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YUSUF KHAN
Khax iSahib's Pallivasal.
(Tomb of Yusuf Khan at Sammattipuram.)
—
YUSUF KHAN
THE REBEL COMMANDANT
" The bravest and ablest of all the native soldiers that ever served the
English in India." Sir John Malcolm.
BY
S. C. HILL
INDIAN EDUCATIONAL SERVICE (rETIRED)
FORMERLY OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE RECORDS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
AUTHOR OF "THE LIFE OF CLAUD MARTIN," "THREE FRENCHMEN
IN BENGAL," AND "BENGAL IN 1756-1757"
l;)?a(p?
WITH PLANS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
]^. Q . 33
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.

39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
FOURTH AVENUE & 30th STREET, NEW YORK
BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS
1914
TO
MY DEAE WIFE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAOE
Intboduction ix
I. Eably Careeb of Yustjf Khan 1
II. Entey into the English Sebvice 7
III. The Rise of Yusup Khan 13
IV. Maduea 23
V. Colonel Heron's Expedition to Madura and Tinnevelly . 33
VI. Caillaud and Yusuf Khan 47
VII. The Siege of Madras by Lally 72
VIII. Yusuf Kban as Governor 95
IX. The Changes of Rebellion 118
X. Pbepaeations 133
XI. First Siege of Madura 145
XII. Second Siege of Madura 162
XIII. Attempt to btobm Madura 199
XIV. Blockade and Fall of Madura 210
XV. Conclusion 226
APPENDIX
Yusuf Khan's account
I
of his services to the English .... 242
APPENDIX II
M. de Maudave's defence of his conduct in assisting Yusuf Khan, p. 246.
Note by M. Henneberg, p, 249. Extracts from M. de Maudave's
Relation 250
APPENDIX III
(a) The Surrender of Madura, p. 252. Extracts from Marchand's
(b)
Precis Historique, p. 258.
Plan des Attaques de la Ville de Madurd .....
Note Historigue attached to Marchand's
260
APPENDIX IV
Extracts illustrative of the character of the Nawab Muhammad Ali
Khan . . 268
;
viii CONTENTS
APPENDIX Y
PAQB
References to Yusuf Khan, by Stringer Lawrence, p. 270; Robert Orme,
p. 270; George Pigot, p. 272; John Caillaud, p. 273; Henry
Vansittart, p. 275 Eyre Coote, p. 275
; the Nawab, p. 275 the ; ;
Life of the Walajah, p. 282 the Madras Council and the Court of
;
Directors, p. 282 Thomas Felling, p.

; 285 Sunku Rama, p. 285 ;
Matthew Home, p. 285 an Officer at Palamcotta, p. 286 George

; ;
Nixon, p. 290 Joseph Smith, p. 290 Peixoto, p. 291

; Sir John
; ;
Lindsay and J. Macpherson, p. 292 George Rous, 294 Louis

; ;
Bruno, p. 295 William FuUarton, p. 298 Anquetil du Perron,

; ;
p. 299; John Sullivan, p. 299; Edward Cotsford, p. 300; Philip

Dormer Stanhope, p. 301 Getieral Sketch of the History of the
;
Soutliern Divisions of the Peiiinsula, p. 301 Stephen Rumbold ;
Lushington, p. 308 James Mill, p. 304 Sir John Malcolm, p. 305

; ;
James George Smith Neill, p. 807; Rev. G. R. Gleig, p. 307;

H. Beveridge, p. 308 J. H. Nelson, p. 309 H. M. Vibart
; ; . , 312
Authorities eefebbed to in the Test and Notes . . 313
Index 317-320
PLANS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

1. Khan
PUBAM
(Sent
....
Sahib's Pallivasal (Tomb op
me by Mr. Kangasami Naidu Garu)

....
Yusuf Khan at Sammatti-
Frontispiece
2. Sketch-map op Southern India page 8

3. View op Madura in 1794 To face page 23
(From Colonel J. Welsh's Military Reminiscences)
4. Sketch-map of Southern Coromandel .... page 49
5. Sketch-map op the Coromandel Coast from Nellobe to

Tbichinopoly page 73
6. Conjectural Plan op the Investment op Madura . . page 173
7. Mabchand's Plan des attaques de la ville de Madure

At end of book
INTRODUCTION
" I saw a busy potter by the way,
Kneading with might and main a lump of clay ;
And lo the clay cried, Use me tenderly,

!
'
"
I was a man myself but yesterday !
'
Omar Khayyam.
On the evening of the 15th October, 1764, Muhammad Yusuf,

Khan Bahadur, Governor of Madura and Tinnevelly, was
hanged as a rebel in front of the British camp before Madm-a,
by order of Muhammad Ali, Nawab of Arcot.
The historical interest of this tragic event lies in the fact
that the man thus executed, Muhammad Yusuf better known —
in his time as Yusuf Khan —
was by far the ablest of the Indian
soldiers who fought in the early wars between the English and
French for the possession of Southern India. In the words of
Sir John Malcolm,
" The name of this hero, for such he was, occurs almost as
often in the page of the English historian [Robert Orme] as
^
that of Lawi'ence or Clive."
Orme's History concludes abruptly in 1761, when Yusuf
Khan had been nearly ten years in the service of the English
and had arrived at the zenith of his reputation. His services,
as we read in Orme, had on two occasions, viz. the campaign
of Trichiiiopoly in 1752-4 and the siege of Madras in 1758-9,
been of immense, if not of vital, importance to the English
in the Madras Presidency, and during the years 1756-1761 he
had, as their Governor, brought back to peace and prosperity
the provinces of Madura and Tinnevelly, which actually
belonged to the Nawab, but had been placed by him under
the control of the Madras Council.
Orme therefore has told us of the rise of Yusuf Khan, but
—
the rest of his story the transfer of Yusuf Khan's services to
* Quarterly Review, May, 1818, p. 391. See Appendix V., p. 306.
X INTRODUCTION
the Nawab, his rebellion, and his fall—can now be gathered only
from the Records of the Madras Government and the collection
of Manuscripts which Orme bequeathed to the East India
Company, and of which only a small number have hitherto been
published. It seemed to me, therefore, weU worth while, in
the absence of any professedly authoritative account ^ of the life
of Yusuf Khan, to attempt a sketch of the career of this extra-
ordinary personage, who, beginning life as a humble peasant,
raised himself by his military talent to high rank in the East
India Company's service then by his administrative ability,
;
reduced to order the two most turbulent provinces of Southern

India and finally when compelled, as James Mill says,^ to rebel
;
against the Nawab in self-defence, managed to maintain himself

against that Prince assisted by the whole available power of
the English, for a period of nearly two years, falling at last
only by the treachery of his own troops and not by the force of
his enemies.
Yusuf Khan was, in fact, of the same type as Haidar Ali
—one of those men of genius who natm-allycome to the front
in times of great social or political unrest. Had he been left
without outside interference to settle his quarrel with his native
suzerain, like Haidar Ali with the Rajas of Mysore, there is
absolutely no doubt that he would have succeeded in estab-
lishing his independence. As it was, the same Power ia whose
service he had risen to distinction was fated to be the effective
agency of his ruin ; stiU, in spite of his failm-e, in spite even of
his execution as a rebel, it must be remembered that for many
years, and those some of the darkest, Yusuf Khan had served
the English faithfully ; that m his last struggle he fought
chivalrouslyand died gallantly that amongst the people
;
whom he had governed he left a reputation for ability, firmness,

and justice that, though he could win no pity from his mortal
;
enemy the Nawab, his com'age was admired and his fate
lamented by the British soldiers who fought agamst him, whilst
1 There exists indeed a Tamil poem, The War of the Khan Sahib, printed in
1911, which professes to tell the story of Yusuf Khan, but does not appear
to be based on any authoritative documents.
- The History
of British India, Vol. III. p. 388. See below. Appendix V.,
p. 305.
INTRODUCTION xi
long after his death his administration of Madura and Tinnevelly

was spoken of in high terms by the British officials who held
charge of those Provinces.
The two chief sources of information regarding the life of
Yusuf Khan, viz. the Madras Records and the Oi-me Collection
of Manuscripts in the India Office, have been aheady mentioned.
These have been supplemented by some papers in the French
and Dutch Archives and others in the British Museum, the
Public Record Office, and the Bibliotheque Nationale, and I
have made free use of a large number of printed books,^ especially
of those in which original papers have been published. I have
much pleasure in acknowledging here the courtesy of the
authorities of the French Foreign and Colonial Offices, and
the Dutch Archives, in allowing me to consult papers in their
possession. Monsieur A. Martineau, Governor of French India,
Mr. A. G. Cardew, Secretary to the Madras Government, Mr.
Rangasami Naidu Garu, Sarishtadar of the District Court of
Ramnad at Madura, Colonel H. D. Love, Col. D. G. Crawford,
Mr. H. Dodwell, and Mr. A. G. Ellis have given me much
assistance, for which I am very grateful. Mr. J. V. S. Pope
has kindly supplied me with an abstract of the Tamil Ballad,
The War of the Khan Sahib. I am specially indebted to Mr.
W. Foster of the India Office for constant advice and
numerous suggestions, and, more particularly, for his kindness
in looking through the proofs of this book.
I may perhaps anticipate criticism by acknowledging at
once that I have, in various instances, included matter which
does not refer directly to Yusuf Khan my reason for so doing
;
being that such matter, throwing light as it does upon the

time and country in which, and the people amongst whom,
Yusuf Khan lived, is necessary to place his career in its true
perspective. As regards the spelling of names and places, I
have, to avoid confusion, follow'ed Bishop Caldwell ^ in using a
single form for each name, even in quotations, indicating the
* See List of Authorities referred to in the Text and Notes, p. 313 below.
* See A Political and General History of the District of Tinnerelhj, 1881, by
Bishop R, Caldwell. In the spelling of names I have followed as far as possible
Beale's Oriental Biographical Dictionary, and the latest edition of the Imperial
Gazetteer of India.
xii INTRODUCTION
fact, however, by italics. Thus I wi'ite only Yusuf Klian,
though the person so called appears variously in different
documents as Esoof, Isoof, or Usoff Cawn, Mahomet Isoof, or
Muhammad Yusuf, Cawn Saib or Khan Sahib, the Nellore
Subadar, and the Commandant. Documents quoted have
generally, apart from the names, been copied verbatim el
liberatim, but translations in the Madras Eecords from verna-
cular letters have sometimes been slightly altered to make
them more intelligible, and a few mistakes in translations fi-om
the French have been corrected where I have been certain of
my ground by the existence of Pi'ench versions of the same
papers. The Sketch-maps, inserted to illustrate military
—
operations, have been adapted the spelling has been modern-
ized —
from Orme's maps, some of the places being added from
indications given in his History, Indexes, or Manuscripts. In
this connection I may mention that even the best modem maps
of India wiU not serve for the eighteenth century, partly because
Indian towns, and more Indian villages, have a habit of
still
shifting their sites and partly because, when

considerably,
such towns or villages have disappeared altogether, the
frequency with which place-names recur sometimes causes
the sites of particular events to be confused with others of
the same name but in a quite different locality.
In conclusion, the second title of this book, viz. " The
Rebel Commandant," is due to the fact that its country rendering,
KamanddnhdgM was discovered by
, a wit in the com't of Haidar
Ali to form a chi'onogi'am, giving the year 1178 a.h. {i.e. 1764
A.D.), in which year Yusuf Khan was put to death.
S. CHAELES HILL.
1st May, 1914.
YUSUP KHAN:
THE KEBEL COMMANDANT
CHAPTER I
EARLY CAREER OF YUSUF KHAN
Very little is known for certain of the early career of Yusuf

Khan ; the only sources of information being native tradition ^
by persons often not very well disposed

or casual references
towards him. Even the date of his birth is nowhere mentioned,
and can be fixed only doubtfully and approximately by the
fact that he is supposed to have enjoyed, as a youth, the
protection of Jacques Law, who arrived in India in 1744.
According to tradition, Yusuf Khan was born a Hindu, of
the Vellala caste, at Paniyur, in the district of Eamnad, his name
being Maruthanayagam Pillai.^ He is said to have been wild
in his youth and disobedient to his parents. Finally, it is
related, he ran away from home, became a Muhammadan,
assumed the name of Muhammad Yusuf, and went to Pondi-
cherry where according to one French account he became a
;
boatman,^ and according to another a tailor, but native

'^
tradition asserts that he entered the service of a European,

by whom, after three years and a half, he was dismissed for
^ The local traditions connected with Yusuf Khan are briefly recorded by
Nelson in his Madura Country, III. 282-3. See Appendix V., p. 310.
* His Hindu name and many other details were communicated to me by
Mr. Rangasami Naidu Garu, Sarishtadar of the District Court of Ramnad at

Madura.
2 Marc hand, Prdcis historique des deux siiges de la ville de MadurS, See
p. 7.
Appendix III. (6), p. 258.
* Louis Bruno, Journal d'uii voyage fait aitx Indea Orientales en 1764.
Archives du Ministere des Colonics, Paris, C*98, p. 85 (n.). See Appendix V.,
p. 295.
B
2 YUSUF KHAN: THE BEBEL COMMANDANT
some great fault. From the Nawab's letters ^ and the
Tamil ballad, The War of the Khan Sahib, it appears likely that
this European was, as I have said above, the ChevaUer Jacques
Law, and the French accounts concur with the Nawab in assert-
ing that the cause of his dismissal was theft, in punishment for
which his ears were cut off, either by the order of M. Law or
that of the Court which disposed in the first instance of criminal
cases in which natives of the country were concerned. As this
shameful accusation was never mentioned until after the death
of Yusuf Khan, and then only by those who, if not actually
hostile, were certainly biassed against him, it may, I think, be
dismissedas groundless. It is,however, very probable that, during
his stay at Pondicherry, he made the acquaintance of another
servant of M. Law, named Marchand, who also became a soldier
and was destined to be the immediate cause of his downfall.
The French account ^ continues that, not wishing to live in
a town where he had suffered such a disgrace, Yusuf Khan left
Pondicherry and enlisted as a sepoy, first in the army of the
Kmg of Tanjore, and then in that of the Nawab Muhammad
AU, but the native tradition is that after his first dismissal he
entered the service of another European, a Mr. Brunton,^ who
took great pains with his education and had him instructed in
various languages. WTio this Mr. Brunton was is unknown,
but it is Laws were originally designated
a curious fact that the
the " Laws of Brunton," until the father of John Law (the
Financier and uncle of the Chevalier Jacques Law) styled
^ Nawab
to Council Madras, 30th Jan., 1770. I.O. Records, Home Misc.,
103. " His ears were cut off at Pondicherry by Mons. de Law for his
roguery." As M. Law arrived in India in ll^-k at the age of 20, and Yusuf
Khan entered the English service with the rank of Subadar of a company of
sepoys early in the year 1752, it seems unlikely that Law acted, if he did act, in
thismatter as a judge, and more likely that he was a master complaining of the
conduct of his servant. The Nawab asserted that, when Yusuf Khan was
hanged, it was seen by every one that his ears had been cut off, implying
that he had concealed the mutilation from the public by the manner in which
he wore his turban. Had this been the case, it is certam that some of the
persons present at his execution would have been sufficiently struck by the fact
to mention it, but no one did mention it until the Nawab did so in 1770.
Marchand mentions it in his Precis, published in 1771, and Bruno in his
Journal, which was ^Titten up to 1773.
* M. Bruno's Journal.
^ The Tamil Ballad confuses Mr, Brunton with Major Preston.
;
EARLY CABEEE OF YUSUF KHAN 3
himself " Law of Lauriston." However this may be, tliis
story makes it at least unUkoly that there was any justifica-

tion in the Nawab's assertion ^ that Yusuf Khan was a mere
illiterate person. Moreover, letters ^ still exist which show
that Yusuf Khan could read, and probably write, both English
and French, and the Nawab himself tells us ^ that Yusuf Khan
at one time served Muhammad Kamal ^ of Nellore as a physician,
which certainly impHes the possession of some education. As
Yusuf Khan married a Portuguese woman and employed
Portuguese clerks, it is probable that he knew their language
and the facility with which natives of southern India acquire
foreign languages makes it probable that he was acquainted
with more than one of the vernaculars in common use in the
Carnatic. All this, however, is consistent with the possibility
that Yusuf Khan had little or no acquaintance with polite
learning. Haidar Ali himself was unable to read or write.
Native tradition does not mention Yusuf Khan's service under
Muhammad Kamal, but says that after leaving Mr. Brunton he
entered the service of the Nawab, and after passing through
the various posts of tandalgar, toll-collector, sepoy, naik and
havildar, he fmally reached that of Subadar or Captain of a
company of sepoys. It was with this rank that, as Orme tells
us, he entered the English service.

The unanimity of tradition as to the Hindu origin of
Yusuf Khan is corroborated by the fact that he was often
spoken of by the natives of Madura as " the Pillai," ^ a term
appUcable to both Brahmans and Vellalans, but in the Madura
district almost synonymous with Vellalan ^ that he was always ;
^ Nawab to Council, March, 1759. I.O. Records, Home Misc., 104. See
Appendix V., p. 277.
2 Orme MSS., 281.
* Nawab to Council, 12th Feb., 1763. Coicntry Correspondence. See
* Muhammad Kamal commanded a body of horse at the siege of Arcot,
when it was defended by Clive in 1751 (Orme, History, I. 317). On the defeat
of Raza Sahib by Clive, he set up for himself and seized the districts of Tirupati
and Nellore. He was captured and beheaded by the Nawab in 1753. Mil.
Cons., 3rd Oct. 1753. The fact that Yusuf Khan was known at first as the
Nellore Subadar, supports the statement that he had been in the service of
Muhammad Kamal.
* Caldwell, Tinnevelhj, p. 90.
" Nelson, The Madura Country, II. 32.
4 YUSUF KHAN: THE REBEL COMMANDANT
on the best of terms with people of the Vellala caste ^ and that ;
his tomb, near Madura, is still known by the half Muhammadan,

half Hindu name of " the Khan Sahib's pallivasal." ^
Assuming, then, as a settled fact, that Yusuf Khan was born
a Hindu and a Vellalan, there is much in this to explain his sub-
sequent career. The Vellalans ^ are supposed to be descendants
of foreign immigrants who entered the country of Madura about
900 A.D. A very numerous caste, speaking a pure dialect of
Tamil, their proper occupation was that of agriculture, but they
engaged in many others, including Government service and the
army, though never in such employments as were considered
to be personally degrading. Thus they were never artisans,
barbers, tanners, tom-tom beaters, fishermen, hunters or
jugglers. They belonged to the Saiva sect, and abstained from
eating flesh or drinking intoxicating liquors. Polygamy was
unknown among them, and the chastity of their women was
jealously guarded. From this it is clear that the Vellala caste
was highly respectable and self-respecting, that its members
were hkely to be of a very versatile natural disposition, and
finally, as statistics show that amongst all the castes in Madura
the Vellalans are in height and chest measurement surpassed
only by the Maravans,"* that they, though neither priestly
Brahmans nor warhke Kshattriyas, were eminently qualified to
distinguish themselves in any capacity, civil or military. Thus,
in earlier times some of the most celebrated Tamil writers ^
had been Vellalans, and the great soldier, Arya Natha,* who
founded the Pohgar system in Madura, belonged to that caste.
But though the caste system in India is more elastic than is
sometimes imagined, it is in its essence rather protective than
^ His Vakil or agent at Madras during the siege in 1758-9 was one Moota
Pillay (Onne MSS., 278, p. 13). His companion when he visited the Temple
of Minakshi at Madura and decided to restore its revenues was Muttarughu
Pillai (Taylor, 0. H. MSS., Pandion Chronicle, p. 41). On the birth of his son
he was presented with a golden cradle by Tandava Raya Pillai, Prime Minister
of the Ramnad [Mackenzie MSS., XVI. 6-13).
* Francis, Madura, p. 67.
' Nelson, The Madura Country, II. 27.
* Ibid., II. 15.
5 Dubois, Hindu Manners, etc., p. 274(n.). Caldwell,Tm7i€veW]/, pp. 278-9.
« Nelson, The Madura Ccmntry, II. 33 ; III. 104. Francis, Madura
p. 42.
—
EARLY CAREER OF YUSUF KHAN 5
progressive, and places strict limits upon the aspirations of

ability. So Arya Natha, we are told, was dissuaded from
making himself king by a priest asking if he had ever
heard of a Vellalan being raised to that dignity. For Yusuf
Khan then to rise to the position to which he attained, it was
necessary for him to be freed from whatever trammels might be
imposed upon him by his religion. This was effected by his
—
conversion voluntarily or by force is unknown to Muhamma- —
danism though to an orthodox Hindu mind such a change of
;
religion, added to the accident of Vellalan birth, must have

made his ultimate disastrous fall appear absolutely inevitable.
To a Muhammadan, on the other hand, the lowly birth of
Yusuf Khan, though the Nawab, possibly aware of British
prejudices, made this a matter of objection ^ against him, was
no hindrance to his success. As Orme says ^ :
" There is no country in which the titles of descent are less instru-
mental to the fortunes of men than they are in Indostan none but ;
those of the royal blood are considered as hereditary nobility to ;
all others the exclusion is so absolute that a new act from the sovereign
is necessary to ennoble even the son of the Grand Vizir of the Empire.
The field of fortune is open to every man who has courage enough to
make use of his sword, or to whom Nature has given superior talents
of mind. Hence it happens that half the grandees of Indostan have
arrived at the highest employments in the Empire from conditions
not less humble 3 than that of Anwaruddin Khan, against whose
accession to the Nawabship of the Camatic the people had taken an
aversion from causes independent of his personal character."
Yusuf Khan's marriage to a Portuguese woman has already

been alluded to. It is stated ^ that this took place at Arcot,
but it is possible that the expression " Parangi " by which

she was described was a mistake for Pondicherry, and that,
as is stated in another account, she was a Pariah woman named
1 Nawab to Council, 12th Feb., 17C3, Country Correspondence. See

« History, I. 53.
Orme {History, I. 52) says Anwaruddin Khan, who was the father of the
2
Nawab Muhammad Ali, was himself only the son of a petty Khan at the Court
of Aurangzeb.
* Nelson, The Madura CmirUry, III. 282. See Appendix V,, p. 311.
6 YUSUF KHAN: THE EEBEL COMMANDANT
Maza ;
^ though even this would not be decisive, for the poorer
mixed birth,
class of Christians, whether of purely native or of
were and Maza
at this time often confused with the Pariahs,
might have been a Portuguese Christian and yet spoken of as
a Pariah woman. On the other hand, if his marriage took
place, as the native account seems to imply, at the time of the
siege of Madras— a statement which agrees well with the fact
that the only son, who mentioned as having been born to
is
Yusuf Khan, was born about 1762-3 —

it is as likely that she
came from the Pondicherry as from the Arcot district.
1 Tamil Ballad, The War of the Khan Sahib.

CHAPTEE II
ENTRY INTO THE ENGLISH SERVICE
According to Orme,^ Yusuf Khan entered the English service

by enhsting, with a company of sepoys which he had raised
himself in the Nellore District, under Clive shortly before
the battle of Kaveripak.^ It is just possible that he is the same
man as the Muhammad Yusuf Khan who, with four others,
signed an agreement,^ with Admiral Boscawen in 1748, to
serve the English months against the French
for three
— an agreement immediately cancelled or he may have —
been the " Moorman " recommended to the good ofifices
of Clive by Eichard Prince, Deputy- Governor of Madras, in his
letter of the 15th September, 1751 * but it is more probable,;
for reasons which will shortly be given, that he was at first in

the service of Chanda Sahib and in fact this must have been
;
the case he ever actually served as physician to Muhammad

if
Kamal, for the latter was one of Chanda Sahib's adherents.

