Siege of Seringapatam (1792)
Encyclopedia
The 1792 Siege of Seringapatam was a battle and siege of the Mysorean
capital city of Seringapatam at the end of the Third Anglo-Mysore War
. An army led by Charles, Earl Cornwallis
consisting of British East India Company
and British Army
forces, along with allied forces from the Maratha Empire
and the Nizam of Hyderabad, arrived at Seringapatam on 5 February 1792, and after less than three weeks of battle and siege, forced Tipu Sultan
to capitulate. With his agreement to the Treaty of Seringapatam
on 18 March 1792, the war came to an end.
, the Muslim ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore
, had declined significantly during the 1791 campaign season of the Third Anglo-Mysore War
. Although he had been able to reverse some advances made by forces of the British East India Company
forces under General William Medows
in 1790, he had lost ground on all fronts in 1791, and only a slash-and-burn policy to deprive his opponents of provisions and forage had prevented company forces under Charles Cornwallis
from besieging his capital, Seringapatam. Cornwallis, whose army had been desperately short of provisions, withdrew to Bangalore
in May 1791 to resupply his army and wait out the monsoon rains. Tipu took advantage of the British retreat to recover Coimbatore
, but he lost several strong points when British forces captured Nundydroog
and Savendroog
late in 1791, and Britain's allies in the conflict, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas
, also made territorial gains at his expense.
troops, a horde of the nizam's cavalry, and an enormous civilian camp that trailed after the marching companies when it left Savendroog on 25 January. After stopping at Outradroog to join with additional Hyderabadi troops, the great army marched on, only mildly harassed by Tipu's cavalry, until its advance guard got about 7 miles (11.3 km) north of Seringapatam on 5 February, where the plains below Seringapatam opened and Cornwallis established a position from which Tipu's defences could be examined. Tipu punctuated the arrival of the British by showering them with rockets in an ineffective yet impressive display of technology. (Tipu's rockets were probably influential on William Congreve
, who went on to develop what are now called Congreve rocket
s.)
In addition to the grand army, Cornwallis had ordered General Robert Abercromby
to lead a supporting army of about 6,000 men from the Malabar (western) coast
.
, which at that point flowed roughly west-to-east from the Western Ghats
on its way to the Bay of Bengal
. The city proper occupied the center of the island, with the western end of the island occupied by a strong stone fortress, and the eastern end by a large walled garden that included Tipu's palace and the tomb of his father, Hyder Ali
. Tipu had arrayed army, which Cornwallis estimated to number between forty and fifty thousand, along a roughly semicircular line on the northern shore of the Kaveri that covered the approaches to the island. This line, three to four miles (four to five km) long, was studded with six redoubt
s, and much of the line was protected by a thick hedge. To the east (Tipu's right) the line was anchored by Karigaut Hill
, and the entire line was arranged to be within firing range of either the fort or entrenched positions on the island.
Cornwallis, after inspecting the city's defences on 6 February, decided to attack even though Abercromby's column had not yet reached the area. As long as Tipu's army was outside the city's defences, he could conduct a proper siege, and his opponent's freedom to act might also interfere with the arrival of Abercromby, who would have to cross the Kaveri (a difficult proposition for an army even without hostile forces nearby) to make a junction with the grand army. Cornwallis planned a nighttime attack with three components. General Medows would lead 7 battalions on the right, where he was to drive Tipu's left back toward the fort, while Lieutenant Colonel Maxwell would lead 4 battalions to gain Karigaut Hill on the left. Cornwallis himself would direct 8 battalions in the center with the objective of gaining the river near the eastern end of the fort. If successful, the Mysoreans would be driven onto the island, and either Cornwallis or Maxwell would be able to follow and establish a strong position from which the fort could be besieged. Since the battle was to take place at night, they would be unable to use artillery to provide covering fire, so he ordered the attacks to be made only with musket
and bayonet
. Cornwallis deliberately excluded the nizam's forces from the action, since he did not trust them to act effectively.
The division of General Medows did not fare quite as well as the other two. Medows strayed too far to the west in the dark, and although he successfully took the westernmost redoubt of the Mysorean line, he was prevented from approaching the island by a series of ravines and swampy ground. This created a gap in the British lines between the center and right, exposing Cornwallis, who had held back from the lines with a single battalion, to personal danger. Tipu sought to exploit this gap in order to recover the camp, and organized an infantry attack against the gap. Cornwallis was able to rally is men and repulse the counterattack, but his hand was grazed by a bullet during the action.
