
 Morning-ton's letter to Mr. Dnndas, President of 
 the Board of Control :— ,/[■ .^ .■ ■ ^ /^^P^^ 
 
 ^^ Fort SL George, August, 1799. 
 " It is impossible to bestow too much com- 
 mendation on the conduct of Major-General 
 Baird in the assault of Seringapatam. A more 
 judicious operation, conducted with more heroic 
 gallantry and spirit, never was achieved ; and 
 when you recollect the decisive consequences of 
 the success of that day, effecting in the course of 
 two hours the entire destruction of our most for- 
 midable enemy in India, I am persuaded you will 
 concur with me in an anxious solicitude to see the 
 gallant leader of the assailants of Tippoo Sul- 
 taun's capital rewarded in a manner suitable to 
 his exertions, and to their beneficial effect. I 
 have made it my particular business to inquire 
 into Major-General Baird's circumstances, and I 
 have ascertained that they are by no means 
 affluent ; it would, therefore, be a peculiar satis- 
 
 '' Vide page 344). sW 
 
 w 
 
430 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 faction to me, if the East India Company would 
 exercise their known liberality in his case. When 
 it is remembered that, in the course of active and 
 arduous service during- the former war, he fell 
 into the hands of Tippoo Sultaun, and suffered a 
 long- and cruel imprisonment in the dungeons of 
 that fortress, which, on the 4th of May, 1799, 
 submitted to his irresistible valour and skill, I am 
 persuaded that his claims to public reward and 
 honour will be deemed peculiarly interesting and 
 powerful. I should also hope that his extraor- 
 dinary merits on the 4th of May would induce 
 his Majesty to consider him a proper object for 
 the order of the Bath. I enclose a letter from 
 Major-General Baird, which reflects the highest 
 credit on his sentiments of honour and public 
 spirit." 
 
 If that gallant officer could, indeed, rise from 
 that place " where neither malice can assail, nor 
 envy thwart him," he would indignantly disclaim 
 a sympathy purchased by such foul injustice done 
 to his commanders and best protectors. Lord 
 Wellesley, it is seen, praised him usque ad astra : 
 and these recommendations, both of pecuniary 
 reward and of personal honour, were founded upon 
 General Harris's letter to his Lordship of the 
 7th of May, in which he leaves to General Baird 
 the entire credit of that admirable plan for the 
 assault which he had himself laid down for his 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS, 431 
 
 guidance, and which was distinctly detailed in the 
 Adjutant-General's instructions*, and upon his 
 General Orders to the arniy, which military men 
 do not, like Mr. Hook, appreciate as " nothing," 
 but value as the most solemn recognition of their 
 services. 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief, after thanking 
 General Baird in tlie warmest terms, in General 
 Orders, for the decided and able manner in which 
 he conducted the assault, and the humane mea- 
 sures which he subsequently adopted for pre- 
 serving order and regularity in the place, " ex- 
 pressed his confidence to the Governor-General 
 that he would point out his services" to the favour- 
 able notice of his King and country f. 
 
 A man's appetite for panegyric must be glut- 
 tonous indeed, who could desire more than Lord 
 Mornington and the Commander-in-Chief re- 
 corded of him, and yet I find, in Mr. Hook's Life 
 of Major- General Baird, this insinuation : " Nor 
 did Major-General Baird get so far into the 
 history or mystery of the affair, as to ascertain 
 whether his Lordship ever did make the applica- 
 tion in his favour to the British Government." 
 
 What Lord Mornington did has been sufli- 
 ciently shown ; and Lord Harris did more for 
 
 * See copy of Colonel Close's letter of tlie 3id May, 17^-9, to 
 Major-General Baird, and its enclosures. — Hook's Life, pp. 
 201—205. 
 
 t See General Harris's letter to the Earl of Moruin.toii; 7tli 
 May, 1799. 
 
432 REPLY TO MR. HOOIv's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 Major-General Baird than even Lord Mornington 
 had done in thus warmly recording all his good 
 deeds. He cancelled his letters written when a 
 rash humonr triumphed over his better nature. 
 He reported nothing to Lord Mornington, or to 
 the Commander-in-Chief in England, of his in- 
 temperate and insubordinate letters. General 
 Baii'd owed a large debt of gratitude to the for- 
 bearance and silence of his superior officer. 
 Hence the Marquis Wellesley appointed him to 
 command the expedition against Mauritius and 
 Batavia, which afterwards went to Egypt, most 
 reluctantly superseding his illustrious brother. 
 Colonel Wellesley ; and hence the Duke of York 
 subsequently sanctioned his command of the 
 forces by which the Cape of Good Hope was 
 taken. 
 
 Those who may have read Mr. Hook's de- 
 scription of the manner in which Lord Wellesley 
 first received General Baird's claim to command 
 the expedition to Mauritius and Batavia, in pre- 
 ference to Colonel Wellesley, will have no difficulty 
 in determining what would have been the choice of 
 the noble Marquis, if he had then had before him, 
 with suitable comments, the correspondence of 
 General Baird with his late Commander-in-Chief 
 at Seringapatam, which Mr. Hook has thought 
 fit to publish. Military men, more conversant 
 with such matters than I am, and better ac- 
 quainted with the lofty feelings of the Duke of 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 433 
 
 York upon points of discipline, will as easily 
 decide what would have been his Royal Highness's 
 judg-ment, when Geneial Baird's name was sub- 
 mitted to him for a responsible command, if his 
 con-espondence with the Commander-in-Chief at 
 Seringapatam had been transmitted to head- 
 quarters. Such a glaring instance of want of dis- 
 cretion and respect would, I apprehend, have 
 called forth his Roval Highness's marked aniinad- 
 version, in support of those principles of subordi- 
 nation in all ranks, by which " he raised the 
 British army from a vei-y low ebb, to be the pride 
 and dread of Europe*." 
 
 The notion that any feeling of malice, or envy 
 of General Baird, or of any man breathing, could 
 enter into the noble heart of Loi-d Harris, is 
 falsified by the whole course of his just and 
 honourable life. He grudged to no man the 
 fame and fortune he had honourably and honestly 
 acquired. Indeed, his letter to Lord Mornington, 
 when honours were proposed for himself, will 
 prove how little he coveted what the noble Lord 
 thought due to him, and he was utterly incapable 
 of desiring to usurp the honours of those who 
 served under him. He gave to all their full share 
 of praise, well measured, and heaped-up-j-. He 
 
 * Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 t See his General Orders after tlie siege and capture of 
 Seringapatam of tlie oth May, 1799, and his letter to the 
 Governor- General, applauding the cxerlion^ of the Staff of the 
 Amiy, dated 13th May, 1799. 
 
 2 F 
 
434 REPLY TO MR. HOOK's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 never reproved but with painful reluctance, and 
 under a strong' sense of public duty. 
 
 To him who has cast this odious imputation 
 upon General Harris, and to those who have 
 taken pleasure in reading it, I leave the mortifi- 
 cation of seeing- the just rebuke of their unworthy 
 feelings in the following extract from his admi- 
 rable letter to the Earl of Mornington, dated 27th 
 June, 1799*. 
 
 " My dear Lord, — You are far exceeding my 
 humble wishes, and I really believe those of Mrs. 
 Harris, or rather you would do so, if you preferred 
 the request to his Majesty — to grant to me the dig- 
 nity of a Baron of Great Britain. I am highly sen- 
 sible of your Lordship's friendship, and any mark 
 of his Majesty's favour would always be received 
 by me with respect, but, as I certainly do not 
 wish these high honours, so should I be truly 
 sorry you should lay yourself under obligations, 
 for what, to say the truth, would annoy me most 
 exceedingly. 
 
 " Indeed, my dear Lord, you could not have 
 puzzled me more, supposing I was solicitous to 
 succeed, than by asking me, ^ What title I would 
 choose to take?' An humble clergyman's son, 
 thrown very early in life into the army, entirely a 
 soldier of fortune, with scarce any assistance, 
 save his own exertions, is little likely to have any 
 
 * Marquess Wellesley's Despatches^ page 617- 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 435 
 
 hereditary place he would choose to commemo- 
 rate, and in my instance the 5th Regiment was 
 near twenty-six years my constant home. 
 
 " Yonr Lordship's wise policy and extraor- 
 dinary exertions have thrown me into affluence 
 eqnal to my most sanguine wishes ; but what is 
 affluence with my military rank, would be very 
 moderate to support the honours you propose, 
 and no doubt, as I am above the want of a pen- 
 sion, so I think it most likely I shall keep clear of 
 soliciting- our honourable employers on that head, 
 unless you should persist in forcing these honours 
 on me. So take care. 
 
 Ever, my dear Lord, 
 With the greatest respect, 
 
 Your very faithful and obliged, 
 
 Geo. Harris." 
 
 That the jealous feelings which General Baird 
 had expressed upon the subject of Colonel Wel- 
 lesley's appointment to command the fortress of 
 Seringapatam gave much uneasiness to the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief cannot be doubted ; for it fur- 
 nished an additional topic of clamour, gossip, and 
 intrigue, to those who were already discontented 
 with the determined resistance made by General 
 Harris to the application of the prize-committee 
 in behalf of the army for an immediate distri- 
 bution of the booty taken by assault. This de- 
 mand was founded upon an authority greatly 
 
 2 F 2 
 
436 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS, 
 
 revered by the army in India — the Marquis Corn 
 vvallis — and tlierefore naturally excited their san 
 guine expectations. His Lordship had declared 
 in public orders during the last war, that all 
 booty taken in places by assault belonged of right 
 to the captors. General Harris's refusal to per- 
 mit a division of the spoil nntil it had been ap- 
 proved of by the Earl of Mornington, the Go- 
 vernor-General, therefore produced much discon- 
 tent ; but he discharged his painful duty with 
 firmness, and was rewarded by witnessing in that 
 army their high sense of discipline and patience 
 under this temporary disappointment, and by 
 soon receiving from the Governor-General full 
 authority to distribute the prize according to the 
 established usages of the British service in India in 
 cases of a similar nature. But whilst this important 
 matter remained in suspense, it excited great 
 bitterness of feeling, which enabled the idle and 
 ill-intentioned talkers in the camp, upon what 
 was absurdly called General Baird's supercession 
 by Colonel Welleslcy's appointment, to direct this 
 feeling against the Commander-in-Chief. It was 
 with the knowledge of what was passing, that 
 General Harris thus wrote to the Earl of Morn- 
 ington : — 
 
 " Camp, Milgottah, June 28, 1799. 
 " I glory in the 4th of May, my dear Lord, 
 and shall rejoice to see you before your Lordship 
 returns to Bengal ; but neither that wish, nor my 
 
RESPECTING COL. WELLESLEY's APPOINTMENTS. 437 
 
 wife's, shall interfere with a sight of the Mah- 
 rattas. I have acted from the heart ever since 
 you have known me, and so I trust I shall be 
 enabled to continue until your Lordship shall 
 honourably call me from my labours. Ill-inten- 
 tioned people talk nonsense, I hear, of your 
 brother's appointment to command in Seringapa- 
 tam ; but I can defend it on principles most mili- 
 tarily correct, if it were worth while to attend to 
 the words of the idle. Colonel Wellesley was the 
 next officer to relieve Baird, who had requested 
 to be relieved. So little did I think of any par- 
 ticular person at the time, that Roberts was 
 named by Turing as next for duty, and agreed to 
 by me, when Turing corrected himself, and said 
 Colonel Wellesley was next. ' Then let him go,' 
 was my answer. He was afterwards permanently 
 appointed by me, from my thinking him more 
 equal to the particular kind of duty than any 
 other officer in the army." 
 
 This was Lord Mornington's answer to that 
 part of the letter which referred to Colonel Wel- 
 lesley's appointment : — 
 
 ''Jul>/7, 1799. 
 " With respect to the language which you 
 say people have held of my brother's appointment 
 to command in Seringapatam, you know. that I 
 never recommended my brother to you, and of 
 course never even suggested how, or where, he 
 should be employed ; and I believe you know also, 
 
438 REPLY TO MR. HOOk's IMPUTATIONS. 
 
 that you would not have pleased me by placing 
 him in any situation in which his appointment 
 could be injurious to the public service. My 
 opinion, or ratlier knowledge and experience, of 
 his discretion, judgment, temper, and integrity, 
 are such, that if you had not placed him in 
 Seringapatam, / ivould have done so of my own 
 authority, because I think him in every point of 
 view the most proper for that service. 
 
 MORNINGTON." 
 
 No man, who knows what was the nature of 
 the service to be performed by the permanent 
 commandant of Seringapatam at that moment, 
 will wonder that the Governor-General should 
 have declared thus distinctly to General Karris, 
 '• If you had not placed Colonel Wellesley in 
 command, / would." But General Harris had 
 been deeply sensible of the weighty responsibility 
 which attached to him on the death of Tippoo, 
 when the destinies of an empire hung in the 
 balance, and when he was the sole guardian of 
 the high interests involved in this momentous 
 charge, until Lord Mornington should decide 
 upon the future policy to be pursued. 
 
 With a full sense of the imperative necessity 
 of selecting, as a commandant for Seringapatam, 
 one in whose talents, integrity, and discretion, 
 unbounded confidence could be placed, he ap- 
 pointed Colonel Wellesley, and was proud of his 
 choice to the last hour of his life. 
 
439 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Recapitulation of those events of the campaign in Mysore which 
 preceded the fall of Ssringapatani — Recital of other circum- 
 stances connected with its fall. 
 
 Having thus given what I believe to be a suffi- 
 cient answer to Mr. Hook's unfounded strictures 
 upon General Harris's selection of Colonel Wel- 
 lesley to command the Nizam's detachment and 
 the Fort of Seringapatam, I shall now examine 
 the grounds of that monopoly of merit which Mr. 
 Hook assumes for Sir David Baird in the fall of 
 that place. 
 
 This is an act of justice due not only to the 
 Commander-in-Chief and the many able officers 
 under him, but to the whole of the army who 
 were engaged in the conquest of Mysore. It is 
 also the more necessary because this matter has 
 never been fairly understood in England. Here 
 the easy task, as it proved, of taking possession 
 of the Fort on the 4th of May, has been consi- 
 dered as every thing, and all the other events of 
 the campaign as comparatively nothing. For the 
 continuance of this error Mr. Hook has laboured 
 diligently, but not judiciously, for he has prolonged 
 the memory of acts which Sir David Baird ear- 
 nestly desired should be forgotten, and has 
 ascribed to him other deeds and words which 
 
440 SIR DAVID BAIRd's SHARE 
 
 that gallant officer would have indignantly dis- 
 claimed. That Sir David Baird was always ready 
 for any service of danger no man can justly 
 doubt, and it was no fault of his, that he bore no 
 prominent part in any other operation Avhich led 
 to the conquest of Mysore, than in the assault of 
 Seringapatam. But it so happened that nothing 
 else of importance fell within the range of his 
 duty. 
 
 In the first hostile affair of the campaign, the 
 defeat of the flower of Tippoo's army at Sedaseer 
 by Colonel John Montrcsor, Colonel Dunlop, and 
 Generals Hartley and Stuart, and in the spirited 
 repulse of Tippoo's attacks upon the Bombay 
 troops after they reached Seringapatam by Colonel 
 Vaughan Hart, General Baird had no part, be- 
 cause he was never present with the Army of 
 Bombay. In the complete overthrow of Tippoo's 
 designs at Mallavelly by the Commander-in- 
 Chief, Colonel Shawe, Colonel Wellesley, and 
 General Floyd; in the masterly crossing of the 
 Cavery at Soosilly ; in the successful attacks upon 
 the Sultaunpettah watercourse and Tope by 
 Colonel Shawe and Colonel Wellesley ; in the 
 assault of the enemy's intrenchments, and in the 
 seizure of the ground for erecting our heavy bat- 
 teries, by Colonel Wellesley and Colonel Sher- 
 brooke, Lieutenant-Colonels Wallace, St. John, 
 M'Donald, Campbell, and Monypenny, and Major 
 Skelly and Major Coleman ; in all these, the pro- 
 
IN THE MYSORE CAMPAIGN EXAMINED. 441 
 
 gressive operations of the campaign, which drove 
 the enemy from the field and from their works, 
 and pushed our success to the walls of Seringapa- 
 tam, General Baird had no concern, for none of 
 these occurred where he happened to be present, 
 or on the days when he commanded the trenches 
 in rotation with other officers. All these events, 
 however, sunk deep into the hearts of the bravest 
 of Tippoo's officers and men, and contributed to 
 make an easy path for the assailants on the day 
 of the assault. For in six minutes from the 
 moment our troops moved out of the trenches, 
 the British colours were planted in triumph upon 
 a breach, one hundred feet wide, and easy of 
 ascent. The defences to the right and left having 
 been previously silenced by our batteries, the 
 breach was, in fact, a place of safety ; the danger 
 was in getting to it across the Cavery, but this 
 was soon over. There was nothing like that 
 lengthened, awful and doubtful struggle for vic- 
 tory which had been anticipated in the storming 
 of a fortress, whose works are, even in their ruin, 
 still stupendous to look at, on whose walls were 
 mounted 287 pieces of ordnance, whose arsenals 
 were filled with every munition of war*, and all 
 
 * Brass and iron guns . . 929 
 
 Gunpowder , . . . . 520,000 lbs. 
 Round Iron shot .... 424,000 
 Firelocks, carbines, muskets . 120,000 
 
 Stores and provisions of every kind in abundance. 
 
442 SIR DAVID baird's share 
 
 the stores required for a protracted siege, whose 
 available garrison was not less than 20,000 men, 
 and whose leaders were men of known and des- 
 perate courage. But the time for the assault was 
 so happily chosen and so well concealed from 
 Tippoo by General Harris, and the whole details 
 of the siege had been conducted under his orders 
 by the many able officers in the different depart- 
 ments with such masterly skill and vigour, that 
 what appeared to Tippoo impossible, proved in the 
 hour of trial to be no difficult undertaking. In 
 fact, his mind was so little apprehensive of the 
 result of the storm, and so thoroughly satisfied 
 that it would not take place on the day in which 
 it happened, that he could not be persuaded to 
 take the most ordinary precautions of defence, 
 though they were earnestly pressed upon hiin by 
 his bravest officer, Seyid Goffhar. The degree of 
 his infatuation is well described by Colonel Wilks, 
 who succeeded Colonel Close in superintending 
 the Hindoo government of Mysore, and his high 
 character and attainments are the best pledges 
 for the truth of the following statement. 
 
 " On the morning of the 4th of May, Seyid 
 Goflfhar, who M^as wounded early in the siege, ex- 
 claimed, ' The Sultaun is surrounded by boys and 
 flatterers, who will not let him see with his own 
 eyes. I do not wish to survive the result ; I am 
 going about in search of death, and cannot find 
 it.' Having satisfied himself by further observa- 
 
IN THE MYSORE CAMPAIGN EXAMINED. 443 
 
 tion that one hour would not elapse before the 
 assault would commence, he hurried, in a state of 
 rage and despair, towards the Sultaun. ' I will 
 go,' said he, * and drag him to the breach, and 
 make him see by what a set of wretches he is 
 surrounded. I will compel him to exert himself 
 at this last moment.' He was going, and met a 
 party of pioneers, whom he had long looked for 
 in vain, to cut off the approach by the southern 
 rampart. ' I must first,' said he, ' show those 
 people the work they have to do,' and, in the 
 act of giving his directions, he was killed by a 
 cannon shot*." 
 
 When the death of Seyid Goffhar was reported 
 to Tippoo, he was at his dinner, and our troops 
 were just dashing out of the trenches to storm 
 the Fort. Before he could reach the breach, the 
 British flag was flying upon the top of it, and our 
 soldiers were driving his fugitive troops before 
 them upon both of the ramparts. 
 
 The return of our killed and wounded in the 
 assault incontestably proves the limited natiire of 
 the resistance which the British columns encoun- 
 tered, for the whole loss very little exceeded that 
 of one of the preceding days, and did not amount 
 to one-fourth part of the whole loss sustained 
 dnring the siege. It is also curious, and contrary 
 to the general iuipression, that the casualties in 
 Ihe two columns of attack corresponded so nearly. 
 
 * See WiLKs's History, vol, iii. pp. 436, 437- 
 
444 SIR DAVID baird's share 
 
 In the left column, under Colonel Dnnlop, and in 
 the right column, under Colonel Sherbrooke, the 
 number of killed was precisely the same, and the 
 number of wounded was greater in the right than 
 in the left column But the whole number of 
 killed, wounded, and missing, ^vas only 386. Such 
 M^as the small effect of the efforts of the garrison in 
 opposing the entrance of our troops into the Fort, 
 and it completely realised the anticipation oi 
 General Harris, as expressed in his letter to Sir 
 George Robinson in February : — " Tippoo seems 
 infatuated, and delivered into our hands." Quern 
 Dens vult perdere prius demeutat, appears to have 
 been verified to the letter in Tippoo's case. There 
 seems no other rational mode of accounting for 
 the infatuation of him who had given to his 
 dominion the title of '' The Gift of God," or " the 
 Khodadad Sirkar," but who, when corrupted by 
 prosperity and power, forgot that the same over- 
 ruling Providence could give it into other hands, 
 if unworthily administered. Well did Lord 
 Harris thus give expression in his Journal, on the 
 night of the 4th of May, to the thoughts which 
 filled his mind at the moment when it pleased 
 God to make him the instrument for receiving this 
 gift : " The Almighty only can judge of hearts, 
 and I hope mine is found humble in His sight." 
 
 The human means by which Tippoo's empire 
 was placed at the disposal of the British Govern- 
 ment wull be found in the wisdom, vigour, and 
 
IN THE MYSORE CAMPAIGN EXAMINED. 445 
 
 generosity displayed by the Earl of Mornington 
 throughout the many great preparatory measures 
 which preceded the actual operations of the cam- 
 paign ; in the fortitude, temper, and prudence of 
 him who was selected by his Lordship to conduct 
 those operations, in the due employment of the 
 many able officers under his command, and in 
 the bravery of the European and Native soldiery. 
 That the noble Earl's recommendations to the 
 Ministers at home, whether of public honour or 
 of pecuniary reward to the generals who served 
 in that campaign, were most ungraciously re- 
 ceived, no man had better opportunities of know- 
 ing than myself. General Harris shared the fate 
 of many others who have all their lives endea- 
 voured to do their duty to their King and country. 
 He had for his enemies and traducers those who 
 were restrained by his integrity from profiting by 
 the public wants and disasters. 
 
