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90 hearing of the movement of the British troops under Sir Hector Munro, he abandoned the siege on August 29. On the same day the Madras Commander-in-Chief reached Conjevaram, which he found denuded of supplies, and there awaited the arrival of the Guntúr force, commanded by Colonel Baillie. This officer reached the Cortelár on August 25, encamping by mistake on the left bank instead of the right; and a sudden fall of rain coming on, the river became so swollen that his crossing was impeded till September 4. On the 6th, Haidar despatched Tipú with the flower of his army to cut off the detachment on its way to Perambákam, while he remained himself near Conjevaram watching Sir Hector Munro. Tipú's attacks were, however, bravely repulsed by Baillie's handful of troops, and on the 9th a force under Colonel Fletcher, numbering 1,000 men, which had been detached by Munro from the main army, succeeded, fortunately without interruption from the enemy, in joining him.

The same night Baillie left Perambákam on his way to Conjevaram. He had not proceeded far before the enemy's guns opened on his rear. An attempt was made to seize these guns, but the flooded state of the ground, which was intersected by ditches, offered a serious impediment. The difficulty was overcome, however, and the enemy's artillery silenced, when Colonel Baillie, contrary to the advice of Colonel Fletcher, determined to halt for the rest of the night, instead of continuing his march to join Munro, then