With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire
Page 25
Chapter 25: Besieged In A Pagoda.
A few days later Charlie received a message from the Rajah ofPermacoil, saying that he was besieged by a strong native force, aidedby the French. He at once moved his force to his assistance. He foundthat the besiegers, among whom were two hundred French troops, weretoo strong to be attacked. He therefore established himself in theirrear, attacked and captured convoys, and prevented the country peoplefrom bringing in provisions. Several times the besieging infantryadvanced against him, but before these he at once fell back, only toreturn as soon as they retired to their camp. Whenever their horseventured out against him, he beat them back, with considerable loss.
Ten days after his arrival, the enemy, finding it impossible tomaintain themselves in the face of so active an enemy, and sufferinggreatly from want of provisions, raised the siege and fell back.
As soon as they had drawn off, Charlie entered the fort. The rajahreceived him with the greatest warmth. He was, however, muchdistressed at the capture of a hill fort, at some distance fromPermacoil. In this he had stowed his wives and treasure, thinking thatit would be unmolested. The French, however, had, just beforeCharlie's arrival, detached a strong force with some guns, and thesehad captured the place. The force which had accomplished this had, henow heard, marched to Trinavody, a fort and town thirty miles away,upon the road by which the force which had besieged the town wasretiring. The treasure was a considerable one, amounting to seven lacsof rupees, and as the rajah stated his willingness that the troopsshould take possession of this, if they could but rescue his women,Charlie at once determined to attempt the feat.
The main body of the enemy would not reach the place, until theafternoon of the following day. Charlie soon collected his men and,making a detour through the country, arrived next morning within amile of Trinavody.
The town was a small one, and the fort one of the ordinary nativeforts, built in a parallelogram with flanking towers. The place,however, contained a very large and solidly built pagoda or temple. Itwas surrounded by a wall, forty feet high; and at the gateway stood animmense tower, with terraces rising one above the other.
Capturing a native, Charlie learnt that the fort was tenanted only bythe troops of the native rajah of the place, the French detachmentbeing encamped in the pagoda. He at once rode forward with his troops,dashed through the native town, and in through the wide gateway of thetower, into the courtyard within. Beyond two or three straggling shotsfrom the sentries, he had so far encountered no opposition, and thenative troops in the courtyard, thrown into wild confusion by thissudden appearance of a hostile force, threw down their arms and criedfor mercy. From the temple within, however, the French infantry, ahundred strong, opened a brisk fire.
Charlie sent some of his men on to the tower, whence their firecommanded the flat roof of the temple, and these speedily drove thedefenders from that post. The field pieces were unlimbered, anddirected towards the gate of the inner temple, while a musketry firewas kept up against every window and loophole in the building. Thegate gave way after a few shots had been fired, and Charlie led hisparty to the assault.
The French defended themselves bravely, but they were outnumbered andwere driven, fighting, from room to room, until the survivors laiddown their arms. The assault, however, had cost the British a loss oftwenty-five men.
The Rajah of Permacoil's treasure, and his women, fell into the handsof the captors. Charlie ordered the chests to be brought down, andplaced in bullock waggons. Just as he was about to order his men, whowere scattered through the temple looting, to form up, he heard ashout from the tower; and, looking up, saw one of his men theregesticulating wildly. He ran up the tower, and on reaching the firstterrace saw, to his surprise, the whole of the force which he believedto be fifteen miles distant, already entering the town.
The French officer in command, knowing the activity and dash of hisopponent, and fearing that an attempt might be made to carry Trinavodyand recapture the rajah's treasure, had marched all night. When withina mile of the place, he heard what had happened, and at once pushedforward.
Charlie saw that, already, his retreat was cut off; and, running tothe edge of the terrace, shouted to Peters to hurry out with all themen already in the courtyard, to occupy the houses outside the gate,and to keep back the advancing enemy. Summoning another party to thetower, four guns upon the terrace were at once loaded, and theseopened upon the head of the enemy's column, as they entered the streetleading to the temple.
In a short time, a brisk fight began. The enemy planted guns to bearupon the tower. The cannon of the fort joined in the assault, theinfantry pressed forward through the houses and inclosures to thetemple, and were soon engaged with the men under Captain Peters, whilethe guns and musketry from the tower also opened upon them.
Having seen that the preparations to repulse an immediate attack werecomplete, Charlie again ran down to the courtyard. The weak point ofthe defences was the gateway. This was fifty feet wide, and unprovidedwith gates; and Charlie at once set a strong party to work, to form abarricade across it.