 But Mr. Hook speaks of General Baird's cold 
 reception by the authorities at home as " a 
 miracle," and in his vain endeavours to solve it, 
 he has represented many of those who were above 
 General Baird, or acting with him in the public 
 service in India, as the authors or instruments of 
 injustice to him. If he had searched more accu- 
 rately into the causes of this neglect, he would 
 have discovered tliem partly in the querulous tone 
 in which General Baird had sometimes been per- 
 suaded to indulge, and partly in its infectious 
 
446 SIR DAVID baird's share 
 
 influence upon others, who were misled by it, as 
 Mr. Hook has been. These were the causes 
 which contributed to his faihn-e in obtaining those 
 honours which he had a right to expect from the 
 authorities at home ; for they conspired with 
 other circumstances to cast a shade over and to 
 disappoint the just claims of all the officers who 
 were principally concerned in the Mysore cam- 
 paign. More accurate knowledge of this subject 
 would have restrained Mr. Hook from the injus- 
 tice of imputing that neglect to General Baird's 
 comrades. That General Harris should have felt 
 keenly the unjust treatment of which General 
 Floyd, General Stuart, General Baird, and Colonel 
 Wellesley, complained, will be readily understood, 
 but he never mentioned it without expressing his 
 deep sense of all the honourable proofs which 
 they gave of their devotion to the common cause 
 in which they were embarked with him. There 
 is one memorable instance of this conduct on the 
 part of General Floyd, which I found carefully 
 preserved amongst General Harris's papers. 
 Though only a small pencil note written in camp 
 and on horseback, it deserves to be known and 
 remembered. 
 
 When the time for calling the Bombay Army 
 under Lieutenant-General Stuart to take its 
 share in the operations of the siege had arrived, 
 the Commander-in-Chief felt that public injury 
 might arise if General Stuart's arrangements and 
 
IN THE MYSORE CAMPAIGN EXAMINED. 447 
 
 authority were superseded by General Floyd, who 
 was the senior officer, and commanding- a powerful 
 force of cavah-y, which was indispensable to secure 
 the safe junction of General Stuart's army. He 
 therefore wrote privately to General Floyd, ex- 
 pressing- his hope that, though senior in the line 
 to Lieutenant-General Stuart, he would respect 
 his authority as Commander-in-Chief of the 
 Bombay Army, and this was the answer of Ge- 
 neral Floyd : — 
 
 ''3rd April, 1799. 
 '' My dear Sir, 
 
 "I will have the honour of waiting on you 
 to-morrow, and of explaining that no circum- 
 stance of seniority on my part shall interfere with 
 the public service, in the event of my meeting 
 Lieutenant-General Stuart. He is an excellent 
 fellow, and we should not differ. I will rather 
 submit to receive his orders. 
 
 Yours, my dear Sir, 
 
 most faithfully, 
 
 J. Floyd. 
 
 *' Lieutenant-General Harris, 
 Commander- in-Ch ief." 
 
 The patriotic feeling which prompted this re- 
 solution in the mind of General Floyd, upon a 
 point on which military men are usually most tena- 
 cious, did him high honour. In the same packet 
 with this note I found two other letters — one from 
 
448 SIR DAVID baird's share 
 
 General Stuart, and the other from Colonel Wel- 
 jesley, written in that frank and cordial spirit 
 which had marked their whole conduct during tlie 
 campaign, and from whom no expression, of dis- 
 content or jealousy sullied for a moment their 
 most zealous co-operation and friendly intercourse 
 with their Commander-in-Chief. Everything the 
 Bombay Army was directed to execute was ac- 
 complished in the most masterly manner by 
 Lieutenant-General Stuart ; and, at tlie close of 
 this service, he thus congratulated his Com- 
 mander-in-Chief upon the issue of the siege and 
 assault on the evening of the 4th of May : — 
 
 " Camp, Seringapataniy 
 4tk May, 1799. 
 
 " My dear Harris, 
 
 "Accept my most warm and hearty con- 
 gratulations on the brilliant and important event 
 of the fall of Seringapatain. I will get as much 
 of my small force together as I can, but I must 
 still take care of the guns and ammunition in the 
 batteries, as well as the batteries themselves, 
 until we either take up another position, or some- 
 thing is done with them. On this subject I wish 
 to have your instructions as soon as convenient, 
 for I shall be in readiness to move to-morrow, 
 were I to throw my rear to the Fort, my right in 
 the direction of the Carighaut Hills, and my left 
 to the Eadgah Redoubt, or any other position 
 
IN THE MYSORE CAMPAIGN EXAMINED. 449 
 
 which you may choose for us. For this purpose, 
 I shall send our Quartermaster General over to- 
 morrow, that, if you have determined the point, 
 he may consult with yours about occupying the 
 ground. 
 
 " I have just heard you have got possession of 
 the Sultaun's family. 
 
 " Many such fortunate and honourable days 
 may Mrs. Harris and you see, prays your ever 
 affectionate 
 
 J. Stuart." 
 
 2 o 
 
450 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The Indian Government at home neglect all the principal officers 
 engaged in the Mysore campaign. — They persecute General 
 Harris, and persuade the King to give him no honours, and 
 assist in prosecuting him in the Court of Chancery to deprive 
 him of half his prize-money. — Are defeated in that Court. — 
 They appeal to the Privy Council, and the Council confirm to 
 General Harris the possession of all he had received. 
 
 The letter bound up with the preceding from 
 General Stuart was from Colonel Wellesley, dated 
 the 4th December, 1799*. These memorials of the 
 good-will and confidence of these, his distin- 
 guished comrades, Lord Harris cherished to the 
 end of his eventful life. At the same time, he 
 could not comprehend why they had, like himself, 
 been so long neglected by the Government at 
 home, after the conclusion of this campaign. 
 
 There are also two letters from General Floyd, 
 who was second in command during the Mysore 
 campaign, and designated by Mr. Hook as Sir D. 
 Baiid's valued friend, expressing so strongly his 
 disappointment in being wholly unnoticed upon 
 his return home, that I shall here transcribe them. 
 It will be seen that the unjust desire of imputing 
 that disappointment to his Commander-in-Chief 
 never entered into the mind of General Floyd ; 
 and I am satisfied that Sir David Baird also would 
 
 ; . » * See page 400. 
 
LETTERS FROM GENERAL FLOYD. 451 
 
 never have given his sanction to the inferences so 
 unwarrantably drawn, and so rashly scattered 
 abroad, by his biographer. 
 
 "From General Floyd to General Harris. 
 
 '' August I8tk, 1802. 
 " I have no chance of red riband or red 
 regiment ; my performances in India, and my 
 capacity to be of nse here, are as much unknown 
 and as much unthought of, as the merits of my 
 boy Sammy in India. As to your conduct, my 
 dear General, it is clear and honourable, and will 
 appear so for ever and ever. You are one of the 
 few men I have met with who acknowledges hiui- 
 self fortunate and happy. Your gratitude to the 
 Almighty hand that gives, and that takes away^ 
 for wise purposes inscrutable to us ail, renders 
 you deserving' of that happiness which will, I 
 trust, abide by you always." 
 
 Again, in 1804: "There must have been 
 something very disqualifying in the conquest 
 ofTippoo and his empire in a single campaign, 
 which renders you and me, and all of us, un- 
 worthy of notice. I thought it my duty to offer 
 my very humble services, but I understan<l that 
 it is not thought necessary, or even proper, as the 
 Generals are understood to be always at his 
 Majesty's service. I am sure it is a very comfort- 
 able reflection, that the long list of Generals that 
 
 2 G 2 
 
452 NEGLECT OF GEN. HARRIS AND HIS OFFICERS 
 
 we see on the Staff are all to be preferred before 
 me." 
 
 That the personage designated by Mr. 
 Hook as the constant rival of General Baird, 
 Arthur Colonel Wellesley (and whose services in 
 Mysore and in the Deccan were there, as they 
 ever have been in the fields of Spain and France, 
 above all price and praise,) felt this neglect deeply, 
 is fully shown in his letter, dated in January, 
 1804, vvherein he says, "I have served the Com- 
 pany in important situations for many years, and 
 have never received anything but injury from the 
 Court of Directors, although I am a singular in- 
 stance of an officer who has served under all the 
 governments, and in communication with all the 
 residents and many civil authorities ; and there is 
 not an instance on record, or in any private cor- 
 respondence, of disapprobation of any one of my 
 acts, or a single complaint, or even a symptom of 
 ill temper, from any one of the political or civil 
 authorities in communication with whom I have 
 acted. 
 
 " The King's ministers had as little claim upon 
 me as the Court of Directors ; I am not very am- 
 bitious, and I acknowledge that I never have been 
 very sanguine in my expectations that mihtary 
 services in India would be considered on the scale 
 in which are considered similar services in other 
 parts of the world. 
 
BY THE HOME GOVERNMENT. 453 
 
 "But I might have expected to be placed on 
 the Staff of India; and if it had not been for 
 the lamented death of General Frazer, General 
 Smith's arrival would have made me supernu- 
 merary. This is j)erfectly well known in the 
 army, and is tlie subject of a good deal of con- 
 versation." 
 
 And who can wonder that such neglect should 
 have excited observation, when it is remembered 
 that this letter was written nearly a year and 
 a-half after those splendid campaigns against the 
 Mahrattahs, under Colonel Wellesley's command, 
 which were crowned with the glorious battle of 
 Assaye ? 
 
 Nor was this neglect confined to Colonel 
 Wellesley. The Governor-General, Marquis Wei- 
 lesley, did not escape from it, as he has thus 
 eloquently and recently written : — " Not the con- 
 fidence and favour of three successive Sovereigns, 
 not the dignity and power of various high official 
 stations, not the government of my native country 
 (Ireland) twice entrusted to my hands, could 
 compensate in my mind the disfavour of that 
 respectable authority under which my earliest 
 and best services had been rendered to the 
 empire." .... " With equal candour, justice, 
 and liberality, without any solicitation on my 
 part, without any interference or influence of any 
 description — casting away all passion, prejudice, 
 and error, the Company has relieved me from this 
 
454 ATTEMPTS TO DEPRIVE GENERAL HARRIS 
 
 heavy burden of grief, and the delay which had 
 occasioned so much affliction, now greatly enhances 
 the value of the decision." 
 
 In this decision, however tardy, the present 
 Indian authorities have done high honour to 
 themselves, and have relieved the East India 
 Company from that stain of injustice and ingra- 
 titude which had remained upon them too long. 
 
 But the treatment which General Harris 
 received from the Indian authorities, on his 
 return, was worse than this. It was not limited 
 to neglect ; it was a cruel attempt to deprive hiiri 
 not only of his good name, but of his property. 
 They endeavoured to take away half of the prize- 
 money he had received under the authority of 
 the Governor-General, according to the esta- 
 blished usages of the British Service in India, even 
 after it had been confirmed by his Majesty's 
 grant, upon the pretence that he had divided the 
 booty without due sanction. This they proposed 
 to do, by giving a retrospective effect to a fanciful 
 theory of division, which never had been, and never 
 can be, carried into practice in India. Amongst 
 other absurdities, thi^ scheme was made to place 
 the European soldier and Native Sepoy upon 
 ^n equality in their shares of prize-money, 
 although all their allowances and all their wants 
 are totally different, and to reduce the eighth 
 pf.the Commander-in-Ghief to a sixteenth. This 
 attempt was persevered in for several years. 
 
 .m 
 
OP HIS JUST SHARE OF PitlZE-MONEY. 455 
 
 although every Commander-in-Chief in India 
 before General Harris had received an eighth, 
 and notwithstanding every Commander-in-Chief 
 after him continued to receive the same share, 
 of whom, the Duke of Wellington was one, and 
 whose assertion of this right, with his accustomed 
 force and truth, " was then on the records of 
 Fort William." 
 
 ^-•' The Honourable Colonel W^ellesley to the 
 Governor-General. 
 
 ''22nd. August, 1804. 
 
 "As Commander-in-Chief by your Excel- 
 lency's appointment of the Army of the Deccan 
 in the late war, I am entitled to one-eighth of 
 the property captured, and given by your Excel- 
 lency to the troops as prize; and I am desirous 
 of knowing whether I shall draw gratuity upon 
 the same principle. 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 
 -: The treatment General Harris received was 
 the more bitter to him, because it was supported 
 by those whom :he had been encouraged by the 
 Governments in India, to regard as his warmest 
 friends and protectors. The public language of 
 the Earl of Mornington and of his colleagues in 
 the Supreme Council, in praise of General 
 Harris's conduct, I have already quoted, and 
 also his Lordship's private letters to. the Minis- 
 
456 A BILL IN CHANCERY 
 
 ters, urging upon them the indispensable justice 
 of raising him to the British peerage. In 
 accordance with these flattering expressions was 
 the hmguage of the Government of Madras, over 
 which Lord Clive then presided, with honour to 
 himself, and great benefit to that "country which 
 he loved as his own*." 
 
 Lord Clive and his Council thus addressed 
 the Court of Directors. 
 
 " On the occasion of the departure of the 
 Commander, we feel it difficult to restrain the 
 expression of those sentiments of gratitude and 
 admiration, to which tlie brilliant and important 
 successes of the British arms imder his Excel- 
 lency's auspices must give rise, but Lieutenant- 
 General Harris is about to present himself to his 
 country on a wider sphere, where the fame of his 
 achievements will have been proclaimed by the 
 voice of public gratitude, and the consideration 
 of local circumstances cannot increase the glory 
 of the conquest of Mysore." 
 
 And what was the return made to these 
 recommendations by the Government at home? 
 Neither the British peerage nor the riband 
 of the Bath was conferred upon him. They 
 seem to have determined to verify the truth 
 of that maxim, which proceeded from onj who 
 
 * I here use the words of that nohle Lord, which camo 
 warm from his heart, in the letter, of which 1 annex a copy in 
 the Appendix. ; ,-^ 
 
FILED AGAINST HIM. 457 
 
 knew the human heart well, when he left as 
 his warning voice to posterity the well-known 
 adage, Proprium humani iiigenii est ocUisse 
 quern Icesens ; in this spirit they endeavoured to 
 deprive him, whom they had unjustly neglected, 
 of the prize-money he had honourably obtained. 
 They supported a suit in the Court of Chancery 
 against his property, and no one knows better 
 than myself all the anxieties which he suffered 
 during those years of persecution. Though half 
 his fortune was in peril, his spirit was too noble 
 to listen to any compromise of those principles 
 which had governed his conduct at the head of 
 the army in Mysore. 
 
 This was the price at which the honours he 
 had so well earned, together with future peace, 
 were tendered to him, but he spurned the offer, 
 and firmly resolved to maintain his principles and 
 his property. The authority and the earning of 
 the King's and the Company's law officeis, with 
 the ample means of the East India Company, 
 were all arrayed against his reputation and 
 interests. 
 
 But General Harris determined never tamely 
 to surrender either. He addressed to the Indian 
 authorities, a remonstrance, of which I shall give 
 the conclusion in the Appendix ^with particular 
 satisfaction, because I have found it amongst liis 
 papers just as it was written by myself thirty-fonr 
 years ago, under the indignant feelings which my 
 
458 DECISION OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL. 
 
 knowledge of the injurious treatment he was 
 receiving- excited in my mind, and with grateful 
 pleasure I recall, at this distant period, the affec- 
 tionate expressions with which he adopted it. 
 
 But this remonstrance produced no effect 
 upon minds already prejudiced and predeter- 
 mined. It was not until General Harris had 
 suffered six years of litigation and slander, that 
 the dawn of better days first shone from the 
 upright mind of Mr. Perceval. Having been 
 misled by the grossest misrepresentations, he 
 cheerfully corrected his opinion, and did justice to 
 the unspotted character of General Harris, when 
 he saw what falsehood and calumny had been 
 heaped upon him. But this merited rebuke did 
 not stay the inarch of his persecutors. They 
 proceeded with their appeal in the Court of 
 Chancery, and when it was dismissed from that 
 court, they intruded it upon the Privy Council ; 
 where, after a solemn hearing, the General's 
 honourable character was vindicated, and his 
 property confirmed. - ' 
 
459 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 General Harris is created a Peer by the Prince Regent, by the 
 title of Baron Harris, of Behiiont, and of Serinfrapatam 
 and Mysore, in the East Indies — His feelino-s upon that 
 event — Brief reference to his manner of life subsequent 
 thereto — His death, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, at 
 Belmont, in Kent. 
 
 Although the Pi-ivy" Council justly secured to 
 General Harris, in full right, all that he had 
 received of the prize-money of Seringapatam, yet 
 it was. impossible for him, and those who rever^ 
 enced and loved him, not to feel that the con- 
 tinued withholding- of every mark of approbation 
 and honour for his services by the Crown, gave 
 apparent substance to the slanders of liis perse-, 
 cutors. 
 
 This continued state of neglect was, however, 
 borne- by. General Harris with great composure, 
 until it was brought too keenly to his feelings 
 when he sat as a senior member of a courtr 
 martial, at Winchester, close to the President, 
 but with nearly the whole of the remaining junior 
 members decorated with stars and ribands, which 
 they had well deserved by their meritorious 
 sei'vices- . . 
 
 : ..Upon that occasion I received from him a 
 
460 GENERAL HARRIS URGES 
 
 letter, strongly expressing his mortitied feelings 
 in finding himself alone without any mark of 
 royal favour, and I immediately answered it by 
 urgently advising him, as I had often done before, 
 though ineffectually, to address a public memo- 
 rial to the Duke of York and to the Earl of 
 Liverpool upon this subject, and I drew up the 
 draft of such memorial for his consideration. 
 
 The following was the answer I received from 
 him. 
 
 " Winchester^ January y 1815, 
 " Your almost too kind letter deserves, and 
 has my \\"d,rm acknowledgements, and you may 
 depend that I will not this time flinch, as it must 
 be the last. 
 
 " Political duplicity is proverbial, and — *s 
 
 name in that respect stands high, and no doubt 
 he behaved shabbily to me from starting. 
 
 " He even shirked presenting me to the King 
 upon my return from India, and left me to 
 announce myself to the lord in waiting. Thank 
 God for good spirits and a good conscience, they 
 never yet have spoilt my sleep. 
 
 " I am not afraid of any investigation of my 
 military career, though bitter, even as that of the 
 prize-cause. 
 
 " But I now want no command, and have 
 asked for no emolument. But I cannot say that 
 the late honours going by me have not made me 
 
HIS CLAIMS FOR A PEERAGE. 461 
 
 sore. I am conscious I do not deserve it, and in 
 my opinion, tlie Government that suffers a soldier 
 of fortune, who has been so distinguished by 
 Providence, to go to the grave unnoticed, is cul- 
 pable to their country. 
 
 **^ You, my dear Stephen, load me too much ; 
 but no doubt the time is come. I ought to ask 
 my right of notice by my Prince, and I am ready 
 to tell his Minister anything you may advise. 
 
 " Unlike a gentleman I feel I cannot do it ; 
 but I can do it strongly and steadily, if required. 
 
 " I am ashamed of plaguing you with this 
 long rigmarole, but it shows I am in earnest. 
 
 " Send nie the memorials fair, and I will sign 
 and forward them. I actually have not time to 
 write and eat. 
 
 George Harris.'* 
 
 The memorials were accordingly sent, signed, 
 and forwarded to his Royal Highness the Duke 
 of York, then Commander-in-Chief, who, to use 
 the language of Sir Walter Scott, " was a break- 
 water behind the throne, while he occupied the 
 station of next in succession ; whose virtues were 
 honour, good sense, and integrity ; who, by the 
 exertion of these qualities, raised the British 
 army from a very low ebb, to be the pride and 
 dread of Europe." 
 
 His Royal Highness was pleased to assure 
 General Harris, that it would afford him the 
 
462 THE PEERAGE CONFERRED. 
 
 greatest satisfaction to give any aid within his 
 power in rewarding his distinguished services 
 \yith the Britisli peerage. 
 
 The upright prime minister of that day, Lord 
 Liverpool, to whom another copy was forwarded, 
 expressed himself to the same effect, and in June, 
 1815, General Harris received from the gracious 
 hand of the Prince Regent, that honour which 
 had been withheld from him for more than 
 sixteen years. 
 
 He was raised to the peerage by the style and 
 title of Lord Harris, of Belmont, in Kent, and 
 of Seringapatam and Mysore, in the East Indies, 
 and appropriately took as his motto, 
 
 My Prince and my Country. 
 
 The Latin motto which I have selected aS 
 most descriptive of Lord Harris's character is on 
 the title-page, and I shall now offer to my fair 
 readers a translation of it, persuading* myself 
 that all those who knew him will sanction the 
 propriety of its application, 
 
 "It would be derogatory to the character of 
 such a man, to speak of his integrity and forbear- 
 ance. The renown which even good men are 
 oftentimes disposed to covet, he would not pur- 
 chase by the parade of virtue or the meanness of 
 artifice. Envy of his colleagues and contention 
 with his subordinate officers were alike foreign to 
 his nature. Victory over the one he deemed no 
 iionour, defeat from the other disreputable." 
 
HIS SUBSEQUENT MODE OP LIFE. 463 
 
 This is the substance of that affectionate 
 delineation with which Tacitus pourtrayed the 
 iiioral features of his father-in-law, and though I 
 know that it wants the beauty and eloquence of 
 the original, I do not yield to him in the warmth 
 of attachment by which he was animated. 
 
 The gratification which General Harris de- 
 rived from his elevation to the peerage, was 
 founded in no feeling of personal vanity. He 
 had been taught by others, most competent 
 judges, to regard this honour as the just reward 
 of his public services, and, therefore, the fair 
 inheritance of his children. Although the attain- 
 ment of this dignity made a change in his manner 
 of life, it was the reverse of what would generally 
 have been expected. His frugal care of the 
 means with which Providence had been pleased 
 to bless his honest endeavours, had up to this 
 time never been remitted ; but he now regarded 
 his fortune as less at his own disposal for any 
 personal enjoyment, and more strictly the right 
 of his children. He saw that the rank he had 
 been the means of giving them, would create new 
 claims upon them when they were no longer 
 sheltered under their father's roof, and the whole 
 course of his subsequent conduct was influenced 
 by this consideration. 
 
