A History of the Mahrattas v2.c42.23.1

v2.c42.23.1

Before the fall of Dharwar the British army had been some time in the field. Its first campaign against Tippoo in this war terminated, as we have already briefly mentioned, on the 27th January. On the 29th of the same month Lord Cornwallis assumed the command of the army and marched on the 5th February towards Vellore, where he concentrated his forces and advanced to Bangalore, which he invested on the 5th March, and carried it by assault on the night of the 21st of that month. This success tended to discourage the enemy and stimulate the allies to exertion. The fall of Bangalore had some share in influencing the surrender of Dharwar and also of Kopaul, besieged by the Moghuls, which was shortly afterwards given up, as was Buhadur Benda. The Moghuls, according to the treaty, were supported by two battalions of Madras native infantry, in the same manner as the Mahrattas were aided from Bombay. An army of thirty thousand Mahrattas, of which 25,000 were horse, marched from Poona on the 1st January, under the command of Hurry Punt Phurkay; advanced by Punderpoor and Sorapoor, forded the Kistna, where it is joined by the Beema, and proceeded to Geddawal, whence Hurry Punt directed the main body of his army to continue its route to Kurnoul, whilst he proceeded to Paungul with an escort of two thousand cavalry, for the purpose of conferring personally with Nizam Ally, whose court was then held at that frontier position, whence he affected to direct the operations of his field army.