For some hours, the party outside the gates maintained their position,but they were gradually driven back; and towards evening, by Charlie'sorders, they retired within the temple. The barricade was now eightfeet high. The face was formed of large slabs of stone, piled one uponanother, backed by a considerable thickness of earthwork. This,however, although capable of resisting a sudden rush of infantry,would, Charlie knew, be incapable of resisting artillery.
During the night, he divided his men in two parties, which alternatelyslept and worked at the inner defences which he had designed. Theseconsisted of two walls, running from each side of the gateway to thetemple. They were placed a few feet farther back than the edge of thegateway, so that an enemy advancing to the storm would not see them,until within the gate. These walls he intended to be eight feet high;and to be backed with earth, four feet high, so as to form a bank onwhich the defenders could stand, and fire into the space between them.To obtain materials, he pulled down several buildings forming a partof the temple. The distance from the gateway to the temple was fiftyyards, and although the men worked without ceasing, the wall had madebut little progress when daylight dawned.
During the night, Charlie lowered one of his men from the wallfarthest from the enemy; with instructions to make his way, as fast aspossible, to Madras to ask for succour. In the morning, Charlie foundthat the enemy had, on their side, been also busy. A house, whichfaced the end of the street leading to the temple, had been pulleddown; and a battery of four guns erected there.
As soon as it was light, the combat began. The enemy had sixteenpieces of artillery, besides those on the fort; and while the fourguns in front played unceasingly upon the barricade across thegateway, the others cannonaded the tower, whence the English guns keptup a fire on the battery in front. So well were these directed, and soheavy was the musketry, that the enemy's guns were several timessilenced, and the artillerymen driven from them.
Behind the barricade, a working party threw up fresh earth, tostrengthen the part most shaken by the enemy's fire, and then set towork to form a similar barricade, in a line with the back of thegateway. This was completed by nightfall, by which time the enemy'sguns had completely shattered the stone facing of the outer barricade,rendering it possible for it to be carried with a rush. As, from thewindows of the houses, they could see the new work behind it; theywould, Charlie judged, not attempt an assault, until this also wasdestroyed.
During the night, large quantities of fresh earth were piled on theouter barricade, which was now useful as forming a screen to thatbehind it from the guns. All night the work at the parallel wallscontinued, and by morning these had reached a height of three feet.
During the next two days the fight continued, without much advantageon either side. Each day the enemy's guns shattered the outerbarricade, but this was as regularly repaired at night, in spite ofthe heavy artillery and matchlock fire which they kept up towards thespot.
In spite of the efforts of the besieged, the enemy kept up so heavy afire that, by the afternoon, the inner as well as the outer barricadewas knocked to pieces. By this time, however, the inner walls werecompleted, and the English awaited the storm with confidence. Thedoorway of the temple had been closed, and blocked up behind; but thedoors had been shattered to pieces, by the shot which had passedthrough the gateway, and the entrance now stood open.
Inside the temple, out of the line of fire, Charlie had the two littlefield pieces, each crammed to the muzzle with bullets, placed inreadiness to fire. The lower floor of the tower had been pierced,above the gateway, and here two huge caldrons filled with boilinglead, stripped from the roof, stood ready for action.
At three in the afternoon, after a furious cannonade, the fire of theenemy's battery suddenly ceased. They had formed communicationsbetween the houses, on either side of the street; and, at the signal,the troops poured out from these in large bodies, and rushed to theassault.
The guns from the tower, which had been awaiting the moment, pouredshowers of grape among them; but, believing that the temple now lay attheir mercy, the enemy did not hesitate, but rushed at the gateway.
Not a shot was fired, as they entered. Scrambling over the remains ofthe two barricades, the enemy poured with exulting shouts into thecourtyard. Then those in front hesitated. On either hand, as far asthe doorway of the temple, extended a massive wall, eight feet high;roughly built, certainly, but far too strong to be battered down, toosteep to be scaled. They would have retreated, but they were drivenforward by the mass which poured in through the gateway behind them;and, seeing that their only safety was in victory, they pressedforward again.
Not a defender showed himself, until the head of the column hadreached a point two-thirds of the distance across the courtyard. Thensuddenly, on either side, the wall was lined by the British, who atonce opened a tremendous fire on the mass below. At the same moment,the guns were run into the doorway, and poured their contents into thestruggling mass.
