Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/314

306 his arrival, he received letters from the regent informing him of his distress, since his convoys from Mysore began to be intercepted, and desiring him in the most pressing terms to move immediately to Seringham with his whole force; and Mr. Dupleix informing him at the same time that he intended to send all the Europeans he could bring into the field, the Morattoe, calling in all his stragglers, hurried back to Chillambrum, which was appointed the place of general rendezvous; from hence the whole reinforcement proceeded by very expeditious marches to Tritchinopoly, in sight of which they arrived on the 24th of August.

Their appearance at so critical a conjuncture did not fail to raise the enemy's spirits, who testified their joy by firing salutes and exhibiting fireworks for three days successively, at the same time making the necessary preparations for coming to the plains again; whilst the English and their allies saw themselves under the necessity of taking their measures to act again on the defensive, under the same disadvantages to which they had been constantly subject, excepting in the short interval since the last defeat of the enemy: but even in this interval they had not been able to get more provisions than sufficed for the daily consumption; for as their force was not sufficient to spare considerable escorts at a distance for the time necessary to collect large supplies, what they received came daily in small quantities, about 100 bullock loads at a time, which indeed had lately joined the camp without much difficulty. But it was evident that the enemy's detachments would not scour the plain again as usual: the Major therefore, to diminish the risk of his convoys coming from the eastward, quitted the neighbourhood of Weycondah as soon as their reinforcement appeared, and encamped on the same ground which he had formerly occupied a little to the north of the Facquire's Tope. The enemy three days after quitted Mootachellinoor, and encamped at the five rocks, where their army covered a great extent of ground, for they had likewise been reinforced from Mysore. From the great superiority of their numbers, the Major expected that they would attack him in his camp, and ordered his men to sleep on their arms; but they contented themselves with following their former plan of intercepting the convoys. And the very next day, the 28th, near 3000 horse, Morattoes and Mysoreans, attacked an