Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/100

94 they ventured to separate into three divisions, and each with two of the field-pieces advanced against different bodies of infantry, at a considerable distance from each other. The cavalry every where flung themselves between, and continually surrounded the three divisions, whose destruction to a stranger would have seemed inevitable; and indeed nothing but the firm reliance on the general discipline could have warranted the hazard, or have surmounted the danger; but with this advantage and the dexterity of the field-pieces, each division either sufficed to its own defence, or, when pressed, received assistance from one of the others. In the different evolutions the enemy's cavalry were often within reach of the two guns at Charmaul, of which even the random shot did execution, whilst the enemy's cannon were fired, although continually, with very little effect. Their infantry did nothing but shift from safe ground to safer, and fire with fear. In this variety of fights the engagement lasted five hours, and did not cease until the sun was set; the French troops fired 35,000 musket cartridges, and 900 from their field-pieces; 125 of the enemy's horses were counted dead on the plain; by which the total of their loss must have been considerable. That of the French was slight; six Sepoys killed, and thirty wounded: of the Europeans none killed, and only four wounded.

Two days after, on the 1st of August, came up Salabadjing himself, and the main body of the army. A council was immediately held, in which Murzafar Khan proposed a general assault on Charmaul. This deliberation was in a few hours communicated to Mr. Bussy, who immediately demolished several of the adjacent houses; but the attack was not made. The intrigues of Murzafar Khan had already pervaded the whole body of Sepoys, and the greatest part of them had promised him to desert with their arms, the first time they should be led into the field: their correspondence was discovered; and determined Mr. Bussy to make no more sallies.

By this time reinforcements were approaching. Mr. Moracin, the French chief of Masulipatam, on the first advices of the rupture at Sanore, had collected 160 Europeans and 700 Sepoys, which, with five field-pieces, marched in the middle of July, under the command