At this time, though in Europe England and France were
at peace, in India they were at war, for the rule of the Carnatic
was contested between Muhammad Ali,^ whom the EngUsh
supported as the rightful Nawab, and Chanda Sahib, the candi-
date put forward by the French. Of all the country between
the river Kistna and Cape Comorin to which Muhammad Ali
1 History, I. 346-7.
* See p. 9 below.
* Country Correspondence, 1748, No. 19.
* Orme MSS., 287, p. 103.
^For convenience' sake I shall hereafter refer to this Prince simply as the
Nawab. His claim was not acknowledged by the French until the treaty
of Paris in 1763. Both the Nawab and Chanda Sahib claimed to have received
farmans or grants of the Nawabship of Arcot from the Great Mughal but ;
farmans were easily forged, and no importance need be attached to the assertion
of either of these Princes. See p. 32 (n.) below.
8 YUSVF KHAN: THE BEBEL COMMANDANT
laid claim, he was limited in 1751 practically to the town of
Trichinopoly. The country to the north, including Arcot, the
capital of the Province, was dominated by Chanda Sahib and the
French. To the east, the Eong of Tanjore was, as a matter of
Sketch Map of EgEcivandrum
Southern India
fact, independent. To the south, the Nawab was separated from

the rich province of Tionevelly by Madura, which had fallen into
the hands of Alam Khan, a partisan of Chanda Sahib. Trichi-
nopoly was itself threatened by Chanda Sahib in person and
a French force under Jacques Law. On the other hand,
Pratab Singh, the King of Tanjore, was friendly to the English ;
;
ENTRY INTO THE ENGLISH SERVICE 9
the services of a Maratha free-lance, named Morari liao, had been

secured by heavy payments of money and reckless proiiiises,
;
made without the cognizance of the English, had brought a

Mysorean army, which the afterwards so celebrated Haidar
in
Ali held a subordinate command, to the Nawab's assistance
but the security of this Prince really depended upon the English,
who had despatched a small force under the brave but incom-
petent officers Cope and de Gingins to Trichinopoly. These
gentlemen supported the suggestion made by the Nawab ^ to
the English Governor, Saunders, that the best means of restoring
the Nawab's finances, and of relieving the pressure on Trichi-
nopoly, would be a sudden attack from Madras ^ upon the Arcot
districts. Saunders saw that this move would also have the
effect of restoring the Nawab's prestige by the recovery of Arcot
itself. To command the expedition he chose Robert Clive, who,
but a short time previous, had offered to resume his military
duties, if he were granted brevet rank as captain but allowed
to retain his civil post and pay as Steward or commissariat
officer.^
CHve's capture and defence of Arcot against the French and
Raza Sahib (son of Chanda Sahib) are too well known to need
any description. The raising of the siege was followed by the
dispersal of Eaza Sahib's army and the transfer of many of his
best sepoys to the ranks of his opponents. With difficulty Raza
Sahib rallied the remains of his force, and, assisted by the
French, again tried the chances of war at Kaveripak on the
28th February, 1752, when fortune once more gave the victory
to Clive.
^ Nawab to Council, letter received 29th July, and Mr. Saunders to Nawab,
6th Oct., 1751. Country Correspondence.

* At this time the headquarters of the Madras Presidency were at Fort
St. David ; hence the French and Chanda Sahib did not expect any sudden
attack from Madras.
' Clive arrived in India in 1744, escaped to Fort St. David after the capture
of Madras in 1746, received a commission as Ensign 16th March, 1747, and as

lieutenant 28th Feb., 1749, resigned his commission 30th Nov., 1749, and was
appointed Steward with charge of the supply of provisions to the army. This
office he held until he went to England in 1753, but whilst retaining this post
with its salary he received a brevet commission as captain on the 22nd July,
1751. He entered Arcot on the 1st Sept., and repulsed a desperate assault on
the 14th November, after which the siege was raised.
Meanwhile, in spite of these successes in the north of the
province, the incompetence of Cope ^ and de Gingins and the
ineptitude of the Nawab himself, who ^vithheld the necessary

supplies, had rendered the prospects of the Enghsh party at
Trichinopoly very melancholy, and Governor Saunders deter-
mined to make the utmost use of Clive's recently acquired
reputation, by sending him with a fresh force to relieve
Trichinopoly and to assume the command of miUtary operations
in that part of the countr3\ It is extremely probable that the
supersession of somany officers senior to Clive in the military
service by one who was both civilian and soldier and yet
neither, would have given rise to much heartburning, ^ if not to
serious trouble but fortunately at this moment Major Stringer
;
Lawrence arrived from England to resume command of the

Company's forces in India, and, very naturally, he superseded
CKve as the leader of the relieving army. Clive went with him
in his double capacity of Steward and Captain, and with Clive
went Yusuf Khan,
Lawrence's operations against the French and Chanda
Sahib are described in detail by Orme,^ but Yusuf Khan was
not yet in a position to attract the attention of any but his
immediate superiors, or for his name to appear in any official
report. There are, however, two references to his good conduct
in the private papers of Captain John Dalton, a brave and
capable though somewhat feather-headed officer, who was the
intimate friend of Clive.
In the month of April, 1752, Monsieur d'Auteuil appeared
in the neighbourhood of the island of Srhangam,* where Law
and Chanda Sahib were now hemmed in by Lawrence, with a
^Cope was mortally wounded at Kistnaveram and died 3rd Feb., 1752.
*Caraccioli, in his Life of Clive, I. 188, quotes an anonymous petition
presented to Lawrence against Clive's promotion, but, if this petition was really
presented, LawTence appears to have taken no notice of it.
3 It is noticeable that Orme, in his account of the behaviour of the French
at Trichinopoly, accepts without question Dupleix's remarks in his Mimoire

contre la Compagnie des Indes, and ignores the explanations given by the French
Company in their M6moire contre le Sieur Dupleix, and by Jacques Law in his
le Sieur Dupleix.
Plainte contre
Srirangam, the island formed to the north of Trichinopoly by the rivers
*
Coleroon and Cauvery, contains two very celebrated pagodas or Hindu

temples.
——
ENTRY INTO THE ENGLISH SERVICE 11
convoy for their relief. On the 3rd May,^ he was defeated at

Utatur by Dalton, who wrote the next day to Clive :
" Your Nellore sepoys are glorious fellows, and their Subadar as
good a man as ever breathed. He is my sole dependance." 2
It should be explained that at this time, and for some years

after, Yusuf Khan is often referred to as " the Nellore Suba-
dar " or simply " the Nellore."
On the 29th May, Clive attacked d'Auteuil at Volkonda and
forced him to surrender. In describing the action which
preceded the attack on the town, Dalton writes ^ :
" Eight hundred of these sepoys were the very same who had
made the resolute attempt to storm the breaches at Arcot when
Clive commanded there and had since deserted to him.* They were
a parcel of resolute fellows, and the continued series of success which
for a considerable time had attended our arms made 'em look upon
themselves as sure of victory when supported by an English bat-
talion. These people being in the van never waited for the form of
drawing up, but each company pressing for the honour of advancing
their colours first, they set up a shout and ran at the French in the
most daring manner, who had formed themselves in the front of
their camp and had begun to fire briskly upon them with their
artillery, but they seemed to give very little attention to it, still
running on in the same intrepid manner, and the Marathas charging
at the same time, they fairly drove the French from their ground."
It seems likely that Dalton refers on both occasions to the
1 In his narrative {Orme 3ISS., III. pp. 539-41), Dalton gives the 10th May
as the date of this fight. The dates in the text are taken from his letters to
Clive.
» Orme MSS., III. p. 664.
3 Ibid., III. p. 547.
* The French took but little part in the assault (Orme, History, I. 195), and
this gave much disgust to the sepoys of Raza Sahib. It is probable that the
French oflScer in command was doubtful as to how far he was justified in attack-
ing a fort held by an English ofiicer, or possibly he was withheld by respect for
the gallantry of the little garrison. Neither of these motives was allowed to
influence either party in the subsequent military operations, but throughout the
fighting the Europeans on the victorious side always made it their first duty to
secure their European opponents from massacre by the native soldiery. Thus
when M. de Kerjean was married in 1753, Dupleix invited to the wedding Capt.
Charles Campbell, who had saved de Kerjean's life in this way at the battle of
Bahur. Mil. Cons., 4th Dec, 1753.
—

same sepoys, and, if this is correct, then Yusuf Khan must have
first met the English as an enemy at the ever-memorable
attempt to storm Arcot, and, if he was one of the gallant men
who were beaten back from the breach, the day was to come
when he was to see the English in turn retire from a breach
defended by himself.
However this may be, the surrender of d' Auteuil at Volkonda
was soon followed by that of Law in Srirangam, and on the
— —
same day the 3rd June, 1752 Chanda Sahib, who had placed
himself in the hands of the Tanjorean general Mankoji, was put
to death ^ by that officer as the only possible way of settling
the rival claims of the Nawab, the Marathas and the Mysoreans
to the possession of his person.
Orme ^ thus moralizes on the death of Chanda Sahib :
" Such was the unfortunate and ignominious end of this man.
The many examples of a similar fate which are perpetually produced
by the contests of ambition in this unsettled empire have established
a proverb that fortune is a throne, and therefore he who falls in such
contests is only reckoned unfortimate, without having the odium of
rebellion or treachery charged on his memory ; unless he opposes the
sovereign of sovereigns, the Great Mughal, all the rest is reckoned
thecommon course of politics for there is scarcely throughout
: the
Empire a Nawab who has not an open or latent competitor."
Indian writers (Miles' Translation of Kirmani's History of Hydur Naik,

^
p. 36) say he was put to death in the Dalawai Mandap, in which nearly thirty
years before he had falsely sworn on the Koran not to injure or molest Minakshi
Rani, Queen of Trichinopoly, thus expiating by a violent death the guilt of
perjury.
* History, I. 241.
——
CHAPTER III
THE RISE OF YUSUF KHAN
With the capture and death of Chanda Sahib the Enghsh

fondly hoped that they had foiled the schemes of Dupleix.
They had yet to learn that their most troublesome opponent was
not Dupleix, but their shifty ally the Nawab. When the
latter first asked the aid of the Mysoreans, he promised
them the town of Trichinopoly as the price of their assistance.
They now demanded payment, and very naturally refused to
accept his excuse that, as an officer of the Mughal, he was unable
to dispose of the Mughal's possessions. What the Madras
Council themselves thought of his behaviour they recorded in
their Proceedings ^ as follows :
A knavish and weak action the former because he knew he

" :
had no right to do it the latter because he must know that, though

;
he procrastinated difficulties, yet he must in the end, as it but too

plainly appears, make a powerful enemy instead of a friend."
Still they did their best to reconcile the Nawab and the
Mysoreans, but could not have been much surprised when, to

their representation that the Mysoreans, in deserting the
Nawab, would commit a breach of faith, the Mysorean
general, Nandaraj, repUed :
" The bad scent of the Nawab's faithless behaviour is spread

over the world to such a degree that you cannot discern the odour of
our faith." 2
The injustice, which the Enghsh committed in supporting the

Nawab, was never forgiven by the Mysoreans, and though some
sort of compromise was patched up for the moment, their
* Mil. Cons., 3rd Jan., 1753. * Country Correspondence, 1753, No. 48.
2 — —

attitude was such that Lawrence was forced to place an English
garrison in Trichinopolj^ for its protection, whilst his army
was still further weakened by the departure of the Tanjoreans

and the levies of the Tondaiman,^ who were tired of the war
—
and demanded permission which could not be refused to —
return to their homes. On the other hand, Dupleix, undis-
maj'êd by the fate of Chanda Sahib and receiving timely rein-
forcements from home, made use of the dissatisfaction of the
Mysoreans and the venahty of the Marathas to detach them
from the Enghsh alliance. This once effected, though he had
no officer of sufficient skill and prestige to make head against
Lawrence in the field, he thought he could afford to play a
waiting game, in the expectation that, sooner or later, the
garrison in Trichinopoly and the army of Lawrence must
succumb to famine and the want of mihtary stores. Lawrence,
in fact, depended for the existence of his army entirely upon
the safe arrival of his convoys, and for this he was indebted to
Yusuf Khan, thanks to whose skill and courage, according to
Orme, not a single convoy miscarried for a period of three
months.
In his own Journal, Lawrence wrote, at this time, con-
cerning Yusuf Khan :
" He is an excellent partisan,^ knows the country well, is brave

—
and resolute but cool and sensible in action in short he is a born
soldier, and better of his colour I never saw in the country. He never
spares himself, but is out on all parties, and by his good intelligence
brought in provisions to keep iis in a moderate plenty we wanted
much to prolong the time till Mahfuz Khan ^ could join us." ^
EarUer in his Journal, Lawrence describes Chve in strikingly
similar words :
" A man of an undaimted resolution, of a cool temper and a

presence of mind which never left him in the greatest danger. Born
^ The Chief of Pudukottai, always the faithful ally of the English. Trichi-
nopoly depended for its supply of provisions chieflj' on his country.
* Orme, History, I. 347.
* The word 'partisan was commonly used at this time for "an officer of
irregular troops."
* Elder brother of the Nawab.
^ Orme MSS., 13, p. 78. Lawrence's meaning is clear though badly
expressed.
THE BISE OF YUSUF KHAN 15
a soldier, for without a military education of any sort, reading or

much conversing with any of the profession, from his judgment and
good sense he led an army like an experienced soldier and a brave
officer with prudence, and that certainly warranted success." ^
One can hardly wonder Yusuf Khan's rapid rise when the
at
first soldier marked his resemblance to so great
in India thus
a man as Clive. Alike in capacity for both civil and military
affairs, alike in courage, in quick and cool decision, in passionate
resentment of insult or injustice, alike in the desire for wealth
as a means and not an end, they also resembled each other in
that both were destined to an unhappy death.
The reputation Yusuf Khan grew so rapidly that the
of
natives, at least, sooncame to the conclusion that if he were
removed, the destruction of the English was inevitable. It
appears that, in consequence of the favour in which he was held
by Lawrence, he had excited the jealousy of a Brahman, named
Punniyappan, who filled the post of linguist or interpreter to
that officer. Ignorance of the vernaculars placed the English
officers very much at the mercy of their interpreters, who,
as all the country {i.e. Indian) correspondence passed through
their hands, occupied the position of confidential clerks, and were
not always proof against the temptations to enrich or revenge
themselves with which their office supplied them. Some years
earlierGovernor Morse's duhash^ had been hanged for treachery,
but this example did not deter Punniyappan. He suggested to
Lawrence that, if he were allowed to visit the Mysorean general,
he might be able to bring about some arrangement. There
being no reason to doubt his good faith, permission was given,
and Punniyappan paid a visit to Nandaraj, in the course of
which he suggested that the English would be forced to accept
any terms he might offer if their supplies were cut off by getting
rid of Yusuf Khan, which might be effected either by waylaying
him when he was out on one of his expeditions connected with
the convoys or by inducing the Enghsh to suppose him guilty
of treachery. For obvious reasons the former method was
1 Orme MSS., 13, p. 18.

* i)if5cw A, t.e. interpreter or chief clerk. This occurred in 1747. Orme MSS.
I. pp. 139-40.
—

rejected as impracticable,and it was determined that there
should be dropped in the EngUsh camp, in such a manner that
it must certainly be discovered, a letter addressed to Yusuf
Khan and one of and implying that, for

his brother officers
certain rewards, they had agreed to betray Trichinopoly to
the Mysoreans. This was done. The letter was picked up by
a Xallan ^ and taken to Major Killpatrick, the officer next in
rank to Lawrence, who, having had it translated byPunniyappan,
immediately placed Yusuf Khan and the other sepoy officer
under arrest. Captain Caillaud being ordered to enquire into
the affair .2 who had picked up
Cross-examination of the Kalian
the letter soon showed that had not come from the Mysorean
it
camp, but had been dropped by a Brahman who was known

to have a grudge against Yusuf Khan. Yusuf Khan and his
friend were immediately released and the Brahman placed in
confinement, with the threat from Caillaud that if he did not
quickly reveal the truth he would be put to death. Punniyappan
promised to protect him, but the Brahman was so terrified that
he disclosed the whole story. Punniyappan was now himself
placed on trial and found guilty, and the facts reported to
Madras for the orders of the Council, the only plea in favour
of mercy being based on Punniyappan's long service under the
Enghsh. The Council's orders were as follows :
We have attentively perused and considered the examinations

"
you have sent us in relation to Punniyappan's treachery, which
appears so plain that there is not even room to doubt his guilt. His
havmg been all his life a Company's servant is so far from lessening
that it aggravates his crime, which in our opinion deserves death
and that in the most ignominious manner." ^
On receipt of these orders Punniyappan was, on the 1st

June, 1754, blown from the mouth of a cannon, which was the
usual mihtary punishment for treachery. The fact of his being
a Brahman seems to have excited no remark, though, in even
^ The Kalians were half wild retainers of the petty feudal chiefs : see p. 25
below.
* The record of Caillaud's enquiry is to be found in the Orme MSS., 13,
pp. 115-131.
3 Council to Lawrence, 26th May, 1764.
THE RISE OF YUSUF KHAN 17
earlier times,^ the English had remitted the death penalty in

the case of Brahmans out of deference to Hindu feeling ; in
fact, it must have been patent to every one that, in a case of
this vital character, the interest of the State overrode all other
considerations.^ Tliat the plea for mercy on the ground of
long service should also be rejected in such cases is evident
when one remembers that the longer the service the more
defenceless is the employer against his servant's treachery.
It has been suggested ^ that his narrow escape must have
made Yusuf Khan sensible of the danger of serving foreigners
who were so dependent upon their native subordinates, and
that accordingly it may have been a remote cause of his subse-
quent attempt to establish his independence. On the other
hand, it is very probable that, if he had been at the time in the
service of an Indian prince, he would have been put to death
upon the mere evidence of the letter without any further exami-
nation. At any rate, if we are to judge at all of Yusuf Khan's
feelings at the time, it would appear that his one desire was to
prove by his deeds the loyalty of his heart. Immediately after
his release he had resumed his duties in connection with the
conduct of the convoys. On the 12th May he accompanied a
party, despatched to meet one of these, under the command of
Captain Caillaud. According to his usual custom of acting as
his own scout, Yusuf lOian was riding ahead of the column
when, as he approached the place of rendezvous, his horse
suddenly began to neigh, and was answered by others. As the
latter might belong to the enemy, he advanced cautiously,
and, being fired upon by some French troopers, galloped back
to warn his commander
the danger. Caillaud, knowing
of
their position, might be possible to surprise the
thought it
French, and giving the sepoys to Yusuf Khan and taking the
Europeans himself, advanced quietly on either side of the road,
1 Madras
Consultations, 15th Nov., 1G94.
Similarly the execution of a Brahman for trcacher}' by Khair-ud-din
*
Khan, brother-in-law of the Nawab, is mentioned in the Madras Consultations

of the 27th Nov., 1752.
3 " The transaction, however, revealed to Yusuf Khan the danger of
a con-
nection with strangers who were at the mercy of their interpreters and his ;
confinement made on his mind an impression of disgust which was never

afterwards entirely effaced." Wilks, History oj Misoor, I. 324.
leaving the road itself clear. The French had paid but Uttle
attention to the appearance of a single horseman, and, being
taken off their guard, were quickly thro^Ti into confusion and
compelled to retreat but when the noise of the fighting had
;
brought up reinforcements on both sides, the English found

that they had only 360 Europeans against 700. The situation
appeared desperate, and nothing was left but to surrender or
fight their way out. This, though harassed on both flanks and
in the rear by the French and thousands of sepoys, they
managed to do in good order,^ handhng the French so roughly
that the latter not only gave up all attempt to intercept them,
but did not even retain the position they had taken up to attack
the convoy. In the evening the latter came out of the woods
in which it had lain hidden during the fight and arrived safely
in Trichinopoly. Orme remarks ^ that the lack of provisions
was such that, had this convoy not come through, Lawrence
must next day have left the town to its fate and withdrawn to
Tanjore. It is quite clear that it was the careful scouting of
Yusuf Khan which saved CaiUaud's column from falling into
the midst of the enemy and from a very probable disaster, which
would have made it impossible for the convoy to come any
further. Though this is the only instance recorded of Yusuf
Khan's exploits at this time, it illustrates very well the nature
of the services hj which he made his reputation, and justifies
the behef of Punniyappan that his removal would have been an
irreparable blow to the English army at Trichinopoly.
The war continued for some time without any decisive
action taking place, but on the 2nd August M. Godeheu arrived
from the French Islands ^ to supersede Dupleix, at the very
moment when the latter saw success again almost within his
grasp. M. Godeheu having received orders to make peace
between the French and EngHsh Companies, immediately
opened negotiations .,-ith Air. Saunders and, though some;
desultory fighting wenL on, during which Yusuf Khan was

stationed at Muttarasanallur to guard the channels of the
Cauvery, on which the Kingdom of Tanjore depended for its
1 Caillaud to Palk, 12th May. Mil. Cons., 20th May, 1754.

* History, I. 357. ^ The "lie de France," or Mauritius.
— —
water supply, a suspension of arms was proclaimed on the

11th October, 1754, and was followed by a conditional treaty
in January, 1755. With the departure of Dupleix and
Saunders to Europe, an end was at last put to the anomalous
position of war being waged between the French and Enghsh
Companies in India whilst peace reigned between their
respective countries in Europe. Dupleix was succeeded at
Pondicherry by M. Duval de Leyrit, a civilian of no great
ambition, whilst Saunders, on the 13th January, 1755, made
over charge of the governorship of Madras to Mr. George
Pigot, who, though a civilian by profession, had a strong
penchant for the military, and had been under fire on more
than one occasion. He was an intimate friend of Clive, and,
as we shall see, a loyal patron of Yusuf Khan until the latter
took his fatal decision to rebel against the Nawab.
We have now to go back a little to record an incident which,
though highly honourable to Yusuf Khan, was grossly mis-
represented by persons like Sir John Lindsay and Mr. J.
Macpherson,^ who apparently gathered their information from
the Nawab Muhammad Ali. On the 8th March, 1754, Major
Lawrence wrote to the Council as follows :
" I beg leave to recommend another person to you, Gentlemen,

foryour notice. 'Tis our commander of sepoys, by name Muhammad
Yusuf. Besides his intelligence and capacity, I cannot too much
praise his zeal and alacrity for the service. He always prevents my
asking by offering himself for everything and executes what he
;
goes about as well and as briskly as he attempts it. Some mark of

your regard by a letter and some little present would keep up that
usefull spirit besides rewarding merit." ^
On the 21st, the Council repHed that they " would take
notice of Muhammad Yusuf, the Commander of Sepoys," as
Lawrence desired. On the 25th they resolved that :
" Major Lawrence having recommended Muhammad Yusuf, a

Commander of sepoys, as a very deserving officer and intimated that
some mark of favour should be sho\vn him as an encouragement for
his behaviour,
1 See Appendix V., p. 293. * Mil. Cons., 20th March, 1754.

— ——

" Agreed a commission be drawn out for him as Commander of
all the Company's sepoys, and that he be presented at the same time
with a gold medal."
The same day they wrote to Lawrence :
" We To brave men publick

are always for encouraging merit.
marks honour are much greater rewards than pecuniary gifts.
of
We look on Muhammad Yusuf'va. this light from the commendations
you bestow on him, and have agreed to give him a commission as
Commander in Chief of all the Company's sepoys. This perhaps
may not be a proper title, but something equivalent to it is what we
mean, and should be glad you would set us right. At the same time
we propose to present him with a gold medal."
On the 23rd April Lawrence wrote to say he would consider

the matter. 1 Then followed the affair of Punniyappan, first
mentioned in a letter from Mr. Palk to Council, dated 6th
May, 2 which with the illness of Major Lawrence caused some
delay. On the 9th September he wrote to the Council :
" I can assure you that whatever presents I have made the
Nellore Subadar, his extraordinary zeal for the service has entitled
3
him to,"
in reference no doubt to some unauthorized gratuities which all
commanding officers used at that time to make on special

occasions ; but it was not until the 23rd that he wrote :
" I have enclosed you a copy of a commission, which if you

approve of I should be glad was transmitted to me to be given the
Nellore Subadar I do assure you his behaviour on all occasions and
:
zeal for the Honourable Company's service entitles him to this par-
ticular mark of your approbation and favour." *
On the 30th the Council ordered " that the commission

recommended by Colonel Lawrence to be given to the Nellore
Subadar be prepared accordingly," and the next day it was
forwarded to Lawrence with a request to deHver it to Yusuf
Khan " with assurances that we have a proper sense of his zeal
for the service of the Company." ^ This Commission is not
1 Mil. Cons., 13th May, 1754. ^ jn^^^ i^^î May, 1754.