 It required, however, no sacrifice on his part 
 to continue in this course to the end of his life, 
 for privacy in the bosom of his family had been 
 
464 DOMESTIC AFFLICTIONS. 
 
 always the first desire of his heart. That bitter- 
 ness which is too often found iti the fullest cup of 
 human happiness was, however, largely mixed in 
 his during- his latter years. Lady Harris, whose 
 innate tenderness of heart, unassuming worth, 
 and sincere piety, had endeared her to him and 
 every member of her family, was doomed to suffer 
 much illness, originating in her residence in the 
 East and West Indies. This, with the loss of one 
 of his sons in America, and another in India, 
 made a deep impression on his affections, and 
 contributed gradually to wean him from the 
 things of this life, and to fix his thoughts more 
 intensely on those of a better. Tlie death of his 
 son. Captain Charles Harris, who was aide- de- 
 camp to General Thornton, and an officer of* the 
 highest promise, and killed in the expedition 
 against New Orleans, afflicted him deeply. His 
 sense of this affliction is touchingly recorded on 
 the monument raised to his memory in Throwley 
 church. It brought back most forcibly to his 
 remembrance the like sorrowful circumstances 
 attendant upon the loss of his brother at the 
 battle of the Vigie, and to the latest hour of his 
 life a flood of tears would roll down his venerable 
 cheek when he described their characters and 
 virtues, and with what grief he had seen 
 
 . . . Above their glowing mora 
 The grave's deep shadow drawn. 
 
 In the services of his eldest sen (Lord Harris) 
 
COLONEL HARRIS AT WATERLOO. 465 
 
 he felt a just and grateful pride. Besides having- 
 been his companion in arms in Mysore and actively 
 engaged in the assault upon Seringapatam, he 
 was afterwards employed at the capture of the 
 Cape of Good Hope by Sir David Baird, at 
 Copenhagen, in Germany, in Canada, and crowned 
 tlie active part of his military career in the com- 
 mand of the 73rd Regiment at Quatre Bras and 
 Waterloo. In an account which I recently met 
 with in French, I find this notice of the deeds of 
 the 73rd on that day of glory : " La 13me Divi- 
 sion du General Comte d'Alten etant fort exposee 
 par sa position eat a repousser des charges in- 
 nombrables. Qu'il sufhse de citer pour exemple 
 que le carre un pen avance des 30m e et 73me 
 Regimens Anglais fat charge onze fois sans le 
 moindre succes par les lanciers de la Garde, et 
 les cuirassiers. Que Ton juge par la de I'acharne- 
 ment d'un combat, qui apres trois heures d'efforts 
 inouies n'eut pour resultat qu'un horrible carnage!" 
 Though Colonel Harris escaped unhurt whilst 
 repelling these charges upon his regiment by the 
 French lancers and cuirassiers, yet, when the 
 moment came for the illustrious Wellington to 
 order the troops to advance, what remained of 
 the 73rd Regiment sprang forward with their 
 Colonel at their head, and, whilst in the act of 
 waving his sword and cheering on his men to 
 the last struggle, he received a ball in the right 
 shoulder, which penetrated to his back ; but as 
 
 2 H 
 
466 FURTHER HONOURS BESTOWED 
 
 he fell he was gratified by the shout of victory 
 from his comrades. The loss in this single regi- 
 ment was immense, and exceeded the total 
 number of the killed and wounded in the assault 
 of Seringapatam. 
 
 The greatest gratification which Lord Harris 
 received in his latter years (independently of that 
 which is inseparable from the remembrance of a 
 well-spent life,) arose from the uniform kindness 
 and condescension with which he was treated by 
 his Sovereign and his august brother the Duke 
 of York, and those immediately about them. 
 Colonel Macmahon, an old and attached friend 
 of Lord Moira, always regarded that noble Lord's 
 captain at Bunker's Hill as well entitled to his 
 kindest offices ; and in like manner Lord Bloom- 
 field, Sir Herbert Taylor, and Sir William 
 Knighton, did everything in their power to soothe 
 the wounded feelings inseparable from the long 
 and unjust neglect of Lord Harris's services. 
 
 The letters which they respectively wrote 
 when his Majesty George the Fourth determined, 
 at different periods, that a British Peerage, the 
 Grand Cross of the Bath*, and the government of 
 Dundjarton Castle should be conferred upon 
 Lord Harris, are examples of the warm and 
 friendly interest which they felt in any act in- 
 tended to gratify him. 
 
 The government of Dumbarton Castle was the 
 
 * See letter from Lord Bloomfield in the Appendix. 
 
ON LORD HARRIS. 467 
 
 last act of grace and favour which he received 
 from the Crown, and it filled up all his desires of 
 personal honour for himself, as was well expressed 
 in a letter to Sir Herbert Taylor, characteristic 
 of his frank, cheerful, and grateful heart. Few 
 men, indeed, have lived, upon whom the unjust 
 neglect, the slander, and the persecution he 
 suffered upon his last return from India, would 
 have had a less hurtful effect. The cardinal rule 
 of his actions, at every period of his life, was 
 founded upon the noblest principle of Christianity, 
 " to do as he would be done by," and this made 
 him fearless of what might happen to himself. 
 It might be truly said of him, from his earliest to 
 his latest years, that he never was afraid of death, 
 but always ready to meet it. This was strongly 
 manifested in the cool collected courage which he 
 exhibited when called upon, in his seventeenth 
 year, to stand the fire of his commanding officer's 
 pistol twice without returning it*; in the whole 
 of his conduct throughout the varied clangers of 
 his maturer life, and in the singular directions 
 which he left, at different periods, for his funeral. 
 Indeed, he not only never sought to avoid the 
 consideration of this event, awful to all mankind, 
 but constantly habituated himself to meditate, 
 and to speak upon it. v *-lJlyiJn ^"^::\ / ^ i^ f-^ O ^-/i/ 
 
 But this disposition excited in him no gloomy 
 fears, or unsocial feelings. Long after he had 
 
 ■'• See page 29 of tliis Memoir. 
 
 2 H 2 
 
 -5* / 
 
468 HIS AMIABLE MANNERS. 
 
 passed man's age, and lived in dignified retire- 
 ment at Belmont, his company was songht by the 
 youngest members of his family and friends as the 
 most animating and cheerful treat they could enjoy. 
 
 By his neighbours and tenantry, rich and 
 poor, he was beloved and respected for his kind 
 heart, clear understanding, and simple manners. 
 That frankness of intercourse which was the 
 result of these qualities, was quite in the spirit of 
 Addison's portrait of the old English country 
 gentleman, in the person of Sir Roger de Coverley, 
 and produced the same effects : " the young women 
 professed love to hiui, and the young men were 
 glad of his company. When he came into a 
 house, he called the servants by their names, and 
 talked all the way up stairs to a visit." Nor did 
 the resemblance to the good old knight stop 
 here. His easy manners put all pomp and 
 pageantry out of countenance in his presence ; 
 and though a high-hearted nobleman doing 
 honour to the peerage and to his country by liis 
 personal virtues and public services, he was as 
 unaffected as the simplest peasant. 
 
 His feelings were, however, deeply excited 
 when he thought the honour, happiness, or 
 interests of the different members of his family 
 were involved, and he left nothing that it was in 
 his power to do, undone, to promote their per- 
 manent prosperity. 
 
 In the openiug characters of liis grand- 
 
HIS DEATH. 469 
 
 children he felt the liveliest interest, and his 
 caffection was deeply and gratefnlly returned by 
 them. By none more than by him whose rising- 
 talents and virtues attracted the approving* notice 
 of Bishop Heber, but whose thread of life was 
 severed in the same distant land in the midst of 
 an honourable career of earthly usefulness. I 
 cannot deny myself the moiu*nful gratification of 
 extending- the knowledge of departed excellence 
 by adding- to this volume that record*^ which so 
 well describes the public sense of his loss, on a 
 monument raised by the munificence of his 
 countrymen in St. George's Church at Madras. 
 The epitaph was written by the late Venerable 
 Archdeacon of Madras, the Reverend Thomas 
 Robinson, the devoted, and highly gifted friend of 
 the pious and accomplished Heber. 
 
 Nor can I in justice and gratitude to Lord 
 Harris omit to observe, that on no occasion was 
 his solicitude for the welfare of those connected 
 with him more affectionately shown towards the 
 close of his eventful life, than on the appointment 
 of his son-in-law, the compiler of this Memoir, 
 to the government of Madras, and the good 
 counsel and the assistance which he rendered 
 greatly contributed to its success. 
 
 To express the feelings with which I parted 
 from him, in his eighty-second year, with very 
 little hope of ever seeing him again, is beyond my 
 
 * See Appendix. _ :. /Vt oj^.^ 
 
470 HIS KINDNESS TO THE AUTHOR. 
 
 power. His death took place in the second year- 
 after I left England^ but I had the gratification 
 of knowing that the same sincere and cheerful 
 piety, the same manly fortitude he had exhi- 
 bited throughout the changing scenes which 
 he liad passed through, continued up to the 
 moment when it pleased the Almighty to call 
 him from his labours. He received the Sacra- 
 ment with all of his children who were pre- 
 sent, under circumstances of the deepest interest, 
 affectionately bade them farewell, and resigned 
 his spirit into the hands of his Maker, in full con- 
 fidence of the atoning merits of his Saviour. 
 
 It was my fortune not to return until some 
 years after his death ; but one of the earliest gra- 
 tifications of that return was to assist in raising a 
 monument to his memory in Throwley church, 
 and in doing that justice to his private virtues 
 and public services which the epitaph* upon his 
 monument records. 
 
 The only gratification that is wanted, in the 
 compilation of this Memoir, is that he could know 
 with what sincere affection it has been under- 
 taken, and what feelings have been awakened, as 
 the papers examined f have revived the memory 
 of some act of generous kindness and confiding 
 affection intended, or done, by him, to me and to 
 my family. 
 
 S. R. LUSHINGTON. 
 
 * Sec Appendix. t See some of them in the Appendix. 
 
471 
 
 2Qth November, 1839. 
 
 Since this Memoir was written, I have read that 
 part of Mr. Alison's Hlstori/, w^hich contains 
 a summary account of Lord Wellesley's adminis- 
 tration in India, and therein an abstract of Lord 
 Harris's campaign in Mysore. I regret to observe 
 that Mr. Ahson has adopted, as authentic infor- 
 mation, the errors of Mr. Hook, in his Life of 
 Sir David Baircl, and has founded upon them 
 some comments of his own, which directly impeach 
 the justice and impartiahty of the Commander-in- 
 Chief in that campaign, and of the Governor- 
 General, and indirectly assail the honour of the 
 Duke of Wellington, in assuming that he had 
 ever assented to become the object of private 
 favour, and the instrument of individual injustice, 
 by accepting an appointment which properly 
 belonged to another officer. 
 
 This conclusion is contrary to the whole 
 course of Mr. Alison's just eulogium upon the 
 Marquis Wellesley and his illustrious brother, 
 and is expressly declared by him " to be one of 
 the few blots on Lord Wellesley's administration 
 in India." It will, therefore, I hope, be a gratifi- 
 cation to Mr. Alison to learn, from the original 
 documents contained in this Memoir, that neither 
 the Commander-in-Chief, nor the Governor-Gene- 
 ral, did anything in the appointment of Colonel 
 
472 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 Welieslcy to the command of Seringapatam, but 
 what their duty to their country required of them, 
 and that " the blot" is in Mr. Hook's unfounded 
 narrative, which Mr. AUson will no doubt take 
 the earliest opportunity of discarding from his 
 History. 
 
 Indeed, the greatest part of Mr. Alison's short 
 account of the campaign in Mysore, requires so 
 much revision, that he appears not to have had 
 an opportunity of examining correct authorities 
 upon this subject. The very first hostile opera- 
 tion of the campaign is inaccurately related, in his 
 account of Tippoo's attack upon the Native bat- 
 talions, under Colonel John Montresor, at 8e- 
 daseer. He says, " The Sultaun's force, on this 
 occasion, amounted to 12,000, the flower of his 
 army ; but though the weight of the combat fell 
 on 2000 European and Sepoy troops, they were 
 defeated in half an hour, and quickly retired to 
 the neighbourliood of Seringapatam, with the loss 
 of fifteen hundred men killed and wounded*." 
 
 The detail of this affair is shown in pages 267 
 — 272 of this Memoir, where it will be seen, upon 
 the authority of General Stuart's despatch, and 
 the Rajah of Coorg's letter, who was an eye- 
 witness, and sharer in the scene, that the con- 
 test with Tippoo's troops lasted for many hours ; 
 that the British detachment was in the greatest 
 peril, and saved only from falling a sacrifice to 
 
 * See Alison's History of Europe^ vol. vii, p, 124. 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 473 
 
 the perse ve ring- efforts of the flower of Tippoo's 
 army, by the skill of their commander and the 
 courage of the men*. The Sultaun's attack upon 
 Colonel Montresor began between nine and ten 
 in the morning-, and he did not retreat till twenty 
 minutes past three; and when '^General Stuart 
 arrived at Colonel Montresor's post, he found his 
 men exhausted with fatigue, and their ammunition 
 almost expended f." That such should have been 
 their state, will excite no surprise, when the vast 
 disparity of numbers is considered. Tippoo, with 
 12,000 men, the flower of his army; Colonel 
 Montresor, with only three battalions of Sepoys, 
 and the artillery of his brigade, altogether not 
 2000 men. The contest had continued for six 
 hours, when General Stuart arrived with the 77th 
 Regiment, and two flank companies of the 75th, 
 and drove off a part of the enemy, who had pos- 
 sessed themselves of the great road leading- to 
 Sedaseer. The eng-agement with them lasted 
 nearly half an hour, when they fled with precipi- 
 tation through the jungles, to regain their column, 
 which still continued the attack in front. " It 
 was not till twenty minutes past three that the 
 enemy retreated in all directions J." 
 
 * See Beatson's History of the War, p. 72; Mill's History 
 of British India, vol. iii. p. 428; Glegg's History, p, 156; 
 WiLKs's History. 
 
 f See General Stuart's Letter, Wellesley Despatches, p. 487. 
 
 : Ibid. 
 
474 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 But Tippoo did not retire quickly to the neigh- 
 bourhood of Seriiigapatam. He continued in the 
 neighbourhood of the Bombay Army for five days, 
 in the hope of another opportunity of attacking 
 a portion of them ; and this induced General 
 Stuart to withdraw the brigade from Sedaseer, 
 and concentrate the whole of his force at Seeda- 
 pore. It might as well be said that the battle of 
 Waterloo lasted but half an hour, because the la^t 
 charge of our victorious troops on that glorious day 
 did not occu])y much more than this space of time. 
 
 The next inaccuracy in Mr. Alison's account 
 of the campaign, is in his description of the battle 
 of Mallavelly. He says, "Colonel Wellesley 
 commanded the division on the left, and General 
 Floyd the centre. Owing to the exhausted state 
 of the bullocks which drew the artillery, a delay 
 occurred in the formation of the line, of which the 
 Mysore horse took advantage to make a daring- 
 charge on Colonel Wellesley's division, which 
 moved on to the attack, and was considerably in 
 advance, and separated by a wide gap from the 
 centre. A huge mass of cavalry, supported by the. 
 bravest of Tippoo's turbaned infantry, bore down 
 on the English division, and filled the opening; 
 but the 33 I'd were ordered to reserve their fire till 
 within pistol-shot, when they delivered it with 
 decisive effect, and immediately charged with the 
 bayonet, while the red-plumed dragoons of Floyd 
 soon after coming up from the centre, charged 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 475 
 
 them on the other flank, and completed the rout. 
 Two thousand of the enemy fell in the battle, or 
 the pursuit, while the loss of the victors did not 
 exceed three hundred." 
 
 The whole of this statement is erroneous. 
 General Floyd commanded the cavalry, not the 
 centre. The Mysore horse did not attack Colonel 
 Wellesley's division at all. They attacked the 
 right wing-, under the personal command of 
 General Harris, and were so completely repulsed 
 that Tippoo retired with his artillery and cavalry. 
 It was the Kurreem Cutchery of infantry who 
 attacked the 33rd Regiment under Colonel Wel- 
 lesley. They were signally repulsed, when General 
 Floyd charged them with the cavalry, and com- 
 pleted their destruction. The British loss was not 
 three hundred, but sixty-six. — See Gen. Harris's 
 Official Report. These were the only affairs which 
 our troops had with the Sultaun's army in the field. 
 
 Mr. Alison's description of the first opera- 
 tions of the sieg'e is of the same character. He 
 says, " The camp was formed opposite to the 
 south-western side of the fortress. The army 
 from Bombay effected its junction on the 9th. 
 The approaches were conducted with great vigour. 
 In the course of these operations, much annoy- 
 ance was experienced from an advanced post of 
 the Sultaun's, placed on a rocky eminence, near 
 the walls, from whence a destructive fire, chiefly 
 with rockets, was kept up on the parties working 
 
47(5 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 in the trenches. In order to put a stop to this 
 harassing- warfare, an attack on the post during' 
 the night was resolved on, and intrusted to 
 Colonel Wellesley and Colonel Shawe. This 
 nocturnal encounter would be of little importance, 
 were it not rendered remarkable by a circum- 
 stance as rare as it is memorable, and worthy of 
 being* recorded for the encouragement of young- 
 officers exposed to early disaster — a failure by 
 Wellington ! 
 
 " Colonel Wellesley, on entering the rocky 
 eminence near the Sultaunpettah Tope, was as- 
 sailed on all sides with so severe a fire, that both 
 the 33rd Regiment and Sepoy battalion*, which he 
 commanded, were thrown into disorder, and he 
 Avas obliged to fall back to the camp; and such 
 was the confusion which prevailed, owing to the 
 darkness of the night, that he arrived there 
 a(;coinpanied only by Colonel Mackenzie. The 
 young officer proceeded at midnight to the Gene- 
 ral's tent, at. first much agitated, but finding- 
 General Harris not yet awake, he threw himself 
 on the table of the tent, and/e// asleep — a fact, 
 in such a moment, singularly characteristic of the 
 imperturbable character of the future hero of 
 Torres Vedras." 
 
 This is a misstatement both of facts and dates. 
 The Bombay Army did not join till the I4th of 
 April. The Madras Army arrived before Sering- 
 
 ''■ Colonel Wellesley had no Sepoy battalion Avith him. 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 477 
 
 apatani on the 5th of April, and on the same night 
 General Harris ordered the attacks to be made by 
 Colonel Shawe and Colonel Wellesley, not on a 
 rocky eminence near the walls, but on the Snltaun- 
 pettah Tope, and the bank of the water- course, 
 nearly three miles from the Fort. No annoyance 
 had been sustained from Tippoo's troops, nor had 
 we any trenches for many days afterwards. The 
 nature of Colonel Wellesley's failure lias been 
 already fully described (pp. 289 — 307), and it has 
 been shown that he made his report at twelve 
 o'clock at night to the Commander-in-Chief, who 
 was anxiously waiting* to receive it. What is 
 therefore stated of General Harris " not being yet 
 awake" at midniglit, and of Colonel Wellesley's 
 throwing- himself on the table and falling fast 
 asleep, before he had made his report to General 
 Harris as a " fact singularly characteristic of the 
 imperturbable character of the future hero of 
 Torres Vedras," is mere fable. Mr. Alison goes 
 on to state, "General Harris next morning drew 
 out the troops for a second attack, and offered the 
 command to General Baird, but that generous 
 officer suggested that Colonel Wellesley should be 
 aaain intrusted with the command. But for the 
 elevation of mind which prompted both General 
 Harris and General Baird to overlook this casual 
 failure, and intrust the next attack to the defeated 
 officer, the fate of the world might have been 
 different, and the star of the future conqueror of 
 
478 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 Napoleon extinguished in an obscure nocturnal 
 encounter in an Indian water-course." 
 
 General Baird's evidence upon this subject, 
 given only the year before he died, proves that this 
 story is not true. That he suggested nothing to 
 General Harris respecting Colonel Wellesley, and 
 that there was nothing- calling for the display of 
 any elevation of mind either from General Harris 
 or General Baird, however natural it would have 
 been for both to have shown this character in its 
 highest degree, if any occasion had required it. 
 The only thing which called for the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief's indulgence on the morning of 
 the 6th of April, was the blunder in the Adjutant- 
 General's office, in not duly advising Colonel 
 Wellesley of the time when he was to be on 
 the parade, to command the second attack on the 
 Sultaunpettah Tope. 
 
 Mr. Alison thinks, however, that this tale of 
 General Baird's " elevation of mind," as stated in 
 Mr. Hook's memoirs, is true, notwithstanding (as 
 he observes), some doubt is thrown upon it in 
 Gurwood's Despatches of IVelUngton. " For the 
 honour of human nature," he says, "he is happy 
 to give it an entire confirmation, having- repeat- 
 edly heard the anecdote from a most gallant 
 officer. Colonel Gerrard, the author's lamented 
 brother-in-law, to whose talents and virtues, 
 durably recorded in the exploits of that band of 
 heroes who contributed to the glories of Delhi and 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 479 
 
 Lasswarree, he has a melancholy pleasure in 
 bearing* his public testimony." In that testimony 
 to Colonel Gerrard, I desire hnmbly to join; but 
 as I have proved, by the evidence of Sir David 
 Baird himself, that the story had no foundation in 
 truthj there can be no other just inference than 
 that Colonel Gerrard heard the tale as it was 
 current in camp, and believing- it (although un- 
 true), related it to Mr. Alison. 
 
