110 
HINDOOST AN. 
penetrated and eluded by the fagacity and a&ivity of the 
Britifh commander, who ftill continued to watch and 
harral's the army of the rajah, confiding in the itrength of 
the party under whofe efcort the convoy was placed, and 
the ikiil and bravery of its commander. Nor was he dif- 
appointed : the convoy was attacked by the rajah’s caval¬ 
ry at Amber, but captain Baynes, who commanded the 
Britidi detachment, repulfed it with confiderable lofs, 
fecured the whole of the fupplies, and conducted them in 
triumph, a few days afterwards, to the Britifh camp. 
This fuccefs ftill further increafed the rajah’s efforts to 
avoid a general engagement, by every means that activity 
and local knowledge could furnifh. 
In the mean while, Scindia, who faw all his proje&s 
fubvei'ted, his French eftablifnment and alliance utterly 
deltroyed, his provinces conquered, his fortrefles in the 
Deccan fubdued, and even his capital threatened by the 
victorious Britifh, found that his bell policy was to nego- 
ciate. Accordingly, on the 11th of November, he fent 
an ambaflador to general Wellefley’s camp at Jaum, to 
propofe a treaty of peace. 
That officer, well aware that to gain time, the ufual ob¬ 
ject of Mahratta fubterfuge, was his purpofe ; yet, anxious 
to evince the fincere with of the Britifh government for 
the reftoration of tranquillity, received him with every 
demonftration of refpeCt and lktisfaCtion. After various 
conferences, on the 23d of November, a ceflation of arms 
was agreed upon, between Scindia and the Britifh forces 
in the Deccan and province of Guzerat. The principal 
condition, of this truce was, that the army of the former 
fhould occupy a pofition forty miles to the left of Ellich¬ 
pour, and that the Britifh force fhould not advance farther 
into the territories of Scindia. 
While thefe negotiations were on foot, the Berar rajah 
Bhoonfla had moved towards his own dominions, and ge¬ 
neral Wellefley had defcended the mountains by liajoorah, 
in order to co-operate with colonel Stevenfon in the re¬ 
duction of the ftrong fortrefs of Gawd Ghur, on which 
fervice that officer had been detached after the fall of 
Affeergur. On the 28th of November, general Wel- 
leiley came up with the greater part of Bhoonfla’s in¬ 
fantry, ftrengthened by a confiderable body of Scindia’s 
regular horfe : and, as the latter had not fulfilled the con¬ 
ditions of the truce he had himfelf demanded with fuch 
cagernefs, general Wellefley refolved, not with handing the 
eager remonftrances and proteftations of Scindia’s ambafta- 
dor, (ftill in the Britifh camp,) to attack the enemy with 
all poffible celerity. 
General Wellefley immediately moved forward to Par- 
terly, where he was joined by colonel Stevenfon’s divifion, 
and whence the confederates had retired, although their 
rear was ftill difcernible from a lofty tower near the fpot. 
The extreme heat of the day, and the fatigue of the troops, 
diiinclined general Wellelley from a further purf'uit of 
the enemy until the evening. But the Britifh troops 
had not long halted, before large bodies of horle were 
obferved in front; and, upon advancing the picquets in 
confequence, the whole army of the confederated Mah¬ 
ratta chiefs was diftin&ly perceived, formed in a long 
line of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, extending in front 
nearly five miles on the plains of Argaum. 
General Wellefley, finding that the enemy was thus 
prepared for a general aftion, loft not a moment in ad¬ 
vancing with the whole of his army in one- column ;—the 
Britifh cavalry leading, in a direction nearly parallel to 
that of the enemy's line. On a nearer approach to the 
confederated force, the Britifh army was formed in two 
lines, the firft of which was compofed of the Infantry, 
the fecond of the horfe : the right wing was advanced, in 
order to prefs upon the left of the enemy ; the Britifh left 
was fupported by the Myfore cavalry. On arriving very 
dole to the enemy’s line, the 74th and 78th regiments were- 
attacked by a large body of Perfians, which, aftera delperate 
Conflict, thofe gallant corps fucceeded in totally deftroying; 
and, Scindia^ cavalry being at the fume time repulfed with 
great lofs, by the i ft battalion of the Sth regiment, the whole 
line of the enemy gave way, and retreated with the ut- 
mod precipitation and confufton, leaving in the pofleffion 
of the viCfors thirty-eight pieces of cannon and all their 
ammunition. The Britifh cavalry immediately purfued, 
deftroyed many of the fugitives, and captured the whole 
ot their elephants and baggage. The lofs on the part of 
the Britifh forces was very inconfiderable. 
