History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v5.c83.s5.10

v5.c83.s5.10

About the middle of May 1687, Abdus Samad, a lieutenant of Shaista Khan, arrived before Hijli with 12,000 men to expel the English. The invaders had been daily losing men from disease, both on land and in the ships, during the trying months of March and April, and their provisions had now run very short. From the mainland in the west the heavy Mughal batteries began to fire across the Rasulpur river upon the English position in the island and drove the English ships from their anchorage. On 28th May a body of 700 Mughal cavalry and 200 gunners crossed the river three miles above Hijli town, suprised an English battery on the island, and pushing further south seized that town itself and set it on fire. The English held only the small weakly-walled fort. Their losses in the meantime had been terrible: 200 soldiers had perished and only a hundred, weakened by fever, survived, the forty officers had sunk to five only. Yet, for four days they held the fort, and the two batteries guarding the road to the landing place, against overwhelming odds, and in spite of their being hemmed round on all the three landward sides. On 1st June their reinforcements arrived, and next day they made a successful sortie, beating the enemy back from their guns.