3 Ibid., 23rd Sept., 1754. * Ihid., 30th Sept., 1754.
^ Council to Lawrence, 1st Oct., 1754.
— —
amongst the Records, but as Yusuf Khan is henceforward

known as " the Commandant," it would appear that that was
the title which Lawrence thought appropriate for his post.
Though the title of Commandant had been used of such officers
as Vencatchellum in 1747 and many commissions as Com-
mandant were given to native officers later on, Yusuf Khan
appears to have been the first native officer in the English
service who held a commission, and the only native officer, at
any rate in Madras, who ever held a commission as " com-
mandant of all the sepoys."
On the 16th November, when advising Colonel Heron, who
had recently arrived in India as Major of the Company's force
on the Coast, as to the means of procuring provisions. Council
concluded their letter :
*'
Colonel Lawrence ^ acquaints us that the Nellore Subadar's
knowledge and interest in the country has frequently been of service
in this particular ; it may therefore be useful for you to consult
with him on the occasion."
Heron was now at Woriur near Trichinopoly, and

Colonel
we soon see what he thought of this advice. To complete,
shall
however, the account of the recognition by the Council of Yusuf
Khan's services we must anticipate a little. The Council had
promised Lawrence to present Yusuf Khan with a gold medal.
Apparently the medal took the local goldsmiths six months to
prepare, for it was not actually received by the Council until
the 27th March 1755. They then recorded as follows :
" It having been resolved in consultation to present

Muliammad
Yusuf Khan, Subadar of sepoys, with a gold medal as a distinguishing
mark and reward of his bravery and good service, and a medal being
accordingly made is now produced to the Board, weighing three
ounces two and a half pennyweight, having the Company's arms
with the usual motto - on one side and on the reverse this inscription
in the Persian language To Muhammad Yusuf, Khan Bahadur,
'
Commander of the Honourable Company's Sepoys, this medal is
^ On the 12th Sept. Council informed Lawrence that the Warren had brought
out for him a brevet Commission as Lieut. -Colonel from the King and a sword
from the Company.
* i.e. " Auspicio Regis et Seyiatus Anglice."
given by the Honourable Governor and Council of Fort Saint George
as a reward to courage, and to preserve to posterity the name of a
brave soldier, a skilfull officer and a faithful! servant."
Of the seven members of Council who signed the Pro-

ceedings this day, three, namely Lawrence, Pigot and
Bourchier, were members of Council when at Lawrence's
suggestion it was decided that Yusuf Khan, if captured fighting,
should be hanged as a rebel ; but these are the actual facts as
to how this medal was bestowed upon Yusuf Khan. The seal
attached to the letters which were intercepted by Yusuf Khan's
besiegers in 1764 bore the inscription in Persian " Muhammad
Yusuf, Khan Bahadur, 1168," this date being the year of the
Hegira corresponding to a.d. 1754, in which he received his
commission as Commandant and was awarded this medal ;
possibly he considered the latter a charm which would protect

him in the last extremity if ever he quarrelled with his present
patrons. It was something more than a mere patent of
nobility. 1
It is a rather curious fact that, just as Yusuf Ivhan later on
allied himself to the French, we find that Mir Mansur, the first
Indian military officer to whom the Madras Council granted

a medal ^ for gallantry, was in the service of the French during
the siege of Madras by Lally,^
See account of Yusuf Khan's execution, p. 229 below.

^
Mil. Cons., 5th Nov., 1753.

2
3 Journal of Transactions during the siege of Fort St. George, Public Sundry
Book, No. 13.

CHAPTER IV
MADURA
The treaty which had put an end to the conflict between the
French and English was really much to the advantage of the
latter, for whilst the French had no one able to replace Chanda
Sahib, the English retained in Muhammad Ah, the titular
and de facto Nawab, at once a patron and a puppet, and, under
pretext of maintaining his authority over his subjects, they were
able to prepare for the renewal of the war with France whenever
it should come. It was therefore determined to send Colonel
Heron and Yusuf Khan to restore his authority in the southern
provinces of Madura and TinneveUy. As, with the single
exception of his absence during Lally's siege of Madras, the
remainder of Yusuf Khan's life was destined to be spent in
these parts, some remarks on their character and previous
history appear to be necessary.
The ancient Kingdom of Madura had at one time included,
besides Madura itself, the provinces of Trichinopoly, Dindigul,
Tondaiman, Tanjoro, the two Maravas (Sivagangei and
Ramnad), TinneveUy and Travancore. Its political capital,
once at Madura, was in quite modern times transferred to
Trichinopoly, and in 1750 the only portions which remained
under the direct control of the Governor of Madura were
Madura, TinneveUy and the two Maravas, but the last-
mentioned had long ceased to pay any tribute and their
allegiance was of the most fitful character.
Madura and Palamcotta ^ (near TinneveUy) were the only
^ Later on Yusuf Khan advised Council to garrison these two towns with
their own troops. " I must beg leave to acquaint you thatthereare two remark-
able forts in this country. One is Madura Fort and the other Palamcotta fit
for the Company to keep. By all means the Company's garrison should be
placed in them." Yusuf Khan to Council, 18th July. Country Correapondence,
1756, No. 210.
^

towns which could boast of fortifications of any importance,
but in neither case were these of such a character as would be
considered formidable by a European enemy, even had they
been in good order, which was not the case. Their strength
lay rather in their distance from Trichinopoly Madura being —
about eighty and Palamcotta ^ about one hundred and eighty
—
miles from that place in the absence of any made roads, that
from Trichinopoly being hardly more than a mere track, leading
for miles through almost impenetrable forests, in the fierce cha-
racter of the people who inhabited the woods and mountains
which covered a great part of the country, and in the pecuhar
climatic conditions, for here there are no regular monsoons,
and, though the annual rainfall is only about thirty inches,
torrential rains alternate with severe droughts and render
mihtary operations often difficult and at times impossible.
Madura itself is situated on the southern bank of the river
Vaigai, and formed at this time an irregular square of about
one thousand yards. It was surrounded by a stone wall
twenty-two feet high with square towers at about every hundred
yards. Outside this was a faussebraye thirty feet broad and
overgrown with thorny bushes, almost impenetrable and ;
beyond this a low wall and a deep and wide ditch, ^ the depth
of water in which, however, depended very much on the state
of the weather. There was no citadel, and the safety of the
town accordingly depended entirely upon the walls and ditch
and the courage of its defenders but the latter had one advan-
;
tage, which it took the English a long time to estimate at its

proper value, in the facility with which, out of such rude
^ " The march from Madura to Palamcotta is through a country at all times
uninteresting, being over a level cotton plain, in which the heat and want of
good water are every stage
felt at it is a distance of 92 miles."
; Military
Beminiscences, I. 275. James Welsh.
Col.
* The heavy rains which fall in the Madura country during the last three
months of the year made military operations around the town exceedingly trying
to the besiegers, whilst the advance of an armj^ from Madras was rendered
extremely diflBcult during the months of July to September by the swelling of
the rivers lying between Madras and Trichinopoly owing to the regular Indian
monsoon.
^ Orme says (History, II. 210) that the outer wall was only five feet on the
inner side, but on the outside descended 11 feet to the bottom of the ditch.
But the ditch was probably silted up at this time and much less deep than it
was in 1763, when (see p. 158 (n.) below) it was stated to be 28 yards broad.
MADURA 25
materials as the trunks of palm trees, they were able to repair

any breaches which could be made by even the heaviest artillery
that the English could bring up to the attack.
The inhabitants of the country, as in all parts of India, were
composed of various castes, but the greater portion of those
who made up its native nulitary force were the Kalians,^ the
feudal retainers of the PoUgars or petty chiefs who occupied
the woody and mountainous parts of the country. The word
Kalian means a " robber," and the Kalians, to whom alone
were known the secret tracks through the jungles, except when
terrorized by an unusually strong central government at Madura,
occupied their leisure in robbery and murder. Absolutely
loyal to their own chiefs, they made but little distinction
between allies and enemies. It was men of this caste who, in
the camp at Trichinopoly, stole all the horses belonging to
Lawrence and Chve,^ and it was one of the same fraternity
who, many years later, stole from Mr. Samuel Johnston, Pay-
master of Madura, the silver casket which contained the heart
of the great Montrose.^ Their chief weapons were long pikes
of twelve to eighteen feet,* and they showed considerable skill
in the rude but effective barriers, which they constructed with
mud walls and thorn hedges round their villages or in the
passes of the woods and hills. Apparently they were abori-
ginals 5 in race, and though passionately attached to the gods
whose little brass images filled their temples, they had no great
love for the Brahmans. This, no doubt, explains the readiness
with which they listened to the teaching of the Roman Catholic
1 calls them " Colleries."

Orme Much interesting information about these
people given in Orme's History, I. p. 381, Pennant's Hindoostan, II. 11, 12,
is
and Col. Welsh's Military Reminiscences, Vol. I. Their ideas regarding the
payment of taxes are thus summed up in an unpublished MS. Memoir in the
India Office Map Department, B. 27, f. 2: "The Heaven supplies the earth
with rain, cattle plough for us, and we labour to improve and cultivate the land.
Whilst such is the case we alone ought to enjoy the fruit thereof. What reason
is there to be obedient and pay a tribute to a person like ourselves ? " Their
manly and dangerous national game called " jallikat " is described by Nelson,
Madura Country, II. 21, and Francis, Madura, p. 83.
- Orme, History, I. 381.
^ Francis, Madura, p. 263.
* See Orme, History, II. r)68 and Colonel James Welsh, Military Reminis-
;
cences, I. 66.
^ Nelson, Madura Country, II. 49.
missionaries, and
appears quite possible that, had it not been
it
for the devastating wars between the Muhammadans and Hindus

and between the partisans of the French and Enghsh, this
wild people might have been Christianized and its members
reduced to a civil and orderly Hfe by the efforts of those devoted
men.i We shall see how, later on, Yusuf Khan subdued and
attached them to himself, though by methods very different
from those employed by the Eoman Catholic fathers.
In 1736 the last great Hindu dynasty in Madura came to
an end with the treacherous capture of the Queen Minakshi
by Chanda Sahib. In 1741 he was compelled to surrender
Madura to the Marathas, and these in turn were driven out in
1744 by the Nizam ^ of the Deccan, who ultimately made over
the province to Anwaruddin Khan as Nawab of Arcot or the
Carnatic. The latter entrusted it to the care of his sons
Muhammad Ah and Mahfuz Khan, but on his death and the
accession of Muhammad AU ^ in 1749 Madura was placed under
another son, Abdul Eahim. In the year 1750, whilst Abdul
Eahim was absent in Tinnevelly, the fort of Madura was
seized by one Alam Khan, a partisan of Chanda Sahib, ^ thus
cutting off the Nawab from the province of Tinnevelly and
depriving him of half his revenue.^
When he received news of Nawab apphed
this disaster, the
to the Enghsh and Captain James Cope, who
for assistance,
was in command at Trichinopoly, was placed at his disposal
with a force for the recovery of Madura .^ For some unexplained
reason the Nawab immediately began to make objections to
the expedition, and asserted that it was unnecessary to take
heavy guns, as the walls of Madura were reported to be in such
a ruinous condition that the Kalians went in and out by night,
^ Dubois, Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, II. ch. xi. pp. 300,
301.
' Nizam-ul-mulk, the first Subah of the Deccan, from whom his successors
at Haidarabad took the title of Nizam.

* Muhammad Ali was younger than Mahfuz Khan, but it is said that the
latter, being the son of a woman of low origin, was passed over —
an explanation
contrary, I believe, to Muhammadan law. It is, however, true that he never
objected to his supersession, though he was often in rebellion against his brother.
* See p. 8 above.
* Orme, History, I. 169.

* See Pub. Cons., 17th December, 1750; and Orme, History, I. 169.
MADURA 27
stealing whole herds of cattle. Cope, however, knowing the

with which the breaches could be repaired, insisted and
facility
obtained the guns. Then the Nawab delayed the supply of
carriages, which Cope had to hire for himself, and, in short, it
was not until February, 1751, that he could make a start. He
had with him 150 Europeans and Coffrees,i and 400 sepoys,
but only one gun. His march lay, as he tells us,^ " through
woods, poligars, rogues, etc.," delayed at one time by a request
from the Nawab to capture some small forts which his own
officers could not reduce, then by the promise of a contingent
under the Nawab's brother Abdul Wahab, who, however, sent
only a very few men to join him. At Madura ^ Abdul Eahim
came up with 2500 horse, 3000 peons, and 30 soldiers and
topasses ^ under Lieutenant John Innis, and one gun. Innis
immediately warned Cope that he had as many enemies outside
the fort as in it, that the chief officers in Abdul Rahim's army
had sworn to deliver his head and that of Husain Muhammad
Khan, Governor of Tinnevelly, into the hands of Alam Khan,
and that it was only the rumour of Cope's approach with an
overwhelming force that had hitherto prevented the consum-
mation of this act of treachery. So great was Abdul Kahim's
distrust of his followers that he dared not sleep in his own
quarters, but was accustomed to shp away after dark to a
Swami-house ^ not far off. It was not until Cope gave him a
guard of the Company's sepoys that he felt in any way safe.
Cope and Lieutenant Merriman immediately reconnoitred
the fort, and, observing some choultries ^ within eight hundred
yards of the walls, which offered good shelter for the men and
stores, moved the camp up to them. Abdul Eahim, shocked
at such reckless behaviour, rode up to remonstrate but while ;
he was explaining to the puzzled Englishmen that if any horses

were killed he, Abdul Eahim, would have to make good the
^ Originally the Coffrees were African slaves trained as soldiers, in which
capacity they distinguished themselves by their steadiness and courage.

- Orme MSS., II. 268-276. Cope to Dalton.
* This was 150 miles from Fort St. David.
* Soldiers of mixed Portuguese and Indian descent. They were often

included amongst the Europeans.
* A small pagoda or temple attached to a village.
" Reat-housea for travellera.

28 YUSUF KHAN : THE REBEL COMMANDANT
cost, a shot was from the fort which sent him and his
fired
retinue scampering accompanied by the hisses of the Enghsh
off,
soldiers. Cope then took up a position only five hundred

yards from the fort, but so protected that no gun could reach
it, and recomioitring within one hundred and fifty yards, found
that one of the batteries, manned by Europeans and flying

French colours, sent its shot, though they fell short, in his
direction. This he quickly silenced with his field pieces but ;
considering the wretched character of his army and the danger

of French reinforcements arriving, Cope concluded that " ex-
pedition was the word " so, whilst his camp was forming, a
;
twelve-pounder was brought up and mounted,
" our grand guard was formed, and covers were made for our field
pieces on the flanks, and we fired like devils, and by being so near
every shot did liis duty. In fact by night we brought do^Ti a great
part of the wall and I would have insured the [capture of the] fort
next day for sixpence."
By noon next day much further damage had been done,

but only four shot remained for the great gun. The breach
looked promising but hardly practicable, so the fire was kept
up all night with the field-pieces. Next day it rained so heavily

than an attack was impossible, but Cope assembled his officers
and explained his plans, whilst fascines for filling the ditch
and ladders for scaling the walls were got in readiness. He
intended to attack at 3 a.m., but as his spies reported that the
delay had enabled Alam Khan to erect a brick wall behind the
breach, the assault was postponed until daj^light. Cope visited
the sepoys and promised that if any man would bring him the
head of Alam Klian, liis company should receive a thousand
rupees, and a present of five hundred rupees was offered for
the head of the traitor who had dehvered Madura to Alam
Khan. As an earnest of what they might expect, he dis-
tributed a thousand rupees at once amongst the men, who
cheered him heartily.
Meanwhile Ensign Trusler ^ had been sent to reconnoitre,
and reported the breach in the outer wall to be easy, and that
^ Sergeant Trusler, promoted to be Ensign 27th November, 1750. Fort St.

David Consultations, Vol. 7.
MADURA 29
in the inner wall to be practicable with ladders. He had seen

nothing of the new defences reported by the spies ; but when
at dajdight the forlorn hope mounted the breach, it was only
to find the passage blocked by two mounds of earth one on —
—
each side connected by trunks of palmyra palms laid hori-
zontally, between the intervals of which were thrust the long
pikes of the horsemen, working across each other " so fast
that a pigeon could not get through," and besides this they
could see at the bottom of the breach the wall of which they
had been warned, manned by musketeers and swordsmen.
The first barrier was, however, passed by a number of the
assailants, but the passage was still held by three champions
in armour. Sergeant Brown, who led the forlorn hope, attacked
the biggest of them, a man of immense size, but was cut down,
and his hfe was saved only by Ensign Trusler shooting the giant
as he was about to run Brown through with his sword. The
wounded champion, though unable to stand, continued to wield
his weapon with such vigour and dexterity that it was not until
he had been shot and stabbed to death that his body could be
dragged aside and the passage cleared. Trusler, a bullet
brushing his temple, pushed on and climbed the wall, but as
fast as his men could come up they were struck down by the
defenders, and, after a hand-to-hand struggle of half an hour,
Trusler had to send back word that he had no hope of success.
Cope hurried to the breach, but found that not only had the
natives given wây, but the Europeans also were retreating,
" one carrying his brother and another his messmate," so that
it was impossible to rally them. The retreat was sounded.
Ninety men had been lost.
Two hours after the attack the besiegers had the morti-
fication of seeing the breach filled up and a
" hideous set of Moor

colours fixed on it, decorated by two or three
of our people's heads on spikes, and all night nothing but dancing,
singing and piping, &c. Therefore to add my part as far as I could
to the solemnity I ordered all the shells left to be thro\\Ti in amongst
them, which proved so kind as to set one half of the toNvn on fire
all night."
This act of revenge may have been idle, but it was not
—

wasteful, for Cope, though he had exhausted all his heavy shot,
had barely sufficient carriage for the ammunition for his field
pieces for " a single dust or broil," whilst the country through
which he had to march was so difficult that he must suffer
severely if he found himself attacked, whilst hampered with use-
less baggage, in the woods or mountains. Without hstening to

the ridiculous proposal of Abdul Eahim to make another assault
with his own men, he determined
to retreat at once, blew
up his great burned his gun-carriages, and sent the
gun,
remainder of his baggage ahead. Five hundred of the horse
and a thousand peons refused to march, and, as soon as
Cope had disappeared, went over to Alam Khan. Cope
arrived unmolested at Trichinopoly on the 10th April, 1751.^
He was the last Enghsh officer to visit Madura before the arrival
of Colonel Heron, whose entry into the town was not opposed,
and his failure, being ascribed to his notorious bad luck, did
nothing to impress the English with any idea of the actual
strength of Madura. Governor Saunders, however, thought
he might effect by diplomacy what he could not achieve by
force. On the 22nd July he wrote to Alam Khan as follows ^ :
" I have heard of your courage in the defence of Madura, which

though against my own people I cannot but highly commend. Merit
ought highly to be rewarded, instead of which I hear you are to be
divested of your government and the French to take possession of
the fort. This I think is but a bad return for so much bravery.
You are a soldier and your sword may make your fortune. If you
will espouse the cause of Muhammad Ali and assist his affairs, I
promise you shall have a government under him which will afford
you wealth and a great name and support you and your family in
affluence."
Alam Khan turned a deaf ear to these offers and died

gallantly in battle against the English near Trichinopoly in
March, 1752.
It is difficult to obtain any exact information as to what
happened in Madura for the next two or three years. When
1 Dr. James Wilson's Narrative, Orme MSS., 15, p. 4. The news of Cope's
failure reached the Council at Fort St. David on the 6th May, 1751. Pub. Cons.
^ Country Correspondence, 1757, No. 97.
MADURA 81
Alam Khan went to Trichinopoly he appears to have left Madura

in the charge of an officer named Mayana. From him it passed
into the hands of a Mysorean officer ^ named Coop Sahih,
possibly with the consent of the Nawab, who at one time offered
it to theMysoreans in place of Trichinopoly. Coop Sahib
defiled the town by kiUing and eating cows ^ and by cutting
down cocoanut trees, and this so exasperated the Hindus that
the two Maravan Poligars were enabled to expel him and to
restore for a brief period the old Hindu dynasty ^ but the town
;
falling into the hands of three Muhammadan officers/ whom

Orme calls Mianah (Mahomed Barky), Moodemiah ^ (Mahomed
Mainach), and Nabi Cawn Catteck, on the 29th November,
1752, these officers signed a written document ^ acknowledging
the Nawab's sovereignty over Madura and Tinnevelly but even ;
had they wished to do so, it is doubtful whether they were in a

position to pay in the revenues of the provinces or even to collect
them for their own benefit. These officers, however, were the
nominal rulers of Madura and Tinnevelly when Messrs. Saunders
and Godeheu made peace in 1754-1755 between the French
and English Companies, and the Nawab was in great need of
money to pay the expenses of the late war. It was natural
for him to expect that the English, who were his chief creditors,
1In the Mil. Cons., 25th Aug., 1755, it is stated that the Nawab never
actually made over Madura to the Mysoreans, his offer to do so being cancelled
by the Mysorean alliance with the French. Nelson {Madura Country, III.
270-1), seems to confuse Coop Sahib with Cope, but Cope was never in the
Mysorean service, and being mortally wounded at Kistnaveram died on the
3rd Feb., 1752 (Mil. Cons., 10th Feb., 1752); whilst Coop or Coke Sahib is
mentioned by Colonel Heron in a letter to Council dated 29th Oct., 1754, as
causing trouble in Madura with some Mysore horse and sepoys. His name
is variously spelled as " Coke " and " Kukku." It is unknown whether
he was a European or a native, but the Nawab distinctly refers to him as
" Coob saib [i.e. Khub Sahib] Jemadar belonging to the Mysorian." Country
CorrespoTidence. 1754, No. 422.
* Pandion Chronicle, p. 41 (Taylor's Oriental Historical Manuscripts).
' The Madi-as Records for 1754 show that repeated applications were made
to the Nawab and the English by the Tondaiman, the Maravans and other
Poligars for the restoration of the Hindu dynasty in Madura, but no notice
was taken of such requests.
* Orme [History, I. 399) calls them Pitan (i.e. Pathan) officers.
* Col. Heron, in a letter dated 11th April, 1755, says Moodemiah was a
brother of Mayana.
® Country Correspondence, 1755, No. 32.
should assist him^ to put his dominions in order, so that he
might be able to collect his revenues, and if possible all

arrears. The Nawab's legal right was based on a farman,^
alleged to have been received from Delhi on the 24th March,
1751,^ appointing him Nawab of Arcot and so sovereign of the
dependent provinces of Madura and Tinnevelly, whilst the
paper signed by the three officers was held to be a sufficient
answer to the French complaint that the Enghsh were assisting
him in attacking their allies. Accordingly, as I have said at
the beginning of this chapter, the Council decided to despatch
a strong force under Colonel Heron and Yusuf Khan to
establish his authority.
^ The first request made by the Nawab for an expedition appears to have
been that of the 25th Nov., 1754 (Country Correspondence, No. 422).
^ i.e. Grant or Commission. See Dr. Wilson's Narrative, p. 4. There was a
peculiarity about the farmans produced by Muhammad Ali which Council was
quick to note. " It has been more than once observed during the course of
this war that whenever anji:hing material has been on the carpet, the Nawab
has always received, or pretended to receive, such letters from Court as might
either divert us from our plan if disagreeable to him, or encourage us to pursue
it if it suited his purpose," Mil. Cons., 29th April, 1754.
3 The alleged farman, dated 29th Jan., 1750, is appended to No. 28, Country
Correspondence for 1751.

