Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/405

Book X. for quick firing; but their camp, to which they were retiring, still remained to be attacked; and Colonel Forde halted until joined by his Sepoys, and, if they would come, by the Rajah's troops.

The Sepoys and horse of the enemy's right wing were in their turn panick-struck by the fire of the English battalion routing their own, and all turned to gain the rear of the guns, keeping aloof to the left of the English divisions; and then went off again with the French battalion to the camp. Their left-wing of Sepoys behaved better, advancing to the use of musketry against the English Sepoys of the left, with whom the battalion, when filing off to oppose the French, left the three field-pieces of their right; and the Sepoys, encouraged by this assistance, the ardour of the Europeans marching off, and the spirit of their own commander Captain Knox, maintained their ground, facing and firing in various directions behind the banks of the rice fields, in which they had drawn up. The enemy's wing nevertheless continued the distant fire, until they saw their battalion of Europeans quitting their guns, and the Sepoys and horse of the right retreating with them to the camp; when they went off likewise; stretching round to the left of the English battalion halting at the guns, and keeping out of their reach. Captain Knox then advanced to join the battalion with his own Sepoys, and the six field-pieces, and had collected most of the fugitives of the other wing. Messages had been continually sent to the Rajah's horse to advance, but they could not be prevailed upon to quit the shelter of a large tank, at this time dry, in which they, his foot, and himself in the midst of them, had remained cowering from the beginning of the action.

As soon as the Sepoys joined, and all the necessary dispositions were made, which took an hour, Colonel Forde advanced to attack the enemy's camp; but, not to retard the march, left the field-pieces to follow. A deep hollow way passed along the skirt of the camp, behind which appeared a considerable number of Europeans regularly drawn up, as if to defend the passage of the hollow way, and several shot were fired from heavy cannon planted to defend the approach. Just as the English troops came near, and the first division of the Europeans stept out to give their fire, the