An account of the march of an Army under the command of General Harris, the Commander-in-Chief of the English Forces, agreeably to the orders of Lord Mornington, Bahadúr, and according to the advice of Aboul Kasim Khán Shusteri, and Mushír ul Moolk, (the Prime Minister of the Nizám of Hydurabád), to Seringaputtun, and the battles fought between the Sultán and the Sipah Sirdár, or General, before mentioned, the assault and capture of the Fort of Seringaputtun, the Martyrdom of the Pro­tector of the World, the Sultán, and the fall of his Kingdom and Government, all of which events occurred in the year, 1213, Hijri.— A. D. 1798-9.

IT may be proper to observe here, that the Sultán in certain matters frequently acted precipitately and without thought, and in these cases would attend to no representation, even from his most faithful servants. As an instance, at this time, he commissioned certain envoys and dispatched one with presents of great value, and friendly letters to Zumán Sháh, to strengthen the foundations of peace and amity; and, another was sent to Kutch to bring thence the Tika;* another person was also sent with very rich presents to the Sultán of Room, or Constantinople. About this time, also several Frenchmen under the command of Mon­sieur Seepoo, or Seboo* arrived at the presence from the Port of Maurice (the Mauritius) and as in Europe, during seven years, the fire of war and slaughter had been lighted up daily between the English and French nations, and they had employed every scheme and artifice in the ruin and destruction of each other; now at the arrival of these French, and the permission given them (to visit Seringaputtun), the horse-shoe of the English chiefs was placed in the Fire,* and they fearing that by the aid, and at the instigation of the French, the troops of the Sultán would proceed to the attack and pillage of the towns of the Karnatic and Hydurabád; in consultation and concert with their friends; they formed a plan for the destruction of the Khodádád state; and assuming the arrival of the French as the plea and ground of their hostilities, they with the advice of Mushír ul Moolk and Mír Alum, wrote a detailed account of these occur­rences to Lord Mornington Bahadúr, then residing in Calcutta, and he who was looking out for such a contingency, and who was also well acquainted with the weakness and disorganization of the departments of the Mysore state; with the greatest promptitude and speed embarked with four thou­sand Sipahees on board ship, and arrived at Madras* in the month of Shabán il Moazum, and having assembled the army there under General Harris, Commander-in-Chief, dispatched it in advance to the conquest of Seringaputtun. From Hydurabád also, Colonels Roberts and Dalrymple, with four thou­sand of the Bunduri, or coast Sipahees, (which force Mushír ul Moolk had sent for to attack and break up the troops of Monsieur Peron, the Frenchman who had succeeded Monsieur Ramon,* the friend or servant of the Nizám of Hydurabád, and which ser­vice they had fully accomplished;) and with them also two thousand Bengal Sipahees, who formerly were stationed near Hussein Sagur, agreeably to the orders of the Commander of the army, with their stores and guns, marched towards Madras. Mír Alum, also, with eight thousand horse, and Roshun Rao, with six thousand men disciplined by the late Monsieur Ramon, marching by the route of Pungul Ghaut, and crossing the Ghaut of Bud­weil and Vinkut Giri joined the English army in the vicinity of Goriatum. As soon as the army with its stores and artillery had assembled, Lord Mornington wrote and dispatched two or three letters to the Sultán, requiring him to deliver up into his hands the Frenchmen newly arrived at his capital; to receive and retain embassadors or residents on his part, in the fort of Seringa­puttun, and also to surrender to the English the ports on the sea coast, such as Gorial Bundur, Mungalore, Honawur, &c. ports where ships arrive. As the Sultán among these requisitions did not accept or agree to one, and as he sent no answer to any letter, the General according to the orders of the Lord before mentioned (Mornington), with General Floyd, commanding the cavalry, General Burgess, the commander of the Europeans and other Generals, on the 2nd of the month of Rumzan, 1213, Hijri, marched on, and by succes­sive stages passing by Amboor Gurh, and Tripe toor, arrived in the neighbourhood of Rai Kote. At that time certain interested persons represented in studied, pompous language to the Sultán, that the English army with certain wry faced fellows (<Arabic>, is a disease which draws the face to one side), from Hydurabád, were advancing to throw away their lives, but that altogether they did not amount to more than four or five thousand, and that the Chief of Poona had refused to join or act in con­cert with them.

The Sultán, therefore, at hearing this intelligence, appointed Poornia, Mír Mírán with a large body of troops and other Mír Míráns to punish the insolence of the invaders of his country while he himself gave orders to assemble his Amírs, and the remainder of his army. The Mír Mírán above men­tioned having taken leave marched towards the English army. About two kose to the westward of Rai Kote, his cavalry having the cover of the forest attacked the English army, but in a scattered and confused manner, and the regular regiments of cavalry of the enemy advanced and formed their lines for action. The Sultán’s horse surrounded this body on all sides, and after the Kuzzaki mode vigorously attacked them.* The General halted four days before the Ghaut, and on the 2nd Showal ul Mukurrim, moved on and encamped near Ani­kul, when the Kuzzaks, or light cavalry, charged the advanced guard of the English and put a considerable body of them to the sword;— but, in place of praise and eulogy they received from the accursed Mír Mírán, in reward nothing but abuse and blame, he demanding of them with oaths and imprecations, why they attacked so rashly.

It appeared, therefore, to every one, after this that the intention of their officers was to avoid fight­ing, and consequently they displayed no more zeal or enterprise, and more like an escort or safe­guard quietly preceded and followed the troops of the enemy as they marched along. As soon as the whole of the troops and their officers and departments were assembled under the shade of the Sultán’s standard, and the Sultán became fully aware of the invasion of the enemy, he marched from Seringaputtun with the whole of his Amírs and army, and pitched his tents in the plain of Chenaputtun, on the very road which his treacherous servants had pointed out for the advance of the enemy. The General, however, turned aside from that road, and according to the advice of his scouts and guides advanced to Khán Khán­hully. As soon as this intelligence reached the Sultán, he expressed great anger at his spies, and made a forced march in that direction, and in the neighbourhood of Gulshunabád, otherwise called Marooli, stopped the further progress of the enemy, he being perfectly ready for action.* The troops of the enemy also advanced and formed their lines for battle.— Verses,— “The sound of the soldiers tramp came up from the field of battle,” “and fear struck the hearts of the bravest of the brave.” “The dust rose so thick that the passage to the Heavens was blocked up.” “The reins of safety fell from Men’s hands.” “The shouts and clamour of the soldiers warmed the soul.” “The neck was taken in the noose of the Kumund,” (a lasso, or running knot, formerly used in battle by the Persians, and other eastern nations), “when on both sides the armies were formed.” “The champions began to look out for their bravest competitors.” “Punishment commenced her duty of cutting off heads.” “And light quitted the eyes of the world.” “From the quantity of blood that flowed into the low ground,” “the earth assumed the fiery colour of red brimstone.” “The two armies charged and met in numbers like ants and locusts.” “By their shock they threw the world into confusion.”