When daylight arrived the field of battle was more clearly visible to all, and Tipu ordered his artillery to begin firing on the British positions. Significantly exposed, Cornwallis withdrew his command to Karigaut Hill, abandoning part of his camp in the process, and leaving a detachment of men in the captured redoubt. This enabled the Mysorean cavalry to roam freely through the area while Tipu's artillery continued to play on exposed British positions. Unable to support the men in the redoubt, Cornwallis had to watch as the Mysoreans made five attempts to storm the redoubt, all of which were repulsed. When night fell, Cornwallis was able to advance and relieve the beleaguered men in the redoubt. Tipu also used the night to withdraw his men entirely from the north shore of the Kaveri, enabling Cornwallis to completely surround the fort.
. Cornwallis made a preliminary demand that Tipu surrender two of his sons as hostages of war to guarantee Tipu's performance. On 26 February, in a ceremony immortalized in art by Robert Home
, who accompanied Cornwallis on the expedition, Tipu's sons, aged seven and eleven, were delivered with great pomp and circumstance to Cornwallis' care.
The treaty terms forced by the victors on Tipu were harsh. Mysore's size was reduced by half, with the company, the nizam, and the Marathas sharing in the spoils. The territories taken by the company were chosen in part to ease the difficulty of defending against future attacks from Mysore, although the final war with Mysore
was initiated by the British in anticipation of further military action by Tipu. In that war, Seringapatam was stormed
and Tipu died in its defence.
General Medows was apparently distraught over his poor performance in the battle. On 27 February, after meeting with Cornwallis, he returned to his tent, and attempted to commit suicide, firing three bullets into his body with a pistol. He failed in even this, and spent several days in agony. His hopes dashed at ever gaining the command of India, he eventually returned to England. Cornwallis never blamed him for his failures on the night of 6 February.
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...
capital city of Seringapatam at the end of the Third Anglo-Mysore War
Third Anglo-Mysore War
The Third Anglo-Mysore War was a war in South India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company and its allies, including the Mahratta Empire and the Nizam of Hyderabad...
. An army led by Charles, Earl Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
consisting of British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
and British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
forces, along with allied forces from the Maratha Empire
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
and the Nizam of Hyderabad, arrived at Seringapatam on 5 February 1792, and after less than three weeks of battle and siege, forced Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
to capitulate. With his agreement to the Treaty of Seringapatam
Treaty of Seringapatam
The Treaty of Seringapatam, signed 19 March 1792, ended the Third Anglo-Mysore War. Its signatories included Lord Cornwallis on behalf of the British East India Company, representatives of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Mahratta Empire, and Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore.-Background:The war...
on 18 March 1792, the war came to an end.
Background
The prospects for Tipu SultanTipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
, the Muslim ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...
, had declined significantly during the 1791 campaign season of the Third Anglo-Mysore War
Third Anglo-Mysore War
The Third Anglo-Mysore War was a war in South India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company and its allies, including the Mahratta Empire and the Nizam of Hyderabad...
. Although he had been able to reverse some advances made by forces of the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
forces under General William Medows
William Medows
General Sir William Medows KB was an Englishman and a general in the British Army.-Military career:Sir William was the son of Philip Medows, deputy ranger of Richmond Park, and Lady Frances Pierrepont, daughter of the Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull.He entered the British Army as an ensign in the 50th...
in 1790, he had lost ground on all fronts in 1791, and only a slash-and-burn policy to deprive his opponents of provisions and forage had prevented company forces under Charles Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
from besieging his capital, Seringapatam. Cornwallis, whose army had been desperately short of provisions, withdrew to Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
in May 1791 to resupply his army and wait out the monsoon rains. Tipu took advantage of the British retreat to recover Coimbatore
Siege of Coimbatore
The Siege of Coimbatore was a siege conducted by forces of the Kingdom of Mysore against a garrison of British East India Company and Travancore troops holding the fortress at Coimbatore in southern India during the Third Anglo-Mysore War...