^
CHAPTER V
COLONEL heron's EXPEDITION TO MADURA AND TINNEVELLY
We Yusuf Khan in high favour at Madras, and this was

left
why he was chosen to accompany Colonel

probably the reason
Heron to Madura, though his birth in the Eamnad and his
acquaintance with the country particularly fitted him to act as
adviser to an officer who had been only a few months in India,
and was therefore wholly unacquainted with the people with
whom he was being sent to deal. On the other hand, the
mihtary force provided by the Nawab was placed under his elder
brother, Mahfuz Khan. This man was the only member of
the Nawab's family who showed any signs of mihtary ability,
but he was weak and vacillating and totally unfit for the
position of Governor to which he wâs appointed by the Nawab.
Unfortunately for Yusuf Khan's influence with Heron, the
relations of the two were strained from the very beginning.
It is possible that his idea of his own importance ^ had been
unduly inflated by his rapid promotion it is certain that he
;
must have still been smarting at the recollection of the treachery

he had met with from the Brahmans,* and now he had the
opportunity of taking his revenge. The troops collected for
1 Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Heron arrived in India in Sept. 1754, as
Major of the Garrison and Third in Council. Public Proceedings, 13th September,
1754, p. 578.
* His ability was certainly of no high order, and it was the defeat of his
whole army in 1746, by a single battalion of the French under Paradis, that
dissipated for ever the awe previously felt by Europeans for the immense but
undisciplined forces of the Indian Princes.
' Colonel Heron had been advised by Council to consult him : see p. 21 above.
* i.e. Punniyappan and his satellites. Yusuf Khan, it must be remembered,

was a convert from Hinduism, and ipso facto guiltj^ of an offence which the
Brahmans, otherwise the most tolerant of men, never forgive. See Dubois,
Hindu Manners, II. chap. xi. p. 295 ; and Wilks, Mysoor, II. 280 (n.).
—

the expedition were encamped at Woriur, near Trichinopoly,
and on the 10th January, 1755,^ Colonel Heron wrote to Orme
as follows :
" I really don't see occasion for above half the

number of sepoys
which we have now here, more than can be imder the immediate
for
eye of the commanding officer are only employed in robbing, plunder-
ing and wheeping {sic) the Brahnians, which has been practised of
late by the Nellore Subadar and his people and caused me a great
deal of trouble on account of sums of money which he (the Nellore)
has extorted from them. He may be a brave man, but by no means
fit for a separate command, for which reason I have called in his
company from the Tope known by his name ^ and sent Baron
Yasser ot ^ there. ...
have forgiven the Nellore for this time, so
I
that nothing need be said about it without the Service actually re-
quires it. I have made no mention of the affair to Colonel Lawrence,

who has a much better opinion of that man than he deserves."
As this matter was not made public it is impossible to say

whether the charges were true, but they sound strange when
coming from such a man as Colonel Heron was soon shown to be.*
Colonel Heron and the Nawab left Woriur at the beginning
of February, 1755, by the western road to Madura, and halted
at the village of Manaparai, about thirty miles to the south of
Trichinopoly. Here they sent messages to the neighbouring
pohgars demanding the payment of their tribute or rent. Most
of them obeyed, but one named Lackenaig ^ ('? Lakshmi Naik)
refused, and it was determined to make an example of him.
His village lay in the woods about ten miles to the south-west,
and two miles off the road to Dindigul. About six miles from
Manaparai he had erected a barrier across the road, which was
1 Orme MSS., 48, p. 3-4.
* A grove or garden of trees, known as Trichinopoly Nellore, about ten miles

from Woriur, where Heron was encamped.
3 Died about 1762 as Major and Governor of the Fort at Surat. Letter
dated 7th Maj', 1764, from Thos. Worsley to Mr. Boulton, /. 0. Records, Misc.
Letters Received, 1764, No. 189.
* One of the chief charges against Col. Heron was in reference to the presents
he received from Mahfuz Khan. On one occasion {Mil. Cons., 17th Sept., 1755)
he received as much as 20,000 rupees, and proportionate sums were distributed
to other English officers and their Dubashes. None, however, came to Yusuf
Khan.
^ Poligar of Kumaravadi. Madras Rev. Cons., 2l8t Dec, 1798.
COLONEL HERON'S EXPEDITION 35
forced with some on the 12th February, and supposing

difficulty
there would be no further resistance, Yusuf Khan was sent
with five hundred sepoys, a few Europeans, and a field-piece
towards the village. On the way they came across a second
and much stronger barrier, consisting of a rampart protected
in front by a thorn hedge which abutted on either side on the
impenetrable undergrowth of the woods, and through which
there was only a single winding passage. As the sepoys were
barefooted, it was impossible to force this until the hedge was
destroyed by fire or blown to pieces by guns. Apparently the
thorns were too wet to be set alight, for Yusuf Khan attacked
with his field-piece and musketry fire but he lost a dozen
;
Europeans and a hundred sepoys and exhausted his ammuni-

tion without producing any effect, and, though he was able to
hold his ground, he was compelled to send back for reinforce-
ments and a fresh supply. These were hurried up under Captain
Joseph Smith, but before he arrived the enemy, who had also
exhausted their ammunition, evacuated the place. Smith and
Yusuf Khan then pushed on to the village, which they found
abandoned, but Lackenaig was so terrified that he immediately
paid up his tribute.
The Nawab had now had enough of the campaign, and,
leaving Mahfuz Khan to represent him, he returned to Trichi-
nopoly. Heron arrived at Madura on the 5th March, 1755.
The Governor Mayana, terrified at the ease with which Heron
had stormed the forts which had opposed his progress, made no
resistance to his entry, ^ but fled for refuge to the Pagoda of
Kovilkudi, situated in the village of Tirumbur, eight miles to
the east. Moodemiah and Nabi Khan, who were in Tinnevelly,
joined the PuUdevar.^Heron now received overtures for peace
from the Maravans. Their assistance was hkely to be of great
value, but they were the hereditary and mortal enemies of the
Tondaiman and upon which two countries Trichi-
of Tanjore,
nopoly depended for its supplies,^ and therefore both the Nawab
and the Council were greatly displeased with and refused to
^ Nawab to Council, 6th March, 1755, Country Correspondence, No. 46.
- The Pulidevar was the most important of the western Poligars of Tinne-
velly. His chief town was Nelkattam-sevval.
* Country Correspondence, 1755, No. 57.
ratify the treaty, which Heron, on his own authority, had con-
cluded with them.^ It took, however, some time for the
Council's orders to reach Heron, and in the meantime he
determined to attack Kovilkudi.
Yusuf Khan was sent in advance to surround the Pagoda,
but owing to some misunderstanding he halted halfway, and
the news of his advance being carried ahead by spies, Mayana
was able to make his escape. At last Heron came up, but his
heavy guns had broken down on the road, and he had forgotten
to bring scaling ladders. Without these, more especially as
Mayana had slipped out of their hands, it seemed absurd to
risk an attack. Heron, however, was unwilling to acknowledge
his failure, and accepted with dehght the suggestion of one of
his servants to bum down the gate of the Pagoda and so force
an entrance. All his officers declared the attempt was
madness.
" To silence their remonstrances [he] set the example and carried
the first Excess of courage, however desperately or
torch himself.
absurdly employed, seldom fails to interest those who are spectators
of it, and often obliges them to participate of the danger even against
the con\action of their reason. Yusuf Khan, who had more than
any one ridiculed the madness of this attempt, no sooner saw Colonel
Heron exposing himself in this desperate manner, contrary to all
military rules, than he followed his example and accompanied him
with another torch, so that the two principal officers of the army
^
were now seen acting the part of volimteers leading a forlorn hope."
The gate was burned down and the pagoda entered.^ Most
^When asked for an explanation (Jlft7. Cons., 27th May, 1755), Col. Heron
produced a letter from the Nawab authorizing him to forgive the Maravans on
their complete submission and payment of tribute. The letter, however, was
so worded that it left the Nawab at liberty to disavow his permission if every
condition laid down was not fulfilled to the letter. By trickery of this kind on
the part of the Nawab, English officers were induced to make promises in his
behalf, which he invariably refused to ratify after he had obtained every possible
advantage from them. See Col. Donald Campbeirs letter dated 26th May,
1767. Appendix IV., p. 269, below.
Orme, History, I. 385. I have given Orme's account, but later on Yusuf
-
Khan claimed the capture of Tirumbur as his own exploit. He says (Letter to
Council, 10th April, Country Correspondence, 1756), " the fortress of Tirumbur,
which I took with great trouble and pains in the time of Colonel Heron."
^ Heron's letter reporting the capture of the place is dated 9th March, 1755.
Mil. Cons., 26th March, 1755.
—
of the garrison were put to the sword and the place was plun-
dered. Amongst the spoil the soldiers included a large number
of the little images which the Kalians worshipped. These
Heron told the Brahmans he would restore for five thousand
rupees, and, on the offer being refused, placed them amongst
the baggage to be sold as old brass for the benefit of the soldiers
when the army should reach Trichinopoly, an action which
gave great offence. The Madras Council recorded :
" The Committee cannot but esteem this to be an action unworthy

of an English officer, and an action which must undoubtedly cause a
great prejudice against the Nation all through the country where it
was committed." i
The Kalians were driven to frenzy, and the people who later
on gave the title of " Kumley Swami " ^ ^q an officer who had
massacred the inhabitants of whole villages without mercy,
could find no forgiveness for the men who had stormed their
temple and carried off their gods. As long as Heron remained
in the provinces they put to death every one belonging to his
army who fell into their hands, native or European, man,
woman, or child. ^ This in turn led to equally savage reprisals.
Leaving a garrison in Madura, Heron and Mahfuz Khan wênt
on to Tuinevelly, where they arrived on the 25th March. The
Pohgars, led by one Kattabomanaik,^ were in rebelhon, but one
of Heron's first exploits was the storm of NelUcotah,^ forty
miles to the south. The soldiers, maddened by the atrocities
committed by the Kalians and in the fury of the assault, put
to death every one in the place, regardless of age or sex,® and
this so terrified the people that the Poligars at once submitted
and either paid up their contributions or gave hostages for the
same.
1 Mil. Cons., 16th and 17th Sept., 1755.

* i.e. "Lord Rumley" (Francis, Madura, p. 80). The word "Swami"
means God, Lord, or Chief, and is generally used by an inferior to one
greatly superior. An account of Captain Rumley's exploits is given in /. 0.
Records, Map
DepU, MS. B. 27, f. 3.
Pennant, Hindoostan, II. 12.
* Poligar of Panjalam-kurichi, fifty miles north-east of Tinnevelly.
^ Identified by Bishop Caldwell (Tinnevelly, p. 95) with Natta-Kottai.
« Orme, History, I. 387.
^ ;

As was the custom of the time, the Poligars when paying
their contributions made handsome presents to the commanding
ofl&cer of the army, and as Heron gave more attention to the
amount of the presents than to the sums collected for the Nawab,
the result was that the total of the latter not only left no surplus
for the State, but fell short of the expenses of the expedition
by over seventy thousand rupees.
As a general rale, the administration of a province in the
Carnatic was at this time divided between a Faujdar or mihtary
governor and a collector of revenue called the Amaldar or
Renter, who was also the civil governor. Mahfuz Khan had
already been appointed to the former post. Heron now made
the further mistake, to which he was no doubt induced by a
handsome present, of appointing Mahfuz Khan to be Eenter
also, on payment of an annual sum of fifteen lakhs of rupees, and
this mthout consulting Mr. Maunsell,^ the civil representative of
the Council, or even the Nawâb, the acknowledged ruler of the
country. It is not easy to ascertain what was the actual value
of the country. Mahfuz Khan, it appears,^ sublet the provinces
for some twenty-four lakhs, which would allow him nine lakhs
for himself and the costs of the civil and mihtary administra-
tion. The Nawab, however, declared that when he had him-
self administered the country, Trichinopoly, including Madura
and Tinnevelly which provided about half the revenue, had

produced fifty-two lakhs to government, so that Mahfuz
Khan, according to his calculation, should have paid about
twenty-six lakhs ; but Captain Dalton,^ to whom the Nawab
made this statement, asserted that in his opinion the Nawab.
since his connection with the English, had never reahzed so
much as seventeen lakhs. Considering the state of confusion
A. J. Stuart, Manual of the Tinnevelly District, p. 49.

^
ilr. Thomas Maunsell, Commissary in the Camp.

^ According to the
Governor's orders, the revenues were to be collected by Col. Heron, Mr. Maunsell,
and an officer of the Nawab conjointly.
^ jiJil. Cons., 7th Jan., 1756. Letter from a native Vakil, Rayal Pandit,
dated 5th Dec, 1755, as follows: Tinnevelly, 17,00,000; Poligars, 4,00,000
and Madura, 3,00,000. Rayal Pandit was sent by CaUlaud as VakH to Mahfuz
Khan.
* Letter to the Secret Committee, London. I.O. Becords ; The French
in India, Vol, III. p. 67.
COLONEL HEBON'S EXPEDITION 39
into which the country had fallen, it does not then appear that
Heron made such a very bad bargain with Mahfuz Khan it ;
was, moreover, for a period of three months only, but both

the Nawab and the Council were extremely dissatisfied.^
Meanwhile the Council were becoming alarmed at the
successes of Bussy in the Deccan, and partly for this reason,
but more because Heron had failed to make the expedition pay
its own expenses, they resolved to recall him to Madras. On the
2nd May he started for Madura. Three days' march brought
him to Nelkattam-sevval, the chief town of the important
Poligar known as the Pulidevar.
" This fortress is well built of stone and clay, stands on a plain,
has no cover near it except a hill, within the range of cannon shot,^
and the bank tank about six hundred yards distance which runs
of a
parallel to a face of the fort. Behind this hill our troops were
encamped and a strong advanced post at the bank with some pieces
of cannon and cohoms to amuse the enemy withal. Colonel Heron
sent his Vakil into the place to inform the Pulidevar of his business
and the sum requested, which if he did not comply with his town
should be battered to pieces. The fellow laughed at these threats,
as he well knew we had no heavy cannon and the Colonel's servant
had taken care to inform him that our stay would not be long as his
master was positively ordered to return. In consequence of which,
after throwing away a great quantity of ammunition and getting
several of our men knocked on the head, the Colonel very prudently
sent a final message into the town to tell them he would retire from
before the place provided twenty thousand rupees was paid down
on the spot. They returned for answer the Colonel might do as
he pleased ;that such a sum could not be raised, and they were
^ The question of the proper rent or revenue of these countries is only
obscured by the account given by Orme in his History, II. 105. He there says
that at this time the total rent derivable from Madura was 1 lakh 20 thousand
rupees, but the military expenditure was 3 lakhs 60 thousand, and as its posses-
sion was necessary to the security of Tinnevelly, the deficiency had to be met
from the revenues of that country, which amounted to 12 lakhs. If this is
correct then the right rent should have been about 9j lakhs, and the dissatis-
faction of the Council must have been based on their knowledge of the character
of Mahfuz Khan, and not on the amount of the rent fixed by Heron. The
Nawab, on the other hand, may have preferred to arrange for a rack-rent as
a pretext to cover his extortions.
* " The cannon were served by Dutch deserters and topasses." Heron to
Council, 14th May, 1755, Mil. Cons., 30th May, 1755.
—

determined not to pay even a single rupee. Our army at this time
was much distressed for provisions of all kinds, and the sepoys ready
to mutiny every hour of the day. This determined the Colonel to
give over any further attempts on the towTi and march to Madura,
which the army reached about the 20th May." ^
A short stay was made here to refresh the troops and settle
the garrison, composed of one thousand men under Jamal
Sahib. 2 As the direct route to Trichinopoly lay through very
difficult country, Captain Joseph Smith was sent ahead on the
28th May with a hundred Europeans, four companies of sepoys
and two guns to take post at a fort ^ at the southern entrance
of the Nattam pass, which was six miles long and twenty miles
north of Madura. How the army got through this pass Colonel
Heron reported to the Council as follows * :
" The 29th ultimo in passing some strong defiles in the Nattam
woods, our baggage and bazaar were attacked by the Kalians who had
in great numbers lined the woods through which we must necessarily
pass. They had also attempted to stop the road by felling large
trees across, so that I was obliged to detach most of the few sepoys
I had to cover the coolies in clearing the road. This left the bazaar
and baggage more exposed. Indeed the latter were so numerous
that if we met any opposition the loss of a considerable part was
unavoidable. The prmcipal loss of the baggage was private property.
The Company lost their old tents which were almost unserviceable,
a few barrels of damaged ammimition and a few fire-locks that had
been delivered into the Quartermaster's Stores to be mended. We
had four Europeans killed and wounded. These few men would
not have suffered had they not been sick and unarmed and
straggled out of the road. We met with no other difficulty on
our route."
So much for the official account of what was in reahty a
^ Joseph Smith's Account of the expedition. Orme MSS. India, III. p. 610.
Heron in his letter of the same date savs the 21st May. Mil. Cons., ith June,
1755.
* The governor was one Danish Mand Khan, more commonly called
Barkatullah, a servant of Mahfuz Khan. Jamal Sahib commanded only the
sepoys of the Company.
' Orme calls this fort Volsynattam (i.e. Velichinattam). History, I. 391.
* Heron to Council, 7th June, 1755. Mil. Cons., 19th June, 1755.
—
narrow escape from a serious disaster. Captain Joseph Smith

supplied Orme with a very different account. ^ He says :
" The Colonel had received intelligence that every Kalian in the
—
country " they had already surprised and cut off almost every
man in a company under Sergeant Gould ^ whom they had caught
asleep
—
" was resolved upon opposing his passage through this
defile. Of course those officers who had passed it before knew the
consequences which must inevitably happen if the baggage was not
conducted with more than ordinary precaution through this wood,
which is many miles in length and only admits three men abreast in
the road and no possibility of turning either to right or left."
It was, in fact, a kind of deep hollow way, closely bordered

by continuous and almost impenetrable jungle, the paths
through which could hardly be distinguished, though they
were well known to the Kalians.
" The general 3 beat at five in the morning,* the army marched
at six, in order to facilitate which Captain Lin with a detachment of
military, pioneers and sepoys " [probably Yusuf Khan was with this
body] " were sent on to clear the roads and reached their ground
without the least obstruction.
" This was our order of march. Some companies of sepoys in
front, a sergeant [and] twelve men, the first division of artillery and
stores, the battalion ^ led by Captain Poller, the rear division of
artilleryand tumbrils. Then followed one sergeant, twelve men
and some companies of sepoys. In their rear followed the baggage
of the whole army, and the rear-guard of forty Coffrees, twenty
Europeans, two companies of sepoys and one six-pounder, fell to
my lot. The Colonel with his troop of horse, commanded by
Vasserot, went on in front. Some companies of sepoys were inter-
mixed with the baggage for its protection, but they proved of little
use. The front division of artillery and the battalion moved on
without any difficulty or being opposed. Some part of the rear
^ Joseph Smith's Account of the expedition, Orme MSS. India, III. pp.
(508-612. It accompanies a letter dated the 4th July, 1763. A comparison
with the account in Orme's History shows that Orme copied a good deal of it
verbatim.
2 Mil. Cons., 12th June, 1755.
^ The signal to get ready for the march.
* This atfair took place on the 29th May. Mil Cons., 16th Oct., 1755.
^ i.e. the European troops.
division of guns also followed close to the battalion, but unfortunately
the bullock drivers, being careless, drove one of our heavy carriages
into a slough, which the oxen could not get out again. The officers
of artillery, Lieutenant Raillardand Lieutenant Mollitore, imagining
they should be soon able to extricate the carriage out of this hole,
suffered the troops to go on and never called or sent to desire a halt,
and the officer, Captain Beaver, in the rear of the battalion, seeing
some tumbrils close up with him, did not suspect what had happened
and of course kept on. To this blunder we may entirely impute the
loss of our baggage. The carriage being stopped, nothing could pass
by it. The Kalians had watched every motion and appeared in great
numbers near my rear-guard. A few platoons and some grape shot
soon dispersed them, nor did they venture to be troublesome again,
but finding the battalion had advanced a considerable distance from
the rear division of guns, they judged it a seasonable opportunity
to attack Lieutenants Raillard and Mollitore, who had only a few
gunners, lascars and some straggling sepoys remaining with them.
The situation of the place prevented our people from being over-
powered by numbers. Our short six-pounders with grape made such
havock and terrified them so much that, after two repeated attacks
for several hours, in which were killed the most of our cattle and
some men, they retired with the satisfaction of having recovered
the gods 1 they fought for, which was in a tumbril near the place of
the attack.
" Notwithstanding the continued firing this occasioned for so
long a time, neither the Colonel or Captain Polier sent to enquire
the cause, or ordered any reinforcements to our assistance. At the
commencement of the firing I detached an officer with a company
of sepoys, though I could but ill spare them, which secured the
artillery from any further attempt. The halt had been general for
some hours and I grew very impatient at my situation. The evening
was closing apace and my detachment had not moved an inch since
—
the morning ^no advice from the Colonel or anybody else, nor did
a soul return that I sent to learn the reason of our being stopped.
The Kalians murdered many of the coolies, which terrified the rest
[so much] that they threw down their burdens and endeavoured to
reach the place where our battalion was halted. It was between
four and five in the afternoon when the enemy sallied out from all
^ i.e. the images taken at Kovilkudi Pagoda (see p. 37 above). " The
Committee have besides sufficient reason to be assured that this attack of the
Kalians was occasioned by Col. Heron's carrying away a large number of the
religious images from Kovilkudi Pagoda." Mil. Cons., 16th Sept., 1755.
theirbypaths into the road amongst our bazaar people and coolies,
with the most hideous howling and screaming it is possible to con-
ceive. From that moment ever5rthing was hurried into the greatest
scene of confusion imaginable. They, to a man, quitted their cattle,
burthens and everything else and fled whither their fears led them.
They looked on me as their only sanctuary. Men, women and
children pressed on me so much, that with difficulty I made my way
back out of the wood to a little field, in order to fix some method of
penetrating through the crowd and removing the baggage out of the
road for my gun and tumbril to pass along, being resolved not to
lose it.
" This was the severest task I ever met with. My sepoys were
reduced to about thirty, and a good number of lascars stayed with
me. The sepoys were divided in front and rear with drawn swords
with orders to murder any person that should dare come in between
them and the gun, whilst the lascars cleared the road. By this
means about dusk reached Lieutenants Raillard and Mollitore,
I
whose joy on the occasion could not be exceeded but by my own.
No time was to be lost. We collected what draught bullocks could
be found and drew off our cannon and ammunition. About two
miles on the road we found our battalion laying on their arms,
without the Colonel or any Captain belonging to the corps, the latter
having all been taken ill with the extreme heat of the day.i I put
myself at the head of them and marched on to that spot on which
Captain Linn had halted. There we remained all night and the
—
next morning without [the] trouble of baggage we reached the —
town of Nattam and were joined by a detachment from Trichinopoly
commanded by Captain Zeigler, who escorted us through the woods,
and on the 5th Jime,^ I think, we once more encamped at Woriur
after an expedition the most infamous I ever wish to be a witness of.
The behaviour of our commanding officer and captains on that day
deserved every punishment you can name. However they are at
rest ^ —
we will let them remain so."
^ They had been carried ahead in palankeens. Orme, History, I. 395.

* Heron, in his letter of the 7th June to Council, gives the date as the 6th.
Mil. Cons., 19th June, 1755.
^ The oificers who held the rank of Captain in this expedition were, besides
Smith himself, Paul Polier de Bottens, killed at the siege of Madras, 1758 ;
William Lin, who died in Bengal in 1757 ; William Lee, died 15th July, 1756
(Letter to Court, 21st Nov., 1756) ; George Beaver, who disappears from the
Army List after the 5th Nov., 1759 and Alexander Callendcr, killed at
;
the storm of Maaulipatam, April, 1759. Joseph Smith rose to be Brigadier-

General.
— —

Heron was
by Court Martial ^ at Fort Saint David,
tried
the charges being framed by Orme himself,^ who tells us that,
Heron having quarrelled with Lawrence on his first arrival
in India,^ much personal animosity was shown in the trial, but
Heron's conduct had been so scandalous that absolutely nothing
could be said in his favour. He was convicted of having given
having secreted part of the money collected,
in false accounts, of
and having collected the revenues
for this purpose, instead of
with Mr. Maunsell, of having entered into a private agreement
with Mahfuz Khan and of having farmed out the countries of
Madura and Tinnevelly to him at a very inadequate rent.* He
was dismissed the Company's service, but broke his arrest, and,
escaping to the Dutch at Sadras and thence to Pondicherry,
got safely away to Europe.^
Heron's campaign having proved a failure, it was necessary
for the English at Madras to consider matters very carefully
before they undertook any further action in regard to Madura
and Tinnevelly, so Orme, who was a member of the Council,
naturally applied to a man on the spot for his opinion as to
the right course to be pursued. Captain Caillaud, then
stationed at Trichinopoly,^ replied to his enquiries as
follows ' :
" I wish my political capacity was equal to the idea you are
pleased to have of it, that I might answer your paragraph more to
my satisfaction. But such as my thoughts are please to receive
them. A hint is more than enough to you.
1 Mil. Cons., 5th Sept. et seq., 1755.

