216] 
could have passed it during thesiege, 
which might have thus been obliged 
to be raised a second time. Lord 
Cornwallis therefore, undaunted by 
the difficulty of the enterprize, re- 
solved to attack it immediately. 
This resolution is said to have 
communicated great pleasure to the 
Sultan, who congratulated his army 
on the infatuation of the English, 
saying, that one half of them would 
die of sickness, and the other be 
killed in the attack. Had the gar- 
rison done their duty, his prediction 
might have been verified; but as 
‘they trusted more to the strength 
of the place than to their own exer- 
tions, it was taken without the Joss 
of a'man. The siege was carried 
on bya detachment under Colonel 
Stuart. In about a fortnight a 
road was cut through the woods 
which surround the Droog, and 
upon the north side, where it is least 
giddily steep, batteries were open- 
ed, and'a breach beat down: At 
mid-day the troops advanced boldly 
to the assault, the band of the 52d 
regiment playing “ Britons strike 
home;” and they stormed the 
breaches with littie opposition. The 
garrison were instantlypanic-struck, 
threw down their arms, and fled to 
the western summit of the moun- 
tain. Here they found no asylum; 
their number impeded their flight ; 
their assailants followedcloseat their 
heels; a serjeant of the regiment 
shot dead the man who was letting 
down the gate; and the English rush- 
ed in andtook possession of the place. 
Not one of our menwas hurt; about 
100 of the enemy were killed, and 
many of them dashed from the pre- 
cipices in attempting to escape. 
From Savendroog Colonel Stu- 
art marched against Outredroog,— 
not much inferior in strength and 
importance. The killidar with 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792. |! 
- 
spirit refused to surrender; but be- 
ing unsupported by his soldiers,who' 
began to consider the English as 
something more than mortal, the’ 
place was taken by storin in a few’ 
days. Two of our men were’ 
wounded in the assault. Ram-\ 
Gurry and Sheria-Gurry, which 
commanded the middle road, were’ 
captured soon after, by a detach- 
ment under Captain Welch;' and 
scarce a fort remained in the pos~ 
session of the enemy to the north 
of Seringapatam. 
It was now the middle of Janu- 
ary 1791, when Col. Lloyd, after 
experiencing great difficulties on his 
march, had arrived with the last of 
the supplies, the recruits he had 
raised in the Carnatic, and the’ 
draughts which had been sent out’ 
from Europe. The weather had 
set in fine, and every thing was 
ready for entering upon the last,and’ 
the grand enterprize of the war. 
But, before we follow the British 
army to Seringapatam, it will be 
proper to give some account of the 
transactions of our allies. These 
were of no great magnitude or im- 
portance. The Nizam’s army was 
engaged almost during the whole 
season in the siege of Gurramcon- 
dah. Having stormed the pettah, 
in the beginning of November, it 
marched eastward to cover some 
convoys then expected, a detach- 
ment being left behind to block- 
ade the upper fort. Soon after, 
Hyder Sahib, Tippoo’s eidest son, 
came to the relief of Gurramcon- 
dah, and expelled the Nizam’s gar- 
rison. The main army upon its re- 
turn retook the pettah, and soon 
after joined Lord Cortivallio gen 
before Outredroog. mn 
Purseram Bhow, the Mahratta 
General, was more active and more 
successful. He first took  Kiri- 
koopy, 
