Page:Sir Thomas Munro and the British Settlement of the Madras Presidency.djvu/28

 20 6"//? THOMAS MUNRO

being to be seen in the country — the only inhabitants are the garrisons of the forts, and the British and Mysorean armies.

'The Mysorean army, which encamped before Vellore on the 14th of December [1780], was commanded by Muhammad Ali ; Haidar himself remained at Arcot.

' Vellore is situated at the entrance of the Ambur valley, which leads to one of the principal passes into Mysore, and all convoys coming this way must pass in sight of it; for which reason, a strong guard was always requisite to prevent their being intercepted by the garrison. It was chiefly the dread of this that deter- mined Haidar to attack it. The force that Colonel Lang had to defend it with was two hundred and fifty Euro- peans and five hundred sepoys, besides a rabble of one thousand two hundred Nawab's troops and poligars.

'The fortifications were built by the Marathas more than two hundred years ago. The walls were formed of the same hard stone which had been used at Wandi- wash. The stones were three or four feet thick, and eighteen or twenty long, and were placed end-ways. The ditch which surrounded it was two hundred feet broad, and fifteen or twenty deep. Two miles to the right of the fort were three fortified hills. A six-pounder from the nearest threw a shot three hundred yards over the opposite rampart. It was against this that the enemy directed their attack. They began their approaches near a mile from the foot of the wall. Nothing but their numbers could ever have accom- plished a work of such amazing labour ; the soil on the