2 Orme to Payne, 9th Feb., 1757. Orme MSS., 28, p. 132,
3 Orme to Payne, 26th Oct., 1755. Orme MSS., 28, p. 19.
* The articles of the charge against him of which he was convicted were
( 1 ) of perverting the intention of his commission ; (2 ) of breach of orders. Love,
Vestiges of Old Madras, II. 476. In the text I have followed Cambridge (p. 86),
who interprets the charges instead of merely quoting them.
^ As far as one can judge from the incomplete proceedings. Col. Heron
did not receive a fair trial, for whenever the documentary evidence produced
was in his favour e.g. in regard to the Company's losses in the Nattam Pass
affair {Mil. Cons., 15th Sept.) —Council discounted this evidence by such
remarks as " Yet the Committee are well informed that," &c., &c.
® Caillaud took over the command at Trichinopoly in April, 1755. Country
Correspondence, 1755, No. 67.
' Undated letter, but evidently written in 1755. Orme MSS., 293, p. 59.
" The grand point now in view, I believe, is the discharge of the
[Nawab's] debt [to the Company] while that subsists we must
;
make use of the Naivab to hasten the payment of it. The methods
which are now persuing towards that end are very proper ones : but
there are others also which I think are worth your consideration.
" The last expedition to the southward was unfortunate owing
to many causes, but in particular our intermeddling in country
business of which we know very little.
i
And in affairs of this kind
it were more for our interest were we but second causes, setting the
first in motion to answer our purposes.
" I think an army should again be sent there and some methods
in general like these persued.
" The Nawab himself should go in person, and with him a
sufficientnumber of Europeans.
" The commanding officer to interfere in nothing but his military
business. The Naivab to let him know when it was proper to march,
where to march, who to attack and who not to attack. As to when
and how, the officer might be the judge.
" Along with the Naivab one of your Body ^ should be sent, to be
present and made acquainted with everything relating to the country
business, the sums agreed for and those collected, and when the troops
were paid so much [should be] laid apart by him for the Company's
use, the remainder to the support of the Nawab. This person of your
Body should have nothing neither to say to the means the Naivab
would persue towards making the people pay nor the sums he would
oblige them to give. I know what will be objected to this imme-
diately. That the Nawab, if he has power in his hands, will squeeze
these people unmercifully, and we should [i.e. ought to] see nothing
but justice done. My dear Mr. Orme, our rigid northern notion of
justice will make us at last the dupes and fools to the more pliant
politicks of these southern climates. If we support the Nawab let
us do and not prescribe to him in such cases as these. And after
it,
all, what have we more to do with their modes [of] government than
their modes of faith ? The Nawab acts justly as an eastern prince :
let him act then as he pleases. We have the power still in our hands.
You know the fable of the cat, the monkey and the roasted chestnuts.
" Let our principal business be to see that we have a good accoimt
of what he collects, if we suspect he is dishonest enough to conceal
it from us. For which reason let the Civil gentleman have with him
some of the most creditable and intelligent of the Company's
* i.e. in the collection of revenue. * i.e. the Madras Council.

duhashes ; i who, I engage, will not let him cheat us of much, and,
above all things, let the Presidency have trust and confidence in the
man they send out in that capacity, not tie him down by restrictions
nor circumscribe him to time, if the expedition answers the end
proposed. Let the military man be a soldier and know how to carry
command."
Caillaud's advice to give the Nawab a free hand, under

English protection, to fleece his subjects, was not put in
practice until after the death of Yusuf Khan. Caillaud had
owned it was immoral ; it then proved also to be unbusiness-
like.2
^ i.e. interpreters or clerks. * Seep. 114 below.

CHAPTER VI
CAILLAUD AND YUSUF KPIAN
Whilst waiting to seewhat Mahfuz Khan would make of his

governorship, the Nawab thought he might try what could be
got out of his northern vassals. Of these, the chief was
Murtaza Faujdar of Vellore, whose riches and extensive
Ali,
territory in the near vicinity of Arcot rendered him almost as
—
powerful as the Nawab himself in fact, Dupleix had at one
time considered him a suitable candidate for the succession to
Chanda Sahib. At first the Nawab thought of employing
Yusuf Khan in this affair ; for apparently he had had no
share in the spoil which had Heron and his officers,
fallen to
and might therefore be supposed to be a more tractable and
trustworthy agent than an English officer of whom the Nawab
knew nothing and whom he could not punish if he mis-
behaved. But Major Killpatrick and Mr. Perceval ^ convinced
him that Vellore was too strong to be taken by a native
force, and that he must employ European soldiers. Accord-
ingly he applied to the Council for help. It was granted with
reluctance, for the French had but ill tolerated the interference
of the EngUsh in the case of Madura and Tinnevelly. How-
ever, the Council at last consented and sent a force under Major
Killpatrick, which arrived before Vellore on the 30th January,
1756. Murtaza Ah, aware of the Nawab's designs, had besought
the protection of the French, but to make this effective he
would have had to admit a French garrison, a step which he
was naturally very unwilling to take. He therefore opened
negotiations with Major Killpatrick and Yusuf Khan, being
;
sent into the fort to arrange matters, concluded an agreement
^ Perceval and Killpatrick to Council, 24th Oct., 1755. Mil. Cons.

by which Murtaza was to pay four lakhs of rupees in satis-
Ali
faction of all claims. At this moment Mr. Orme ^ as Deputy
of the Council arrived in camp, with authority to accept, if
he could do no better, the much smaller sum of only one lakh.
His instructions were supposed to be secret, but had been,
somehow or other, disclosed to Murtaza AH's agent in Madras
and by him communicated to his master, so that when Mr.
Orme, finding how much more successful Yusuf Khan had been,
simply announced that he had come to receive the amount
agreed upon with Major Killpatrick, Murtaza Ah, who had
also received notice that the French were beginning to move
to his assistance, was by no means wilhng to pay it. In order
to gain time, he invited Mr. Orme to visit him in the fort.
Orme was accompanied by Yusuf Khan, and when they came
to the discussion of business, he demanded the fulfilment of the
promises which Yusuf Khan had communicated to him, but
Murtaza Ali coolly asserted that what Yusuf Khan had said
was all a lie.
" On this, the commander of our sepoys, one of my party, the

bravest and the most worthy Miiliammadan in the East, had well-
nigh sacrificed us all by the emotions of his indignation at being thus
impudently charged with a falsity." ^
Yusuf Khan, in fact, drew his dagger upon Murtaza Ah,

who was about to call in his guards when Mr. Orme assured him
that, whatever might be the result, he, Murtaza Ah, would
certainly be the first man killed if the quarrel proceeded further.
So quiet was restored, but Murtaza Ah could not be persuaded
to agree to anything more favourable than a payment of two
lakhs,and even that only on condition that the Council would
guarantee him against any further molestation on their part or
on that of the Nawab. As this would have precluded the
Nawab from making use of a more favourable opportunity,
^ In his History, I. 418, Mr. Orme does not mention the name of the Deputy,
but it is of course given in the Council's Consultations.
2 Orme to Lord Holdernesse, 1st March, 1756, Orme MSS., III. p. 711. In
a letter to Payne dated October or November, 1756, Orme writes " Yusuf :
Khan . . . the bravest amongst the sons of Muhammad in India." Orme MSS.,
28, p. 41.
CAILLAUD AND YUSUF KHAN 19
Mr. Orme refused to accept the offer, and, the French soon
after approaching in force, Major Killpatrick, feeling he was
not strong enough to take the place by a coup-de-main before
their arrival, withdrew his army to Madras. Thus Murtaza Ali
achieved his object, which was to get rid of the EngUsh without
actually putting himself in the power of the French.
As was to be expected, Mahfuz Khan was already in great
difficulties in Tinnevelly. The three Pathan officers who had
remained in hiding while Colonel Heron had been in the country,
reappeared on his departure, and Moodemiah, who had sold the
southern district of Kalakadu to the King of Travancore,
invited to take possession of it. He agreed, and in
him now
alliance with Moodemiah, the PuUdevar and the western
poligars attacked and defeated Mahfuz Khan in two battles.
Encouraged by this success Mayana and Nabi Khan made a
plot to seize Madura itself. The Nawab immediately asked
the Council to send a force of their own to Tinnevelly.
Meanwhile the Madras Council, dissatisfied with the farming
of the Provinces toMahfuz Khan, were in negotiation with one
Tittarappa Mudah,^ a wealthy inhabitant of Tinnevelly whose
family had for generations been connected with its revenue
administration, to take over the rentership leased for three
months Mahfuz Khan by Colonel Heron. Their difficulties
to
were now increased by Mahfuz Khan's proved miUtary
incapacity. If they had taken the advice given by Caillaud
to Orme they would have sent a European in military com-
mand, leaving the civil and revenue administration to the
Nawab under the general supervision of a member of the Madras
CouncU but the danger of an approaching war with France,
;
and the strength of the French in the Deccan and at Pondi-

cherry, made them unwilHng to spare a European officer of any
rank or any considerable body of Europeans, nor was it at all
^ Orme says {History, II. 105) that Mudali's family had held farms of
various districts for 100 years. Nelson (Madura Country, III. 277) calls this
a rash statement, but Heron in a letter dated 4th April, 1755, calls Mudali the
chief merchant in Tinnevelly, and the Nawab in his letter of the 30th Jan., 1770,
said that his influence with the Poligars was so great as to be dangerous (see
p. 52 (n.)). Both these statements are incompatible with his being a " new
man." It is even stated that Heron wished to appoint him Renter, but that
Mahfuz Khan outbid him by a lakh of rupees, Orvie MSS., 49, p. 1.
—
likely that the Nawab could devote his whole attention to the
southern provinces. Caillaud's scheme was therefore for the
time impracticable, and the Council decided to recall Mahfuz
Khan, to send in his place a native miUtary ofi&cer whom they
believed to be devoted to themselves, to take over the
provinces for three years from the Nawab, to appoint their
own renter or civil governor, and to divide the balance of the
revenue, which would remain after the troops had been paid,
between the Nawab and the payment of the Nawab' s debt to
the Company. To this the Nawab agreed.^
The military officer chosen by the Council was Yusuf Khan,
and on the 14th March ^ Mr. Pigot wrote to inform him of his
appointment, told him that he was entrusted " not only with
mihtary affairs, but also with the management of the Company's
other concerns in the Madura and Tirmevell}^ countries," that
he was to remit all revenue received to Captain Caillaud at
Trichinopoly, and in general to act in accordance with
any orders which Captain Caillaud might send him. He
concluded :
" Thus I have entrusted you with a business of great importance,

not doubting but you will act therein so as to gam an advantage to
the Company and the Nawab and to yourself a good name, reputation
and future favour."
At the same time the Council completed their arrangements

with Mudali, giving him the rentership of Tinnevelly only, for a
period of three years, on a rent of eleven, twelve and thirteen
lakhs of rupees respectively in addition to the payment of the
^ See next page. The Council's intentions were recorded only after the
Nawab's consent had been received, hence the apparent confusion of dates in
the text.
* Mil. Cons., I6th March, 1756. See p. 272 below. In an earlier part of
the same Consultations it is stated, "
Yusuf Khan arrived this morning, and
proposes setting out for Trichinopoly the 13th. His Company and Sergeant-
Major Robinson is in readiness to march with him. He is not yet determined
which of the Suhadars he will take." Sergeant-Major Robmson, however, died
at Trichinopoly before the expedition started (Mil. Cons., 13th April, 1756),
but the names of six of his sergeants, viz. Thomas Harris, Richard Jeffrj's,
Samuel Underwood, Richard Sculthorpe, John McKain, and Joseph Johnson, are
appended to a letter given in the Mil. Cons, of the 9th Nov., 1756; and from
Yusuf Khan's letter of the 2nd Jan., 1757, to Co\inc\\ (Country Correspondence,
No. 29) it appears that Yusuf Khan had a sergeant to each company of sepoys.
requisite troops, but they neglected to specify clearly whether
he was to pay only the one thousand sepoys, whom they at
first placed under Yusuf Khan, or whatever troops should be
ultimately found necessary. They certainly intended that

Mudali should find the money for all, but debit the excess
against his rent. This agreement was concluded on the 28th
June, 1756, and was to take effect from the 1st July.
Meanwhile the Nawab had changed his mind. On the 29th
March news had been received that Mahfuz Khan, assisted
by the Poligars of Panjalamkurichi ^ and Ettaiyapuram, and
the sepoys left behind by Heron, had won a great victory
over the Travancoreans and the rebels near Tinnevelly,
Moodemiah being killed in the battle. The Nawab desired
accordingly that the appointment of Yusuf Khan might be
cancelled, and that only such miUtary assistance should be
despatched as Mudah, whom they might consult, should
consider necessary. ^ This was in accordance with the
weak fondness which he always exhibited towards his un-
grateful brother Mahfuz Khan,^ though his acceptance of
Mudali as renter was inconsistent with his declaration made
many years later,* that he had always considered MudaU unfit
for the post, and too closely connected with the pohgars to be
trusted. Mudali was, however, a very timid person, and the
Nawab probably thought that he would not dare to give any
trouble to a man of the rank of Mahfuz Khan.
The Council, however, had no illusions in reference to Mahfuz
Khan, and as they had not received the Nawab's letter until
the 4th April, when Yusuf Khan had already started,^ they
^ i.e. Kattabomanaik.
* Nawab to Council, -ith April, 1756. Country Correspondence, No. 84.
^ The Nawab's fondness for his brothers is the only virtue that I can find
in his character. It proved fatal to his friends, for he never forgave the latter
when, at his own request, they had reduced his rebellious brothers to obedience.
* Letter to Council, 30th Jan., 1770. /. 0. Records, Home Misc.,
No. 103. " I answered in a very particular manner that it was not proper to
retake them from Mahfuz Khan to give them to the Mudali, who was careless
and unfit. I also wrote and further said that by giving these country's to him
it would increase the poligars' strength, they being friends to him, which would
hurt the Sarkar^s business."
^ He left Trichinopolj' on the 26th March and arrived at Madura on the
6th April. Yusuf Khan to Mr. Pigot, 10th April, 1756. Country Correspondence,
No. 94.
insisted on Malifuz Khan's recall and the carrying out of their

own arrangements.
On the 9th April a letter was received from Captain Caillaud,
reporting that Yusuf Khan had already left Trichinopoly with
his sepoys, and with a somewhat larger number of European
gunners than the Council had ordered, but which Calliaud
himself thought absolutely necessary. He had also given hiui
an armourer named Faulkner and a hospital assistant named
Lisle, and particular instructions as to his relations with the
European sergeants of the sepoy and Coffree companies. He
had further recommended that Yusuf Khan should try to make
terms with the King of Travancore.
As Yusuf Khan had accompanied Heron, he was well aware
of the dangers of the direct route from Trichinopoly to Madura
through the Nattam pass. He therefore marched to the east
of the Nattam forest, and took his small army of 1200 sepoys,
100 Coffrees, 150 Kalians, and European gunners with four
field-pieces and an eighteen-pounder, through the Tondaiman's
and Little Maravan's countries until he could strike west to
Kovilkudi, the scene of his and Heron's foolhardy but successful
exploit. On the 6th April Yusuf Khan arrived at Madura,
which he found in a very bad condition. With some difficulty
he persuaded the governor, Barkatullah, to receive an addition
of two companies of sepoys to his garrison, ^ and then, taking
Jamal Sahib with him, he proceeded to Timievelly. Here he
found that Mahfuz Khan, in spite of his victory, was almost
in a state of destitution, for the ravages of the poligars had been
so widespread that he had been unable to collect any revenue,
and was unable to pay not only his own sepoys, but even those
^ " Danish Mand Khan

[Barkatullah] on his part did not so much as desire
me to stay even ten days settle the country, offering to pay the expenses
and
of the troops. On the contrary, he spends his time night and day in pleasures
and diversion with the dancing wenches. He is very proud of his two elephants
and grandeurs, and he never minds the Sarkar's business. Notwithstanding,
out of a regard to the Sarkar's affairs, I kept [i.e. placed] two companies of
sepoys in Madura Fort, though it was against his pleasure and consent." Yusuf
Khan to Council, 10th April. Country Correspondence, 1756. On the other
hand, Barkatullah and the Nawab complained to the Council that Yusuf ELhan
placed his own ofi&cers in charge of the districts which he reduced. The
Council decided {Mil. Cons., 17th May, 1756) that Yusuf IQian had no choice
in the matter, as he could not trust any one else.
—

leftbehind by Colonel Heron. Yusuf Khan, however, set to
work in his own way, and without much regard to the loss of
men,i he stormed the forts of some of the pohgars and drove
others out of their villages, creating such a panic amongst them
that, by the beginning of August, he had reduced the western
poligars to at least temporary submission and quiet. He
then requested Mahfuz Khan to leave the country,^ and on his
acquiescence sent a company of sepoys with him to Madura,
and also the heavy gun, which impeded the rapidity of his own
marches. Having garrisoned the important fort of SrivilU-
puttur, which commanded the districts of the western poligars,
he returned himself to Tinnevelly.
Here Yusuf Khan found the agents of MudaH had already
begun their operations, but were impeded by one Mir Jafar, who
had hitherto managed for Mahfuz Khan. He promptly ordered
him to follow his master, and allowed him to take what retinue
he pleased, though he sent five companies of sepoys with him,
nominally as an escort, but really to see that he did no mischief
on the road. Two days after Mir Jafar had started, the escort
received information of a revolution at Madura. The garrison
of that town had mutinied and had made Mahfuz Khan prisoner.
They and sent for instructions to Yusuf Khan.
therefore halted
A mutiny an Indian army at this time was not an
in
uncommon occurrence, nor in fact a very serious matter. The
Abbe Dubois tells us ^ :
" Mutinous soldiers frequently put their generals under arrest,

send them to prison, menace them sword in hand or try to in-
timidate them by loud threats and insults. The generals, strange to
say, will calmly and patiently put up with these mutinous outbursts.
Usually they will pay the mutineers part of their arrears and promise
the rest in a short time. Quiet is then restored, and the men return
to duty until another such occasion presents itself."
^ In this fighting with the poligars Yusuf Khan's worst hurt was the loss of
a horse shot under him when attacking Kollamkondan. Country Corre-

spondoice, 1756.
* Apparently Mahfuz Khan left Tinnevelly about the 17th July. Tittarappa
Mudali to Pigot, 7th August. Country Correspondence, 1756, No. 208. On the
31st July, Yusuf Khan reported to the Council that he had made over the
whole of Tinnevelly to Mudali. Country Correspondence, 1756, No. 223.
^ Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, p. 675.
—
Whilst the incapacity of Mahfuz Khan was thus receiving

practical demonstration, the Nawab began to show, by a piece
of petty spite, that Yusuf Khan had offended him in retaining
his appointment to Madura after he had signified to the Council
that he wished that appointment cancelled. It appears that
Yusuf Khan, hke Clive, found leisure amidst his military duties
to look after his private business as well, and that he had rented
—
some land possibly at Trichinopoly-Nellore which belonged —
to the Nawab. Of this the Nawab proposed to deprive him.
Yusuf Khan appealed to Mr. Pigot to prevent this injustice,
and Mr. Pigot accordingly wrote to the Nawab as follows ^ :
" I am informed that Yusuf Khan lias for some time past rented
a district near to Trichinopoly, but that you are now inclined to give
it to some other person. I think that Yusuf Khan's long and faithful
services to you as well during the troubles ^ as since, entitle him to
be preferred by you to any other person, and therefore I take the
liberty to write to you in his favour, and to desire that you will give
him a mark your esteem by letting him to [sic] enjoy the said
of
district as formerly. In so doing you will oblige me as well as show
a kindness to a man who deserves to be considered not only for
his past services but for those he may do us in future."
It is probable that this appeal to Mr. Pigot did Yusuf Khan

but httle good with the Nawab. I have not traced any definite
reply to Mr. Pigot' s letter, but from this date the Nawab was
Yusuf Khan's enemy.
To return, however, to Madura. The mutiny at that place
was at first supposed to be due only to the pay of the soldiers
being heavily in arrears, but it soon became known that the
higher officers, including the Governor Barkatullah, were as
deeply implicated in the affair as the soldiers. In fact, the
army did not want up the very lucrative job of collecting
to give
the revenue of such rich provinces as Madura and Tinnevelly
under the easy rule of a notoriously weak governor hke Mahfuz
Khan. Accordingly, when the Nawab offered to pay down two
lakhs of rupees which the mutineers claimed as arrears, they
immediately doubled their demand, and Mahfuz Khan, by
* Pigot to Nawab, 25th Sept., 1756. Country Correspondence, No. 279.

* the troubles with Chanda Sahib and the French.
i.e.
bitter complaints against the injustice of depriving him of the
governorship, showed that he too was in the plot. Further, as
the Company's sepoys in the Fort refused to join the mutineers,
Mahfuz Khan sent on pretence of settHng
for their officers,
their arrears of pay, and made them prisoners until he had
turned their men out of the fort, when he sent the officers after
them.i They took up a position near the town and reported to
Yusuf Khan. Barkatullah and his puppet Mahfuz Khan made
an alHance with Mayana, who provided the Fort with provisions
and with a body of Kalians, with which they terrorized the
country round Madura.
As soon as Yusuf Khan received information of the mutiny
he left a garrison under Jamal Sahib in Tinnevelly, and, picking
up Mir Jafar's escort on the way, marched hm-riedly to Madura,
where he was joined by the companies expelled by the mutineers.
Even so, he had only 1500 men, and his only heavy gun, which
he had entrusted to Mahfuz Khan,^ was in the hands of the
enemy. All he could do, therefore, was to take up a position at
Sikandarmalai,^ three miles to the south, and watch the course
of events. On the 13th September Mudah arrived with two
companies of sepoys, but his influence was more Hkely to be of
value in the south, so he went on to Tinnevelly, where he was
warmly greeted by his friends the pohgars, who had hitherto
been unable to make up their minds which side to join.
This behaviom- of the southern pohgars discouraged the
mutineers in Madura, who now offered to treat and Captain
;
Caillaud, to w'hom Yusuf Khan had reported matters, sent

Pigot to Xawab, 26th August, and Yusuf Khan to Pigot, 15th Aug.
^
(received 29th Aug.). Country Correspondence, 1756, Nos. 243 and 246.
^ On one occasion Mahfuz Khan had lost this gun in fight with the Puliderar,
but Yusuf Khan's sepoys had retaken it. Having no anticipation of the mutiny,
he allowed Mahfuz Khan to take it to Madura, where there were also some
12-pounders left by Col. Heron, " which guns he wants now to fight us with.
If he will come out in field, I'll take his head and send it to your Honour."
Yusuf Khan to Pigot, 23rd Aug. Country Carrespandence, 1756, No. 255.
^ Francis {Madura,
p. 279) says this place is so called after a fakir named
Sikandar, who lived and died on the hill so named, and that it is frequented by
both Hindus and Muhammadans. Padre Schwartz wrote, " Behind the hospital
in Sikandarmalai was a lofty rock on the peak of which the rebel Khan Sahib or
Yusuf Khan had built a mosque, in which the graves of Alexander and of his
Doctor are shown." G&schichte der Missions anstalten in Ost-Indien, IX.
Pt. I. p. 586.
down his interpreter Narayan to discuss terms with Malifuz

Khan and Barkatullah, but Narayan was unable to persuade
Mahfuz Khan to accept any conditions which involved his
giving up the governorship of the Provinces. He therefore
turned his attentions to the jemadars or commanders of the
cavalry, who were easily persuaded to promise the surrender of
Mahfuz Khan and Barkatullah on payment of their arrears.
These terms were accepted, and MudaU was asked to provide
the money.
Mudah, as has been already stated, had been well received
by the pohgars but their troublesome retainers, the Kalians,
;
who had accompanied their chiefs to Tinnevelly, could not

control their thievish propensities, and when caught were very
roughly handled by the sepoys. In revenge they began to steal
from the sepoys themselves, who laid the blame upon Mudah
for allowing the pohgars to remain in the town. To add to the
confusion, the King of Travancore, expecting a speedy breach
between the pohgars and the Enghsh, began to renew his
incursions, whilst Nabi Khan also emerged from the hiding in
which he had remained since the death of Moodemiah and, with
his followers, infested the country between Madm-a and Tinne-
velly, so that, when Mudah had collected about one half of the
sum demanded by the cavalry officers, it was impossible to
transmit it in safety.
The cavalry officers, suspicious of every one, ascribed the
delay to an intention of evading payment altogether, and
reconciled themselves to Mahfuz Khan and Barkatullah, but
Captain Caillaud now persuaded these two to agree to terms, and
started for Madras to obtain their ratification from the Council.
To add to Caillaud's difficulties, a dispute had arisen between
Yusuf Khan and Mudah as to the number of troops for which
Mudali was to provide pay, Yusuf Khan, as it proved quite
correctly, demanding that he should find the money requii-ed
for all the troops employed, and Mudah asserting that he
was required to settle only for the troops originally sent
with Yusuf Khan.^ Caillaud supposed that Mudah was in the
right and wrote to Yusuf Khan accordingly, who sent word to
^ See p. 52 above.
one of the European sergeants with Jamal Sahib to see Mudali
and try to arrange the matter. The sergeant took Jamal
Sahib and another sepoy officer named Basopanaik with him,
and, when they found MudaH persist in his refusal to comply
with Yusuf Khan's wishes, they placed him under arrest. If
Mudali is to be believed, they also made free with his property.
Instead of ascribing this rough beha\aour to excess of zeal,
Mudali, thinking only of the insult, convinced himself that the
sergeant and sepoy officers had acted under instructions from
Yusuf Khan, though the latter ordered his release as soon as
he heard of it.^ In the meantime Jamal Sahib, glad of the
opportunity of revenging upon the poligars the misdemeanours
of their followers, turned them all out of the town with threats
of the severest punishment if they dared to return. Instead
of going home, they, under the leadership of Kattabomanaik
and the PuKdevar, joined Nabi Khan and concluded an alliance
with BarkatuUah. The latter in the middle of November broke
off aU negotiations with Caillaud, and went off to join Nabi
Khan.
CaiUaud, having received en route positive orders from
Council not to quit Trichinopoly, had returned to that town.
Considering that Yusuf Khan had been in the \ST.'ong in
his difference MudaH and hearing Mudah's account of his
with
arrest, he was at first inchned to think that Yusuf Khan was
seeking some personal advantage, and, even when he was
informed by the Council that Yusuf Khan was right in his
must be deficient in temper and
contention, 2 he thought that he
Mahfuz Khan, the pohgars, and Mudali all combined
tact, for
to throw the blame of everything that had gone wrong upon
1This affair was reported by Mudali to Mr. Pigot, who on the 14th Nov.
^vôte to Yusuf Khan censuring Jamal Sahib, and telling him that in future he
must take from Mudali only such money as the latter could conveniently
spare and draw upon Caillaud at Trichinopoly for the remainder. Country
Correspondence, No. 325. That Yusuf Khan was somewhat too independent
in his action is shown by the fact that Mr. Pigot, on the 27th November, had to
censure him for increasing by nearly one half the batta allowed to his sepoys
without obtaining previous permission. A little later, to please Mudali, Yusuf
Khan recalled Jamal Sahib and placed Basopanaik in command at Palamcotta.
Country Correspondence, 1757, No. 16.
- See Caillaud to Council, 2nd Nov., 1756, and 8th Dec, 1756, Orme MSS.
XII. pp. 3359 and 3364. See Appendix V. p. 273.