 "Such is history!" as the old King of Prussia 
 said when two persons, said to be eye-witnesses of 
 the same fact, gave opposite accounts of it. But in 
 this case, we have the concurring evidence of the 
 three distinguished personages who were the dra- 
 matis personse: Sir David Baird, who positively 
 denied the truth of the story ; the letters of Colonel 
 Wellesley on that and the following day, when it 
 is said to have happened, taking no notice of it, 
 and General Flarris's minute daily Journal, in 
 which there is not the slightest allusion to this 
 tale, and of which Colonel Wellesley never even 
 heard till many years afterwards. That such, a 
 tale was circulated, I have, however, no doubt; for 
 I remember to have heard it from an officer of 
 great gallantry and good conduct, like Colonel 
 Gerrard, when I was in the Poligar countries in 
 1800, accompanied by an addition, delivered in a 
 solemn whisper, that Colonel Wellesley was fright- 
 ened, and ran away to the Commander-in-Chief's 
 tent, on the night of the 5th, and therefore General 
 
480 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 Harris had ordered General Baird to take the 
 command on the morning of the 14th, which 
 General Baird declined from personal considera- 
 tion for Colonel Wellesley!!! 
 
 Mr. Alison goes on to state that " several 
 formidable sallies of the Mysore horse were 
 repnlsed by the steadiness of the besiegers' infan- 
 try." This is also entirely erroneous : there were 
 no sallies of horse against the infantry of the 
 besiegers ; and a moment's reflection will point 
 out the mistake. Who ever heard of horse being 
 employed to attack infantry in trenches ? 
 
 The two attacks whicii were really made by 
 Tippoo were directed against the Bombay troops 
 (where Colonel Wellesley was not), and they were 
 made by Tippoo's Native infantry, and subse- 
 quently by the Frenchmen in his service, of whom 
 several were killed in General Stuart's lines. 
 
 The account eiven l)v Mr. Alison of the 
 assault, and the state of the enemy's preparation, 
 is also very erroneous. He says, " The enemy 
 were at their post, all was ready for the assault ; 
 every battery was manned, and from every bastion 
 a gun, which bore on the assailants a close and 
 deadly fire, was directed, v/hicli speedily thinned 
 their ranks, and would have caused any other 
 troops to recoil. On, however, the British rushed, 
 followed by their brave allies, through the deadly 
 storm ; in five minutes the river was crossed, in 
 five more the breach was mounted. A crimson 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 481 
 
 torrent streamed over the ruin. A sally on the 
 flank of the assaulting column by a chosen body 
 of Tippoo's guards was repulsed. The brave 
 Asiatics were by degrees forced back, though not 
 without desperate resistance, to the Palace, where 
 a dreadful slaughter took place*." 
 
 I have shown, in my account of the storm, 
 that Tippoo was, happily, taken by surprise. 
 He could not be brought to believe that the 
 assault was to be made on the 4th of May. He 
 was eating his dinner when our troops were 
 mounting the breach, and he was not roused to 
 make any serious exertion until he heard that 
 his principal officer, Seyid Goifhar, had been killed 
 by a cannon shot near the breach. " Seyid 
 GofFhar," he then observed, "never was afraid 
 of death ; let Mahomed Cassim take his division." 
 He ordered his carbines to be loaded, and his 
 horse to be brought, which he mounted, and 
 proceeded towards the breach ; but it was too late, 
 our troops were on the ramparts, and driving the 
 weak and fugitive defenders before them. The time 
 which elapsed before the British colours floated in 
 triumph on the breach was only six minutes from 
 the moment of our troops stepping out of the 
 trenches f. Our loss was trifling compared with 
 what it was reasonable to expect;}:. As to the 
 
 * See Alison's Historic of Europe, vol. vli. p. 130. 
 
 t See Beatson's ZTis^ory, p. 127; Hook's Life of Baird, p. 207. 
 
 :|: See the detail in the Appendix. 
 
 2 I 
 
482 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 " sally on the flank of the assaulting* column by a 
 chosen body of Tippoo's guards," and " a crimson 
 torrent streaming over the ruin;" it was so repre- 
 sented in Porter's picture, and in the theatrical 
 exhibition of the assault at Sadler's Wells in 1799; 
 but both of these representations were got up 
 with the usual licence of painters and poets. 
 
 Painters and poets our indulgence claim. 
 Their daring equal, and their art the same. 
 
 Historians have another duty to perform ; and for 
 the honour of human nature, I am glad to point 
 out to Mr. Alison the error into which he has 
 fallen in his History when he speaks of a dreadful 
 slaughter in Tippoo's palace by the British troops. 
 Mr. Alison must have forgot, or never read. Lord 
 Mornington's letter to the Court of Directors of 
 the 12th May, 1799, in which he observes, " I am 
 persuaded that your Honourable Court will derive 
 peculiar satisfaction from the intelligence that the 
 Sultaun's family and palace suffered no insult or 
 violence during the heat of the assault, and has 
 since been protected with the utmost care ;" nor 
 could Mr. Alison have read Sir Alexander Allan's 
 simple and unassuming statement of the generous 
 means which he adopted, with General Baird's 
 sanction, to prevent any slaughter in the Palace, 
 and which so entirely succeeded, that not one 
 drop of blood was shed there. 
 
 There is another mistake adopted by Mr. Ali- 
 son, and which also implies a want of humane feel- 
 ing on the part of Tippoo's conquerors. He says. 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 483 
 
 " His corpse was found nnder a mountain of slain 
 stripped of all its ornaments and clothing." The 
 account given by Sir A. Allan, who assisted in 
 bringing the body of Tippoo from under the gate- 
 way, proves that no indignity had been offered to 
 his person. " His dress consisted of a jacket of 
 fine white linen, loose drawers of flowered chintz, 
 with a crimson cloth of silk and cotton round his 
 waist ; a handsome pouch, with a red and green 
 silk belt, hung across his shoulder. His head was 
 uncovered, his turban being lost in the confusion 
 of his fall." The body was immediately put into a 
 palankeen, and conveyed under a guard of honour 
 to the Palace, and was interred the next day with 
 as much pomp and respectful ceremony as the 
 British army could have displayed even to their 
 own Sovereign. 
 
 The preparations for the funeral were super- 
 intended by the Cauzee of Seringapatam ; every 
 article was provided according to his directions ; 
 and when the body reached the gate of Hyder's 
 magnificent mausoleum, the British Grenadiers 
 formed a street and presented arms as it passed. 
 Both officers and men forgot in this moment what 
 he had been to them when alive ; they no longer 
 remembered what British prisoners had experi- 
 enced from him ; and his family and officers were 
 afterwards treated with the utmost humanity and 
 generosity by the Governor-General. 
 
 I have since visited the place of his interment, 
 
 2 I 2 
 
484 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 when more than thirty years had elapsed from 
 the time of his funeral, and it was gratifying 
 to see with what care the mausoleum which 
 contains the mortal remains of Hyder Ally, 
 Tippoo Sultaun, and his mother, and the sur- 
 rounding* religious edifices, have been regarded 
 by succeeding British authorities. The good 
 feeling which has suggested this reverential con- 
 sideration, is part of that strength by which we 
 have obtained and kept our empire in that country, 
 and I trust that we shall never be deluded by the 
 perilous zeal of those who are unacquainted with the 
 prejudices of our Eastern subjects to depart from 
 this enlightened course. In its first effects, and 
 in its lasting consequences, this forbearance from 
 insult to those who differ in their religious feelings 
 from us, forms a noble contrast both in policy and 
 in humanity to those who have preceded us as 
 conquerors in India, and the contrast has been with 
 none greater than between the Mahommedan and 
 English rulers. Indeed, in close vicinity to the 
 mausoleum which we have protected with such 
 care, I saw a ferocious representation of Tip- 
 poo's savage disposition towards his British pri- 
 soners. They were painted in the attitude of 
 supplication, with tigers in the act of destroying 
 them, and the colours still remained fresh upon 
 the walls. I could not then comprehend how it 
 had happened that the picture should have con- 
 tinued for so many years unhurt by time and 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 485 
 
 weather ; but I have since learnt that it was 
 retouched by Welling'ton's special orders whilst 
 he was in authority, and those who succeeded 
 him there have continued this memorial of 
 Tippoo's cruelty, and our forbearance. 
 
 Having thus noticed some of the errors in 
 Mr. Alison's account of the campaign in Mysore, 
 I shall now revert to the more serious charge 
 which he has preferred, chiefly upon the authority 
 of Mr. Hook's book, against Lord Harris and 
 tlie Marquis Wellesley, in respect to the appoint- 
 ment of Colonel Wellesley to command in Serin- 
 gapatam, after it became expedient to have a 
 permanent commandant there. 
 
 Mr. Alison observes*, " Colonel Wellesley 
 was not engaged in the storm, but he com- 
 manded the reserve, which did not require to 
 be called into action, and viewed merely with 
 impatient regret the heart-stirring scene. He 
 was next day, however, appointed Governor of the 
 town by General Harris, which appointment was 
 confirmed by Lord Wellesley, and constitutes one 
 of the few blots in his administration. History, 
 indeed, apart from biographical discussion, has 
 little cause to lament an appointment which early 
 called into active service the great civil as well as 
 military qualities of the Duke of Wellington. But 
 individual injustice is not always to be excused 
 by the merits of the preferred functionary, and 
 
 * Vol. vii. p. 133. 
 
486 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 unquestionably the hero of Seringapatam, the 
 gallant officer who led the assault, was entitled to 
 a very different fate from that of being superseded 
 in the command, almost before the sweat was 
 wiped from the brow which he had adorned with 
 the laurels of victory." 
 
 If any fault can be found for the rapidity with 
 which General Baird was relieved after the duties 
 of the assault were over, he is alone to be blamed. 
 It was his own particular request to the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief that he might be relieved that 
 night, and the message was sent to General Harris 
 through Major Beatson*, literally before the sweat 
 was wiped from General Baird's victorious brow. 
 Nor was the request unnatural. General Baird 
 and his brave companions had borne the heat and 
 burden of that day, and it was fair, both in him 
 and them, to wish that the painful duties of 
 burying the dead, relieving the wounded, exe- 
 cuting plunderers, and restoring order, should be 
 performed by other hands. But General Harris 
 did not deem it expedient that they should be 
 relieved that very night, for the reasons given in 
 page 419 of this Memoir. The course he pursued 
 was in the ordinary routine of military duty, 
 and without the slightest reference to the civil 
 qualities of the officer who should relieve General 
 Baird. It has been ah-eady shown in this 
 Memoir, that when General Harris received the 
 
 * See General Baird's Letter, 6th May, 1799, p. 413. 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 487 
 
 application of General Baird to be relieved, the 
 Deputy Adjutant- General, Major Turing-, was in 
 attendance at his tent, and was immediately 
 desired by the Commander-in-Chief to inform 
 him who was next for duty. " Colonel Roberts," 
 said Major Turing ; " Then put him in orders 
 to go," replied General Harris. Presently after- 
 wards Major Turing, looking more attentively 
 over the Order-Book, said, " No, Sir, I have 
 made a mistake ; Colonel Wellesley is the next 
 for duty, not Colonel Roberts." " Then let 
 Colonel Wellesley be put in orders for the relief," 
 was the General's reply. 
 
 Colonel Wellesley accordingly went into the 
 Fort early the next morning, and relieved General 
 Baird after he had been refreshed by a night's 
 rest, as he states in his own letter * of the follow- 
 ing day ; and Colonel Wellesley fully expected to 
 be himself relieved by some other officer in the 
 regular course of the camp duties, as expressed in 
 his letter to General Harris f, to which I have 
 already directed the attention of the reader. 
 
 The rapid submission of Tippoo's sons, chiefs, 
 and subjects in the two days succeeding the 
 assault, entirely changed the character and nature 
 of the duties to be performed by the Commandant 
 of Seringapatam. Important civil functions, as 
 well as military duties, necessarily devolved upon 
 
 * See General Baird's Letter, 6th May, 1799, p. 413. 
 t See Colonel Wellesley 's Letter, 6tli May, 1799, p. 422. 
 
488 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 him, and then General Harris was required to 
 consider who was best fitted for their successful 
 discharge. After due consideration he resolved 
 that Colonel Wellesley should be the permanent 
 Commandant ; and this selection was made not 
 only in preference to Major-General Baird, but in 
 preference to three other General Officers, senior 
 to Major-General Baird, as well as to Colonel 
 Wellesley, all of whom would have been proud of 
 the appointment, and might fairly liave claimed 
 it, if seniority, bravery, and distinguished military 
 services had been the only proper considerations 
 in the selection of a fit person to fill this appoint- 
 ment. 
 
 But when a kingdom had fallen, and a king^ 
 doin was to be restored, it was the duty of the 
 Commander-in-Chief, in the absence of the Go- 
 vernor-General, to exercise, to the best of his 
 judgment, the great powers confided to him. He 
 was bound to select, from his army, the person he 
 should deem best fitted to discharge all the great 
 civil as well as military functions which would 
 devolve upon him. His choice fell upon Colonel 
 Wellesley. To justify this choice, by entering into 
 a comparison of the relative qualifications of 
 Colonel Wellesley, and any of the officers senior 
 to him, for such a trust, would be an invidious 
 and idle waste of time. But I cannot avoid ob- 
 serving, that General Harris would have compro- 
 mised his public duty, if he had preferred General 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 489 
 
 Baird for such a service to Colonel Wellesley; 
 for, as Commander-in-Chief at Madras, he had 
 been one of the Council that supported the Earl 
 of Buckinghamshire in the discharge of a painful 
 duty, by removing Colonel Baird from the com- 
 mand of Tanjore, because he had been deluded by 
 his Diibash, and other intriguing money-lenders, 
 to interpose his opinions and influence in the civil 
 affairs of the government of that province, for the 
 purpose of prolonging Amer Sing's usurpation of 
 the rights of Serfogee, the prince entitled, by the 
 Hindoo law, to fill the throne of Tanjore. 
 
 But this just mark of General Harris's disap- 
 probation of such improper interference did not 
 prejudice his view of Colonel Baird's military 
 merits. To these he did full justice in the General 
 Orders, published after Colonel Baird's removal 
 from Tanjore, "proclaiming to the Army the 
 favourable opinion he had formed of the Colonel, 
 whilst in command of the 77th Regiment, so emi- 
 nently distinguished by a series of long, spirited, 
 and arduous services, honourable to themselves 
 and advantageous to their country." 
 
 These were the parting words of General 
 Harris, then Commander-in-Chief at Madras, to 
 Colonel Baird, in October, 1797, and when the 
 Colonel returned from the Cape of Good Hope to 
 Madras, in January, 1 799, having been promoted 
 to the rank of Major-General, and appointed to 
 the Staff of India, he was received by the Com- 
 
490 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 luander-in-Chief, at Vellore, with the same kind- 
 ness and confidence in his mihtary merits. It was 
 from this knowledge of his cliaracter that General 
 Harris employed him in the very first operation of 
 the siege against the Sultaunpettah Tope; and 
 afterwards selected him for the distinguished 
 command of leading the assault on the 4th of 
 May. Whatever might have been the perils of 
 this service, there perhaps never lived a man better 
 qualified to execute it; and he received the warmest 
 thanks of the Commander-in-Chief, and was 
 recommended by him to the Governor-General as 
 entitled to the notice of his King and country, "for 
 tiie decided and able manner in which he con- 
 ducted it." It was with painful reluctance that 
 General Harris subsequently felt the necessity of 
 censuring him for that total want of discretion 
 and respect which he exhibited in his letters of 
 the 6th and 9th of May, 1 799 ; but a fault acknow- 
 ledged by such an officer as General Baird was 
 sure of forgiveness from the kind heart of General 
 Harris ; and that just admonition which had 
 been unwillingly forced from him, would have 
 been buried for ever in oblivion, as General Baird 
 earnestly desired, and General Harris fully in- 
 tended, if the misguided zeal of Mr. Hook had 
 not given it publicity in his book. With Mr. 
 Hook, therefore, and his employers, the responsi- 
 bility for this must rest. 
 
 For myself, it is not without painful reluctance 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 491 
 
 that I recur to it ; but Mr. Hook's unfounded 
 strictures, and Mr. Alison's adoption of them, 
 leave me no choice. It is, however, gratifying to 
 me to express my cordial concurrence in the just- 
 ness of the character which General Middlemore 
 has given of Sir D. Baird. " You might implicitly 
 place your life, and honour, and happiness, in his 
 bare word, and as he was firm and inflexible upon 
 every point of discipline and duty, so was he 
 incapable of injuring a human being; with the 
 courage of a hero, his heart was kind and gentle 
 as a woman's." 
 
 But it was of this kindness of nature that 
 advantage was sometimes taken, by others not 
 free from guile and intrigue like himself. Hence 
 he was involved in errors, which produced much 
 discomfort to this gallant officer and excellent 
 man at different periods of his life ; at Tanjore in 
 1797, at Mysore in 1 799, and at the Cape of Good 
 Hope in 1807. 
 
 Of these indiscretions Mr. Hook has thought 
 fit to preserve records, with which the wiser and 
 kinder friends of General Baird would have dealt 
 as General Harris had done, and as Sterne did 
 with the single transgression of his military hero — 
 have dropt a tear upon them, and blotted them 
 out for ever. I trust, however, that there is 
 enough in this volume to restrain future biogra- 
 phers and historians from pursuing the same 
 course, and that they will duly regard, as I have 
 
492 CORRECTION OF SOME MISSTATEMENTS 
 
 sincerely endeavoured to do, that warning voice 
 which wrote for their instruction in the first 
 volume of the Duke of Wellington's Despatches. 
 
 I have quoted, in the beginning of this 
 Memoir, a portion of this just rebuke ; and I 
 cannot conclude this documentary refutation of 
 the unfounded imputations cast upon the honour 
 of the Marquis Wellesley and of the Duke of 
 Wellington, and upon the memory of Lord 
 Harris, more appropriately, than by transcribing 
 the whole of it. 
 
 " The great end of history is the exact illustra- 
 tion of events as they occurred, and there should 
 be neither exaggeration nor concealment to suit 
 angry feelings or personal disappointment. It 
 should contain the truth, the whole truth, and 
 nothing but the truth. Mr. Hook has, however, 
 in this respect, wandered from his proper province 
 as an historian, at the expense of the reputation 
 of his gallant hero, by attacking the judgment, 
 justice, impartiality, and duty of the Commander- 
 in-Chief and the Governor-General, for the pur- 
 pose of establishing a grievance and an insinua- 
 tion, which the facts and results do not warrant ; 
 and to which Sir David Baird, had he been 
 alive, would have never given countenance. But 
 Mr. Hook, being a civilian, could not be aware 
 of the impropriety of publishing these letters of 
 remonstrance, which are so inconsistent with 
 subordination and discipline; particularly when it 
 
IN MR. Alison's history. 493 
 
 is known that General Baird requested permis- 
 sion to withdraw his intemperate appeal, which 
 General Harris, from personal regard, allowed 
 to pass without further notice : and certainly, 
 what General Baird thought unworthy of him 
 as a soldier, his biographer had no right to 
 bring- up against him, with no other apparent 
 purpose than that of attacking- the honour of 
 those who are living-, and the memory of those 
 who are dead*." 
 
 ♦ Wellington's Despatches, Note, pp. 38 and 39. 
 
/^^ 
 
4^5 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 See page 139. 
 
 " The Earl of Mornington to Lord Clive. 
 
 " (Most private and confidential.) 
 
 ''Fort William, July 29, 1798. 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " Although I have not the honour of your Lord- 
 ship's personal acquaintance, I trust that my public situation, 
 and my anxiety to discharge its duties in a satisfactory 
 manner, will be a sufficient apology for the liberty which I 
 take in troubling you with this letter. 
 
 " I learnt the intelligence of your Lordship''s appoint- 
 ment to the Government of Fort St. George with very 
 great pleasure, being convinced that the affairs of that 
 Presidency require the vigorous control of a person of 
 your Lordship's rank and character, and that you will have 
 it in your power, (as I am persuaded it is your inclination,) 
 to render essential service to the interests of the Company, 
 and to confer considerable benefits upon the people com- 
 mitted to your peculiar charge. 
 
 "For the system of measures which I think it advisable 
 to adopt in the present crisis with regard to the defence of 
 the Carnatic, and to the restoration of our alliances, I refer 
 your Lordship to my private correspondence with General 
 
496 APPENDIX. 
 
 Harris, and to the papers accompanying niyj last letter 
 to him. 
 
 " Having frequently considered the state of the Presi- 
 dency of Fort St. George previously to my departure from 
 Europe, and having had the opportunity of correcting, by 
 personal observation, the opinions which I had formed at 
 home, I think it my duty to lay before your Lordship, 
 without reserve, the final result of my deliberate judgment 
 upon a subject equally interesting to yourself and me. In 
 pursuing the various topics connected with this subject, I 
 shall communicate my ideas to your Lordship with the 
 same degree of confidential freedom which I should use to 
 my most intimate friend ; being satisfied that your Lord- 
 ship will not suffer communications of so secret a nature 
 to pass beyond your own mind ; and being assured that you 
 will receive them as the most unequivocal testimony of my 
 cordial zeal for the prosperity of your administration, and 
 of my disposition to afi^brd you every assistance towards the 
 maintenance of the dignity, authority, and vigour of your 
 government. 
 
 " The Civil Service of the Presidency of Fort St. George 
 is unfortunately in a condition very far removed from per- 
 fection, and inferior in every respect to that of Bengal. 
 
 " The deficiency of most of the civil servants at Madras, 
 in the departments of revenue, is to be ascribed, in a great 
 measure, to the system so long prevalent of administering 
 the revenues through provincial chiefs and councils, whose 
 policy it was to confine the means of acquiring a knowledge 
 of the nature of the collections within the most narrow 
 channels, and who were themselves almost universally under 
 the dominion of the native agents and servants. The whole 
 administration of the revenue, was a scheme of mystery, 
 calculated to embarrass inquiry, and to screen peculation 
 from justice. 
 
