C am pa ign in
the M ysore i
1767!
feven hundred, oppofed to five thoufand cavalry, and between
forty and fifty thoufand infantry, defended by every protedtion
that the military art could invent.
In returning towards the Choultry plain, I fhall, from Bangalore,
for a ihort way tread' the fame route as I did in my advance
with the Britijh army, in their march into the Myfore
in 1767. The war in which the Prefidency of Madras was engaged
with Ayder A li and the Nizam, who had been limply
drawn into alliance with him, is a fubjedt fo 'apt, that I cannot
omit a flight mention of it. General Jofepb Smith and Colonel
Wood were the two able officers who led our armies. Smith
took Cavertpatam, and fome other fmall places, and then laid
fiege to Kifnagherri, in the Barramahal, which he was obliged
to raife at the approach o f Ayder, who, taking advantage o f the
pafs o f Vellore, fuddenly fate down before Caveripatam, which
Smith had before made himfelf matter of. He then attacked
Smith on his march, who, after fome lofs, retreated to a ftrong
poll near Trinomallee, in the Carnatic, where he was joined by
Wood with a large force. Near that place, on September 27th,
.1767, he attacked the allied armies." The Nizam and his
troops inftantly gave way, and he loft all his. family cannon.
Ayder, by his conduit and courage, barely permitted the name
o f victory to be clamed by our able commander, but ftill it had
the effedts; the Nizam made peace with us, and went home
in difguft, and Ayder retired to the mountains.
S o m e t im e b e fo r e , Ayder h a d d e ta c h e d h is fo n TippooSaih, th e n
o n ly f e v e n t e e n y e a r s o f a g e , o n an in r o a d in to t h e Carnatic, a t t
e n d e d w i t h a ll t h e c a lam i t ie s to t h e p o o r c o u n t r y , as d id th a t
we
we have juft defcribed. He particularly vented his rage againft
our faithful ally the Nabob of Arcot, whofe battles we were
bound to fight as well as-our own. This obliged Smith to relin-
quifh all his oonquefts in order to defend his own country.
T h e war was purfued with .various fuccefs. The hiftorian In 1768.
of Ayder, i. p. 153, fays that Smith, in 1768, penetrated as far
as, and took Oufcotta, and that he even attempted Bangalore.
Smith paid every refpect to Dionelli, the birth-place of Ayder,
which the hero very politely acknowleged, by prefenting our
general with two beautiful horfes.
IN the fame year we made an unfuccefsful attack on the fort-
o f Mulwaggle,, not far from Colar, where we were repulfed
with lofs. Colonel Wood, who at this time commanded a part
of our army, was not difcouraged from attacking Ayder, who
was then on his march to protedithi? territory, and notwith-
ftanding the difparity of numbers gave him a bloody defeat;
after a conteft of fix hours the field was left covered with dead
bodies; our lofs amounted to above three hundred in killed
and wounded. Maderow and his Mabrattas were.allies with us
in this-war. . Notwithftanding the fuccefles we met, our general
pafled his time very uncomfortably. He was embarrafled and
comptrolled by the advice of field deputies placed about him,
divifions and diflenfions daily increafing among officers, and
by the foldiers, and even by the officers deferting to the popular
enemy; and, add to-this, an overwhelming expence. Ayder,
perhaps fenfible of thefe evils, again gave our army the flip,
and with a body of cfiofen horfe appeared within feven miles o f
Madras, where he dictated a ihameful peace to the Prefidency, Shameful
Voii. II. N at P*ACS'