the one man whom they all feared. ^ He reported to the Council,
therefore, that they need not expect anything to be settled so
long as Yusuf Khan remained in Madura. On the 14th
December ^ Mr. Pigot ^vrote to Yusuf Khan, and, without
referring to the unfavourable opinion formed of his behaviour
by Captain Caillaud, informed him that war ^ had broken out
with France, that his services were required at Madras, and that
he should return immediately, leaving his troops with Lieu-
tenant Rumbold, whom Caillaud had sent to Madura to
continue negotiations with Mahfuz Khan and the rebels.
Meanwhile Yusuf Khan, who had been unable for some
time to ascertain Barkatullah's designs, at last heard that he
had joined the rebels in the south and surprised Tinnevelly,
Mudah and Jamal Sahib having barely managed to throw
themselves into Palamcotta, about three miles off. He imme-
diately marched south, and coming up with the rebels on the
1st December at Gangaikondan, twenty miles north of Tinne-
velly, completely defeated them, though they mustered ten
thousand strong. The poligars fled to the woods, and
Barkatullah back to Madura, but Nabi Khan, passing by SriviUi-
puttur and unable to attempt the fort, made an attack upon
the pagoda, which he would have taken and plundered had not
one of the temple Brahmans mounted the high tower of the
gateway, and, after cursing the assailants in a loud voice, thrown
himself do\sTi, dashing his brains out on the pavement, an act
which so horrified and terrified Nabi Khan's followers that they
left the town.*
Having neighboming districts and reassured the
visited the
inhabitants, Yusuf Khan halted in Tinnevelly. Here he was
recalled to Madura by a summons from Lieutenant Eumbold.
1 Mudali asserted that Yusuf Khan fomented the troubles in order to get
the country for himself, and that he was really in league with Mahfuz Kian,
whilst the Nawab asserted that the cause of Mahfuz Khan's revolt was Yusuf
Khan's disrespectful behaviour to his women-folk. Country Correspondence,
1757, Nos. 99, 257, 374, 382.
- Country Correspondence, No. 361.
* News of the declaration of war by England against France reached
Madras on the 12th Nov. Mil. Cons., 13th Nov., 1756.
* Francis [Madura, p. 281) says that an inscription in the big temple of
Subrahmanya, four miles south-west of Madura, records a similar occurrence in

1792, when the temple was attacked by the English.
—

The rebels, at the instigation of BarkatuUah and Nabi Khan,
had finally decided to refuse all terms, and had invited Haidar
Ali and the King of Travancore to join them.
Marching north, on the 16th December, Yusuf Khan, who
had left a garrison at Palamcotta, reached Gangaikondan, where
he heard that Lieutenant Eumbold had left Madura. He went
on, however, to Srivilliputtur, and there halted to overawe the
western poligars. Here MudaH, contrary to Yusuf Khan's
advice, sent messengers to the PuHdevar. The latter despatched
an agent to Mudah with an escort of Kalians at the same time
as he ordered his troops to jom BarkatuUah and Nabi Khan.
Being aware of the latter fact, when five of these Kalians were
caught steahng and brought to Yusuf Khan he had them blown
from a gun. The PuHdevar immediately withdrew from even
the pretence of negotiation, and, to make sure that Mahfuz Khan
should have no further chance of negotiating vnth the EngUsh,
persuaded BarkatuUah to send him to Nelkattamsevval, where
he remained actually a prisoner though nominally the head of
the poUgar confederacy.
Even before the arrival of Mr. Pigot's order recalling Yusuf
Khan, CaiUaud had seen reason to change his opinion, and in
reply to the letter, in which Yusuf Khan's recaU was notified
to him, he wrote :
" I have supposed Yusuf Khan's and Mudalis forces alone not
sufficient to keep the country against them " [i.e. the rebels]. " Per-
haps it may prove otherwise, and by the former's good management
in the military way and the other's interest in the country they may
maintain themselves, but certainly if we are obliged to recall Yusuf
Khan the country is lost. There is a good understanding at present
between your Eenter and Yiisuf Khan. Jamal Sahib is also as he
ought to be." 1
As to the " good understanding " CaUlaud

was unduly
optimistic, for the incompatibility of temper between MudaU
and Yusuf Khan was such that though it might be smothered
temporarily it could not be extinguished. However, there was
peace for the time, and on the 29th March, 1757, the Council
wrote to CaiUaud that they would take no further notice of
1 CaiUaud to Council, 17th Dec, 1756. Onne MSS., XII. p. 3373.
Mudali's complaints. Meanwhile instead of Yusuf Khan being

recalled,towards the end of December Caillaud was ordered
to join him,i and himself attempt the reduction of Madura,
for it was fully realized that its possession by an enemy would
be a serious disadvantage to the English when the French forces
should arrive in India.
Caillaud, for various reasons,^ was unable to carry out these
orders at once, and did not start from Trichinopoly until the
23rd February, 1757,^ when he took with him 120 Europeans,
500 sepoys, and two pieces of cannon. He marched direct to
Tinnevelly, where Yusuf Khan, after having beaten the rebels
at Alwarkurichi, joined him on the 17th March, " the glorious
St. Patrick's." ^ In spite of Yusuf Khan's
all his difficulties
force was in fine fighting condition, ^ and CaiUaud made him

a comphmentary present of one of two elephants which Yusuf
Khan had captured from the poligars.® At the same time he
quieted MudaH's apprehensions of being turned out of the
rentership by assuring him he had nothing to fear so long as
he performed his share of the bargain with the Council, and he
explained to Yusuf Khan that no one not even himself had — —
any right to interfere with MudaU
management of the
in the
country business.' It must, however, be remembered that as
early as September, 1756, the Council had expressed doubts as to
Mudah's fitness, and had requested Yusuf Khan to look out for
other candidates for the rentership, a fact of which MudaH was
probably aware and, though Caillaud did not wish to shorten
;
his term of ofiSce, he was becoming convinced that the division

of power between the mihtary and civil governors was a mistake,
^ In a letter dated 28th Dec. (Cowntry Correspondence,

No. 387), Mr. Pigot
informed Yusuf Khan of this order and that he was to put all his troops under
Caillaud's orders.
* e.g.the uncertainty as to the success of Clive's expedition to Bengal.
3 Caillaud to Council, 4th March, 1757. Orme MSS., XII. p. 3387.
* Caillaud to Captain Pechell, March, 1758, Ornie MSS., 31, p. 165.
* Caillaud to Pigot, 18th March and 5th April, 1757, Orme MSS., XII.,
3392, 3397.
«These had really been captured from Mahfuz Khan, and had belonged to
his father Anwaruddin. The Nawab asked for their return, but Yusuf Khan,
finding it too expensive to keep, had sent his elephant to Tanjore for sale.
Yusuf Khan to Council, 19th April. Country Correspondence, 1757, No. 175.
' i.e. civil or revenue matters, but see
pp. 51 above and 272 below.
—

so that on the 5th April he wrote to Mr. Pigot that a man must
be appointed who
" must prove to the merchants that he can keep the country settled
and quiet, and that alone cannot he done by words, but by showing
the number of troops he purposes to maintain for that purpose." i
was increased on his junction with Yusuf

Caillaud's force
Khan by a few Europeans, 2000 sepoys, and about five or six
hundred cavalry, but he was delayed in his movements for a
short time by a terrible storm ^ which laid the whole country
under water. As soon as he could move he tells us ^ :
" I began hunting Mahfuz Khan most of his force consisting

;
in cavalry, about 3000, I never could come up with his infantry

;
in a manner disbanded, about 10,000 and at last I drove him up

;
amongst his good friends the poligars, where I left him in order to
pursue my plan, which was (after making the Renter settle his
accounts, remit some money to the Company, provide money for
the payment of my army) to march and besiege Madura."
Whilst Caillaud had been hunting Mahfuz Khan, Mudali

had been tiying to collect money, and on the 10th April *
Caillaud was able to start for Madura. As early as January
he had been aware that the rebels were in communication with
Mysore and Haidar Ah. Now he heard that they had agreed
to surrender to Haidar the Solavandan districts, in which were
comprised a strong pass and the only road from Madura to
Dindigul. Leaving garrisons of sepoys in Tinnevelly and
Palamcotta under Basopanaik, Caillaud and Yusuf IChan
arrived before Madm-a on the 20th April ^ and took possession
of the pagoda at Sikandarmalai. The next day Yusuf Khan
was sent to attack Solavandan, which he captm'ed without
Orme MSS., XII. p. 3399.

1
" A storm more violent than had ever been remembered in these parts,
*
by which the land was laid under water and the crops in many places destroyed."
Orme to Payne, 4th July, 1757. Orme MSS., 28, p. 146.
3 Caillaud to Capt. Pechell, March, 1758. Orrne MSS., 31, p. 165.
* The dates of this expedition are taken partly from Caillaud's letters to
Council {Orme MSS., XII. and XIII.) and partly from his letter to Captain
Pechell (Orme MSS., 31, pp. 163-169).
* Wrongly given as 1 2th May in the letter to Captain Pechell.
—
difficulty ; but he was prevented by heavy rain from rejoining

Caillaud until the 26th. Caillaud had meanwhile received
orders to be ready to return to Trichinopoly, but, though he
had not the heavy guns necessary for a regular attack, he
thought he might be able to carry Madura by a sudden assault.
This he determined to try at once.
At this time the ditch, having been neglected, had silted
up in many places, and Caillaud was informed that there was
a gap of some thirty yards in the thorny bushes which filled
up the faussebraye, near the first tower on the left hand of the
western gateway. There was also a watercourse running
within 200 yards from the west wall, which would afford cover
to an attacking party. He made his preparations secretly in
the pagoda at Sikandarmalai, allowing no one to go in or out
whilst these were in process of completion.
On the evening of the 30th April, leaving a few men to guard
the baggage and artillery, he marched out of the pagoda with
a hundred Europeans and two hundred sepoys —the garrison of
Madura consisted of eight or nine hundred cavalry and about
—
two thousand native infantry ^ and by 3 a.m. on the 1st May his
force was safely concealed in the watercourse above mentioned.
Caillaud intended to lead the attack himself, and carefully
explained his plan to his men. The foremost of these carried
six short ladders for the outer wall, the next six longer ones for
the inner. As soon as twenty men had got into the faussebraye
they were to take over the longer ladders, which they were to
plant against the inner wall, but not a man was to mount until
all were fixed, and then only three at a time.
" Everything went at first to the height of my wishes. My ad-

vanced party with their ladders had got over the first wall unper-
ceived, unheard, and were pulling over the longer ladders to moimt
—
the inner one by the by two walls for such an attempt is the devil !
but mark a cursed cur dog that had followed the party in the dark
!
began to bark, alarms another brother cur in the fort, this puts the
sentry on the qui vive, who, looking over the wall, had a glimpse
though very dark that somebody was there. He immediately
challenged and fired. The guard who was nearest hoisted some
» Caillaud to Pechell, March, 1758. Ormc MSS., 31.

—

blue lights (a composition these country people make use of, of sulphur
and antimony) which throw a prodigious clear light all around, and
by which they saw my poor unfortmiate devils close under the walls
with their ladders, and many more on the gla§is ready to support
them. The main body was in a hollow way i out of their sight but
within two hundred yards of the wall. The alarm was general in
an instant and they began to fire verj'' smartly from the walls. None
of the troops lay far from their posts so that the fire increased every
minute, and I soon found as our design was discovered it was im-
practicable so I made a retreat with much less loss than indeed I
;
firstapprehended as we were so much exposed, and returned to

camp as you may suppose de charmante humeur. I could not bear
the sight of a dog for a week after."
In his report ^ to the Council Caillaud said that the attack

might have succeeded if the men had kept cool, but they got
flurried and crowded on to the ladders, which broke down. His
loss,owing to his immediate retreat as soon as he knew he had
been discovered, was only one sepoy killed and one wounded.^
He now moved his camp to a deserted village some six hundred
yards from the south-east part of the wall, which was of
slighter construction than the rest, and tried to effect a breach
with three six-pounders, but these proving useless he sent a
party of sepoys to Trichinopoly to bring two eighteen-pounders.
Meanwhile he blockaded the town, and was joined by several
of the neighbouring poligars,who supplied his camp with
provisions and cut communications between the besieged
off the
and their friends outside. This induced one of the rebel ofi&cers
to offer to betray the town, but on the 11th May Caillaud received
imperative orders to march to Trichinopoly, and started with
—
the best of his men 120 Europeans and 500 good sepoys
leaving Lieutenant Eumbold and Yusuf Khan with the Coffree
company, the guns, and the rest * of the sepoys to maintain
the blockade and, if possible, conclude matters with the
traitor. Yusuf Khan was very unwilMng to stay. He had
found it impossible to work with Mudali, and he saw httle
^ i.e. the watercourse mentioned above.
2 CaUlaud to Council, 16th May, 1757. Ome 3ISS., XII. p. 3404.
3 Orme, History, II. 212.
* i.e. eight companies. Letter dated 22nd May, 1757, from Lieut. Rumbold
to Council. Orme MSS., 61, p. 44.
CAILLAUD AND YUSUF KHAN G5
chance of distinction with the motley force that remained.

However, he soon recovered his usual equanimity, and when
a number of the sepoys, who had been left behind by Heron
and had received practically no pay from Mahfuz Khan,
broke out into mutiny, it was only by his influence and
intervention, together with " an example made upon the spot
of the most riotous " ^ by Eumbold, that they were persuaded
to return to their duty.
With, or rather before, Caillaud went Mudah for, afraid to
;
remain with Yusuf Khan with no one to protect him but

Eumbold, Mudali had begged Caillaud to take him with him,
and on his refusal had disappeared from the camp the day
before Caillaud's departure. No one knew where he was until
Caillaud wrote back from Nattam that he had found Mudah
waiting for him at that place. Mudah afterwards complained ^
to Mr. Pigot that Captain Eumbold and Yusuf Khan in his
absence seized his property and imprisoned his servants, whilst
Basopanaik kept his brother Alagappa in prison for a couple
of days, and another sepoy of&cer Eamanaik forced the people
to pay their rents to him instead of to Mudah's agents. As
regards himself, he said that when he sent some of his people
with a letter from Captain Caillaud, Yusuf Khan told them
that if they came near him again he would cut off their ears.^
On hearing of Caillaud's departm'e and learning its cause,
namely the approach of the French, the traitor who had pro-
mised to betray the town broke off negotiations. Neither
Eumbold nor Yusuf Khan was of the stamp to tolerate the
tedium of a blockade. Having heard that the water in the
tanks and wells which supphed the town was putrid, they
determined to cut off the besieged from the river. For this
purpose they moved their camp to the north of the river and
seized an entrenchment which lay between the river and the
north-east angle of the town but though this caused a great
;
deal of sickness amongst the garrison, the latter showed no
1 Orme MSS., XII. p. 3142. Caillaud to Council, 6th June, 1757. Rum-
bold was promoted Captain 6th June, 1757.
* Letter dated 21st June, 1757. Orme MSS., 51, p. 59.
* Lawrence (letter to Council 24th June, 1754) reports a similar threat
on
the part of Nandaraj to one of his messengers.
P
signs of giving in. Accordingly, taking the opportunity of a
favourable night when a strong windwas blowing, Kumbold
and Yusuf Khan crossed the and burnt down the northern
river
gateway, only to find that the inner gate leading to the town
had been built up vnth. a brick wall, so that they were forced
to retreat.
Mahfuz Eian was all this time congenially engaged in
plundering the district of Tinnevelly and negotiating mth the
King of Travancore for an alHance. The only obstacle in his
way was the garrison at Palamcotta, and not being strong enough
to take that place by
force he determined to obtain it by
treachery. purpose he sent messengers to Kumbold,
For this
who, thinking there might be something in their proposals,
despatched Eamanaik,^ escorted by fifty sepoys and under
a pass from Mahfuz Khan, to discuss them vnth. him. On their
approach Mahfuz Khan suddenly surrounded the Httle force
with his cavahy and demanded from Eamanaik an order to
the ofi&cer in Palamcotta to surrender that town. Eamanaik
drew up his men and declared he would sooner die than disgrace
himself by giving such an order. Mahfuz Khan therefore bade
the cavalry attack him, but before they could do so one of his
officers, named Ah Sahib, " who had more honour than his
master," ^ declared he would not permit such an act of perfidy

against a man who had come to them under a safe conduct,
and not only joined forces with Eamanaik, but conducted him
to Palamcotta in order to protect him from any further attack.
Eamanaik soon after returned to Madura with six companies
of sepoys who had formed the garrison of Tinnevelly. Mahfuz
Khan renewed his attacks upon Palamcotta, but Basopanaik,
finding his provisions running short, won over the poUgars
Kattabomanaik and Ettaiyapm-am by the cession of some
land which they coveted, and with their assistance defeated
Mahfuz Khan and drove him away.^
When the rebels received news of the approach of a heavy
^ Ramanaik is also written Ramanapanaik in the Country Correspondence
of 1757.
* Rumbold to Messrs. LawTence andWynch, 11th June, 1757. Orme MSS.,
61, p. 25.
^ Orme, History, II. 237. Mudali saj-s that Basopanaik gave his elephant
and horse to Kattabomanaik. Country Correspondence, 1757, No. 349.
^
CAILLAUD AND YUSUF KHAN G7
gun sent by Caillaud from Trichinopoly and of the sepoys from

Palamcotta, they determined to anticipate their arrival by a
sortie. Eumbold, being informed of their intention, flooded
the ground round his camp and placed Yusuf Khan with two
companies of sepoys in charge of the entrenchment across the
river. The sortie was made on the morning of the 9th June.
Owing to the inundation the sallying party were unable to
attack Kumbold in his camp, but fell in force on Yusuf
Khan's entrenchment. For some unexplained reason, almost
as soon as the first shot was fired, Yusuf Khan's men broke
and fled, only about a dozen of them standing by him. Orme
suggests ^ that this was done in revenge for Yusuf Khan's
severity, but it may have been due simply to panic, for, as
has been mentioned above, the best of the sepoys had gone
with Caillaud. At any rate, as it was impossible to defend his
position with such a handful of men, Yusuf Khan retired to a
clioultry 2 on a small island in the river. Such buildings, being
square in form, with no external windows and with only a
single entrance, are well adapted for defence, and Yusuf Khan
though attacked by 400 of the best of the rebel troops dis- —
—
mounted horsemen was able to hold his own until reheved by
the arrival of Eumbold when he and his men had been reduced
to almost their last cartridge. Eumbold caused the cowardly
sepoys to be drummed out of the camp with halters round
their necks.
The eighteen-pounder sent from Trichinopoly arrived on the
11th June, and was fired for three days until
all the ammunition
which had been sent with it was exhausted, without any damage
being done to the walls that could not be easily and imme-
diately repaired by the besieged, and it was evident that a
more powerful battery would be necessary. As Trichinopoly
now appeared to be safe, Caillaud was ordered by the Council
to return to Madura. He set out on the 25th June with
some ninety Europeans, most of whom were Dutch or French
1 History, II. 223.
' i.e. a rest-house for travellers.
* Rumbold to Council, 11th June, 1757. Orme MSS., 61, p. 24. Orme says
Rumbold " found Yusuf Khan defending himself with only ten men against the
whole body of the enemy, who could neither take, destroy, or put to flight this
invincible spirit." Orme to Payne, •Ith July, 1757. See Appendix V., p. 272.
—

deserters, for there were 500 French prisoners at Trichinopoly,
and he did not dare to leave them to be guarded by their own
countrymen.
He arrived at Madura on the 3rd July, and determining
that the enemy should have no time given them to repair the
—
damage done by his guns he had now two eighteen-pounders
—
and four field-pieces ^he got everything ready in secret, and
on the 9th, marching late at night to the watercourse previously
mentioned, he had them mounted in position by daylight. This
time he attacked the curtain close to the spot where he had
made his first attempt. The outer wall was quickly demohshed,
and also the parapet of the inner. The assault was ordered at
once, and, as he laconically puts it, he " made a breach, attacked
it, and got a damnable drubbing." ^ His official account is as
follows :
" The battery was finished by that time and opened in the
morning and a breach made by twelve at noon. They had however
in the moming begun to work behind it. Not to give them time to
do more, an immediate disposition was made for the assault, and at
two the troops marched for it, but could not carry their point. The
best, who were in front as is usual upon all such occasions, were
almost all killed and wounded. The few that returned disheartened
the rest, who in spite of their officers' efforts to encourage them on to
another trial thought rather of returning, which was done hi an
instant. I thought we might make another push for it, but on
examining my numbers when returned I found I had lost between
thirty and forty of my best Europeans and CofErees, either killed or
disabled, and about one hundred sepoys. In short I find such a
motley crew as my detachment is composed of, French and Dutch
deserters, topasses and Cofirees, are not to be depended on in such
cases where the bravest men are requisite. The few that are really
so are commonly sacrificed as it has been now. I luckily lost no
officers, but four of my best sergeants killed and as many woimded." ^
In this report Caillaud makes no mention of misconduct on

the part of any of his officers, or of the extraordinary recovery
of those of the sepoys who had been wounded,^ both of which
Caillaud to Captain Pechell, March, 1758. Orme MSS., 31.
1
Caillaud to Council, 9th July, Mil. Cons., 25th July, 1757.

'
8 " Of the sepoys 100 were disabled, but few of this body were killed and
fewer died afterwards of their wounds." Orme, History, II. 225.

are mentioned by Orme. As to the greater chance of recovery

from wounds enjoyed by the natives of the country over
Europeans, Major Kermell wrote some ten years later,
" 'Tis remarked that amongst an equal number of wounded
persons of both countreys the blacks recover in a proportion of six
^
to one."
Caillaud was in bad health at the time of the assault, and

disappointment at his failure so aggravated his illness that he
was forced to retire for rest to the neighbouring village of
Tiruvadur,^ whilst the blockade was continued by his subor-
dinates.^ The rebel confederation, however, now showed signs
of dissolution. More of the poligars came in or submitted, and
even Mayana joined Caillaud, bringing with him his family, the
strongest pledge that could be given of his good faith. The
garrison, despairing of assistance from either Mysore or the
French, offered to treat, and on the 8th September surrendered
the town on a payment of 170,000 rupees, which was sanctioned
by the Madras Council. Caillaud wrote to his friend Captain
Pechell :
" I am studying hard attack and defence. I have
been beat from one breach and am bound to defend one," ^
a soldierly aspiration the fulfilment of which, though not

granted to Caillaud, was seven years later given to his trusty
comrade Yusuf Khan.
The importance of the surrender of Madura was greatly
enhanced by the fact that, on the very day upon which it took
place, large French reinforcements under M. de Soupire arrived
at Pondicherry,^ so that to meet the new danger it set free the
English forces in the south, commanded by two of the best of
the younger officers in the English service.
1 Rennell to the Rev. Mr. Berrington, 20th Jan., 1768 (unpublished).