APPENDIX. 497 
 
 " The provision of the commercial investment upon the 
 coast of Coromandel, has also been managed almost exclu- 
 sively by native agents and contractors ; and while their 
 management shall continue, it cannot be expected that the 
 servants of the Company will become conversant with the 
 details of the several manufactures, or with the minute 
 circumstances which affect the quality of the different 
 fabrics. This defective mode of administering the revenue 
 and commerce of the Company on the Coast, rendered the 
 study of the languages, customs, and laws of the country, 
 a superfluous, if not an useless labour ; since a servant of 
 the Company might reach the most arduous trusts, and 
 might discharge them with as much credit as his predeces- 
 sors had ever enjoyed, without the previous application 
 necessary for acquiring any of those branches of knowledge. 
 On the other hand, the ignorance of the Company's civil 
 servants necessarily threw them into the hands of the native 
 dubashes, whose destructive influence soon produced em- 
 barrassments, which led to the sacrifice of public trust and 
 duty, and ultimately to the utter subversion of every prin- 
 ciple of integrity and honour. To these causes must be 
 added the continual operation of the intrigues of the dur- 
 bars of the Nabob of Arcot and of the Rajah of Tanjore. 
 The junior servants, I trust, under your Lordship's super- 
 intendence, may be encouraged in the study of the native 
 languages ; a knowledge of which is indispensably necessary 
 to enable them to discharge any important public trust with 
 advantage to their employers, or with honour to themselves. 
 With this view I most earnestly recommend it to your 
 Lordship to direct your most vigilant attention to the con- 
 duct of the junior writers from the earliest period of their 
 arrival at Madras. Too many of them fall into early 
 habits of extravagance, in which they are encouraged by 
 the native dubashes ; and I declare to your Lordship my 
 
 2 K 
 
498 APPENDIX. 
 
 deliberate conviction, that this evil cannot be remedied in 
 any other manner than by the personal exertions of the 
 Governor himself. 
 
 " Lord Cornwallis watched over the conduct and morals 
 of the junior servants of the Company in Bengal with the 
 anxiety and solicitude of a parent ; and the beneficial effects 
 of his laudable care are now visible in every department of 
 this Government. To a person of your Lordship's dispo- 
 sition this duty will not be irksome. Various opinions 
 have been stated to me with respect to the salary of the 
 writers : some persons seem to think its present amount 
 sufficient, and that any increase would tend to extrava- 
 gance ; while others are of opinion that it does not afford 
 the means of maintaining the writers in a situation of 
 competent affluence, I confess that I was not able during 
 ray continuance at Madras to form a decided opinion upon 
 this important question. I therefore refer it to your Lord- 
 ship's judgment, being persuaded that you will concur 
 with me in feeling that the source of many of the defects 
 in the civil service at Madras, is to be discovered in the 
 original condition of the writers sent out from Europe, and 
 that from the same source must be derived any permanent 
 system of improvement. 
 
 " I should have observed to your Lordship that I believe 
 a proper public building for the reception of the writers 
 upon their first arrival at Madras, would be a very desirable 
 object ; the buildings at present used for that purpose are 
 extremely contracted, and, as I was informed, absolutely 
 uninhabitable by any but those of the most vigorous consti- 
 tutions, I would also suggest to your Lordship's considera- 
 tion, whether it might not be proper to increase the salaries 
 of the present offices of Mahratta and Persian translator, 
 and to found offices of a similar description for the trans- 
 lation of the various languages in which the public business 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 499 
 
 is transacted in different parts of the country subject to 
 your Presidency. A measure of this nature would operate 
 as a great encouragement to the study of the native lan- 
 guages upon the Coast. Your Lordship will perceive by 
 the directions which I shall speedily forward to you in 
 council, that it is my wish to introduce in all those coun- 
 tries subject to your government, which are now in a state 
 to receive such an improvement, that system of permanent 
 settlement of revenue, connected with a speedy and regular 
 administration of justice, from which such essential benefits 
 have been derived in Bengal. 
 
 " I conversed very fully with all the members of the 
 Board of Revenue at Fort St. George on this most interest- 
 ing subject, in which the prosperity and happiness of the 
 whole people committed to your particular charge is deeply 
 concerned ; and I was convinced by the information I 
 received from those respectable gentlemen, that the system 
 to which I have adverted might immediately be introduced 
 into almost every part of your Lordship's government with 
 infinite advantage, not only to the native inhabitants, but to 
 the civil service of the Company. I am aware that, at the 
 first institution of the courts of justice it may be very 
 difficult, in the present state of the civil service of Fort 
 St. George, to find a sufficient number of persons properly 
 qualified for the several judicial offices ; but, on the other 
 hand, the institution of such offices will open new channels 
 for the ambition, industry, and talents of your civil servants. 
 The study of the manners, languages, customs, and laws of 
 the natives, will then become general, and the beneficial 
 effects of such an additional incitement to the activity of 
 your servants will soon be widely extended, and will gradu- 
 ally produce a supply of persons equal to all the duties of 
 the Company''s civil service. 
 
 " Before I quit the subject of the state of the civil 
 
 2 K 2 
 
500 APPENDIX. 
 
 service at Madras, I must beg leave to call your Lordship's 
 attention to the revision of your civil establishments, as 
 directed in my letter in council of this date, addressed to 
 the President in Council of Fort St. George. Every prac- 
 ticable reduction of your expenses and augmentation of 
 yoiu' revenue will be of importance in the present distressed 
 state of the finances of the Company in India. If my 
 information be correct, the proposed establishment of the 
 courts of justice will not ultimately prove any additional 
 burthen upon your finances. 
 
 " With respect to the military establishments at Fort 
 St, George, I have the satisfaction to declare to your Lord- 
 ship that I do not believe there exists in any part of the 
 world an army more distinguished for its high state of dis- 
 cipline, or for the activity, gallantry, and skill of its officers, 
 than that which will be under your immediate direction. 
 
 " In the ranks of colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and those 
 still inferior, you will find many excellent officers. 
 
 " The defects in your military establishments, which 
 impede the power of putting any considerable portion of 
 your army in motion at a short notice, are considered in 
 my Letter to your Presidency of the 20th July, and in my 
 Minute recorded in the Secret Department at Fort Wil- 
 liam, of the same date, of which I will soon transmit a 
 copy to your Lordship. 
 
 " I most earnestly entreat your early and serious atten- 
 tion to the very alarming considerations which arise from 
 the view which I have taken of this important subject. Your 
 Lordship will receive a more full detail of my sentiments 
 on this head from General Harris, who will communicate 
 to you all my private correspondence relating to it. I must 
 also take the liberty of requesting that you will allow my 
 bi'other, Colonel Wellesley, (whose regiment is now under 
 orders for Fort St. George,) to have the honour of stating 
 
appp:ndix. 501 
 
 to } our Lordship at large my opinions M'itli respect to tlie 
 defence of the Carnatic. 
 
 " Your Lordship will have learnt previously to your de- 
 parture from Europe, that I was charged by the Court of 
 Directors to attempt, by means of persuasion and advice, to 
 induce his Highness the Nabob of the Carnatic to agree to 
 the same modification of the treaty of 1792 which had been 
 proposed to him by Lord Hobart. General Harris, and Mr. 
 Lushington, who acted as my interpreter, will state to your 
 Lordship the means which I employed to endeavour to 
 accomplish the object of my commission, in which I entirely 
 failed. 1 was equally unsuccessful in my endeavours to 
 prevail upon his highness to make provision for the liquida- 
 tion of any part of his debt to the Company; and I am 
 satisfied that an?/ other means would be as foreign to your 
 Lordship's disposition as they are to mine. My fixed rule 
 during my continuance at Madras was, to treat the Nabob 
 with the respect due to his rank, with the kindness due to 
 the ancient friendship between his family and the Company, 
 and with the delicacy demanded by his dependant situation. 
 At the same time I avoided all familiarity with him, and I 
 animadverted very fully iqDon the defects of his adminis- 
 tration, and upon the extreme impropriety of his late con- 
 duct with relation to the interests of the Company. I 
 never allowed him to utter any invective against Lord 
 Hobartj notwithstanding liis various attempts both in public 
 and private, to induce me to listen to a vein of abuse in 
 which his highness is too apt to indulge himself on that 
 subject. You will find his highness's disposition to be 
 very far from amiable or respectable ; he is insincere, mean, 
 and timid; he is, however, said to be humane in his temper, 
 although Lord Hobart has recorded instances which impute 
 to him the guilt of very great cruelty. He is by no means 
 deficient in his understanding ; I have met with few men 
 
502 APPENDIX. 
 
 who possess more address ; his abilities, however, were 
 always exhibited to me in the form of low cunning, artifice, 
 and subterfuge. You will find a most virulent party 
 formed against his highness amongst a certain description 
 of the Company's servants, civil and military, at Madras. 
 The persons concerned in this party preserve no bounds of 
 moderation or of decency in their public language concern- 
 ing his highness''s conduct and character ; and if their opi- 
 nion were suffered to guide the councils of the Government 
 of Fort St. George, there is no degree of public humiliation 
 or disgrace to which his highness would not be subjected, 
 and scarcely an excess of compulsion and violence which 
 would not be attempted to extort the surrender of his coun- 
 try from him. I must here take the occasion of assuring 
 your Lordship that the character of those measures is wholly 
 inconsistent with the acknowledged temper and disposition 
 of Lord Hobart, whom I have known with the utmost de- 
 gree of intimacy for many years. I shall forward to your 
 Lordship shortly copies of the papers which passed between 
 me and the Nabob, together with my observations upon 
 them. In the meanwhile I offer it as my sincere advice to 
 your Lordship not to attempt any immediate negociation 
 with his highness for the surrender of his country. I found 
 his mind in a state of great irritation and alarm ; and 
 although I flatter myself that those emotions were in some 
 degree abated by my intercourse w'ith him, I can hardly ex- 
 pect that he is yet inclined to give favourable attention to 
 any proposition for a modification of the treaty of 1792. 
 For my own part, notwithstanding the anxiety of the Court 
 of Directors upon the subject, I entertain very serious 
 doubts whether the Company would gain considerably by 
 the surrender of the mortgaged districts. This, however, 
 is a point upon which I have not yet formed a decided opi- 
 nion. I must, therefore, entreat your Lordship to turn 
 
APPENDIX. 503 
 
 your attention to it, and as I am persuaded that you will 
 consider the question without passion or prejudice, and that 
 no virulence of party will be suffered to warp your judg- 
 ment, I expect to derive considerable advantage from receiv- 
 ing the honour of your opinion. 
 
 " With regard to the Nabob's debt to the Company, I 
 think the present moment of general voluntary contribution 
 might offer a favourable opportunity for persuading his high- 
 ness to pay the whole or part of the new cavalry loan ; and 
 I shall speedily forward to your Lordship a letter for his 
 highness, suggesting the propriety of so seasonable a step in 
 the present moment. 
 
 " I should here observe that his highness expressed great 
 anxiety to be allowed to correspond privately with me, but I 
 declined the proposition ; and your Lordship may be assured 
 that I will admit of no other mode of communication be- 
 tween his highness and me than the regular channel of your 
 Government. 
 
 " It is very necessary that we should be prepared to de- 
 cide the eventual question of the succession to the nabob- 
 ship in the probable event of his highnesses early death. 
 Your Lordship will have the goodness to ascertain, with as 
 much accuracy as possible, the respective pretensions of 
 those wdio might lay claim to the musnud in such an event. 
 Upon such information as I shall receive from you, we may 
 be enabled to anticipate the mischiefs of a disputed succes- 
 sion, and to avoid the disgrace of adopting a premature 
 decision which we might afterwards be compelled to revoke. 
 General Harris will have communicated to you the direc- 
 tions of this Government with respect to the succession to 
 the musnud of Tanjore, and you will have learnt the man- 
 ner in which those directions have been executed. I shall 
 be extremely anxious to receive the report of the commis- 
 sion which is to be appointed for inquiring into the real 
 
504 APPENDIX. 
 
 state of Tanjore. Until that report shall be received, it 
 ■will be impossible to form a permanent system for the im- 
 provement of the interests of the Kajah or of the Company 
 in that fertile, bnt harassed country. I think it necessary, 
 however, to apprize your Lordship, that such information as 
 I have already been enabled to obtain upon this subject, 
 leads me to hope that the most advantaojeous arrangement 
 for the interests of the Company will prove to be that M^hich 
 would evidently most redound to their honour, and would 
 place the character of their justice on the most substantial 
 foundations. Your Lordship will have anticipated my idea, 
 that the restoration of the whole country to Serfogee under 
 an improved system of management, checked by the super- 
 intendence of the Government of Fort St. George, Avould 
 produce the most beneficial permanent consequences to both 
 parties. It was with this express view that I suggested the 
 policy of endeavouring to persuade Serfogee to make a tem- 
 porary cession of his kingdom to our management, in order 
 that we might provide for him (during our temporary pos- 
 session) not only such a permanent system of administra- 
 tion as should enable him hereafter to govern his people 
 with justice and mildness, but also such funds as should 
 admit of his making the necessary advances for the culti- 
 vation of the country, and of his securing the regular dis- 
 charge of his subsidy to the Company. 
 
 " I now proceed to that part of my communication with 
 your Lordship, which, although the most delicate and in- 
 vidious, is, perhaps, the most urgently demanded by my 
 public duty, and by the real interest which I take in the 
 success of your Lordship"'s administration. 
 
 " With these sentiments I shall deliver my unreserved 
 opinion of the character of such persons as I had an oppor- 
 tunity of knowing at JVIadras ; and I must observe that 
 although my continuance at Madras was but short, I had 
 
APPENDIX. 505 
 
 very frequent ojiportiinities of seeino; all the persons of whom 
 I shall speak to your Lordship. 
 
 " Mr. Webbe, the Secretary of the Government, ajD- 
 peared to me to be a man of talents and knowledge ; his 
 integrity I believe to be unblemished. 
 
 " Your Lordship will find all the members of the Board 
 of Revenue worthy of confidence. Mr. Cockburn, however, 
 deserves particular notice. He bears the highest reputation 
 for integrity, talents, and knowledge of the business of the 
 covmtry, and I found him fully answerable to his general 
 character. I have very seldom met with a more valuable 
 man in any part of the world ; and I take the liberty of 
 recommending him most earnestly to }'our Lordship's 
 attention, as a person upon whom you may rely for the 
 most accurate information, and for the soundest and most 
 honest opinions, entirely exempt from any taint of passion, 
 prejudice, or self-interest. 
 
 "Mr. White is a very deserving and useful man; I 
 understand that he is not likely to remain at Madras beyond 
 the present season. 
 
 " Mr. Harrington is a gentleman of the highest cha- 
 racter for integrity and diligence. Your Lordship will find 
 him a very valuable public servant. His brother is the 
 ablest officer in the court of Sudder Dewannee Adaulut in 
 Bengal, and a person who possesses just pretensions to an emi- 
 nent station in the judicial department at this Presidency. 
 
 " Mr. Lushington, Secretary to the Board of Re- 
 venue, and priA'ate secretary to General Harris, although a 
 very young man, ought to be particularly mentioned to your 
 Lordship as possessing very considerable talents and know- 
 ledge, imited to an uncommon degree of discretion and pru- 
 dence, and with a peculiar propriety of manners. He has 
 paid great attention to the study of the Persian language, 
 in which he is a considerable proficient. He is, without 
 
506 APPENDIX. 
 
 exception, the most promising young man I saw at Madras, 
 and, as far as I could judge from continual intercourse with 
 him during my stay there, I believe him to possess the 
 soundest principles of integrity and honour, 
 
 " Mr. Nathaniel Kindersley's character for integrity, 
 ability, and general knowledge is universally established. 
 He appeared to me to stand next to Mr. Cockburn in point 
 of consideration at Fort St. George. He has, however, 
 lately adopted the business of agency and private trade, and 
 therefore has relinquished, to a certain degree, the service 
 of the Company, and has relaxed that minute attention to 
 the details of business which you will find to be the pecu- 
 liar characteristic of Mr. Cockburn. 
 
 " Colonel Close, the Adjutant-General, is a very able and 
 intelligent man, and is perfectly conversant with the Persian 
 language. He is reputed to be of a vehement and ardent 
 temper, and inclined to promote measures of that character, 
 but I saw no symptom of any such disposition in him. 
 The reputation of his integrity is unblemished. 
 
 " Captain Malcolm, the town-major, deserves every de- 
 gree of countenance and protection ; he is an officer of great 
 Avorth, of extremely good sense, and well acquainted with 
 the country languages ; he has turned his attention particu- 
 larly to the study of the political system of India, and to 
 the relative situations and interests of the several native 
 powers. On this subject he is capable of furnishing your 
 Lordship with useful information, and you will find him 
 remarkably diligent, active, and zealous in the execution of 
 any service with which you may entrust him. He has also 
 the advantage of very pleasing and amiable manners. 
 
 " In this place I take the liberty of mentioning to your 
 Lordship the name of Captain Montgomery, who commands 
 your body-guard ; he is a very worthy and intelligent man. 
 
 " Major Allan was a particular friend of Lord Hobart, 
 
APPENDIX. 507 
 
 and I believe him to be an intelligent and honourable 
 man. 
 
 " The administration of the Company's Jaghire, under 
 Mr. Lionel Place, has been a subject of great animosity and 
 party at Fort St. George. Your Lordship's notice will, of 
 course, be immediately directed to it. Mr. Place (whom 
 I did not see at Madras), as I am informed, is a man of 
 considerable talents and of great diligence and zeal in the 
 public service. He certainly has been engaged in a most 
 invidious and difficult duty, in the execution of which he 
 has encountered with great spirit and perseverance the com- 
 bined influence of all the dubashes of Madras, and has 
 succeeded in efffecting a considerable augmentation of the 
 produce of the Jaghire. On the other hand, I should 
 apprize your Lordship, that repeated complaints were stated 
 to me of his rigorous treatment of the renters and 
 cultivators of the soil subject to his authority, and doubts 
 were suggested with respect to the justice of his settlement 
 of the land revenue. 
 
 " I had not sufiicient time at Madras to enable me to 
 enter into the investigation of the charges against Mr. 
 Place, and my intention in what I have said upon this 
 subject is merely to draw your Lordship's notice to it. The 
 general impression upon my mind is, that the introduction 
 of the Mocurrery system of land revenue would be more 
 desirable as well as more speedily practicable in the 
 Jaghire, than in any other part of the Company's terri- 
 tories on the Coast. 
 
 " Having troubled your Lordship with so much detail 
 upon the subject of the internal Government of Fort St. 
 George, I shall proceed to state some considerations with 
 reoard to the nature of the relation between that Govern- 
 ment and the Governor-General in Council of Bengal. 
 Your Lordship is, I doubt not, perfectly conversant with 
 
508 APPENDIX. 
 
 the provisions of the law on this point; I shall, therefore, 
 advert merely to the practical principles resnlting from 
 those provisions, and I am anxious to explain my sentiments 
 to your Lordship upon this head in the earliest period of 
 your government, not only because the greatest inconve- 
 niences have resulted to the public service from misunder- 
 standings of the distinct practical duties of the two Govern- 
 ments, but because I know that a faction exists at Madras, 
 whose constant endeavour has been, and will be, assidu- 
 ously employed to foment those misunderstandings into a 
 systematic spirit of jealousy and contention. 
 
 " All measures relating to the general defence and pro- 
 tection of India, to the system of our alliances, and of our 
 negociations, or intercourse with the native powers, to the 
 levying war or making ])cace, to the general administration 
 of the revenues of all the Presidencies, to the employment 
 of the military force, and, finally, to every point affecting 
 the general interests, whether civil or military, or political, 
 of the Company's possessions, form the exclusive duties 
 arising out of the superintending power of the Governor- 
 General in Council. For all measures of this description 
 he alone is responsible ; and therefore, the duty of the other 
 Presidencies, with regard to such measures, consists in a 
 cordial co-operation in the execution of that, which it is the 
 peculiar province of the Governor-General in Council to 
 determine. The Governor-General being in possession of the 
 whole superintendence and control, as well as of the means 
 of comprehending in one view the entire state of the Com- 
 ])any's empire and trade, and of all the various considera- 
 tions and circumstances which may affect either, must 
 frequently issue instructions, the fundamental principles, 
 and final scope of which cannot at first sight be fully under- 
 stood by the other Presidencies. In such cases, (as well, 
 indeed, as in any of those already described,) I am per- 
 
APPENDIX. 509 
 
 suaded that your Lordship will concur with me in thinking 
 that the duty of the other Presidencies can never be to mix 
 direct or indirect censures with their formal obedience to 
 the legal authority of the Governor-General in Council, still 
 less can it be their duty to anticipate his decisions, by the 
 premature interposition of their opinions and advice in any 
 quarter where such interference may counteract the success 
 of his general plans, and may introduce all the mischiefs and 
 confusion of divided councils and of conflicting authority. 
 The examination of the records of the late Government of 
 Fort St. George, will manifest to your Lordship a constant 
 tendency towards this fatal error ; and even since my 
 arrival in Bengal, I have found it necessary to restrain the 
 symptoms of the same disposition in two instances : the one, 
 a letter written to Admiral Rainier, without any previous 
 concert with me, suggesting a plan of operation for his 
 Majesty's squadron, entirely incompatible with my views 
 for the general protection of our possessions ; the other, a 
 letter to me in council, containing both direct and indirect 
 censures of the orders which I have lately issued for assem- 
 bling the army on the Coast, a measure indispensably 
 necessary, and founded on a variety of reasons, of wdiich 
 the Government of Fort St, George could not at that time 
 comprehend either the nature or extent. 
 
 " Under your Lordship's administration, I am confident 
 that no such embarrassment can ever occur. With the 
 same freedom which I have used throughout this letter, 
 I will state to you distincly the mode in which I propose 
 to conduct the intercourse between the two Governments, 
 with a view to secure their cordial co-operation, and to 
 preclude the possibility of distraction. Every endeavour 
 shall be used on my part to communicate to your Lordship 
 the fullest and earliest intelligence of the nature and object 
 of any measure which I may have in contemplation, either 
 
510 APPENDIX. 
 
 with relation to your particular GoA-ernment, or to the 
 general interests of the whole British Empire in India. 
 These communications will be made to your Lordship 
 through the channel of my private correspondence. On the 
 other hand, I make it my earnest request to your Lordship, 
 that whenever any such communication shall be delayed, 
 you will attribute the delay either to the absolute necessity 
 of the case, or to my views of the public service, and that 
 you will, therefore, have the goodness to prevent the 
 Government of Fort St. George from proceeding to take 
 any steps upon matters belonging to my exclusive respon- 
 sibility, without a full previous communication with me, 
 and without being apprized of my concurrence. Li your 
 Lordship''s private correspondence, I trust that your Lord- 
 ship will permit me to hope for the advantage of your 
 unreserved opinion, not only with respect to all matters 
 within your own peculiar charge, but to any point which 
 you may think essential to the general interests of the 
 British Empire in India, and I assure your Lordship most 
 sincerely, that I shall always receive your private sug- 
 gestions as personal favours. In regulating your public 
 correspondence, I request that your Lordship will advert to 
 the suggestions contained in this letter, and that you will 
 exclude from the public records every indication of jealousy 
 and counteraction. On my part, you will always find a 
 sincere disposition in every transaction, both public and 
 private, to consider your Lordship's authority as a part of 
 my own, and to repel every attempt to disunite the two 
 Governments. 
 