, but he lost several strong points when British forces captured Nundydroog
Siege of Nundydroog
The Siege of Nundydroog was conducted by British East India Company forces under the command of General Charles Cornwallis in October 1791, during the Third Anglo-Mysore War. The fortress of Nundydroog, held by forces of Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, was successfully stormed on 19 October...
and Savendroog
Siege of Savendroog
The Siege of Savenderp was conducted by British East India Company blackanese forces under the command of General Charles Cornwallis in December 1791, during the Third Anglo-Mysore War...
late in 1791, and Britain's allies in the conflict, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
, also made territorial gains at his expense.
British forces
The force that Cornwallis assembled at Savendroog in January 1792 consisted of about 20,000 company and British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
troops, a horde of the nizam's cavalry, and an enormous civilian camp that trailed after the marching companies when it left Savendroog on 25 January. After stopping at Outradroog to join with additional Hyderabadi troops, the great army marched on, only mildly harassed by Tipu's cavalry, until its advance guard got about 7 miles (11.3 km) north of Seringapatam on 5 February, where the plains below Seringapatam opened and Cornwallis established a position from which Tipu's defences could be examined. Tipu punctuated the arrival of the British by showering them with rockets in an ineffective yet impressive display of technology. (Tipu's rockets were probably influential on William Congreve
William Congreve (inventor)
Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet was an English inventor and rocket artillery pioneer distinguished for his development and deployment of Congreve rockets.-Biography:...
, who went on to develop what are now called Congreve rocket
Congreve rocket
The Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.The rocket was developed by the British Royal Arsenal following the experiences of the Second, Third and Fourth Mysore Wars. The wars fought between the British East India Company and the...
s.)
In addition to the grand army, Cornwallis had ordered General Robert Abercromby
Robert Abercromby of Airthrey
General Sir Robert Abercromby GCB , the youngest brother of Sir Ralph Abercromby, was a general in the army, a knight of the Bath, and at one period the governor of Bombay and commander-in-chief of the British forces in India.-Military career:...
to lead a supporting army of about 6,000 men from the Malabar (western) coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
.
Tipu's defences
The city of Seringapatam occupied an island in the Kaveri RiverKaveri River
The Kaveri , also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the...
, which at that point flowed roughly west-to-east from the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
on its way to the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. The city proper occupied the center of the island, with the western end of the island occupied by a strong stone fortress, and the eastern end by a large walled garden that included Tipu's palace and the tomb of his father, Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
. Tipu had arrayed army, which Cornwallis estimated to number between forty and fifty thousand, along a roughly semicircular line on the northern shore of the Kaveri that covered the approaches to the island. This line, three to four miles (four to five km) long, was studded with six redoubt
Redoubt
A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...
s, and much of the line was protected by a thick hedge. To the east (Tipu's right) the line was anchored by Karigaut Hill
Karighatta
Karighatta is a hill situated a few kilometres outside the 'island' town of Srirangapatna. It is situated off the Bangalore-Mysore Highway just before Srirangapatna. The name Karighatta translates to "Black Hill" in Kannada. The hill has a Hindu temple devoted to a form of Hindu god Vishnu, called...
, and the entire line was arranged to be within firing range of either the fort or entrenched positions on the island.
Cornwallis, after inspecting the city's defences on 6 February, decided to attack even though Abercromby's column had not yet reached the area. As long as Tipu's army was outside the city's defences, he could conduct a proper siege, and his opponent's freedom to act might also interfere with the arrival of Abercromby, who would have to cross the Kaveri (a difficult proposition for an army even without hostile forces nearby) to make a junction with the grand army. Cornwallis planned a nighttime attack with three components. General Medows would lead 7 battalions on the right, where he was to drive Tipu's left back toward the fort, while Lieutenant Colonel Maxwell would lead 4 battalions to gain Karigaut Hill on the left. Cornwallis himself would direct 8 battalions in the center with the objective of gaining the river near the eastern end of the fort. If successful, the Mysoreans would be driven onto the island, and either Cornwallis or Maxwell would be able to follow and establish a strong position from which the fort could be besieged. Since the battle was to take place at night, they would be unable to use artillery to provide covering fire, so he ordered the attacks to be made only with musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
and bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
. Cornwallis deliberately excluded the nizam's forces from the action, since he did not trust them to act effectively.