Pent up between the walls, unable to return the fire poured down uponthem, with lanes torn through them by the discharge of the cannon, thegreater portion of the mass strove to turn and retire. The officer incommand, a gallant Frenchman, called upon the survivors of the fiftyFrench infantry, who had led the attack, to follow him; and rushedforward upon the guns. Here, however, Charlie had posted hisEuropeans, and these, swarming out from the temple, poured a volleyinto the advancing French, and then charged them with the bayonet.
The pressure from behind had now ceased. Streams of boiling lead,poured through the holes above the archway, had effectually checkedthe advance; and through this molten shower, the shattered remnants ofthe assaulting column now fled for their lives, leaving two hundredand fifty of their best men dead behind them.
As the last of the column issued out, the guns of the battery againangrily opened fire. As Charlie had anticipated, the enemy, findinghow strong were the inner defences, abandoned all further idea ofattack by the gateway; and, leaving only two guns there to prevent asortie, placed their whole artillery on the western side of thepagoda, and opened fire to prepare a breach there.
For a week the siege continued, and then Charlie determined toevacuate the place. The rajah's treasure was made up into small sacks,which were fastened to the horses' croups. Had it not been for theseanimals, he would have defended the place to the last, confident inhis power to devise fresh means to repel fresh assaults. The store offorage, however, collected by the enemy for their own use in thetemple, was now exhausted. Charlie directed Peters, with twenty men,to sally out from the gate at midnight, to enter the nearest house onthe right hand side, and to follow the communications made by theenemy before the assault, until they came to the end of the street.Lieutenant Hallowes, with a similar party, was to take the left side.If they found any guards within the houses, they were to overpowerthese; and, rushing straight on, to attack the battery, and spike theguns. Should they find the houses deserted, they were to gather in thehouses nearest the battery, when Peters was to fire his pistol as asignal to Hallowes, and both parties were to attack the battery.
One of the inner walls had been pulled down, and the main body of theforce, having the wounded and the ladies of the rajah's zenana intheir centre, were to sally out, the instant the guns were taken.
The plan was carried out with the greatest success. The houses on bothsides of the street were found to be deserted, and as Peters fired hispistol, the party dashed at the flanks of the battery. The Frenchgunners leaped to their feet and, believing that they were attacked infront, discharged their cannon. The grapeshot swept along the emptystreet, and through the gateway; and Charlie, leading one of thetroops, at once dashed down the street.
At their first rush, Peters and Hallowes had carried the battery,cutting down the gunners. Immediately behind, however, the enemy hadposted a support, several hundred strong, and these speedily advancedto recover the battery.
Leaving their horses in charge of a small party, Charlie dismountedhis men and joined Peters, and his fire quickly checked the assault.In the meantime, the rest of the defenders of the temple rode down thestreet and, leaving a few men with the horses of Peters' and Hallowes'detachments, rode out into the open country. After driving back hisassailants, Charlie led his party back to their horses, mounted them,and speedily rejoined the main body. An hour later they were well ontheir way towards Permacoil, which they reached, next day.
The rajah was delighted at recovering his family. The treasure wasdivided, and the portion belonging to the troops was, with theCompany's share, sent down under a strong escort to Madras.
For a considerable time, Charlie's force were occupied with smallundertakings. Lally had now arrived, from France, and had taken thecommand. He had, at his orders, a European force considerablyexceeding any that had hitherto been gathered in India, and he boastedthat he was going to capture Madras, and drive the English out ofIndia. Nothing could have been more unfortunate for the French thanthe choice of such a man, and his appointment was destined to give thelast blow to French influence in India, as the supercession of Dupleixhad given the first.
Monsieur Lally had one virtue. He was personally brave; but he wasarrogant, passionate, and jealous. He had no capacity, whatever, foreither awing or conciliating those with whom he came in contact. Hetreated the natives with open contempt, and was soon as much hated, bythem, as by his own soldiers.
His first step had been to order Bussy down, from Hyderabad, with thewhole of his force. Bussy, a man of great genius, of extreme tact, ofperfect knowledge of the Indian character; had, for eight years,maintained French influence supreme at that court, and had acquiredfor France the Northern Sirkars, a splendid and most valuableprovince, on the seacoast north of Madras. Salabut Jung, the ruler ofHyderabad, the protege of the French, heard with dismay the orderwhich Bussy had received. To Bussy himself, the blow was a heavy one,and he saw that his departure would entail the ruin of the edifice ofFrench influence, which he had built up by so many years of thoughtand toil.
