Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/191

Book III. Notwithstanding these reinforcements, the English battalion at Tritchinopoly did not exceed 600 men; whereas the French had 1,000, and the troops of Chunda-saheb outnumbered the Nabob's ten to one. The strength of the city indeed rendered the reduction of it very difficult: but the Nabob's army, at the same time that they were incapable of retrieving his affairs, exhausted his treasures, and his revenues were daily cut off by the enemy taking possession of the countries which furnished them. Captain Clive, on his return from Tritchinopoly in the beginning of August, represented this situation of affairs to the presidency, and proposed, as the only resource, to attack the possessions of Chunda-saheb in the territory of Arcot; offering to lead the expedition himself, which he doubted not would cause a diversion of part of the enemy's force from Tritchinopoly. Fort St. David and Madrass were left, the one with 100, the other with less than 50 men, in order to supply the greatest force that could be collected for this enterprize. The detachment, when compleated, nevertheless, consisted of no more than 300 Sepoys and 200 Europeans, with eight officers, six of whom had never before been in action, and four of these six were young men in the mercantile service of the company, who, inflamed by his example, took up the sword to follow him. This handful of men, with only three field pieces for their artillery, marched from Madrass on the 26th of August, and on the 29th arrived at Conjeveram, a considerable town with a large pagoda, lying about 40 miles inland, where they received intelligence that the fort of Arcot was garrisoned by 1100 men; on which captain Clive wrote to Madrass, desiring that two 18 pounders might be sent after him without delay. On the 31st he halted within 10 miles of Arcot, where the enemy's spies reported, that they had discovered the English marching with unconcern through a violent storm of thunder, lightning, and rain; and this circumstance, from their notions of omens, gave the garrison so high an opinion of the fortitude of the approaching enemy, that they instantly abandoned the fort, and a few hours after the English entered the city, which had no walls or defences; and marching through 100,000 spectators, who gazed on them with admiration and respect, took possession of the fort, in which they found a large quantity of lead and