Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c56.s12: § 7. Seduction of Sindhia's officers and sepoys
Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c56.s12
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§ 7. Seduction of Sindhia's officers and sepoys
v4.c56.s12.1
Even before the war with Sindhia was known to be a certainty, Marquess Wellesley had made his arrangements for seducing the only elements of strength in the Maratha armies, namely their European officers and the Hindustani sepoys. Early in July, almost two months before the news of the rupture of the peace by Sindhia reached him, he had drawn up proclamations for luring away these officers and sepoys from Sindhia's army, and he had sent the proclamations in advance to the Generals Lake and Arthur Wellesley—who commanded the two vitally important theatres of the coming war. These documents were to be kept secret till the actual outbreak of the war, and then published, so that not a day might be lost in their reaching the enemy camps near these two British Generals.
v4.c56.s12.2
In North India, the Marquess very early discussed with General Lake a secret plan for making personal contact with Perron through Sutherland (a Scotsman in Sindhia's service, who had married the daughter of Madame Perron's brother), and buying him out of India, but the plan was abandoned for the time, as the commander-in-chief insisted on first destroying Perron's army in the field, for the sake of the tremendous moral effect which such a victory would produce on the Indian public. George Hessing, who held the fort of Agra for Sindhia, was to be seduced through the Scotsman Sutherland (his maternal uncle's son-in-law), and Mr. Thomas Longcroft, an English indigo-planter settled in the Aligarh district since De Boigne's time, was sent into Aligarh fort to seduce Col. Pedron. In all these matters, General Lake, as the man on the spot was given full discretion and a blank cheque for the expenses he might find necessary. [MM. iii. 190-193.]