 " By these means, I flatter myself that I may be 
 enabled to contribute effectual assistance to your Lordship 
 in promoting those important interests, in the prosperity of 
 which you must feel a natural and hereditary concern. It 
 would give me great satisfaction to have the honour of a 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 511 
 
 personal interview with you in the early period of your 
 government; such an event would greatly contribute to 
 forward the public service. Perhaps your Lordship may 
 feel a disposition to visit Plassey during the approaching cold 
 season in Bengal ; if you should find yourself at leisure to 
 make such an expedition, I can assure your Lordship that 
 you will be received here by the whole settlement, and by 
 myself, with the marks of distinction and respect to which 
 you are on every account entitled, and that you will find in 
 the mind of all those entrusted with the administration of 
 these opulent and flourishing provinces, a grateful remem- 
 brance of the exertions to which the Company is indebted 
 for this valuable possession. 
 
 " This letter has been copied from my original draft by 
 my brother*, who is my private secretary. I would not 
 entrust a paper of so confidential and secret a nature to any 
 other hand. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, with great respect and 
 
 esteem, 
 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " Your Lordship's most obedient 
 
 and faithful servant, 
 
 MORNINGTON," 
 
 No. IL 
 (See page 150.) 
 
 Particulars RESPECTma Mr. Cockburn. 
 
 I have noticed in this Memoir (page 238), that Mr. 
 
 Thomas Cockburn stood nearly alone at Madras in the year 
 
 ]798, in his cordial approval of Lord Mornington's bold 
 
 and masterly policy from the moment it was unfolded to 
 
 * Mr. Henry Wellesley, afterwards Ambassador in Spain, and 
 now Lord Cowley, 
 
512 APPENDIX. 
 
 liiin, and that he rendered every aid in his power to 
 General Harris by his comprehensive knowledge and 
 animated example. 
 
 I was at that period not only private secretary to 
 General Harris, but also Secretary to the Board of Revenue, 
 of which Mr. Cockburn was the most distinguished member, 
 and thence I became the willing channel of conveying to 
 General Harris some of those valuable suggestions which 
 confirmed his opinion that Mr. Cockburn was the best 
 informed man in India upon the means of equipping our 
 army for the approaching campaign*. In the discharge of 
 his duties as Commissary-General in the preceding war 
 with Tippoo, and in the re-equipment of Lord Cornwallis's 
 army during the monsoon, Mr. Cockburn had shown that 
 no dangers or difficulties could imjjede the progress of his 
 able and successful labours for the public good ; and it was 
 under this conviction that Lord Cornwallis thus acknow- 
 ledged the value of his services : — 
 
 " To Thomas Cockburn, Esq., from Colonel Ross, Secre- 
 tary to Earl Cornwallis, Governor-General and Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. 
 
 "20th November, 179L 
 " I have much satisfaction in assuring you that every 
 part of Lord Cornwallis's expectations regarding our re- 
 equipment, and that had dependence on your exertions, are 
 likely to be fulfilled to his entire satisfaction. No man can 
 possibly entertain a higher sense of your zeal and exertions 
 than his Lordship does, and while he sets a just estimate 
 on your services to the ])ublic, I am persuaded he is not 
 without feeling a considerable share of personal obligation 
 
 to you for them. 
 
 Alexander Ross." 
 
 * See liis letter to the Eavl of JMornington, page 150. 
 
APPENDIX. 513 
 
 " WhiteJiall, \5th March., 1798. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I have mentioned to Lord Clive my sense of your 
 merit and abilities, and the slender rewards with which 
 they have been hitherto attended, and I pointed you out as 
 a person who deserved his confidence. His Lordship can 
 only be induced by the most laudable motives to under- 
 take the government, but he has not been accustomed to 
 business and to manage great affairs. He will, therefore, 
 require encouragement to undertake new modes of govern- 
 ing the long neglected country over which we have an 
 undisputed power, to enter into voluminous details, and to 
 encounter the difficulties which will be magnified by the 
 ill -designing, the prejudiced, and the indolent. 
 
 " I am, with great esteem and very sincere good wishes. 
 
 Yours, &c., &c., 
 " Thomas Cocklurn, Esq." Cornwallis." 
 
 The abilities of such a person as ]\Ir. Cockburn were 
 not likely to escape the observation of Colonel Wellesley. 
 Whilst the preparations for the attack upon Tippoo were 
 were going on at Madras they were in constant communi- 
 . cation ; and one day, whilst sitting at the Revenue Board, 
 Mr. Cockburn received a note from Colonel Wellesley, 
 stating that Sir Alured Clarke"'s baggage was ordered on 
 board to proceed to Madras. On the same day General Harris 
 received the following letter from Lord JNlornington : — 
 
 " Fort William, December 5, 1798. 
 " My dear General, 
 
 " I return you many thanks for your kind congratula- 
 tions on the late event at Hyderabad, from which I hope to 
 be able to derive considerable advantage to the public ser- 
 vice. My sentiments with regard to your conduct in the 
 
 2 L 
 
614 APPENDIX. 
 
 late crisis are expressed in the enclosed extracts, of which 
 the originals are gone home by the ' Eurydice,"" and over- 
 land. Your last public letters to me in council, on the 
 subject of your state of preparation, gave me great pleasure : 
 persevere, and advance all you can towards the frontier as 
 rapidly as possible. Depend on my word, you have no 
 chance of peace or security without such measures as shall 
 convince our enemies that we do not fear them. The times 
 do not admit of languid counsels ; we must be as bold and 
 active as our enemy, unless we intend to submit to him, — 
 a disgrace which you would not brook, if I know you. 
 
 " I am highly satisfied with Lord Clive's honour, ala- 
 crity, and zeal ; and I hope we shall be able to bring the 
 ship up, notwithstanding all appearances. I have not yet 
 been able to give full consideration to your ISliiiute respect- 
 ing the permanent plan for the defence of the Carnatic. 
 You seem to wish so much for the assistance of Sir Alured 
 (an excellent man), that I have determined to spare him 
 from hence, although with great reluctance. Zemaan Shah 
 menaces the north-western frontier. We have no positive 
 accounts of his having yet crossed the Attock, but all re- 
 ports concur in stating the probability of his entering the 
 Punjaub this season. We have a good army under Sir 
 James Craig at Oude. 
 
 Believe me, my dear Sir, 
 Yours most faithfully, with great regard and esteem, 
 
 MoimiNGTON." 
 
 To General Harris the information that Sir Alured 
 Clarke would command the expedition, was a great relief; 
 but he still earnestly hoped, as he had urgently recom- 
 mended, that the Noble Earl would himself come to Madras. 
 Colonel Wellesley and Mr. Cockburn were of opinion also 
 that nothing but the presence and influence of the Governor- 
 
APPENDIX. 515 
 
 General could restore the public credit, and overcome the 
 difficulties to be encountered in the war which they thought 
 inevitable, and the Colonel stated this in an able letter 
 which he wrote to the Earl at ]Mr. Cockburn's desk. The 
 letter was sent off express, and the immediate result was, 
 that Sir Alured Clarke's baggage was ordered on shore, and 
 his Lordship's put on board for Madras, where he quickly- 
 arrived, having left Sir Alured at Calcutta in charge of the 
 government, and to watch the ulterior proceedings of 
 Zemaun Shah. 
 
 I have transcribed this letter, and related this import- 
 ant fact because it is one amongst the many instances of 
 that promptitude and vigour which distinguished the con- 
 duct of the Noble Earl, and of those who acted in cordial 
 execution of his enlightened policy on that great occasion. 
 
 From the day of the EarFs arrival at Madras, the word 
 difficulty was little heard ; all heads and hearts soon worked 
 for the great object in view, the due equipment and supply 
 of the army, and none more efficiently than Mr. Cockburn. 
 
 Upon his return to England, he was appointed one of 
 the Commissioners for the final settlement of the claims of 
 the creditors of the Nabob of Arcot, ujdou the Revenues of 
 the Carnatic, and a more honourable or useful choice could 
 not have been made. The extraordinary result of the 
 labours of that Commission was thus reported to Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 Numbev of claims prefen-ed before the Commissioners i 
 
 and reported to Parliament /•••>- 
 
 Aggi-egate amount claimed £30,404,919 1 3| 
 
 Of this amount the Commissioners allowed and) 
 
 established J 2,686,148 12 8^ 
 
 Amount disallowed and rejected by the Commission £27,718,770 1 6| 
 
 It is not to be supposed that the parties against whom 
 the decisions of the Commissioners passed would in all 
 
 2 L 2 
 
51 G APPENDIX. 
 
 cases cheerfully acquiesce tlierein, considering the enormous 
 sum of the rejected claims, but it is a singular circumstance, 
 that no attempt was made, in any instance, to call their 
 adjudications into question. Their last report to Parlia- 
 ment thus concluded : — " In closing an inquiry necessarily 
 often protracted by circumstances not within our control, 
 which we have sometimes stated in ovir progressive reports 
 to this Honourable House, and which must always attend 
 intricate and extensive investigations into subjects remote, 
 in time and place, and in the greater proportion involving 
 the interests of the Natives of India, we have reason to 
 believe that the patient investigation, the last results of 
 which we now communicate, has not deprived any one 
 claimant of his least right under those terms of inquiry, 
 to which, by signing the deed of covenants, he had himself 
 agreed ; whilst, as to some of the cases rejected, it has 
 defeated the most iniquitous combinations of fraud, which 
 were ever submitted to a legal tribunal."" This report is 
 signed by the honourable names of Benjamin Hobhouse, 
 Thomas Cockburn, and Robert Harry Inglis. 
 
 No. III. 
 (See pages 182 and 240.) 
 
 Lettek of Colonel Wellesley, respecting the French 
 Prisoners at Madras. 
 (Private.) 
 
 " Fort St. George, October 3, 1798. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I consider that sending away the prisoners is an 
 object of the greatest consequence ; that an opportunity so 
 good will not offer again for some time, and therefore that 
 there is nothing which so well deserves your attention and 
 exertion. Lord Clive has spoken to me upon the subject, 
 
APPENDIX. 517 
 
 and seems very anxious to send them away; but the 
 difficulties of clearing and preparing the Osterly have been 
 misrepresented and magnified. It was reported to him 
 
 that said she could not be ready till the 26th ; 
 
 and told me that she could be ready by the 20th ; 
 
 and you know that when the labouring oar is to fall upon 
 him, he is not over sanguine. I wish you would have 
 some inquiries made into this business — at all events, press 
 Lord C. (as I have) to endeavour to have the Osterly got 
 ready. 
 
 " If the fleet should be detained two or three days 
 beyond the usual time, it is better than that the prisoners 
 should stay. The advantage of sending them away is seen 
 by those whose aim one would almost believe to be, to 
 throw impediments in the way of everything that is to be 
 done for the public serv^ice at the present moment, and 
 accordingly endeavours are made to prevent the possibility 
 of their going. 
 
 Believe me, my dear Sir, 
 
 Ever yours, most faithfully, 
 
 Arthur Wellesley." 
 '* Lieutenant-General Harrisy 
 Sfc, <5-c., <5'c." 
 
 No. lY. 
 
 (See page 242.) ' 
 Letters from Josiah Webbe, Esq. 
 
 '■'[Fort St. George, August 6, 1801. 
 " Dear Lushington, 
 
 " When I received your first letter, I was so much 
 
 engaged in public business, that I had not leisure to answer 
 
 it. I have now the pleasure of informing you that I 
 
518 APPENDIX. 
 
 immediately communicated to Lord Olive the arrangements 
 you had made for bringing the province of Tinnevelly under 
 your authority. Your reasons for anticipating the public 
 order are entirely satisfactory to his Lordship ; and he 
 desires me to express to you his entire approbation of your 
 zealous attention to the tranquillity of the country, and to 
 the immediate interests of the Company. 
 
 " By this time you will probably have received the 
 official orders transmitted by express on the 81st ult., for 
 the purpose of rescuing the country from the charge of the 
 late Nabob's officers ; and Lord Clive considers the dispo- 
 sition evinced by the people of Tinnevelly to prognosticate 
 the early restoration of that fertile province to wealth and 
 prosperity under your superintendence. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. Webbe." 
 " S. Ltiskinc/ton^ Esq." 
 
 ''Fort St. George, October 31, 1802. 
 " Dear Lushington, 
 
 " I have received both your letters of the 20th 
 instant, of which I have communicated that intended by 
 you to be shown to Lord Clive. His Lordship, like every 
 other person acquainted with your services in Tinnevelly, 
 will regret your departure, at a time when knowledge and 
 zeal are so necessary as at present, to the great interests of 
 this Government. For myself, I assure you with sincerity 
 that I feel for the necessity which compels you to go 
 hence ; for, independently of the considerations which 
 attach to the health of yourself and of Mrs. Lushington, the 
 manner in which you have discharged your duties at 
 Tinnevelly is (as far as my judgment goes) such as to 
 render your departure a great loss to the public service. 
 
 " If your health should continue to require your return 
 to England, Lord Clive will, of course, be ready to accept 
 
APPENDIX. 519 
 
 your resignation whenever it may be most convenient to 
 yourself. With regard to your commission, you know that 
 the most favourable interpretation has been always given 
 to such claims by his Lordship. The principle on which 
 the restriction is founded is, in my judgment, extremely 
 false, and has, wherever my voice has had weight, been 
 uniformly superseded ; but some difficulty, I apprehend, 
 will occur, founded on the statute, which it may not be 
 easy to remove. Lord. Clive, however, feels the best dis- 
 position to meet your wishes ; and if it should not be com- 
 petent for him to decide in your favour, will, I have no 
 doubt, give you a strong recommendation to the Court of 
 Directors. Yours, sincerely, 
 
 J. Webbe."" 
 "/S'. Lushington, Esq." 
 
 " Sunday. 
 " Dear Lushington, 
 
 " I have read your report with great attention, and 
 think that the ability and care with which it is drawn 
 leave very little for the Commission to add to the points 
 you have recommended. As soon as you send it in, I 
 shall be prepared to report my opinion ; and I request that 
 you will do it soon, as I wish to be relieved from the duties 
 of the Special Commission. 
 
 " I am not quite satisfied about Shevagunga ; but it 
 may be better to settle it than postpone it. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. Webbe." 
 
 Epitaph on Mr. Webbe. 
 
 To THE Memory of JOSIAH WEBBE, Esa., 
 
 For some years Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras, and 
 
 afterwards Resident at the Court of Scindia, 
 
 Where he died 9th day of November, 1804, aged 37. 
 
520 APPENDIX. 
 
 His mind, by Nature firm, lofty, and energetic, 
 
 Was formed by Classic Study, 
 
 To a tone of Independence and Patriotism, 
 
 Not unworthy 
 
 The best days of Greece and Rome. ' 
 
 Disdaining the little arts of private influence. 
 
 Or of vulgar popiilarity, 
 
 And erect in conscious Integrity, 
 
 He rested liis claims to Public Honours 
 
 On Public INIerit. 
 
 An extensive knowledge of the Eastern languages forwarded 
 
 his rise to stations of high trust, 
 
 AVhere his ambition was fired to exalt 
 
 The honour and interests of his Country, 
 
 And during an eventful period 
 
 Of its Indian History, 
 
 His Services were crowned with important success. 
 
 In the midst of a career. 
 
 Thus honourable and distinguished, 
 
 He was cut off by sickness 
 
 In the prime of Life ; 
 
 Beloved with fervour by his Friends, 
 
 Regretted by his Riders, 
 
 And admired by all. 
 
 Reader ! 
 
 Emulate his Wortli, 
 
 And midst the pursuits of this world. 
 
 Prepare 
 
 To meet a call as sudden, to the next. 
 
 No. V. 
 
 (See page 244.) 
 
 Colonel Wellesley's Letter respecting the 25th Light 
 Dragoons, under Colonel Cotton*. 
 
 "Arcot, December 27, 1798. 
 " I have been out tliis morning to see the 25th Light 
 Dragoons, and I think I never saw a finer regiment of 
 * Now Viscount Combeiinere. 
 
APPENDIX. 521 
 
 Dragoons in my life. It is a pity that they are not all 
 mounted. Cotton only wants forty horses to be able to 
 bring into the field 400 men ; and as the two Regiments of 
 Native Cavalry which are here have more horses than they 
 have men to ride them, I should think that it Avould bo 
 better to give their supernumerary horses, which are trained, 
 than any of the young horses which may come from 
 Hyderabad or the Malabar Coast." 
 
 No. VI. 
 
 (See page 264.) 
 
 Declaration op the Allies, and other Papers relating 
 TO THE War against Tippoo Sultaun. 
 
 The following letters and papers are referred to in this 
 Memoir, as if contained in the Appendix. But the Post- 
 script has materially increased the size of the volume, and 
 it is therefore thought more convenient to refer to books 
 already published, in which these documents are to bo 
 found. 
 
 Lord Mornington to General Harris, 22nd February, 
 179.9 — Wellesley's Desjmtches, p. 442. 
 
 The Declaration of the Allies against Ti])poo Sultaun, 
 22nd February, Vim—Ibid., p. 448. 
 
 Lord Mornington's Letter to Tippoo Sultaun, 22nd 
 February, ll^—Ihkl, p. 453. 
 
 The two last documents are also printed in Wel- 
 lington''s Despatches, vol. i., pp. 9 — 20 ; and in Beatson's 
 Narrative, Nos. XV. and XVI. of the Appendix. 
 
522 APPENDIX 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 (Sec page 283.) 
 Sketch of the Action at Mallavelly, March 27, 1799. 
 
 REFERENCES. 
 
 Red, denotes the 1st position of the English Army. 
 
 Bhie, the 2nd ditto. 
 
 Purple, the 3rd ditto. 
 
 Yellow, Tippoo's, the 1st ditto. 
 
 Green, the 2ud ditto. 
 
 Orange, shows the Encampment of the Army after the action. 
 
 A. A large body of the Enemy's Horse kept in check by the 25th 
 
 Regiment of Light Dragoons. 
 
 B. A party of the Horse and Rocket Boys driven off by the Picquet. 
 
 C. A small party of the Enemy's Horse charging the 1st, or European 
 
 Brigade, and repulsed. 
 
 D. The 2nd Regiment of Cavalry advancing to charge, but halted on 
 
 the European Brigade beginning to fire. 
 
 E. A large body of the Enemy which retreated on the party C being 
 
 repulsed. 
 
 F. A party of the Enemy's Infantry engaged with the left of the 
 
 European Brigade, and obhged to retreat. 
 
 G. Another party that attacked the 33rd Regiment, the head of Colonel 
 
 WeUesley's division. 
 
 //. Retreat of the party G charged by the 33rd Regiment. 
 
 /. Charge of three Regiments of Cavalry, under General Floyd, on 
 the Fugitives H. 
 
 K. Two brass 18-pounders on a high spot, cannonading the Enemy 
 while the Line formed. 
 
 L. Ditto advanced to some commanding rocks, from which they 
 opened on the Enemy as the Line advanced. 
 
SOriTH of the ACTION near MALLAVELLY. gT'i^Ma^j.^l^ j799 
 
 .^' 
 
 ti3 E] en 
 
 
 '''n^'wUKJ^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ■3 S%.U'ii/xiii/i- 
 
 StantUdtft k-C Lithe Lvn- 
 
 From, the orCcfma^ Drawing by Oeopla.i.>v Syci€n?t.( 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 623 
 
 No. VIII. 
 (See page 286.) 
 
 The Mauciies op the Army under the Command of His 
 Excellency Lieutenant-Gexeral Harris, from Vel- 
 
 LORE TO SeRINGAPATAM. 
 
 Date. 
 Feb. 11. From Vellore to Laulgerry . 
 
 M. 
 O 
 
 
 
 14. North of Policanda 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 16. Goriatum .... 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 17. East of Amboor 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 19. South of Amboor 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 22. Vaniambatly . . . ' . 
 
 24. Tripatore .... 
 
 25. Cocknagerry . 
 
 10 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 26. Muttoor . . 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 27. Baroor .... 
 
 . 10 
 
 8 
 
 28. Carrammigalum . 
 Mar. 2. Paulcode 
 
 8 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 8. Maranhelly 
 
 4. Ryacottah 
 
 6. Neeklroog .... 
 
 8 
 
 . 9 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 7. Kellamungalum 
 
 . 7 
 
 
 
 10. Collakondapilly . 
 12. Arragudda 
 
 10 
 . 11 
 
 
 8 
 
 14. Catagerapetty 
 
 16. Cagliporam 
 
 17. Somanapilly 
 
 19. Arravelly 
 
 20. Jagganelly 
 
 21. Kankanelly . 
 
 22. Achel .... 
 
 10 
 9 
 4 
 
 . 5 
 4 
 
 . 8 
 6 
 
 5 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 23. Sultanpett 
 
 24. Banks of the Madoor River. 
 
 . 9 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 523 
 
 No. VIII. 
 (See page 28G.) 
 
 The Mauches op the Army under the Command of His 
 Excellency Lie uten ant-General Harris, from Vel- 
 
 LORE TO SeRINCtAPATAM. 
 
 Date. 
 Feb. 11. From Vellore to Laulgerry . 
 
 M. 
 
 3 
 
 F. 
 
 
 
 14. North of Policanda 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 16. Goriatum .... 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 17. East of Amboor 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 19. South of Amboor 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 22. Vaniambady . . . ' . 
 