After this aCtion, which, if not fo brilliant, was cer¬ 
tainly not lefs decifive, than that of Aflye, general Wel¬ 
lefley immediately moved towards Gawil Ghur in Berar, 
for the purpofe of inverting that fortrefs, confidered to 
be one of the ftrongeft in India, and hitherto deemed by 
the natives to be impregnable. For this purpofe, he ar¬ 
rived at Ellichpour on the 5th of December, and halted 
on the 6th, in order to fettle the plan of the propofed 
fiege with colonel Stevenfon, and likewife to eftablifh an 
holpital for the wounded in the battle of Argaum. 
The fort of Gawil Ghur is fituated iira range of moun¬ 
tains, between the fources of the Taptee and Poonah ri¬ 
vers. It Hands on a lofty mountain in this range, and 
confifts of one complete inner fort, which fronts to the 
fouth where the rock is moft fteep, and an outer fort, 
which covers the approach to it from the north by the 
village of Labada; all thefe walls are ftrongly built, and 
fortified by ramparts and towers. The communications 
with the fort are through three gates: one to the fouth, 
with the inner fort; one to the north-weft, with the outer 
fort; and one to the third, with the north wall. The af- 
cent to the firft is very fteep, and is praCficable only for 
men ; that to the fecond is by a road for the communi¬ 
cations of the garrifon with the countries to the fouth- 
ward, but the road partes round the weft fide of the fort, 
and is expofed, for a confiderable diftance, to its fire; it 
is fo narrow as to make it impracticable for regular ap¬ 
proaches, and the rock is fcarped on each fide; this road 
alfo leads no farther than the gate. The communication 
with the northern gate is direCt from the village of Laba¬ 
da, and here the ground is level with that of the fort; 
but the road leads through the mountains for about thirty 
miles from Ellichpour; and it was obvious, that the la¬ 
bour and difficulty of moving ordnance and ftores thence 
to Labada, would be very great. Upon the moft mature 
deliberation, however, the latter point of attack was de¬ 
termined upon ; and as colonel Stevenfon had long been 
deftined, and was indeed equipped, for that lervice, his 
corps was directed to make the principal attack by 
Labada, and that under general Wellefley was to cover 
the operation of the fiege, and, if poffible, carry into ef- 
feCt attacks upon the fouth ward and weft ward. 
On the 7th of December, both divifions marched from 
Ellichpour ; and, from that day till the 12th, the troops 
of colonel Stevenfon went through a feries of laborious 
fervice, fuch as had fcarcely been ever witnefled. The 
heavy ordnance were dragged up, over mountains and 
through ravines, for nearly thirty miles, by roads which 
it had been previoufly necellary for the troops to make 
for the purpofe. 
On the 12th at night, cok f’el Stevenfon erefted two 
batteries, for brafs and iron guns, to breach the outer 
fort and the third wall; and one to clear and deftroy the 
defences on the point of attack. A fourth batterry was 
opened by general Wellefley’s divifion, on the mountain, 
under the fouthern gate, with a view to breach the wall 
near that gate, or at leaft to divert and diftfaCt the enemy’s 
attention. On the night of the 16th, the breaches of the 
outer wall of the fort were deemed practicable, and a {form¬ 
ing-party was ordered for the attack, at ten o’clock on 
the following morning, under the command of lieute¬ 
nant-colonel Kenny. At the fame time, two attacks were 
to be made from the fouthward, the one on the fouth 
gate, by a ftrong detachment under lieutenant-colonel 
Wallace, and the other of a fimilar force on the gate of. 
the north-weft, under lieutenant-colonel Chalmers. Thele 
latter difpolitions w-erc calculated foLely to draw the ene- 
