would no doubt face about and re-occupy their position -which they did before morning. "Captain Cosby requested that the men should form outside the wood, and wait till circumstances should determine our future movements; he, in the meantime, sent out men in various directions, to find, if possible, what direction Colonel Wellesley had taken. Those men fell in with our reserve, consisting of five companies of the 33rd under Colonel Shee, and one battalion of Sepoys with two light guns, the whole under the immediate command of Colonel Grant. "We wandered about before meeting our friends, and directing our steps towards the flashes of musketry, by which the whole horizon was illumined. Colonel Grant ordered the whole party to move to their left, and join Colonel Shaw, who commanded a different attack. We shortly met Colonel Shaw with the 12th Regiment and a Sepoy Corps. They had not suffered much loss. "It may not be uninteresting to mention the misfortune of two officers of the 12th Regiment. Captain Nixon and his brother, a lieutenant, were both in this affair, and as the regiment was moving along in column of sections, a fatal rocket was thrown by the enemy which struck Captain Nixon on both legs, and killed his brother almost instantly. He expired soon after he was put into his bed. The action was now suspended till break of day. "In the meantime Colonel Shaw ordered the 33rd to return to camp, and at daylight Colonel Wellesley was sent down with a fresh detachment to occupy the wood from which we drove the enemy the night before. He carried the post without much opposition or losing any men. Tippoo lost one of his best generals who, on seeing Colonel Wellesley advancing to the attack, instantly charged with a party of cavalry, who but ill supported their intrepid commander. He fell, pierced with several musket balls. Our loss was trifling; one officer, Lieutenant Fitzgerald, killed, and fourteen wounded, some of whom were taken prisoners and afterwards hanged by Tippoo, because they refused to work at his artillery while pointed towards their brother soldiers." After this unfortunate experience the 33rd had a short and needed rest; but in the meantime the Commander-in-Chief was anxiously turning his attention to the coming of Stuart. General Floyd marched out that morning (April 6th) with the greater part of the left wing of Harris's army, and four regiments of cavalry to gain touch with Stuart's Bombay Army, and accompany them to Seringapatam. Stuart was at Peripatam, strong and competent, but encumbered with baggage, unable to move forward quickly, owing to the mortality among his bullocks. Tippoo sent out a force to drive Floyd back, but the attempt failed, for Floyd continued his advance, and joined Stuart on April 8th. On the 10th the two forces were united and in the evening of the 14th the Bombay Army was in front of Seringapatam, able to co-operate with Harris in his determination to inflict a deadly blow on Tippoo Sahib. So far as numbers were concerned Harris was in a strong position; but he was alarmed two days later to discover a serious shortage of food. In a letter to the Governor-General he said: "On measuring the bags to ascertain what rice they really contained, they were found so much diminished by loss or fraud, that 18 days' provision for the fighting men, at half allowance, is all that remains in camp. Our supplies must, therefore, arrive before the 6th of May, to save us from extreme distress." The cavalry were, however, constantly active, and brought in convoys, and by the 6th of May the subsistence of the army for some time to come was assured. CHAPTER XVIII THE CAPTURE OF SERIN GAPATAM STRENGTHENED by the arrival of Stuart's army, Harris 1799. felt himself able to deliver his attack on Seringapatam. Alarmed at the growing strength of the besieging army round his stronghold, Tippoo sued for peace, but the terms offered were such that he rejected them with disdain, since they included the cession of half his dominions, and the payment of £200,000 towards the expenses of the war. Meanwhile, in spite of Tippoo's endeavour to gain time, the siege operations were pursued vigorously, and the approaches constantly advanced. On the 25th of April a strong battery was constructed to destroy the defences of some works causing great damage to the troops, and on the following day the battery opened fire and silenced the enemy's guns. That evening (the 26th), Wellesley directed some attacks on the enemy's entrenchments, and carried them. By the morning of the 27th, after a night's fighting, the ground was gained for the breaching batteries. During the night of the 28th another breaching battery was traced, to be used with disastrous effect against the enemy a day or two later. There was not a day and scarcely an hour, in which something was not done to show Tippoo how completely he was doomed. Batteries were erected unceasingly, the soldiers working night and day. By the 2nd of May the Nizam's last battery was completed, and all was in readiness for a simultaneous fire. When the batteries opened with 26 cannon and 6 howitzers, a practicable breach was made in the fausse braye, and the main rampart shattered. At the outset of this terrific bombardment an explosion occurred in a magazine of rockets in the fort. A daring feat was performed by Lieutenant Lalor, of the 73rd. In the night he crossed the river to examine the retaining wall. On his return he reported the height of it to be "seven feet, including 12 inches of water, and that there was no impediment of any kind to the passage of troops." At noon on the 3rd of May, the breach being practicable, every preparation was made for the assault. Major-General Baird was chosen to command the troops composing the assaulting columns. Long before daylight the troops were in the trenches, waiting for the order to advance; but the hours passed without a forward movement. The men had been sent to their posts early, so that the movement should not be observed. Harris had determined to wait until the heat of the day, when " the people of the East, having taken their midday repast, give themselves up to a season of repose, and when it was expected that their troops would be least prepared to resist." The assaulting columns were thus composed : LEFT COLUMN-to assault the northern rampart- 12th, 33rd, 6 companies of European RIGHT COLUMN-to attack the southern rampart- 73rd, 74th, 8 companies Coast Sepoy RESERVE-Commander, Colonel Wellesley. The Regiment de Meuron, and 4 bat The two columns were to advance simultaneously, the hour chosen being one o'clock, and on coming to the top of the breach they were to wheel, Dunlop to the left, and Sherbrook to the right, respectively. They numbered in all 2,494 Europeans and 1,882 natives, not counting sergeants, havildars, or officers. These being added made the total Europeans 2,862 and 2,003 natives. The 33rd's contribution to this storming party was a lieutenant-colonel, a major, 3 captains, a captain-lieutenant, II lieutenants, 3 ensigns, an adjutant, a surgeon, 2 assistant surgeons, 36 sergeants, 13 drummers, and 413 rank and file. The moment so impatiently waited for, arrived, and Baird gave the order to advance. Every man sprang forward, regardless of the excessive heat, and heedless of the prospect of deadly combat, all burning to avenge the cruelties which Tippoo Sultan had shown their comrades who had recently fallen into his hands. Before them lay a broad river, waist deep, which must be crossed before the fort could be reached. As they plunged into it they were beset by a formidable fire from the walls. As the men climbed the bank the fire from the walls and the breach grew hotter, and the storm of shot which swept the ground between the river and the fort at this point was sufficient to appal the bravest troops. Yet they did not falter when Baird led the way across the ditch. Men fell at every step, but their comrades continued to advance, eager to cover the space which intervened, and to reach the breach where they could come into close fighting with the defenders. The breach itself, a hundred feet wide, was held by Tippoo's troops, ready to hurl back this small force which ventured to force its way into a stronghold swarming with thousands of Tippoo's warriors. In six minutes from the time Baird called to his men he struck down his first man, and a moment later the soldiers were clearing the breach at the point of the bayonet. The attacking force was stayed in their |