Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c51.s7.18

v4.c51.s7.18

We can trace the growth of De Boigne's corps and of his military fiefs, with full details and exact dates, from the Marathi despatches and Persian news-letters, and thus correct the many errors found in the English and French books on that general, particularly Herbert Compton's *Particular Account of the European Military Adventurers in India*. De Boigne (Le borgne de Boigne) first joined Sindhia's army as an officer of his General Apā Khandé Rao at the end of 1784, and first saw service in the Bundelkhand campaign of that chief (1785). Along with Apā Khandé Rao he came to Sindhia's camp before Lālsot on 26th June 1787, at the head of two battalions of trained sepoys (1,300 bayonets in all.) He and his men fought for Mahādji most loyally during the reverses that followed the Lālsot campaign for a year. But on 17th June 1788 the tide turned. De Boigne's two battalions and one of Lesteneau greatly assisted in Sindhia's decisive victory over Mirzā Ismail Beg outside Agra on that day.