Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/409

Book X. a forced march in the night, higher up, across the river of St. Thomé, which might bring the French army before morning between the English camp and Madrass, and cut off their retreat to the town: he therefore immediately struck his tents, and marched back with the whole army to the Choultry plain. The ground so called commenceth about 2000 yards south-west of the white town of Madrass, or Fort St. George, from which it is separated by two rivers. The one called the river of Triplicane, winding from the west, gains the sea about a thousand yards to the south of the glacis. The other coming from the north-west, passeth near the western side of the black town, the extremity of which is high ground, which the river rounds, and continues to the east, until within 100 yards of the sea, where it washeth the foot of the glacis, and then turning to the south continueth parallel with the beach, until it joins the mouth and bar of the river of Triplicane. From the turning of the river at the high ground, a canal, striking to the south, communicates with the river of Triplicane. The low ground included by the channels of the two rivers and the canal, is called the island, which is about 3000 yards in circumference. 1200 yards from the strand of the sea is a long bridge leading from the island over the Triplicane river, to a road which continues south to the town of St. Thomé. Another bridge over the canal, leads to the west, and amongst others to a village called Egmore, from which this bridge takes its name. Coming from the south or west, these two bridges afford the only convenient access to the fort or white town, excepting another along the strand of the sea, when the bar of the Triplicane river is choked with sand. All the ground between the St. Thomé road and the sea is filled with villages and enclosures; and so is that on the left, for half a mile towards the Choultry plain, from which a road and several smaller passages lead through them to the St. Thomé Road. It was neither the intention of the Presidency, nor of Colonel Lawrence himself, to risk the army on the Choultry plain, more than they had at the Mount; for a defeat in the field was the certain loss of Madrass, as the enemy in their superiority had 300 European