2 Tiruvadur wfis 10 miles from Madura. Country Correspondence, 1757,
No. 332.
* the 20th Aug. Mr. Pigot wrote to Yusuf Khan
On "I have received
:
your your having surrounded the Fort of Madura on every

letter advising of
side, in company with the Poligars^ troops, &c. Captain Caillaud has also
acquainted me of your diligence and bravery which gave me great pleasure. . . .
I regard you as a faithful servant to the Company, and therefore you may be
assured of my friendship." Country Corresponde?ice, 1757, No. 338.
* Caillaud to Captain Pechell, March, 1758. Orme MSS., 31, p. 1C9.
* Orme, History, II. pp. 236, 239.
—

With the capture of Madura the question of the adminis-
tration of the provinces had again become acute. It was now
recognized by every one that the division of authority between
two possibly antagonistic interests was incompatible with good
government. Mudali's period of tenure was near its end, for
his timidity disqualified him for the post of sole governor.
All who knew Yusuf Khan declared that he was the only man
who could be expected to manage the country, so that it should
be a source of revenue to the Nawab and the Company, instead
of a continuous drain of both blood and treasure, as well as,
poHtically, a cause of great anxiety through the danger of its
falhng into the hands of the French or the Mysoreans. Orme,
as shown by his letter to Payne, ^ was for giving him almost
is
autocratic power on condition of the payment of a small but

fixed revenue. Caillaud wrote ^ :
" I will venture to assure you Yusuf Khan is the proper man to
command in that place ^ and rent the country round it. The
neighbours he has will require a brisk, active man amongst them to
keep them to their duty and obedience. It is a large trust, but if
there is faith in man, he is as honest and true a servant to the
Honourable Company as ever eat their bread."
On the 11th September Yusuf Khan wrote to Mr. Pigot,

giving detailed information as to the possible value of the
country when pacified, and on the 26th September made through
Caillaud a definite offer himself to rent the province of Madura
alone for three years at 1|, 1| and 2 lakhs respectively,^ these
sums to be set against the cost of maintaining the necessary
troops, including European sergeants and gunners, etc., which
was reckoned at 3,71,700 rupees, the deficit to be paid out of
the TinneveUy revenues a proposal which was referred back
;
to Caillaud, as the Council preferred that Yusuf Khin should take

both the provinces, but for these he would not undertake to
propose any fixed rent. On the 24th October the Council
^ See Appendix V., p. 271. Orme to Payne, 4th July, 1757.

« Caillaud to Council, 4th Aug., 1757. Orme 31SS., XIII. p. 3430.
'i.e. Madura.
The revenue actually collected from the districta dependent upon

*
Madura in the years 1754, 1755, and 1756 was Rs. 156,983, Rs. 143,714,
Rs. 121,390. Orme MSS., 51, p. 183.
CAILLAVD AND YUSUF KHAN 71
decided that Yusuf Khan should manage the provinces tem-

porarily, and that Mudali should come to Madras to settle up
his accounts. This arrangement continued for a year, and in
October, 1758,^ Yusuf Khan wrote to Madras to ask for a
final decision, as the bankers who had lent him money for his
troops were pressing for repayment. From a letter from
the Nawab ^ it would appear that Yusuf Khan had boasted
that he would obtain the Rentership for himself if he could
only get the consent of Mr. Pigot upon which account the
;
Nawab begged Mr. Pigot to make him understand

that, if he
got the Rentership at would be by the permission of the
all, it
Nawab, and that he would have to comply with the Nawab's

wishes. A httle later ^ when Yusuf Khan was recalled to take
his part in the defence of Madras against Lally, he was ordered
to leave the collection of revenue in the hands of his agents.
Thus a final decision was again postponed, the Nawab
nominating one man as Renter and Yusuf Khan proposing
another, their mutual relations not being improved by the
process or by the exhortations of Mr. Pigot to the Nawab to
accept Yusuf Khan as the only man capable of filling the post,
or by his reminders to Yusuf Khan that the country belonged
to the Nawab and that proper respect was due to him as its
ruler.
^ Country Correspondence, 1758.

^ Nawab to Council, 25th Oct., 1758, Postscript. 1 .0. Records, Home Misc.,
104.
3 Mil. Cons., 2nd Nov., 1758.
CHAPTEE VII
THE SIEGE OF MADRAS BY LALLY
The news M. de Soupire's arrival at Pondicherry reached

of
Caillaud, vid Devikottai and Fort St. David, some days before
he heard from Madras. Without waiting for orders, he left
Yusuf Khan at Madura and started for Trichinopoly, which he
reached on the 20th September. In October he sent for Yusuf
Khan, but no sooner ^ did the latter join him than he was
ordered to return to hold Madura and to try to recover Tinne-
velly, which, with the exception of Palamcotta, was practically
in the hands of Mahfuz Khan and his alhes. BarkatuUah
indeed, after his surrender, had been despatched to see if he
could persuade Mahfuz Elian to come to terms, but the latter
had been so much encouraged by the news of the arrival of the
French that he refused to consider any arrangement which did
not provide for his retention of the government.
During Yusuf Khan's short absence, Haidar AH had arrived
and had seized the
at Dindigul with a strong force of Mysoreans,
fort of Solavandan. He did not attempt to attack Madura, but
plundered the country round about, and, when he received news
of Yusuf Khan's approach, he took post wdth a part of his army
near the southern end of the Nattam pass. Yusuf Khan,
making his way through the pass unmolested, attacked him
without hesitation, beat him and sent him hurrying back to
Dindigul.2 He then marched to TinneveUy, and by the end of
November he had reduced Mahfuz Khan to the condition of a
^ Yusuf Khan arrived at Trichinopoly on the 8th October, and left for
Madura on the 12th. See Caillaud's letters to Council
of the 9th and 20th Oct.,
1767. Orme MSS., XIII. pp. 3439 and 3442.
2 Major Stewart {Memoirs of Hyder Aly Khan, pp. 10-13) says Haidar's
incursion took place in October, and that Yusuf Khan defeated him in
November.
THE SIEGE OF MADRAS BY LALLY 73
—

penniless refugee amongst the poligars, and had recovered
Kalakadu from the King of Travancore.
At Tinnevelly he narrowly escaped assassination. On
leaving Madura, he had enlisted four hundred of the best of
Barkatullah's troops. One of their jemadars determined to
kill him. Yusuf Khan reported the affair to Mr. Pigot as
follows 1 :
" I must now inform you that on the 28th of the last month ^
Woomady[? Umar Din] Singh, Jemadar of the horse, with his com-
pany went against the house of Ramanapa Naik at first with a
design to kill him, afterwards they came and attempted to kiU me
while I was sleeping at the time aforesaid, but by the blessing of
God and your Honour's good fortune I happily awaked and punished
the said Jemadar &c. disturbers and faithless people as they deserved,
in such manner that they were sent into hell. Though he was in
our service yet in a faithless and deceitful manner he acted as afore-
^
said, which is owing to the badness of the times."
Early in December, Yusuf Khan was recalled to Madura by

a premature report of the despatch of a French force to assist
Haidar at Dindigul, and accordingly he took post at Srivil-
Hputtur to protect the western border, and rebuilt the fort of
Solavandan, which Haidar had destroyed. As a matter of fact,
a French force under M. Astruc, a good officer, did arrive at

Dindigul in January, 1758, but Haidar's attention was diverted
by a Maratha attack, which compelled his return to Seringa-
patam, on which account M. Astruc left that part of the coun-
try.* These repeated threats from Mysore were attributed by
the Nawab to a personal insult offered to Haidar by Yusuf Khan,
in the killing of one of his agents.^ It is not at all unhkely that
Yusuf Khan had put such a man to death, because at that time
it was very difficult to distinguish between an agent and a spy,
and Yusuf Khan was not the kind of man to give any suspected
person the benefit of the doubt. Moreover, we know that he
Yusuf Khan to Mr. Pigot, received 22nd Dec, 1757, Orme MSS., 61, p. 105.
1
November, 1757.
* i.e.
3 It is still the custom in India to Eiscribe any atrocious act to the evil
character of the time in which the actor is living.

* Major C. Stewart's Memoirs of Hyder Aly Khan, p. 10.
^ Nawab to Council, February, 1757. Country Correspondence.

^
did haog a messenger sent him by Mahfuz Khan, for Mr. Pigot
wrote to remonstrate and warned him
"to be very cautious of proceeding to su^h extremities, which

may be productive of bad consequences, if they are committed
without just cause." i
Yusuf Khan, on the other hand, ascribed Haidar's hostility

to the instigation ofMahfuz Khan but probably the real reason
;
was that given by Haidar himself, namely, the treachery of the

Nawab in refusing to hand over Trichinopoly, as he had pro-
mised, to the Mysoreans for the assistance they gave him in his
war with the French and Chanda Sahib.
Yusuf Khan had now a short period of leisure, which he
utilized in repairing the fortifications of Madura and restoring
order generally. There was much to do, for Barkatullah's hand
had been heavy upon the Hindus, and, whatever may have
been his resentment against the Brahmans in the past, Yusuf
Khan was, like Haidar, one of those men who could easily put
aside any personal feeling when it stood in the way of pohcy.
The Pandion Chronicle ^ makes but a very short reference to
the rule of Barkatullah, but, such as it is, it is of importance as
showing the character of his goverimaent. It tells us that he

allowed the great temple to be desecrated by a Muhammadan
Fakir, who planted his umbrella on the chief gateway and began
to build a small shrine there. All representations to the Gover-
nor to prevent this act of sacrilege were in vain, nor was Barka-
tullah moved in any way by the miraculous opening of her eye
by the great goddess, Bhadra Kali, a portent which drew crowds
of horrified spectators. Fortunately the surrender of the town
to Caillaud put an end to this incident. The Fakir and his um-
brella were removed, and Yusuf Khan, visiting the temple, was
so struck with its grandeur that he gave orders for its purifica-
tion and the renewal of the usual worship. He also restored the
temple revenues, which had been sequestrated by Barkatullah
to his own use.
1 Pigot to Yusuf Khan, let March, 1758. Country Correspondence.
* See Kirmani's Hydur Naik, p. 246. " Muhammad Ali Khan . , appre-
.
hensive that the affair of Trichinopoly, where he had so grossly violated hia
faith, still rankled like a thorn in the breast of the Nawab [i.e. Haidar Ali]."
' Taylor's Oriental Historical Manuscripts, Vol. I.
pp. 42-44.
The months March and April were spent by Yusuf Khan
of
in further operations in the south but no sooner had he reduced
;
it again to quiet, than he was summoned to Trichinopoly with
as many troops as he could collect. Lally had landed in India,

and with an overwhelming force begun his attack on the English
Settlements on the Coast. On the 3rd-4th May he captured
Cuddalore,^ and on the 2nd June Fort St. David surrendered.
On the 16th June Yusuf Khan arrived at Trichinopoly with
2000 sepoys, a reinforcement which enabled Caillaud to give
effective assistance to the King of Tanjore, whose capital was
besieged by the French. The latter were forced to retire,
though rather by their own mismanagement than by the efforts
of their opponents, and Caillaud, to encourage the poligars who
sided with the Enghsh, determined in September to attack
Turaiyur, the Eeddi or chief man of which was a French pro-
tege. For this purpose he despatched Captain Joseph Smith
with 70 Europeans, 50 Coffrees, 2 field-pieces, and 1000 Sepoys
under Yusuf Khan,
The chief town or village of the Eeddi was situated in the
middle of a thick wood, which extends some twenty miles along
the foot of the western mountains and ten miles into the plains.
The direct approach was a long, narrow, and difficult forest path,
in which it was known that many obstacles might be expected.
Four companies of sepoys, under the command of Kamanaik,
whose courageous behaviour when treacherously attacked by
Mahfuz Kiian has already been mentioned, were sent round
another way to take the enemy in the rear. Having without
much difficulty overcome some lesser obstacles. Captain Smith
and Yusuf Khan came across the main defence, a wall fourteen
feet high, protected by a barrier of thorns and completely block-
ing the road. The ammunition of the field-pieces was exhausted
in a vain attempt to breach this obstruction. Yusuf Khan
himself was wounded in the arm,^ but bound up his hurt and
refused to leave the ground. At 7 o'clock in the evening there
were no signs of the approach of Eamanaik. The Coffrees,
1 Orme, History, II. 304.

^ Thisthe only occasion on which Yusuf Khan is mentioned as having
is
been wounded, and it was believed by his followers that he was invulnerable
owing to the possession of a charm or amulet. See pp. 228 and 311 below.
sepoys, and lascars were seized with a sudden panic and fled,
and Captain Smith and Yusuf Khan had not a man left except
the Europeans, a lascar corporal, a fakir, and Vordapu, Captain
Smith's Indian servant but the Europeans still kept up a
;
desultory fire, and supply of ammunition arriving,

at 8 o'clock a
the were just getting to work when shouts of " Din
field pieces
Muhammad," ^ the charging cry of the Muhammadan sepoys,
were heard behind the barrier. Kamanaik, delayed by the
desertion of his guides, had at last arrived ; the Keddi's troops
broke in confusion, and the path was open to the town, which
surrendered without further opposition. The Eeddi offered
Captain Smith a bribe amounting to ten thousand pagodas
and when this was refused he
for the restoration of his town,
made the same offer with a similar result to Yusuf Khan. A
small garrison was left to hold the place, whilst Smith and
Yusuf Khan returned to Trichinopoly.^
When Fort Saint David had fallen the EngHsh expected an
immediate attack upon Madras, but the long delay of six
months, which passed before Lally advanced agamst that
town, gave the Council every opportunity for completing
theu' plan of defence. This was very simple, consisting in
the concentration within Madras of all the best of their forces,
and the withdrawal of all the outlying garrisons, except those
of Trichinopoly and Chingleput. The former place they
held to maintain their control over the southern provinces,
the latter to serve as a point d'appui for a small army of
observation or fljdng column, which was to act in the rear of
the besiegers, to harass the forces engaged in the siege by rapid
and unexpected attacks from all quarters of the compass, and
to intercept, if possible, convoys from Pondicherry. Much
might be said as to Lally's wisdom or unwisdom in not seizing
Chingleput before attacking Madras, but the continual quarrels
in which he was engaged dming his stay in India have so
obscured the facts of the occm-rences in which he took part,
that it is impossible to ascertain his real reasons. On the one
^ It is probable that Ramanaik was a Hindu, but the sepoys were very
largely Muhammadans.
* Joseph Smith to Orme, 1776. Orme MSS., 62, pp. 51-54; and 72, pp.
17-20.
hand, there is no doubt that the besiegers did suffer severely
from the attacks of the Enghsh flying force. On the other
hand, Lally's own officers thought that he paid too much
attention to this force and spent too much effort in trying to
destroy it. However this may be, Chingleput was left unmo-
lested by Lally, and the Enghsh placed in it a small garrison
under Captain Achilles Preston.^ On the 23rd September,
Caillaud arrived at Negapatam with 180 Em'opeans and 50
Coffrees, and embarked for Madras. His timely arrival at the
latter place to some extent compensated for the departure of
Admiral Pocock, who was compelled in October, by the ap-
proaching monsoon, to withdraw the Enghsh squadron, and also
enabled the Council to strengthen the garrison of Chingleput.
At the same time, the Council sent word to Yusuf Khan to join
Preston with 2000 sepoys and any reinforcements he could
obtain from the pohgars and the King of Tanjore. The latter,
however, was not inchned to commit himself on the side of the
Enghsh whilst the French star remained in the ascendant.
On the 1st December, Caillaud left Madras in an open country-
boat for Tranquebar, whence he intended to pass to Tanjore to
see what he could effect by his personal influence over a man
whom he had so lately assisted in his dire necessity.
Yusuf Khan had not waited for the King of Tanjore's
decision. On the 21st November he left Trichinopoly, and
having enhsted about 100 horse on the way, arrived on the 29th
at Tiyagadrug, where he was joined by the hiladar, Krishna Kao,
with 250 horse and 1000 foot. On the 1st December he cap-
tured the small fort of Elavanasur, in which there was a French
garrison, and Krishna Eao went off with his troops to plunder.
This delayed Yusuf Khan until the 5th. On the 6th he was
joined by 200 horse, 1500 Kalians, and 250 peons sent by the
Tondaiman. On the 7th he attacked and took Tirukovilur,
and then, foUowing the track of Ki'ishna Eao, he marched
eastward, plundering and ravaging the country, which as far
^ Achilles Preston went to India on the Grantham, and was engaged by Mr.
Benjamin Robins in place of one of his assistants who had died {Letter from
Fort St. David to Court, 24th Oct., 1750, para. 56). The Directors approved of
this nomination in their despatch of the 13th March, and appointed Preston
as a Writer. He served as a volunteer and was wounded at Kaveripak, and
was given an ensign's commission on the 3rd Dec, 1752.
as the sea was tributary to the French. On the 15th he

appeared at Vilhanur, and came in sight of Pondicht.'rry, causing
so much terror that the people from all sides crowded into that
city for protection. On the 18th he out the mound of the great
tank Valdavur so as to flood the country and ruin the culti-
at
vation. He was now right across Lally's direct communication
with Pondicherry, and so dreadful was the devastation he
effected that Lally threatened Mr. Pigot to retahate by putting
men, women, and children to the sword in the territory of
Madras a threat which, to his credit, he did not carry out.^
;
On the 21st Krishna Rao returned to Tiyagadrug with his men,

so that Yusuf KJaan, who had received a reinforcement of 300
Tanjore horse (not sent by the King of Tanjore, but levied with
his permission by Yusuf Khan's agents), was able to continue
his march. On the 25th he arrived at Chingleput, having
ravaged the whole country on his way, and joined Captain
Preston. His force consisted of 1500 sepoys, of whom only
about 700 were good, and 2000 horse, absolutely untrust-
worthy in the field but admirably adapted for plunder and
ravage.
Lally had commenced the siege of Madras on the 12th
December, having taken up his quarters in Mr. Pigot 's country
house, which, in accordance with the mutual courtesy shown
by the officers and officials of the two countries to each other,
Mr. Pigot had left fully furnished for the convenience of the
besieging general. ^ The approach of Yusuf Khan and his
marauding force made clear the danger to which any convoys
^" It was to Mr. Pigot himself and to Major Caillaud that I complained
of the unheard-of cruelties which their black troops committed even to the
gates of Pondicherry all the answer I could obtain was that they were black
;
troops and it could not be prevented " (Letter from Lally to Admiral Steevens.
Mil. Cons., 18th June, 1760, p. 565). Later on Lally allowed much damage to
be done by his troops, especially in the Black Town (i.e. the native portion of
Madras), but at the beginning of his campaign he showed great moderation.
Thus the 1759 Re-port of the S.P.C.K. says that on the capture of Fort St. David,
when, in conformity with orders from France, Lally destroyed everything else
in the place, he spared the House of the Protestant Mission. In the London
Chronicle, July 23-25, 1761, it is mentioned that the Danish missionary, Mr.
Hutteman, visiting Cuddalore after the fall of Pondicherry, found the church
and houses of the English Mission " in good repair."
* Memoires de la guerre de Lally by the Vicomte de Fumel. Orme MSS.,
India, XIV. p. 3864.
—

by land from Pondicheny would be exposed. Accordingly at
the end of the month Lally seized the Dutch settlement at
Sadras, which is on the sea, only forty-two miles south of Madras,
and therefore a very suitable place for unloading stores and
provisions from Pondicherry. Almost at the same time as
Lally decided to take Sadras, the English at Madras sent their
ladies to the same town, in order that they might escape the
inconveniences of the siege. Arriving after its seizm-e by the
French, they were made prisoners, but allowed to live where
they pleased, and were poHtely assured by the French Com-
mandant, M. de Maudave, that they should be warned if any
danger arose of fighting taking place.
On Yusuf Khan immediately sent
arriving at Chingleput,
his horse, now about 1000
number, to ravage and destroy the
in
country about Conjeeveram, from w^hich place the besiegers
drew both money and provisions. On the 27th, however, he
received orders fi'om Mr. Pigot to attempt the surprise of the
French troops at St. Thome, ^ in conjunction with a sally from
the garrison :
" Our people, both horse and foot, Europeans and Sepoys, shall
wear a green branch in their hat or turban, let yours do the same." ^
Captain Preston, according to the original intention of the

Council,had been ordered to hold Chingleput,^ but later on he
had been instructed to leave the garrison under a subaltern and
to take commandof the army of observation, which now con-
sisted of Yusuf Khan's men and some 80 Europeans and 600
sepoys of his o-v\Ta. His exact relation to Yusuf Khan is not
clear, but apparently Preston assumed command when the whole
force was acting together, though the two corps remained
distinct * and the two officers communicated with Mr. Pigot and
received his orders independently. On this occasion Preston
considered the attack on St. Thome to be so dangerous that
^ On the sea four miles south of Madras, now a suburb of that town.
2 Orme MSS., 278, p. 17.
3 In a letter dated the 14th Nov., 1758, Mr. Pigot mentions to Preston that
he has sent bim a Union flag. Orme MSS., 278, p. 8.

* " It having been agreed, in order to prevent jealousies as well as confusion,
that the two commands should move and encamp in separate bodies." Orme,
History, III. 407.
he ought to take part in it himself. On the 29th he and

Yusuf Khan arrived in full force at the Mount, ^ which is situated
inland some eight miles to the south of Madras, where instead
of surprising the French they were very nearly surprised them-
selves, on the morning of the 30th, by a force of 500 Europeans,
600 sepoys, and 800 black horse, under M. de Soupire.^ The
French superiority in Europeans ought to have given them a
decisive advantage, but apparently finding that they had failed
in making a surprise and that the defence was stronger than they
had anticipated, they retreated at 11 o'clock with the loss of
two guns and 15 Europeans killed. This action, whilst it clearly
illustrated the worthlessness of the native cavalry on both sides,
was of happy augury for the future of Preston's and Yusuf
Khan's httle force. Its result so much aimoyed Lally that he
postponed the opening of some fresh batteries from the 1st to
the •2nd January whilst he made dispositions to cope with the
new danger. In fact, weak as were Preston and Yusuf Khan,
their presence kept the French army every night on the alert,
and the French soldiers " could not get a moment's rest." 3
The French, after their repulse at the Mount, retired
on St. Thome, which Soupire knew to be the English
objective, whilst Preston and Yusuf Khan marched on the
31st a couple of miles east to the village of Tiruvamiyur,
to intercept a convoy which the French were expecting from
Pondicherry. Tii'uvamiyur * is by
situated in the angle formed
the St. Thome river and the
and in this angle and close
sea,
to the bar at the mouth of the river Yusuf Khan's men were
encamped, whilst those of Preston were placed on the south of
the village to watch for the approaching convoy. Neither of
these officers expected an attack from St. Thome, but Soupire
with 650 Europeans, horse and foot, crossed the bar at 3 o'clock
in the morning of the 1st January, 1759, and falling suddenly
on the camp of Yusuf Khan threw it into utter confusion.
1 Thomas' Mount.
St.
" Orme, History, II. 401.
' Recueil des Lettres par Messieurs de Leyrit et de Lally,
p. 202.
* The description of the fight would seem to apply to the village
of Urur
rather than to that of Tiruvamiyur, but the site of the latter may have been
shifted.
G
Yusuf Khan himself barely managing to escape by the back
of his tent, in which he left his pay-chest behind him. The
French, thinking their victory complete, dispersed to collect the
plunder, and were suddenly surprised by the field-pieces of
Preston's detachment opening upon them. Preston, having
been alarmed by the firing, had advanced under cover of the
village, and being supported by as many of Yusuf Khan's men
as he had been able to rally, opened such a heavy fire of grape
and musketry on the French that they were unable to form their
ranks, and at last fled in confusion, leaving 36 Europeans dead
on the field. Yusuf Khan found his pay-chest untouched, but
of his whole force there mustered next morning only 700 men.^
Of the rest all who had escaped aUve, including the market
people and the whole train of provisions, had fled without halting
to Chingleput. Preston and Yusuf Khan, therefore, perforce
followed the fugitives as far as Vendalur, where they arrived
on the 3rd January and found a small supply of prodsions.^
Here they received fresh orders from Mr. Pigot to return
towards Madras to harass the besiegers but the fugitives at
;
— —
Chingleput especially the horse complaining bitterly of the
loss of the plunder they had collected and, saying that they had
not enlisted to fight against Europeans, would listen to no per-
suasions, so that Preston and Yusuf Khan had again to follow
them to Chingleput, where they arrived on the 6th. Thinking
it wise to humour his men, Preston now led them into the
country round Conjeeveram, which he permitted them to

plunder, but, when on the 13th he ordered a march towards
Madras, all Yusuf Klian's horse and Kalians deserted in a body.
^ Apparently Preston complained to Caillaud somewhat bitterly of the
behaviour of the sepoys after Tiruvamiyur, for on the 20th January Caillaud
wrote from Trichinopoly (Orwie MSS., 27S, p. 26) :
—
" I never depended upon
sepoys, yet they sometimes by chance behave tolerably, but oftener by choice
very ill. All the service I expect from them according to Hudibras is That '
they who fnght and run away, may live to fight another day.' " This was, of
course, in reference to the so-called sepoys who had received European arms
but had not been subjected to European discipline. In a letter from Preston
himself (Call's Diary, 2nd Jan., Orme MSS., 224), Preston says that the
Trichinopoly sepoys made a brave defence at first, though they gave way after-
wards, and Mr. Pigot in a letter to Preston dated 3rd Jan., 1759, says, " The
behaviour of the sepoys is also to be commended for making so vigorous an oppo-
sition against so strong a detachment of the enemy." {Orme MSS., 278, p. 20.)
2 Call to Orme, 22nd Sept., 1776. Orme MSS., 62, pp. 87, 88.
—
Without horse Preston could not hope to effect anything

material, so hemarched towards Arcot, where he heard there
were some bodies of mercenary cavalry, who, he thought, might
be induced to take service with him.
Near Arcot, they found Abdul Wahab, the Nawab's brother,
who at this time was in alliance with the French, but who, on
his mother's representation of the miserable condition into
which the Nawab's affairs had fallen, joined Preston with
1000 horse. Five hundred Moorish and 600 Marat ha cavalry
were also engaged, and on the 26th January a detachment sent
by Yusuf Khan to Punamallu^ captured 3000 sheep and oxen,
which had been collected for the French. On the 27th they
marched to Trimliwash ^ (? Tirumalavasu) and Yusuf Khan,
riding with a party to Maskelyne's garden, two miles to the
north-west of Madras,^ where most of the oxen belonging to the
French army were kept, put the guard to flight and carried off
the cattle. Lally had good reason to say of Preston's and Yusuf
Khan's men that " they were hke the flies, no sooner beat off
from one part but they came to another." * To inform Mr. Pigot
of his success, Yusuf Khan fired a number of huts, and on the 29th
wrote to inform him that he was returning towards the south.
For some time Mr. Pigot had been urging Preston and Yusuf
Khan to force their way into Madras, and Preston, though he
disapproved of this apparently useless movement, prepared to
obey. On the 2nd February he started, intending to cut his
way through the enemy at Vepery ^ and thence on to St. Thome.
Lally, whose cavalry had been constantly on the alert to meet

the raiding parties of Preston and Yusuf Khan, being informed
of the intended march, determined this time to deal with them
in person. Bussy says ^ :
" It was the garrison of Chingleput which worried us, joined by
^ Thirteen miles west-south-west of Madras.

