Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/194

186 hastily to the city in expectation that an assault made on the fort during the absence of so great a part of the garrison, would encourage the inhabitants to rise; and in this confidence, their whole force, horse and foot, advanced as soon as it was dark, and surrounded the fort. Their musketry, from the adjacent houses, kept a continual fire upon the ramparts; and this attack producing no effect, a large body of horse and foot advanced promiscuously to the principal gate, endeavouring by outcries, and the noise of their military music, to confound the attention of the garrison, from whom they sustained several discharges of musketry without quitting their ground. At last some grenades were thrown amongst them, the explosion of which frightening the horses, flung their cavalry into such confusion that they galloped away, trampling over the foot: but within an hour they recovered their spirits, and made such another attack at the other gate where they were received and beaten off as at the first point. Their infantry continued their fire until day-break, when the English detachments, with the convoy, entered the town, upon which they abandoned it with precipitation. The inhabitants in the fort, satisfied with the treatment they had received from the garrison, betrayed no symptoms of insurrection during the attack. The acquisition of the fort of Arcot soon produced the effect which had been expected from it. Chunda-saheb detached 4,000 of his troops, horse and foot, from Tritchinopoly, who in their rout were, joined by his son Raja-saheb, with 150 Europeans from Pondicherry, and together with the troops already collected in the neighbourhood of Arcot, entered the city on the 23d of September, aud Raja-saheb fixed his head-quarters in the palace of the Nabob.

Captain Clive finding himself on the point of being closely besieged, determined to make one vigorous effort to drive the enemy out of the town, which, if it did not succeed, might at least produce the good effect of impressing them with an opinion of the courage of his men. On the 24th at noon, the greatest part of the garrison, with the four field pieces, sallied out of the north-west gate: this faced at street which, after continuing about seventy yards in a direct line to the north, turned off to the east, and formed another street, at the end of which on the left hand was situated the Nabob's palace. This fronted another street, which striking to the south, continued on the eastern