However, he obeyed at once; and marched, with two hundred and fiftyEuropeans and five hundred native troops, into the Sirkars. He madeover the charge of this treaty to the Marquis de Conflans, whom,although but just arrived from Europe, and entirely new to Indianaffairs, Count de Lally had sent to replace Monsieur Moracin, who had,for years, ably managed the province. He then marched, with histroops, to join the main army under Count de Lally.
This force, having taken
Fort Saint David, had operated againstTanjore, where it had suffered a repulse. The news of this reached theNorthern Sirkars, soon after the departure of Bussy; and Anandraz, themost powerful chief of the country, rose in rebellion, and sent amessenger to Calcutta, begging the assistance of the English to driveout the French.
While the rest of the Bengal council, seeing that Bengal was, at thetime, threatened with invasion from the north, and menaced withtroubles within, considered that it would be an act little short ofmadness to send troops, at a time when they could be so little spared,to assist a chief, who, even from his own accounts, was only able toraise three thousand irregular followers, Clive thought otherwise. Hesaw the great value of the Northern Sirkars, whose possession wouldcomplete the line of British territory, along the seacoast, fromCalcutta down to Madras. He saw, too, that a movement here wouldeffect a diversion, in favour of Madras. The situation there appearedvery serious, and he could spare no troops which would suffice to turnthe scale. But even should Madras be lost, the gain of the NorthernSirkars would almost compensate for the disaster.
Having gained the council to his views, he sent Lieutenant ColonelForde, who commanded the Company's troops in Bengal, with five hundredEuropeans, two thousand natives, and six six-pounders, by sea toVizagapatam, a port which Anandraz had seized. These landed on the20th of October, 1758.
Had Conflans been an efficient officer, he could have crushed Anandrazlong before the arrival of the English. He had, under his orders, aforce composed of five hundred European troops, men trained by Bussy,and accustomed to victory; four thousand native troops, and a brigadeof artillery. Instead of marching at once to crush the rebellion, hesent messenger after messenger to Lally, begging for assistance. Itwas only when he heard, from Lally, that he had directed Moracin, withthree hundred European troops, to support him, that he moved againstAnandraz.
His opportunity had, however, slipped from his hands. He had thrownaway six weeks; and when, upon the march, the news reached him of thelanding of the English, he took up the very strong position withinsight of the fort Peddapur, and intrenched himself there.
Clive had sent to Madras the news that he was despatching ColonelForde to the Sirkars, and begged that any body of troops who might beavailable might be forwarded. Charlie's corps had already beenrecalled towards Madras, to keep the bodies of French who wereconverging in that direction at a distance, as long as possible, so asto allow the victualling of Madras to go on uninterrupted. Mr. Pigotnow instructed Charlie to hand over the command of that force toPeters; and, with fifty men, to make his way north and to effect ajunction with Forde, who was entirely deficient in cavalry.
Avoiding the French force, Charlie reached Vizagapatam upon the 2nd ofDecember, and found that Forde had marched on the previous day. Hestarted at once, and on the evening of the 3rd came up to Forde, whohad arrived in sight of the French position.
Charlie had already made the acquaintance of Colonel Forde in Bengal,and Forde was glad to obtain the assistance, and advice, of an officerwho had seen so much service. An hour after arriving, Charlie rode outwith his commander and reconnoitred the French position; which was,they concluded, too strong to be attacked. In point of numbers, theforces were about even. Conflans had, in addition to his five hundredEuropeans, six thousand native infantry, five hundred native cavalry,and thirty guns. Forde had four hundred and seventy Europeans, onethousand nine hundred Sepoys, and six guns. Anandraz had fortyEuropeans, five thousand infantry, five hundred horsemen, and fourguns. These five thousand men were, however, a mere ragged mob, ofwhom very few had firearms, and the rest were armed with bows andarrows. His horsemen were equally worthless, and Forde could only relyupon the troops he had brought with him from Calcutta, and the troopof fifty natives under Charlie Marryat.
Finding that the French position was too strong to be attacked, Fordefell back to a strong position at Chambol, a village nearly four milesfrom the French camp. Here, for four days, the two armies remainedwatching each other, the leaders of both sides considering that theposition of the other was too strong to be attacked.