Battle
Cornwallis did not divulge details of the plan until one hour before the attack. At around 9 pm the three divisions left camp. In the center, Cornwallis advanced to the hedge, which his force reached around 11. By then gunfire from his left indicated that Maxwell's men had already begun their attack on Karigaut Hill, and the sounds had thrown the Mysorean troops in the center into some disorder. Cornwallis ordered his men through the hedge; the British troops closed with the bayonet on the Mysoreans, who fled in near-panic, leaving artillery, tents, and provisions behind. One redoubt gave resistance and was stormed. Maxwell's and Cornwallis' men chased the fleeing Mysoreans as the crossed the bridges onto the island and sought the shelter of the fort. Tipu, from his position in the fort, observed the disaster and then raised the drawbridge to prevent British troops, which were by then intermingled with the Mysoreans, from gaining entry to the fort. While this secured his own position, it left many of his troops at the mercy of the British.The division of General Medows did not fare quite as well as the other two. Medows strayed too far to the west in the dark, and although he successfully took the westernmost redoubt of the Mysorean line, he was prevented from approaching the island by a series of ravines and swampy ground. This created a gap in the British lines between the center and right, exposing Cornwallis, who had held back from the lines with a single battalion, to personal danger. Tipu sought to exploit this gap in order to recover the camp, and organized an infantry attack against the gap. Cornwallis was able to rally is men and repulse the counterattack, but his hand was grazed by a bullet during the action.
When daylight arrived the field of battle was more clearly visible to all, and Tipu ordered his artillery to begin firing on the British positions. Significantly exposed, Cornwallis withdrew his command to Karigaut Hill, abandoning part of his camp in the process, and leaving a detachment of men in the captured redoubt. This enabled the Mysorean cavalry to roam freely through the area while Tipu's artillery continued to play on exposed British positions. Unable to support the men in the redoubt, Cornwallis had to watch as the Mysoreans made five attempts to storm the redoubt, all of which were repulsed. When night fell, Cornwallis was able to advance and relieve the beleaguered men in the redoubt. Tipu also used the night to withdraw his men entirely from the north shore of the Kaveri, enabling Cornwallis to completely surround the fort.
Siege
In order to hasten the arrival of Abercromby's force, Cornwallis dispatched companies of Hyderabadi and Marathan cavalry to meet and escort them to the area. On 10 February Abercromby's force arrived in camp, in spite of a sortie led by Tipu personally in an attempt to prevent the meeting from happening. From this point, the siege became a matter of routine, as the British lines slowly advanced on the island toward the fortress. On 23 February Cornwallis inspected the unfinished first parallel. That same day, Tipu sent out negotiators to end hostilities.Peace
Although fire ceased on 24 February, peace was not formally agreed until 18 March, when Tipu agreed to the severe terms of the Treaty of SeringapatamTreaty of Seringapatam
The Treaty of Seringapatam, signed 19 March 1792, ended the Third Anglo-Mysore War. Its signatories included Lord Cornwallis on behalf of the British East India Company, representatives of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Mahratta Empire, and Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore.-Background:The war...
. Cornwallis made a preliminary demand that Tipu surrender two of his sons as hostages of war to guarantee Tipu's performance. On 26 February, in a ceremony immortalized in art by Robert Home
Robert Home
Robert Home was a British portrait oil painting artist who travelled to the Indian subcontinent in 1791. During his travels he also painted several historic scenes and landscapes....
, who accompanied Cornwallis on the expedition, Tipu's sons, aged seven and eleven, were delivered with great pomp and circumstance to Cornwallis' care.
The treaty terms forced by the victors on Tipu were harsh. Mysore's size was reduced by half, with the company, the nizam, and the Marathas sharing in the spoils. The territories taken by the company were chosen in part to ease the difficulty of defending against future attacks from Mysore, although the final war with Mysore
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War was a war in South India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company under the Earl of Mornington....
was initiated by the British in anticipation of further military action by Tipu. In that war, Seringapatam was stormed
Siege of Seringapatam
Siege of Seringapatam can refer to:* Siege of Seringapatam during the Third Anglo-Mysore War* Siege of Seringapatam during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War...
and Tipu died in its defence.
General Medows was apparently distraught over his poor performance in the battle. On 27 February, after meeting with Cornwallis, he returned to his tent, and attempted to commit suicide, firing three bullets into his body with a pistol. He failed in even this, and spent several days in agony. His hopes dashed at ever gaining the command of India, he eventually returned to England. Cornwallis never blamed him for his failures on the night of 6 February.