 24. Tripatore .... 
 
 25. Cocknagerry . 
 
 26. Muttoor .... 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 . 9 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 5 
 
 27. Baroor .... 
 
 . 10 
 
 8 
 
 28. Carramungalum . 
 Mar. 2. Paulcode 
 
 8 
 . 10 
 
 
 
 
 3. Marauhelly 
 
 4. Ryacottah 
 
 6. Neeldroog .... 
 
 8 
 
 . 9 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 7. Kellamungahim 
 
 . 7 
 
 
 
 10. Collakondapilly . 
 12. Arragudda 
 
 10 
 . 11 
 
 
 3 
 
 14. Catagerapetty 
 
 16. Cagliporam 
 
 17. Somanapilly 
 
 19. Arravelly 
 
 20. Jagganelly 
 
 21. Kankanelly . 
 
 22. Achel .... 
 
 10 
 . 9 
 
 4 
 . 5 
 
 4 
 . 8 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 23. Sultanpett 
 
 24. Banks of the Madoor River. 
 
 . 9 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
524 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Date 
 Mar. 26. Basuwanpooram 
 
 27. Mallavelly 
 
 28. Angurapooram 
 
 29. Sosilly 
 SO. Yedatory 
 
 April 1. Rungasamoodrum 
 
 2. Heeravanelly 
 
 3. Anthanelly 
 
 4. Nova Sliaher 
 
 5. Seringapatam 
 
 12 
 1 5 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 (See page 287.) 
 Memorandum on the Establishment of Draft Bullocks 
 AND THE Breeding Establishment in Mysore. By 
 Colonel M. Cubbon. 
 
 The Establishment of Draft Bullocks belonging to Tip- 
 poo Sultaun was delivered up to General Lord Harris after 
 the capture of Seringapatam, and, in consideration of their 
 immense superiority OA'er all other cattle in the south of 
 India for military purposes, it was determined, on his 
 recommendation, to maintain them on their original footing 
 for the service of the British Government. Lord Harris 
 had witnessed, with deep anxiety, the MTctched inefficiency 
 of the equipments of his own army; and to hig^ protection 
 of the establishment, which had then fallen into -^lis hands, 
 may be attributed, on the authority of the Duke of Wel- 
 lington, much of the success which afterwards attended the 
 British arms in India. 
 
 It was this establishment which enabled Hyder Aly 
 to march one hundred miles in two days and a-half, to the 
 
APPENDIX. 525 
 
 relief of Chillumbrum, and after every defeat to draw off 
 his guns in face of his enemies ; which enabled Tippoo 
 Sultaun to cross the Peninsula in one month for the 
 recovery of Bednore, and to march sixty-three miles in two 
 days before G-eneral Medows ; which, in later times, 
 enabled Major-General Pritzler to march 34G miles in 
 twenty-five days in pursuit of the Peshwah ; and which 
 enabled Major-General Campbell, after the failure of his 
 Bengal equipments, to advance upon Ava, and bring the 
 war to a favourable termination. It was also this esta- 
 blishment which enabled the Duke of Wellington to 
 execute those movements of unexampled rapidity which 
 are the admiration of every military man, and in consider- 
 ation of whose services he recommended it to protection in 
 the following letter, addressed at the close of the war to the 
 Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant-General Stuart : — 
 
 " Fort St. George, August 2, 1804. 
 
 " It must be recollected that, in former wars, the 
 utmost exertion which it was possible for the array to make, 
 was to draw its train of artillery to Seringapatam. It was 
 not possible, and never w^as expected, that the guns and car- 
 riages which were drawn there should be brought away again, 
 and accordingly, notwithstanding the undoubted talents and 
 the great reputation of the officers who have at different 
 times led British armies to that place, it has invariably 
 happened that by far the greatest part of the train and 
 carriages have been left behind when the army marched 
 away. They who have seen the mode in which those 
 armies made their marches, and were acquainted with the 
 system under which cattle were, and must necessarily be, 
 procured for the service, will not hesitate to allow that the 
 slowness of all our operations, and the necessity to which I 
 have alluded, of leaving our guns after they had been drawn 
 
526 APPENDIX. 
 
 about 300 miles, were to be attributed entirely to the 
 faults of the system under which the cattle were procured 
 for the service. 
 
 " But although I am addressing myself to an officer 
 whose experience reaches beyond the times to which I have 
 alluded, it is only necessary that I should advert, in proof 
 of my assertion, to the circumstances of the late war. 
 From a variety of causes it was necessary, at the com- 
 mencement of the war, to hire cattle to draw the train 
 from Madras to the frontiers of Mysore ; and you will 
 recollect the difficulties under which you laboured, and that, 
 in fact, you could not have brought your carriages to the 
 frontier without the assistance of the public cattle which 
 you called to join you, and that if the circumstances of the 
 times had required that the whole army should advance to 
 Poonah, you would probably have thought it proper to take 
 with you only those carriages for which you might have 
 had a sufficient number of the public draft cattle. All the 
 carriages attached to the diAnsions under my command 
 were drawn by public cattle ; and I will advert to a few 
 facts, to point out the difference between this part of the 
 equipment of the troops in late and former wars. 
 
 " We marched to Poonah from Seringapatam, the dis- 
 tance being nearly 600 miles, in the worst season of the 
 year, through a country which had been destroyed by 
 Holkar's arm}^, with heavy guns, at the rate upon an average 
 of thirteen and a-half miles a day, and if the twelve days 
 which we halted on the Toombudra for orders be excluded, 
 we arrived at Poonah in two months from the time we 
 marched. On this march we lost no draft cattle. I 
 remained in the neighbourhood of Poonah, in a country 
 which deserves the name of a desert, for six weeks, and 
 then marched again with the train in the same state as to 
 numbers as when it left Seringapatam, and the troops and 
 
APPENDIX. 527 
 
 cattle were in the field during the monsoon. It is needless 
 to advert to the distance marched during the war, or to 
 recapitulate its events, all of which must show the efficient 
 state of the equipments ; but it has frequently been neces- 
 sary for the troops to march for many days together a dis- 
 tance amounting to fifteen miles a day ; the heavy artillery 
 always accompanied them, and I always found that the 
 cattle could go as far as the troops. Upon one occasion I 
 found it necessary to march a detachment sixty miles in 
 thirty hours, and the ordnance and provision carriages 
 drawn by the Company's bullocks accompanied this de- 
 tachment. 
 
 " Instead of being obliged, as the Commanders-in-Chief 
 of armies in former wars have been, to leave guns and 
 carriages behind, such was [the state of efficiency of this 
 department thoughout this severe service, that I was able, 
 but wnth little assistance, to draw away the guns which 
 the troops took. After all this service, in which so many 
 countries have been marched over, the number of cattle 
 which have died is, I believe, not greater than it would 
 have been at the grazing ground, and the department is 
 at this moment in a state of great efficiency. 
 
 " It would not be difficult to prove that, in point of 
 actual expense, this establishment is cheaper to the public 
 than the hire of cattle in the old mode, but the consider- 
 ation respecting a public establishment of this description 
 is not referable entirely to cheapness. It must be obvious 
 to every man that, in a war such as the late war, there 
 could be no success unless the officer commanding the 
 the troops was able to move at all times with the utmost 
 celerity of which the troops were capable, and to continue 
 its movements as long as w^as necessary. Rapid move- 
 ments with guns and carriages cannot be made without good 
 cattle, well driven, and well taken care of; and without 
 
528 APPENDIX. 
 
 adverting to what passed subsequently, it is more than 
 probable that if I had the service only of such cattle as 
 served Lord Cornwallis and General Harris in former wars, 
 I should never have reached Poonah, or should have been 
 obliged to find my way back without the wheel carriages 
 in the best manner I could. 
 
 " I therefore take the liberty of recommending this 
 establishment of cattle to your protection. It is founded 
 upon the most efficient and most economical principles, and 
 will never fail the army as long as it is superintended and 
 conducted as it has been hitherto." 
 
 It was the want of such an establishment which, in 
 former times, crippled all Sir Eyre Coote's operations, and 
 kept him frequently inactive, and incapable of profiting by 
 his victories, and which made him declare, after the battle 
 of Cuddalore, "• If Hyder Aly, buoyed up with former suc- 
 cess, had not come to seek us, I could not have moved the 
 army to follow him, and this is a situation so trying to the 
 responsible military commander, that an officer of character 
 shudders at the idea of being placed in such a predi- 
 cament." 
 
 The want of such an establishment was also severely 
 felt by Lord Cornwallis, M'hen he was obliged to employ 
 his troops in dragging his guns to Seringapatam, and, 
 finally, to abandon them, and all his heavy equipments ; it 
 was also felt by General Lord Harris, though in an inferior 
 degree ; and to a state of great, though perhaps not equal, 
 inefficiency, we might still be reduced witliout the aid of 
 this establishment. 
 
 The establishment at present is fixed at thirty-seven 
 karkanahs of 100 bullocks each, exclusive of nine karkanahs 
 of cattle of a diflerent description attached to the Hyderabad 
 and Nagpoor Subsidiary Forces, and also exclusive of eight 
 
APPENDIX. 529 
 
 karkanalis of 160 bullocks each attached to the Foot 
 Artillery for the movement of light guns. The whole, if 
 complete, would amount to 5,880 head of draft bullocks, 
 but at this moment 898 are wanting to complete. 
 
 These cattle are placed, by the regulations of the Go- 
 vernment, at the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief, and 
 their distribution rests with him. The advantage of pos- 
 sessing such an establishment, in time of war, is beyond 
 all calculation ; the only objection to it, in time of peace, 
 is its expense : but if it be possible, as heretofore, to 
 employ these cattle, in time of peace, on services of a public 
 nature, for which cattle must otherwise be hired, so as in a 
 great measure to cover the expense of maintaining them, 
 it may not, perhaps, be deemed advisable to reduce their 
 number, or to impair in any way the efficiency of so 
 powerful an instrument in the hands of Government. 
 From 1811 to 1822 inclusive, the expense of maintaining 
 this establishment, after deducting the value of its actual 
 services at the ordinary rate of bullock-hire, averaged only 
 18,622 rupees annually ; and had it not been for three 
 years of war, during which a large portion of the cattle 
 were employed in expensive situations, this balance against 
 the establishment, small as it is, would have been still 
 more reduced. 
 
 The cattle of this establishment are as different froni 
 all other Indian cattle as the Arab is from the country 
 horse, and as superior to them, not merely in their blood 
 and configuration, but their strength and energy, their 
 quick step, power of endurance, and of keeping their con- 
 dition under great privation. Heavier and larger cattle 
 may be found, perhaps, better calculated for the slow move- 
 ment of heavy ordnance, but none that can be compared 
 to them in spirit and activity, that like them would make 
 forced marches with troops, withstand all changes of wea- 
 
 2 M 
 
530 APPENDIX. 
 
 ther, or be so fresh at tlie end of a campaign. This breed 
 is pecnhar to Mysore, and takes its name from the village 
 of Hagglewaddy. Its origin is beyond tradition, but it has 
 ever been in the hands of the ruling power, on account of 
 its superior qualities. 
 
 The Breeding Establishment which supplies these 
 cattle is divided into thirty-four herds, which are dispersed 
 in various parts of Mysore* favourable to their subsist- 
 ence. They are almost as wild as deer, and cannot be 
 approached with safety without the protection of the 
 herdsmen -f-; they roam at large over their pastures, com- 
 paratively unattended to, and subsist entirely on the grass 
 of the waste lauds, and a portion of the stubble, to which, 
 from time immemorial, they have been entitled. They are 
 frequently inspected and counted in their pastures, and 
 assembled annually for general inspection, and in order 
 to be branded by a process which it would be tedious to 
 describe ; the utmost attention is paid to the improvement 
 of the breed, by reserving only the finest forms for bulls, 
 and castrating all the other males at an early age, and the 
 young bullocks are separated from the herds, when six 
 3'ears of age, taken in hand, and trained for work. 
 
 "When the Draft Establishment was taken for the 
 Company, it was suggested by Colonel Close that the 
 
 * One liundred and forty-three separate pastures of various extent 
 belong to the establishment, for which a small quit-rent is annually 
 paid to the INIysore Government. 
 
 + Establishment of Attendants allowed to 500 head of Cattle. 
 
 1 Sherwegar Rupees 2 14 8 
 
 2 IMooudals „ 2 8 
 
 10 Graziers „ 17 4 
 
 1 Nizumwallah „ 17 4 
 
 3 Kawulghars „ 17 4 
 
 These attendants are allowed certain privileges by the Mysore 
 Government, and they are all exempted from some small taxes to which 
 the rest of the population is liable. 
 
APPENDIX. 531 
 
 Breeding Establishment should remain in the hands of the 
 Mysore Rajah, and agreed to, — though the Government was 
 not insensible to the disadvantage of transferring to a 
 native Government the management of any part of the 
 public equipments, — on condition, however, that means 
 should be taken to increase the number of cattle, and that 
 the produce should be fully applied to the benefit of the 
 public service. It was probably imagined that the Dewau 
 would pay as much attention to the establishment as the 
 former Government had done, but on no good grounds ; for 
 Tippoo Sultaun depended upon it for the efficiency of his 
 army, and the new Government could be actuated by no 
 such motive. The consequence was, as might have been 
 expected, the establishment was abandoned to the ser- 
 vants who had charge of it, and by them neglected and 
 abused ; the Government was disappointed in its expected 
 supplies from that source, and the cattle were allowed to 
 degenerate to such a degree, that after a period of thirteen 
 years, it became necessary for Government to resume it, in 
 order to preserve the breed from extinction. 
 
 10,914 head of breeding cattle were delivered over to 
 the Mysore Government, in January, 1800, and in the end 
 of 1813, the same number precisely was received back from 
 the Mysore Government. During that long period there 
 had been no increase of stock, and the calves supplied by 
 the Breeding Establishment, in number 5,364, inferior and 
 increasing in degeneracy as they notoriously were, cost the 
 Government, when fit for the yoke, the enormous price of 
 sixty-nine rupees a-liead. 
 
 During the eleven years which have elapsed since the 
 Breeding Establishment was placed under the management 
 of the Commissariat, the stock has increased from 10,914 
 to 22,314 head of cattle, while 8,262 bullocks of an im- 
 proved and improving description have been supplied for 
 
 2 M 2 
 
532 APPENDIX. 
 
 the public service, at the average rate of thirty rupees each, 
 which covers the whole expeuse of the establishment. 
 The breed has been rescued from the destruction to which 
 it was rapidly approaching, and from a better system of 
 breeding it may be shortly expected even to surpass its 
 former excellence. This is the great consideration, but 
 even in point of saving, the advantage has been great, as 
 the value of the increase of stock, and the difference be- 
 tween the present and the past price of the bullocks sup- 
 plied to the public service since the transfer, may be 
 estimated near four lacs of rupees. 
 
 M. C. 
 
 No. X. 
 
 (See page 312.) 
 
 Sekvices of Sir Jamks L. Lushington, G.C.B. 
 
 "Many of our young men complaining. James Lushington very 
 ill in sick tope, when I imagined him gone with his corps to meet 
 General Stuart. Had his tent pitched in the rear of mine." — 
 General Harris's Journal. 
 
 This sick young officer, now Sir James L. Lushington, 
 G.C.B., has since repaid the Commander-in-Chief for his 
 kindness and protection, by doing his country good service. 
 
 "To THE Honourable ^M. Elphinstone, Resident at 
 
 POONAH. 
 
 " Sir, Political Department. 
 
 " I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 dispatch of the 31st ultimo, enclosing a letter to your 
 address from Major Lushington, reporting his proceedings 
 with the corps of Light Cavalry under his conmiand, in the 
 pursuit and dispersion of a strong body of Pindarics. 
 
 " 2. The promptitude with which Major Lushington 
 proceeded in quest of the Pindaries, and his perseverance, 
 
APPKNDIX. 533 
 
 under the discouraging circumstances attending his outset, 
 in prosecuting the pursuit during a march of sixty miles, 
 and in following up his blow with such signal success for 
 ten miles further, have attracted the particular notice of the 
 Governor-General in Council, and are considered by his 
 Lordship to reflect the highest credit on the activity, zeal 
 and judgment of this officer, and on the spirit, energy and 
 perseverance of the corps which he commands. The severe 
 example which it has been Major Lushington's good fortune 
 to make of this body of Pindarics, will, doubtless, be pro- 
 ductive of the most salutary effect, both in checking the 
 audacious spirit with which the Pindarics have overrun the 
 territories of our allies, and even extended their ravages to 
 our own dominions, and in satisfying the minds of thoso 
 who have a claim on our protection, that sooner or later the 
 whole of these organized bands of public robbers will meet, 
 at the hands of the British Government, the punishment 
 which is due to their atrocious barbarities and crimes. 
 
 " o. The Governor-General in Council deeply laments 
 the loss sustained in Captain Darke, to whose gallantry 
 and private worth Major Lushington has borne such 
 honourable testimony. It will, however, be a source of 
 consolation to his relatives and friends to reflect, that he 
 fell in the discharge of his duty, setting a noble example of 
 spirit and bravery to his companions in arms. 
 
 " 4. You will be pleased to make known to Major 
 Lushington the sentiments entertained by the Governor- 
 General in Council, of the conduct of that officer, and the 
 corps under his command, on the occasion to which this 
 
 letter refers. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 (Signed) Geo. Swintox, 
 
 DeputySecretaru to Governincnt" 
 ''Fort William, 2l9t Janumy, 181 7." 
 
534 APPENDIX. 
 
 Extract fkom General Orders by the Commander- 
 in-Chief, 
 
 " Head Quarters, Choultry Plain, 
 ]s# February, 1817. 
 
 " On the occcasion of publishing to the Army the 
 Government General Order of the 27th ultimo, his Excel- 
 lency the Commander-in-Chief cannot refuse to himself 
 the gratification of expressing his sentiments of applause 
 and cordial approbation of the conduct of Major Lushington 
 of the 4th Cavalry. 
 
 " The well-established fame and former services of the 
 4tli Cavalry, were sufficient pledges of the confidence with 
 which that distinguished regiment might be employed on 
 any enterprize, but the indefatigable perseverance with 
 which it persisted in its persuit of an enemy, whose rapidity 
 of movement had hitherto eluded every other attempt to 
 intercept or come up with him, stands unrivalled, and 
 places the character and judgment of Major Lushington in 
 the most flattering point of view, not only for the zeal and 
 ability with which he profited by his intelligence and con- 
 ducted his regiment, but for the spirit and decision with 
 which he led his gallant soldiers into the midst of an enemy, 
 by whose vast superiority of numbers he might have fairly 
 expected to have had a formidable adversary to contend 
 with. 
 
 " The Commander-in-Chief oifers to Major Lushington 
 of the 4th Cavalry his warmest acknowledgements, as well 
 as to the officers and men of the regiment he commands, 
 for their exemplary gallantry, zeal, and exertions. 
 
 " The congratulations of his Excellency would be as 
 complete as they are sincere, did not the loss of so valuable 
 and brave an officer as Captain Darke, mix with them the 
 duty of here paying a just but melancholy tribute of respect 
 
APPENDIX. 535 
 
 to his memory and sen-ices. He was killed in front of his 
 standard, animating his men by an example they can never 
 forget. 
 
 (Signed) T. H. S. Conway, 
 
 Adjutant-General." 
 
 Sir. 
 
 " Commander-in-Chief's Office, 
 ^^ Head Quarters, Calcutta, 8tk March, 1819. 
 
 " I am instructed by the Most Noble the Commander- 
 in-Chief, to forward the accompanying pacquet, containing 
 the Companions' Cross of the Order of the Bath, awarded 
 you by his Royal Highness the Prince Regent. In the 
 performance of this pleasing duty, the Commander-in-Chief 
 gladly embraces the opportunity offered him to convey his 
 warm congratulations that your services should have been 
 distinguished by so honourable and well merited a mark of 
 his Royal Higliness''s approbation and favour. 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 (Signed) C. J. Doyjle, Lieut.-Colonel, 
 
 " Military/ Secretary." 
 " To Major J. L. Lushington, C. B., 
 
 4th Madras Native Cavalry, Madras." 
 
 No. XI. 
 
 (See page 456.) 
 
 Letter from the Earl of Powis. 
 
 " Berkeley Square, 1st July, 1827. 
 " My dear Lushington, 
 
 " Your short, but most kind and affectionate letter 
 
 from Brighton, inexpressibly affected me, and brought on 
 
 a train of melancholy thoughts, when I feared I should not 
 
 see you again, which your presence since did not dissipate. 
 
536 APPENDIX. 
 
 nor have I sought to subdue. I grieve the loss I am about 
 
 to sustain by my separation from you whose friendship and 
 
 cordial attachment I have so long and uniformly possessed, 
 
 and the interruption of that kindly and social intercourse 
 
 between us, which has ever been so delightful to me, but 
 
 which, at my years, I may not hope to see renewed. But 
 
 let me not selfishly repine, but take the more satisfactory 
 
 course of hailing the dispensation which places you in a 
 
 station you are eminently suited to fill. Right-minded as 
 
 you are, and deriving knowledge and experience from 
 
 former residence and successful exertions in the country 
 
 over which you are going to preside, I am sanguine in the 
 
 success of your administration, and of the justness and 
 
 wisdom of the measures you will adopt for the welfare and 
 
 permanent good of a country which I love as I do my own. 
 
 I am sanguine in the expectation and belief of your return 
 
 in due time, and although I may not be one to greet your 
 
 arrival, be assured, my latest wishes will be for your health 
 
 and prosperity. 
 
 " I remain ever, my dear Lushington, with indelible 
 
 remembrance of your kindness. 
 
 Most truly and faithfully yours, 
 
 Powis." 
 '■'■The Bight Honourable S. R. Lushington.^'' 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 (See page 457.) 
 
 Conclusion of General Harris"'s Appeal to the Court 
 OP Directors. 
 
