The Second Invasion of Mysore by Sewaie Madhoo Rao, and the march of the Nawaub Bahadúr to the neighbourhood of Shanoor, to oppose him; with other events of the year 1078, Hejiri. A. D. 1766.

WHEN Madhoo Rao, after peace had been con­cluded, returned for the first time from the Kar­natic Balaghaut to Poona, he left a Thana, or garrison, in Sura. The Killadár of that place, now hearing of the assembling of the Nawaub’s army, and his advance towards Nuggur for the regulation of his affairs there, and becoming alarmed, des­patched a full account of these matters to Madhoo Rao, who being also troubled and perplexed, and considering his own destruction to be threatened by the assemblage of the Nawaub’s forces, again commenced to collect his troops and chiefs. Having commenced his march towards Mysore, he des­patched a body of troops, to reduce all the forts on the frontier, which were held by the Killadárs of the Nawaub. Hearing of the march of the Mahratta army, the Nawaub marched also with his victorious troops by the route of Seo Mooka, (or Simoga,) and Buswa Puttun; and, having crossed the Tung Bhudr, advanced to Hur Hur, and Arnee, and from that to Meduk, known also by the name of Shikarpoor, where he encamped.

The army of the Mahrattas, after taking the forts before mentioned, marched towards the Nawaub, and encamped about three miles distant from him, and the next morning advanced to attack him. The Nawaub was, however, all ready to receive them, and his troops, ready formed for battle, kept their ground. The Poligar of Chitul Droog, with his force, was present with the Nawaub’s army on this occasion. The Mahrattas now surrounded the Nawaub’s troops, forming a ring round them; but, although they charged desperately, still the Ghazies, or Mussulmans, constantly repelled them with the greatest steadiness and courage, and maintained their ground throughout the whole of the day. At night, however, the Nawaub quitted that ground, and marched straight to Cheroli, Anoti, and Jara, and there, placing his rear to the Jungul, he encamped; and for the further security of his camp, he mounted his artillery in batteries on all the rising grounds surrounding it; and, being in readiness, he waited for an opportunity to destroy his enemies. After the Nawaub had taken up this position, Madhoo Rao was not able to march and quit him, or to attack any other place. The Chief of Shanoor, however, had made a treaty with the Mahrattas, and gave them his aid.

After a few days, therefore, parties of both armies daily met in the field, and did justice to their man­hood by keeping the field of battle constantly occupied by combatants. The Mahrattas likewise placed on the top of a small hill all the guns of their artillery which carried furthest, and from thence can­nonaded the Nawaub’s camp, and caused great inconvenience to his camp followers. To remedy this, the Nawaub, after some consideration, one night marched with a body of five thousand matchlock infantry marksmen, about fifteen hundred horse, and four light* guns of his Julow, or guard, all selected men, leaving the rest of his army under the charge of Hybut Jung Bukhshí, and the regulation of the treasury and Tosheh Khana, &c., to the superintendence of Delawur Khan; the Nawaub’s object being to make a night attack, he marched, under cover of the thick jungle, straight on the Mahratta artillery. The time, however, was unlucky, and the hour favourable to his enemies; for, by reason of the badness of the roads, his troops being obliged to cut down the trees to obtain a passage; by the time they had arrived on a plain near the Mahratta artillery, night vanished, and the morning shone forth brightly. The Mahrattas, therefore, being aware of the approach of the Nawaub’s troops, immediately surrounded him, and, setting up shouts of “take, and kill!” and curvet­ting* and leaping their horses, charged on all sides. The Nawaub had very regularly and skilfully formed his infantry into a fort, or square;* but, although he gave orders to commence a fire from his guns, not one of them would go off, and fire seemed to take no more effect on them than on so much ice. At length the Nawaub himself dismounted from his horse, and, taking a match in his hand, placed it on the touch-hole of the gun. It was, however, of no use, as the fuse did not take fire; and now, hopeless of any service from his artillery, he kept off the Mahrattas by a sharp fire from his musketry, and still fought to the very extent of his means. At last, the Mahrattas, like a flight of crows, charged in a body and mixed with the Nawaub’s troops, shoulder to shoulder, and the ranks of the Nawaub’s troops were broken, and thrown into confusion, and their lives uselessly lost. Vinkut Rao, the Dewaun, was killed, and Alí Zumán Khan, wounded; and some of the Nawaub’s troops, under pretence of bringing aid or ammunition, ran away. When they saw the field their own, the Mah­ratta army followed the fugitives, and as long as they were able, plundered and slew them. The Nawaub, by his intelligence and activity, escaped from the slaughter, and like the sun without a peer, and alone, sat down under a tree, and sur­veyed with wild passion the field so favourable to his enemies. Just at this time, a drummer with his drum arrived at the place where he sat, and stood before him. Thinking his arrival a very fortunate occurrence, and a happy presage of the fortune of his troops, the Nawaub ordered him to beat (a charge), and he accordingly beat his drum in such a way that the sound shed terror on the Mahrattas; and they fearing, from the beating of the drum, that a re-inforcement had arrived to the aid of the discomfited Mussulmans, left all the baggage they had taken, and began to run away. The Nawaub had scarcely collected the remainder of his force, which the sword had left to him, and arrived in the plain, when Hybut Jung, with the artillery, regular infantry, and cavalry, arrived to his aid by a forced march. The Nawaub’s mind now being fully at ease, he took the troops with him, followed the enemy at speed, and gave orders to his artillery and infantry to fire as fast as they could, to break the heads and legs of the runaway Mahrattas and their horses; which they did successfully. The Mahrattas now retired, dragging with them their guns; but, leav­ing their dead and wounded on the field, for want of time to carry them away. They, however, carried off the artillery which they had captured.— When the Mahratta army was out of sight, the Nawaub collected all his own dead, and wounded, with the wounded Mahrattas, and brought them to his camp, and ordered their wounds to be sewn up and dressed, giving, at the same time, the allowance of Murhum Putti, (a compensation in money for wounds), to every one.