 " \hth December, 1804. 
 " Par. 43. In the narrative which I have thus given 
 of the principal transactions connected with the prize- 
 jnoney of Seringapatam I have not sought to avoid detail, 
 
APPENDIX. 537 
 
 but I have purposely studied to suppress those feelings 
 which are inseparable from our nature when we meet with 
 distrust and injury, where we have a claim to confidence 
 and gratitude. That this claim is not suggested by an 
 undue appreciation of my own conduct to the India Com- 
 pany, you, gentlemen, in professing ' a deep and grateful 
 sense of my services,' have admitted, and I trust that without 
 any appearance of arrogance, I may advance it, at a moment 
 when I am defending my reputation and property, my own 
 rights and those of the Army which I commanded. On 
 such an occasion, I may be allowed to quote the last letter 
 transmitted to me by the Government in India, at the 
 close of those transactions which are now arraigned and 
 condemned. 
 
 " Copy of a letter* from the Secretary to the Governor- 
 General, to Lieutenant-General George Harris, Commander- 
 in-Chief of the Allied Army before Seringapatam, dated 
 7th August, 1799. 
 
 " 44. With these claims to the notice of the East 
 India Company, I may be permitted to prefer a request to 
 the Court of Directors. 
 
 "45. If after perusing this address, it shall appear to 
 you that the Despatch to the Government at Fort St. George 
 has been framed upon an erroneous conception of the 
 transactions to which it relates; if it shall appear established 
 that the allotment of the prize-money was made under the 
 sanction of a legal authority ; if it shall aj^pear to be proved 
 that the local usages which had governed every distribution 
 of prize to a land force, acting alone, or in alliance with 
 a Native State, from the earliest memory of British 
 victories in India, were adopted by the Governor-General's 
 orders, as the guide for distribution at Seringapatam ; if, as 
 I apprehend, all these, the essential points of this discussion, 
 
 * See page 307 of this 'Memou'i 
 
538 APPENDIX. 
 
 shall appear clearly established, then I trust to the candour 
 of the Court of Directors to correct the error into which 
 they have been betrayed, and to render justice to the Army, 
 to the officers who served under me, and to myself. 
 
 " 46. In the name of the Army I may be allowed to 
 hope that they will not be deprived of a portion of the 
 prize-money intended foi* them by the King, to pay an 
 interest upon the neglected claims of Colonel Browne and 
 Read's Detachment, but that you will examine how fjir 
 that delay is imputable to the neglect of your own decision 
 upon them. 
 
 " 47. In behalf of the officers who shared with me the 
 duties of the campaign, and whose courage and achieve- 
 ments in the field are not more distinguished than their 
 exact subordination and honourable principles in peace, I 
 must express an anxious wish that their fame be no longer 
 sullied by an accusation of rapacity. 
 
 " 48, With respect to myself, I seek the correction of 
 those errors which have accumulated censure where appro- 
 bation was due, and which the Board of Control have 
 adopted, presuming upon the correctness of your official 
 statements. I ask also for the just reservation of my 
 rightful share in the second distribution of prize-money, and 
 protest against any division contrary to his Majesty''s grant. 
 
 " 49. In closing this address, I have to request that a 
 copy of it may be transmitted (by the first ship that may 
 sail for India) to the Government of Fort St. George and 
 the Governor- General of India, for to be continued in the 
 esteem and approbation of that illustrious nobleman, the 
 Marquis Wellesley, whose splendid services to the British 
 Empire in India, will ever be recorded in the remembrance 
 of his grateful country, can never cease to be the object of 
 my deepest solicitude. 
 
 " I beg leave also to request that a copy of this address 
 
APPENDIX. 639 
 
 may be submitted to the Board of Control, with a view 
 
 to obliterate those unfavourable sentiments which your 
 
 proceedings cannot but have excited in regard to the 
 
 appropriation and division of the Seringapatam Prize ; and 
 
 which have apparently estranged the gracious favour of a 
 
 just Sovereign from all the officers who shared with me, on 
 
 the plains of Seringapatam, in the glory and triumph of 
 
 his Majesty's arms. 
 
 George Harris." 
 
 No. XIII. 
 
 (See page 464.) 
 Epitaph on Captain Charles Harris. 
 
 Sacred to the Memory of 
 
 THE HONOURABLE CHARLES HARRIS, 
 
 Third Son of The Lord Harris, 
 
 And Captain in H. M. 85th Regiment of Light Infantry. 
 
 After serving in two triumphant Campaigns in Spain, 
 
 Under the Duke of Wellington, 
 
 He' fell in the midst of the Enemy, when the Americans 
 
 Attacked the British Lines near New Orleans, 
 
 On the 23rd of December, 1814, 
 
 At the early Age of Twenty-one Years. 
 
 As some fair flower when early spring appears, 
 
 Its blossom to the parent siinbeam rears. 
 
 And gathei'ing life and strength diffuses far. 
 
 Its balmy sweetness o'er the desert air; 
 
 Should the rude storm arise -with furious gust, 
 
 And prostrate all its beauties in the dust, 
 
 Despite of chilling blasts and beating rains. 
 
 The memory of its fragrance still remains. 
 
 So gallant Harris, to his lineage true. 
 
 From the same fount his life and virtues drew. 
 
 His great example was a father's name. 
 
 His proudest wish to emulate his fame. 
 
 Fired with the hope he crossed the Atlantic wave, 
 
 But foxuid amidst the foe a soldier's grave. 
 
540 APPENDIX. 
 
 His grave tliougli distfint, on New Orleans' plains, 
 The memory of his virtues here remains. 
 That grave of glory ! tliere Britannia kneels, 
 And v/eeping pours the tender griefs she feels, 
 Yet feels exulting : for her soldier's bier 
 Is still the shield of every blessing here ; 
 Points where his soul by grace divine is given 
 To meet his Savioiir in the realms of Heaven. 
 Check, then, that sigh, and dry that pious tear, 
 Ye sorrowing parents of a child so dear. 
 In Britain's cause he led the hei-oic baud, 
 And grasped the laurel with his dying hand. 
 
 No. XIV. 
 
 (See page 4C6.) 
 Letter fkom Lokd Blooaifield. 
 
 " Carlton House, October 29M, 1819. 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " It is peculiarly gratifying to the Prince Ilegcnt to be 
 enabled, by the introduction of a temporary clause into the 
 Statutes of the Military Order of the Bath, to mark, in an 
 especial manner, your Lordship's long, most distinguished, 
 and faithful services, by creating your Lordship a Knight 
 Grand Cross of that Order. A formal notification of the 
 time when your Lordship is to be invested, will be made to 
 you, until which notification this will be received as a con- 
 fidential intimation of his Royal Highuess's gracious inten- 
 tion towards your Lordship in testimony of his high con- 
 sideration and regard. 
 
 " It is most grateful to my feelings to be the channel of 
 this communication ; and with great respect, 
 I have the honour to be, 
 My Lord, 
 Your Lordship's obliged and obedient humble servant, 
 
 B. Bloomfield." 
 " General The Lord Harris" 
 
APPENDIX. 541 
 
 No. XV. 
 
 (See page 467.) 
 Lord HARnis"'s Directions for his Funeral. 
 
 " Good Friday, 10 p.m. April, 1825. 
 
 " This being recorded as the day when our Saviour 
 ceased to be God and man, let me humble myself, and beg 
 that the Holy Spirit may be allowed to direct and guide 
 my heart in all things, but most particularly to a true 
 feeling of the blessing thus offered to us. May I be enabled 
 to see the nothingness of the wisest of mankind without 
 the assistance of thy Holy Spirit, O Almighty God ! And 
 may I be enabled to rejoice in my call, whencA^er it shall 
 please Thee to take me from this world, the pomps and 
 vanities of which, through thy nierc}^, are fast losing their 
 hold of the flesh, and I humbly trust that I shall be found 
 rejoicing when about to be delivered of their burden. It is 
 still my request that my funeral may be conducted as 
 described in two papers, wrote 18th ^larch, 1823, my 
 birthday, and 5th August, 1824, and now inclosed, but 
 which papers I shall probably correct and write fair, and 
 only write these hasty lines, that sudden death may not 
 prevent its being known that my request is still the same. 
 
 " Directions for my Interment. 
 
 ''March 18, 1823. 
 " As I have, thanks to Almighty Providence, been 
 enabled to go (I hope thankfully, and generally cheerfully) 
 through a long and active scene in this world, and if my 
 relations and connexions are satisfied my endeavours have 
 been to humble myself before my Creator, and generally to 
 endeavour to do as I would be done by, and that they have 
 no cause to suppose but that my motives have been merci- 
 
542 APPENDIX. 
 
 fully received where only motives can be known, tlien why 
 put on sackcloth and ashes, or rather why put on the 
 appearance of grief for me ? 
 
 " Let decency and proper regard to worldly customs be 
 preserved ; let all the rest be cheerful, but without osten- 
 tation or waste of any kind. 
 
 " To promote ease and enjoyment for a few hours, and 
 encourage the whole of my farming and gardening labourers 
 to go cheerfully about their labours afterwards, it is my 
 request and desire that they may carry my body to its 
 fellow earth, in a plain oak coffin made of the oaks to be cut 
 down in April, 1828 ; that they shall each have a scarf of 
 three and a-half yards of linen made up at Murton's, so that 
 it may make a good shirt afterwards ; that they shall 
 have double the allowance of mutton and ale they have 
 generally received on Christmas-day, with a sovereign to 
 each family that has children, and half a sovereign to those 
 that have none, and a holyday the day chosen for my burial, 
 having it understood that necessary labour must be done, 
 but paid their regular pay, or, in my opinion, it can be no 
 holyday at all. 
 
 " The number of such days with the Roman Catholics, 
 is one amongst my objections to their mode of faith, or 
 rather to sharing power with them. The consequence of 
 such holydays is generally poverty and idleness where the 
 Roman Catholic religion prevails : — witness poor Ireland, 
 for one examj)le ! " 
 
 " Friday Evening, July 30, 1824. 
 " Tired, and rather oppressed with the several objects 
 which have come all together at this period to be attended 
 to, let me relax, and turn to that moment when all worldly 
 concerns shall be as nothing ! Whenever it may please the 
 Almighty that this event (awful to all mankind) shall 
 happen to me, a sinner, it is my wish that all pomp and 
 
APPENDIX. 543 
 
 sliovv may be avoided at my interment. That my body 
 may be carried to its long liome by the farm servants and 
 the labourers in the garden and on the farm, under the 
 guidance of the bailiff and gardener, with my carpenter to 
 assist them. The latter has received my directions for my 
 coffin to be made of oak felled on the estate, and the 
 planks of which have been some time seasoning for the 
 purpose. 
 
 " List of the labourers whom I request to become my 
 body-guard, w^hen it can no longer guard itself; and may 
 they continue faithful servants to the master I leave over 
 them, and may he deserve their honest endeavours by his 
 kindness to, and protection of them." 
 
 ''August 5, 1824. 
 " I leave to John Stickens, bailiff, William Davis, 
 gardener, and William Mutton, carpenter, fifty pounds each 
 instead of mourning, as a small token of my approbation of 
 their services. Mourning I am aware they are provided 
 with, and may appear in at my funeral ; but it is my 
 request that the ceremony may take place in the forenoon, 
 and no hlacJc worh of any kind, or hired carriage to be 
 provided. It is my sincere wish that in this simple style 
 my bodily remains may be conveyed to their mother earth 
 without parade, or any idle pageantry of woe, seldom heart- 
 felt, and which certainly can be of no avail when all worldly 
 things are known as vanity. So good night, I go to my 
 rest at twelve, and resign myself with comfort to the will 
 
 of my Creator. God bless ye all, 
 
 Harris." 
 
 " Wrote in haste, but long reflected on. So in good 
 will and charity with all mankind, I humbly hope my sins 
 may be forgiven, and that I may be enabled to amend for 
 the rest of my life. 
 
544 APPENDIX. 
 
 " To be wrote fair if time allowed, 
 
 "This paper scratched and corrected 11th February, 
 
 1827. 
 
 Harris." 
 
 No. XVI. 
 
 (See page 469.) 
 Epitaph on J. S. Lushington, Esq. 
 
 Sacred to the Memory of 
 
 JAMES STEPHEN LUSHINGTON, Esq., 
 
 Of the Bengal Civil Service, 
 
 Who died September 12 th, 1832, 
 
 At the early age of 28 years, 
 
 Second Son of 
 
 The Right Honourable S. R. Lushington, M.P., 
 
 Late Governor of Madras ; 
 
 And of Anne Elizabeth, eldest daughter of 
 
 George Lord Harris. 
 
 Distinguished on his fu'st arrival in India 
 
 By superior talents and acquirements. 
 
 And passing with rapid success 
 
 Through his studies in the College of Fort William, 
 
 lie gave early promise 
 
 Of that intellectual and moral worth 
 
 Which is recorded with admiring friendship 
 
 By the pious and accomplished Heber ; 
 
 And which liis short but brilliant career 
 
 In this Presidency developed and matured. 
 
 As the Private Secretary of the Governor 
 
 He acquired by liis impartial coui-tesy 
 
 The esteem of every branch of the Public Service ; 
 
 AVhile his manly virtues and endearing qualities 
 
 Secured the approbation, and realised the hopes 
 
 Of his affuctionate and bereaved Father. 
 
 This ]\Ionument is erected 
 
 By the Society which he adorned, 
 
 As a just tribute to his departed excellence. 
 
APPENDIX. 545 
 
 No. XVII. 
 (See page 469.) 
 
 Epitaph on Lord Harris. 
 
 Sacred to the Memory of 
 
 GEORGE, FIRST LORD HARRIS, 
 
 Baron of Seringapatam and Mysore in the East Indies, 
 
 And of Belmont in the County of Kent, 
 
 A General in His Majesty's Army, 
 
 And Knight Grand Cross of the Bath. 
 
 The active years of his life were passed 
 
 In the service of his Country in ungenial Climates, 
 
 But it pleased Providence to restore him in health 
 
 To his native land. 
 
 Crowning his military career 
 
 With the siege and capture of Seringapatam, 
 
 And with the Thanks of the Nation recorded in the Votes of Parliament. 
 
 He lived for nearly thirty yeai's at Belmont, 
 
 Respected and loved by his neighbours and friends ; 
 
 And died deeply lamented by his family, 
 On the 19th of May, 1829, in his eighty-fourth year. 
 
 Leaving to his Coimtry, 
 
 The memory of his successful services in the field ; 
 
 To liis Posterity, 
 
 The bright example of his Christian virtues. 
 
 No. XVIII. 
 
 (See page 470.) 
 
 Letters from Lord Harris, and Extract from his 
 Will. 
 
 The two following letters are selected, because they 
 are characteristic of the generous nature of Lord Harris 
 towards others, in cases of importance, although he always 
 exercised the greatest frugality and self-denial in his own 
 
 2 N 
 
546 APPENDIX. 
 
 person ; and because these instances of his generosity in 
 private life are in perfect harmony with all his public con- 
 duct, and especially with his resolution to spend his own 
 money in fitting out the Hyderabad detachment, if the 
 Company's treasury could not supply it*. 
 
 Lieutenant-General Harris to J. Tatem, Esq., 
 East India House. 
 
 "Madras, October 19, 1799. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I have to acknowledge your obliging favours of the 
 
 4th and 7th August, 1798, and to observe that I did not 
 
 receive them until my arrival here, 31st August last. 
 
 " The seven months back from that date were busy 
 ones ; and I trust my Honourable Masters will, in all last 
 month, have received my letters of the 4th and 7th May 
 with the account of what we had then effected. 
 
 " My report could not enter into detail, and it was one 
 of the many instances of good fortune which have attended 
 me, that it should escape through the scattered parties of 
 the Sultaun"'s troops, and get safe to Admiral Rainier. 
 
 " I may flatter myself ye have not often had so much 
 said in so few words, and what is still more wonderful, it 
 scarcely requires more to finish. 
 
 " The moment we could move, my advanced parties 
 scarce ever lost sight of the fellow Dhoondia, who had 
 abilities to collect a large force round him ; and he was 
 driven into the Mahratta dominions, with the small remains 
 of his party and plunder, in a time you could scarcely sup- 
 pose it possible to march the distance. 
 
 * See page 227 of this Memoir. 
 
APPENDIX. 547 
 
 " When he took shelter, he was so hard pressed, that 
 he was obliged to halt ; and Colonel Stevenson, with a flag 
 of truce, rode to the Fort he was under the walls of, and 
 called the chief people to witness his respect of the Mahratta 
 flag, which alone protected Dhoondia from destruction, and 
 whom he expected they would seize, and deliver over to 
 him. 
 
 " To halt in the moment when your enemy is within 
 your grasp, after following him for weeks, and that day a 
 forced march of thirty miles in the monsoon, was, perhaps, 
 as strong a proof of the discipline of our army as could be 
 given, and does Colonel Stevenson great honour for so 
 exactly keeping to the spirit of his orders. But Providence 
 has been wonderful to me throughout. The whole has 
 been carried on with a degree of harmony, that has certainly 
 much contributed to our unexampled success, for so I may, 
 I think, without being accused of vanity, term it, when we 
 consider the circumstances of the fall of the Fort, the 
 tyrant's death, the surrender of his sons, who would have 
 been very troublesome had they held out, and the com- 
 plete destruction of Dhoondia's party : added to this, I have 
 no fear but ye will receive me as cordially for my economy 
 as for our activity. 
 
 " Your congratulations on my daughter's marriage were 
 very pleasing. Never were parents happier on such an 
 event. He will soon be known on your records as one of 
 your ablest and most honourable servants : he is just now 
 returning from a most arduous and interesting transaction, 
 the settlement of the Southern Poligars, throughout which 
 he has conducted himself with such ability as must insure 
 him, under Lord Mornington, the highest station in his 
 line. 
 
 " I am proud as I am fond of him ; and you will not 
 admire him less for hearing that he refuses to return to 
 
 2 N 2 
 
548 APPENDIX. 
 
 England with me, preferring the creation of his own for- 
 tune to being made easy without labour. His ambition is 
 a noble one ; and to convince you that it even withstands 
 affection, in remaining here, he pressed me most earnestly 
 to let him go as my private secretary, on the late occasion, 
 when half our world, at least, thought our expedition a 
 desperate undertaking, and when, in so doing, he risked 
 his certain prospects, and this because he knew I should 
 want an affectionate friend to alleviate my anxieties. But 
 this I would not allow ; and Providence has repaid my 
 forbearance, and our meeting, after our separate labours, 
 will be one of those delightful circumstances that can happen 
 to few. 
 
 " Forgive me thus troubling you with domestic state- 
 ments, but your kind friendship betrays me, unawares, into 
 the detail. 
 
 " By the next partridge season I hope to see you. 
 
 (Signed) G. Harris." 
 
 From General Harris. 
 
 '■'■London, April 7, 1807. 
 " I have just had a long interview with our old friend, 
 -, and he strongly insists upon the propriety 
 
 of your being a candidate for the parliament now to be 
 chosen. If you have an inclination to the undertaking, 
 and like to try Canterbury, I will bear all expenses, and 
 contribute handsomely for some other place, if Canterbury 
 fails. Tell my dear daughter not to be alarmed : two or 
 three days will be sufficient to try the ground." 
 *^S. R. Lushington, Esq., 
 
 Li/nsted Lodge, Kent." 
 
APPENDIX. ' 549 
 
 Extract from Lord Harris*'s Will respecting Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lushington and their Children, dated 1824. 
 
 " To my estimable and much-loved daughter, Anne 
 Elizabeth Lushington, and her worthy husband, my highly- 
 esteemed friend, I leave two hundred pounds each for a 
 ring, or any memento they may choose of our mutual regard. 
 To each of their children who may be living at the time 
 of my decease I leave mourning rings, in the hope they may 
 at odd times bring their grandfather to memory, and make 
 them recollect that, under Providence, he attributes his rise 
 from nothing to his affluent fortune, to his economy and 
 willing privation from self-indulgence through a long life." 
 
 No. XIX. 
 
 Strength of the Allied Army., and Return of Casualties 
 
 DURING THE SlEGE AND IN THE AsSAULT OF SeRINGAPATAM. 
 
 Strength of the Army commanded hy Lieutenant-General 
 Harris, on the Eeturn of Major-General Floyd, and the 
 Junction of the Bombay Army. 
 
 Europeans 8,026 
 
 Natives 23,948 
 
 Also Nizam's Cavalry . . , 6,000 
 
 Ditto Infantry 3,621 
 
 Total . . . 41,595 
 
 i' 
 
550 APPENDIX. 
 
 Killed, Wounded, and Missing dur'mg the Siege of 
 Seringapatam. 
 
 Killed. Wounded. Missing. 
 
 Europeans . .181 622 22 
 
 Natives . . 119 420 100 
 
 300 1,042 122 = 1,464 
 
 Killed, wounded, and missing in the Assault = 386 
 
 Corps Engaged, and Return of Casualties in the Assault 
 OF Seringapatam. 
 
 Number of Troops Engaged in the Assault. 
 
 Europeans 2,594 
 
 Natives 1,882 
 
 Total . . . 4,476 
 
 The Artillery, under Major Bell. 
 
 The Madras Pioneers, under Captain Dowse. 
 
 The Madras Engineers, under Captain Caldwell. 
 
 Officers killed and wounded in the Left Column 
 Ditto Ditto Right Column 
 
 Also Captain Cormick, of the Pioneers . . . 
 Also Captain Caldwell, of the Engineers . . . 
 Also Captain Prescott, of the Artillery - . . 
 
 Total . . 
 
 9 
 11 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 23 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 551 
 
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THE BIBLE CYCLOPEDIA. 
 
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 Literature and Education appointed by the Society for Promoting Christian Know- 
 ledge, but the publication was postponed in consequence of some alterations in the 
 arrangements of the Society. Considerable progress has now been made in the pre- 
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 THE 
 
 BIBLE CYCLOPEDIA; 
 
 BEING A COMPREHENSIVE DIGEST OP THE 
 
 CIVIL AND NATURAL HISTORY, 
 GEOGRAPHY, STATISTICS, 
 
 GENERAL LITERARY ; INFORMATION 
 
 CONNECTED WITH THE 
 
 SACRED WRITINGS. 
 
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 the progress of research ; and many interesting and important discoveries have 
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 actions recorded in Scripture. This is the case more especially with regard to Egypt, 
 where an entirely new path has been laid open to the Biblical Student, by the progress 
 which has been made in the language and literature of that very remarkable people. 
 
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