^ Twelve miles to the north-west of Madras. Orme, History, III. 425.
2 " Ground in the angle west of the present Perambore Barracks road and
north of Pursewaukum high-road is still called Maskelyne-tottam (Love,

Vestiges of Old Madras, II. 463).
* Cambridge's Account
of the War in India, p. 147.
* Now part of Madras.
^ Note to Lally's letter to De Leyrit, 14th Feb., 1769. Letters of M. Bussy,

p. 36, note 2, appended to Memoire four le Sieur de Bussy, Paris, 1764.
some natives from the soutli,i the whole comprising from sixty to
eighty Europeans, two thousand five hundred sepoys, fifteen hundred
bad black cavalry and four gxms, commanded by one Preston, an
infantry captain in the Company's service. M. Lally himself
marched agaiast this force, to the great astonishment of the natives
and in spite of my representations. He had nearly six hundred
Europeans, the elite of his army, more than three thousand sepoys
and two thousand black horse. He was beaten and returned, accus-
ing, according to his custom, his o£&cers of cowardice."
The English account s,^ however, state that Lally had only
300 Europeans and 500 sepoys, that he was unable to induce
Preston to advance from the strong position he had taken up
behind a morass, and that, after some indecisive fighting, Lally
withdrew to Vepery, and Preston, owing to lack of provisions,
to TrimHwash. Soon after Preston, seeing that he could
not force his way through the French, marched round
them and arrived at the ]\Iount on the 5th February. The
same day the Governor and the Committee ^ which managed
the defence of Madras resolved to reward Abdul Wahab and
Yusuf Khan for their recent services. To Yusuf Khan they
sent an amethyst ring set round with diamonds. The
Council's presents were despatched by Captain Vasserot, who
made his way out of the town with 10 European troopers, each
of whom carried a bag of a thousand pagodas at his saddle.*
On the 7th February Major Caillaud arrived at the Mount.
His visit to Tanjore had been practically fruitless, and all the
reinforcements he brought were about 400 horse and three com-
panies of sepoys but as senior officer he took command of all the
;
troops with Preston, Yusuf Khan, and Abdul Wahab. On the

morning of the 9th ^ he was attacked by Brigadier- General
Michael Lally (a relative of the General) with a largely superior
force but though his native cavalry behaved in such a cowardly
;
manner that Caillaud, whose own horse was shot under him,^
^ the force under Yusuf Khan.
i.e.
2 Orme, History, III. 430.
3 See Orme, History, III. 388.
* Transactions during the siege of Fort St. George. Madras Becords, Public
Dept. Sundry Book, No. 13.
6 Orme, History, III. 443.
8 Caillaud to Orme, 28th June, 1778. Orirte MSS., 72, p. 60. In this battle
—
only narrowly escaped death or capture, he had posted his men

so well and the sepoys with Yusuf Khan fought with so much
steadiness, that every attack made by the French was repulsed,
and about five o'clock in the afternoon they retired when the
English had nearly come to their last cartridge. Caillaud
immediately withdrew to Chingleput to renew his supply of
ammunition and to find his fugitive cavalry.
Caillaud had, on his first arrival, represented to Mr. Pigot
the uselessness of attempting to enter Madras, and recommended
that he should be allowed to continue to harass the besiegers.^
For this purpose he proposed to attack Sadras, and having
received some money and ammunition proceeded to invest that
place. It has been said above that the English ladies from
Madras had taken refuge at Sadras, and had been promised
warning of any approaching fighting by the French commander,
but Caillaud' s movements did not allow of his fulfilhng his
promise, as appears from the following letter from Mrs.
Vansittart ^ to her husband :
" My dear Mr. Van,

" I have just received your letterby Count d'Estaign,^
wliichyou must believe afforded me real satisfaction. We last
Sunday heard the siege was raised, to our unspeakable joy the treat-
;
ment we having met with by the orders of Mr. Lally being most
unhappy.^ We frequently desired leave to go to some other place,
the French troopers did not charge Caillaud's native horse, but advancing at
a trot suddenly halted and fired their carbines, which quickly put Caillaud's
men to flight. When Orme objected that this was not the usual practice of
the French cavalry, Caillaud replied (ibid., p. 59) that European cavalry had no
chance against native cavalry d Varme blanche, and hence this manoeuvre.
See also pp. 187 and 189 (n.) below.
^ CaUlaud to Pigot, 8th Feb., 1759. Appended to Transactions during the
Siege of Fort Saint Oeorge. Public Deft. Sundry Book, No. 13.
2 Orme MSS., 52,
pp. 169-172. Mr. Vansittart was afterwards Governor
of Bengal.
3 Captured by the English in Draper's sally of the 14th December, and
subsequently released on parole.

* " Lally 's behaviour has savoured more of Galway than Paris. He has
detained and made women prisoners. His messages were rude and ill-bred.
He has basely burnt the Governor's and Colonel Lawrence's country houses and
"
sent the doors and window-frames to Pondicherry. In short I can't pity them
[i.e. the French] " as one might a generous enemy." Letter from Col. Draper,
18th Feb., 1759. Brit. Mus. Addl. MS., 35893, f. 207.
but were always refused. The day Major Caillaud came to this
place we had no notice given us, as we were before promised, till the
fort began to fire, upon which we, to save our lives, run {sic) to the
house of the other ladies, when a soldier with a drawn sword came to
us and told us we must go into the fort, which unhandsome message
we absolutely refused. The gates were then shut and we exposed
to the fire more than half an hour, after which
of both partys for
there was a and an officer with a guard of sepoys came to us.
lull
We told him we would not go upon which the Commandant came
;
into the house with a boy with two pistols, and as I talked French
was desired by my Mama ^ to speak to him. I asked him what his
business was with us. He answered me to carry us into the fort.
I told him that, as they had not kept their word but let us be so
exposed to the fire for so long a time, that we were resolved to see
it out and would not go into the fort. He then told me he came
with the orders of Count de Maudave and that we must go upon :
which I said to him What, are we your prisoners 1

'
He told [me]'
that signified nothing, but that if we did not come along, their
sepoys would come in the night and plunder every one of us and
cut our throats, upon which I called to the ladies and told them
there was no time to be lost, and as we went in there was firing very
near us, I have a great deal to say when I see you, which God
grant may be soon, as we are now out of the fort and are imder
apprehensions every night of having alarms. I have desired Count
d'Estaign to use his interest for our liberty,who has assured me he
will do the utmost of his power. We have been told that we are
prisoners and must not stir without the leave of Mr. Lally, I will
write to you for palankeens when we receive the happy news, but
desire you will not think of coming to meet me for very good reasons.
We are all well and the children well recovered of the measles. We
all join in hearty wishes for your welfare and the rest of our friends,
especially our noble governor.
" I remain ever my dear Mr. Van's most sincerely obedient and
afiect.
" Emelia Vaxsittaet.
" Sadras, Feb. 24th, 1758."' *
Mr. Vansittart forwarded this letter to Clive ^ in Bengal

that he might show the French ladies of Chandemagore how
^ Mrs. Morse, wife of Nicholas Morse who surrendered Madras to Labour-
donnais in 1746. Love's Vestiges of Old Madras, II. 336.

2 i.e. 1759.
3 Malcolm, Life of Robert Lord Clive, II. 51 (n.).
—
muoh was the treatment they received from the Enghsh

better
officers, but doubtful whether any English officer could have
it is
rivalled the tact with which the Commandant persuaded Mrs.

Vansittart that it would be wiser to go into the fort than to
persist in being killed outside.
Mrs. Vansittart's letter shows that the siege was over.
On the 17th, finding that the British squadron had returned
and that his chance of taking Madras was lost, Lally raised the
siege and returned to Pondicherry without making any attempt
en route upon Chingleput, to which place Caillaud had hurriedly
sent Yusuf Khan with 1200 sepoys to reinforce the garrison.
Much has been said derogatory to Lally because he failed
to take Madras, and his conduct was very unfavourably com-
pared with that of Mr. Pigot,i but in spite of all that has been
said by his enemies it appears very probable that he had at-
tempted the impossible. It will be remembered that Caillaud
arrived at the Mount on the 7th February, and that Lally
raised the siege on the 17th. On the 3rd January Colonel
Francis Forde wrote from Eajahmundry to Chve as follows :
" I believe Mr. Lally will find work enough on his hands before
he gets into Madras. I must own I have no notion of 3000 men
(allowing he has so many) taking such a place as Madras with a
garrison of 1500 men at least besides sepoys, who are very good behind
walls. The affair of the 14th December will convince him he has some
of the best soldiers in India to deal with, and if the Nellore Subadar
arrives in time with the sepoys from Trichiaopoly and Caillaud gets
a body of Tanjore horse which he is sent to solicit, the French will
be so harassed that they will not be able to continue the siege six
2
days."
^ " Such was, Sir, the famous siege of Madras, in which two men, by
behaviour the most opposite, immortalized themselves ; the French general by
failing to take a town owing to his unwillingness to learn anything from the
experience of others, and the English merchant by saving the same with a
courage and prudence worthy of the highest praise." Memoire-i de la guerre de
Lally, by the Vicomte de Fumel. Orme MSS., XIV. pp. 3883-4.
* Orme MSS., 292,
p. 35. Admiral Pocock held the same opinion as Forde,
for in a letter to Clive, dated Negapatam, 25th May, 1759, he wrote, " Mr.
Lally's attempt against Fort St. George I never thought would succeed, con-
sidering the fortifications were made compleat, and according to all the Rules
of War the number of men he sett down with was not sufficient." Orme MSS.,
290, p. 65.
Lally's real mistake —
which the French Government
for
was very largely responsible —was
in attacking Madras with
inadequate forces. ^ This mistake ruined the finest army the
French had ever landed in India, and led naturally to the fall
of Pondicherry but, as Eyre Coote declared, ^ even that cata-
;
strophe could not have been delayed so long as it was by any one
but Lally. Probably the opinion of two such men as Forde
and Coote will outweigh anything put forward by those of his
own countrymen who wêre interested in bringing about his
ruin.^
Forde' s reference to what might be expected from the efforts
of the army judge of the value of
of observation enables us to
Yusuf Khan's services to the English dming the siege. After
all the credit due to Preston and Caillaud has been discounted,
it is evident that what most distressed Lally's army was the
constant attacks of Yusuf Khan's bands of raiders, and this

was universally acknowledged by Europeans as well as natives.*
It is, therefore, interesting to note what was the cost to the
Enghshof his assistance. On the 3rd March, 1759, the Council
sanctioned payment of his account, amounting to rupees
177,075 and pagodas 30,327, or roughly 3 lakhs of rupees,
for 1996 horse and 1425 sepoys from the 20th November, the
date when he left Trichinopoly, up to the end of February,
which works out at an average cost of about twenty-five rupees
^ Clive, writing to the Right Honble. W. Pitt from Calcutta on the 1st Jan.,
1759, says that a fresh division of French troops is reported to have arrived at
Mauritius. " I presume it must have been in consequence of this intelligence
that M. Lally took post before Madras, as I cannot think he would have been
so imprudent as to come there with a force not double that of the garrison,
were he not in expectation of a re-inforcement." Public Record Office,
Chatham Papers, Vol. XXVI.
^ Plaidoyer du comte de LaMy-Tohndal .... contre J/. Duval d^ Epremesnil,
p. 36.
^ " He was so generally hated that (if I may be allowed the expression) the
very dogs howled at him. managing
It is a convincing proof of his abilities, the
80 long and vigorous a defence in a place where he was held in universal de-
testation." Extract from a letter from a gentleman at Fort St. George, dated
1st Feb., 1761. London Chronicle, 21st-23rd July, 1761.
* " Our black army and the few Europeans which were left in Chingleput
were of great service to us by cutting off the enemy's supplies of provisions and
obliging M. Lally to make frequent detachments to oppose them." Letter
dated 7th March, 1759, from ilr. Pigot to (?) W. Pitt. Pvhlic Record Office.
Chatham Papers, Vol. XCIX. See also pp. 161 and 295 below.
THE SIEGE OF MADBAS BY LALLY 89
per man per mensem, and that including his native officers as
well as the European sergeants and gunners. ^ At the same
time, the Councilmade him a present of three pieces of red cloth
and two of velvet, ^ worth about 300 pagodas, whilst Mr. Pigot
made over to him a number of firelocks and pistols, no doubt
for distribution amongst his men. On his own part, Yusuf
Khan enhsted a number of sepoys now dismissed by Ck)uncil
on the ground of economy.^
Lally being for the moment discomfited, the first object of
the Council was naturally to recover the ground they had lost
around Madras before the siege, but Yusuf Khan's thoughts
would as naturally turn to his unfinished work in Madura and
Tinnevelly. On the 28th February he made an offer to rent
the provinces for four years, at five lakhs for the first year
and six for the remaining three, Yusuf Khan himself to pay
for the upkeep of the troops necessary for the pacification of
the provinces and the maintenance of peace and order, but not
any expenses incurred for their defence against external attack.
Unfortunately the three years' term upon which the provinces
were held by the Council from the Nawab was now nearly com-
pleted, and the Council had explained to the Nawab that as the
cost of administration had exceeded the revenue he was not
entitled to any arrears. The Nawab, however, pretended that
Yusuf Khan had received much more money than he had ever
accounted for, and was eager to resume the management of the
provinces. In March, 1759, he wrote * to Mr. Pigot protesting
in the strongest terms against Yusuf Khan being given the
rentership but before his letter was received, the Council had on
;
the 8th March accepted ^ Yusuf Khan's offer, wliich, however,
Haidar Ali paid his horsemen, who provided their own horses, 40 rupees per
^
mensem; to ordinary horsemen, sepoys and artificers he gave 10 rupees per

mensem, and to peons or irregulars 5 rupees per mensem. Orme MSS., 33,
p. 115.
- Mr. Eden Philpotts, in his American Prisoner, says Congress presented
General Stark, the conqueror of Burgoyne at Saratoga, with two ells of blue and
one of yellow cloth and six shirts of Dutch linen.
3 John Call to Dupre, 8th Aug., 1768. Orme MSS., 304, p. 5.
* Nawab to Pigot, March, 1759. /. 0. Records. Home Misc., 104. See
* Mil. Cons., 8th March, 1759. " Madura and Tinnevelly, which
have to this time been a losing estate, are now let to Yusuf Khan for one year,
they had limited to a term of one year only, dating from the
nth July, 1759 his accomits up to that date were to be made
;
up, and if any balance existed it was to be remitted to Madras.

The Nawab was at the same time requested to provide for
Mahfuz Khan in some other part of his possessions. He
complained that Yusuf Khan never make up his accounts,
did
but it is pretty certain that whatever money had been paid
by Yusuf Khan had been remitted to Madras, and there is
nothing in the records of the Council to show that Yusuf Khan
had failed to satisfy its demands. ^ The Nawab was so much
—
worried by this affair that he fell ill according to Orme,^
he was just recovering from the jaundice ^nevertheless the —
Council decided that it was too late to alter their arrangements,
and that Yusuf Khan should return to Madura as soon as his
services could be spared by the army.
The English army had taken the field under Lawrence on
the 6th March. On the 18th he arrived near Conjeeveram.
Here Yusuf Khan, as usual riding in advance, managed to
overtake a small body of French horse, which he, ha\dng the
superiority in numbers, promptly attacked and put to flight
with the loss of one of their officers.^ Shortly after Lawrence
was compelled by ill health to resign the command, and Colonel
Draper for the same reason being unable to accept it, he was
succeeded by Major Brereton, Major Caillaud holding the dis-
tinct command of the Company's troops. Lawrence returned to
Madras, and on the 9th April ^ resigned the Company's service in
order to go home for a time to England. The same day Major
Brereton was ordered to reHeve Yusuf Khan as soon as possible.
commencing July 1759, to July 1760, for rupees 500,000, he to bear all expenses
and remit the said sum nett to the Company notwithstanding all the troubles
of the Nawab' s brother and the poligars. Could they be reduced these provinces
would be worth twice as much." Letter to Court, 28th July, 1759, para. 10.
^ " In paragraph 23rd of our Select Committee's address to the Secret
Committee dated 5th Oct. last, mention is made of the accounts of Madura
and Tinnevelly transmitted by Yusuf Khan and the former renter, Tittarappa
Mudali. These accounts have undergone a thorough examination of our Com-
mittee of Accounts, whose reports with the accounts current annexed are
transmitted in our Book packet." Ibid., para. 12.
- History, III. 465.
3 Lawrence to Council, 19th March, 1759. Mil. Cam., 22nd March, 1759.
* Mil. Cons., 9th April, 1759, p. 109.
2
The advance of the English had caused the French to retire

from Conjeeveram, in which they had left a garrison under a
partisan named Muzaffar Beg, who had once been in the
Enghsh service, but being refused an increase of pay,^ which
he had impudently demanded when Lally was approaching
Madras, had gone over to the French. Negotiations for sur-
render proving fruitless, Brereton on the 16th April attempted
to storm the Pagoda, the Europeans under Caillaud attacking
^
the main gateway whilst the sepoys under Lieutenant Airey
and Yusuf Khan cHmbed the opposite wall. The main attack
had very nearly failed, almost all the European officers being
wounded, when Airey and Yusuf Khan made their appearance
in the rear of the defenders. The gateway was then carried,
and many of the garrison were killed. Muzaffar Beg, who had
hidden in one of the shrines, gave himself up, but as he was being
led to the camp he was met and recognized by Yusuf Khan,
who with a single stroke of his sword nearly severed his head
fiom his body, exclaiming, " These are the terms to be kept
with a traitor." Such is the account of Muzaffar Beg's death
as given by Orme. In his report to the Council Major Brereton
said simply that Muzaffar Beg was killed whilst attempting to
escape; so even if he fell by the hand of Yusuf Khan, the
latter can only be said to have refused him quarter —
an act not
unjustifiable in the heat of action.
On the 25th April Major Brereton allowed Yusuf Khan
to start for Madura, for news had arrived that the Httle garrison
in Palamcotta * was confined to the fort by Mahfuz Khan and
the Puhdevar, and speedy help was necessary if the whole of
Tinnevelly were not to be lost. It was decided in a Council
of field officers that Yusuf Khan should march to Trichinopoly
1 From Council's letters to Preston of the 14th and 19th Nov., 1758, it
appears that he demanded twice the usual pay. Orme 3ISS., 278, pp. 8, 9.
2 Wilson {Madras Army, I. 186 (n.)) says Airey commanded the 5th N.I.
at the siege of Madura, but he was commandant at Wandiwash in March, 1764.

Mil. Cons.
3 Orme, History, III. 472. Brereton to Council, 16th April, Mil. Cons.,
20th April, 1759.
* Orme (History, III. 467-8) mentions that the garrison was so reduced that
they had to apply for help to the English at Anjengo, and that it was only
on the credit of letters sent by Yusuf Khan that they were able to obtain money
with which to purchase ammunition.
—

with the Tanjore troops and those of the Tondaiman via
Vicravandi and Tiruvadi in order to assist Krishna Eao to
plunder the French districts on the way. Yusuf Khan made no
opposition to this proposal in the Council itself, but afterwards
represented to Major Brereton the probability that objections
would be made by the Tanjore and Tondaiman troops, who would
run the risk of losing the plunder which they had already
acquired. Brereton, not reahzing the difficulty which Yusuf
Khan would have had in stating these reasons openly, refused to
cancel the order, and Yusuf Khan said no more on the subject.
The party started on the 26th, Yusuf Khan having six
companies of sepoys, sixty of the horse and six of the Euro-
pean gunners he had brought with him. The Tanjoreans
numbered three hundred horse and the Tondaiman' s troops
two hundred and fifty, with eleven hundred Kalians. After
the first day's march the troops of Tanjore and Tondaiman
refused to run the risk of marching through the territory of the
French, and declared they would proceed by a safer route to
the west Yusuf Khan might accompany them or not as he chose.
;
Impatient to reach his destination,^ Yusuf Khan made them

put their refusal in waiting, and agreed to accompany them
rather than break up the force. Even so these people would
only accompany him as far as Tiyagadrug, and when he reached
Trichinopoly on the 14th May
he had beside his own men only
fifty of his alHes ; home with their booty.
the rest had gone off
Meanwhile Brereton, who had been informed immediately by
messengers of Yusuf Khan's change of route, was much in-
censed and wrote to Council :
" This proceeding of

Yusuf Khan is so manifest a contempt of
orders that had not been in consideration of his services to the
if it
Company and those so lately, I would have sent orders to the com-
manding officer at Trichinopoly to put him in arrest. But I leave
the ailair to you, gentlemen only give me leave to say that for
;
your own sakes, you should require a submission from him, for I
apprehend he will soon be too great to remain a servant of the
1 " Yusuf Khan, impatient to reach his destination, yielded to, if he did not
suggest, their repugnance, and consented to go the way they chose." Orme,
History, III. 496. When Orme wrote this (1778) he was much under the
influence of General Richard Smith, who always disliked Yusuf Khan.
Company. Besides, I can expect but little respect from the country
powers if your servants are deficient in their parts." *
On the receipt of this letter Council called upon Yusuf

Khan for an explanation, which was satisfactorily furnished ^ ;
but the affair was unfortunate, and no doubt rankled in the

mind Yusuf Khan, who must have rcahzed that the officers
of
who had known him well were gradually disappearing from the
country, and that the now men who were taking their places
were, at the best, more liable to be influenced by the
insinuations of his enemies. This was probably one of the
reasons why later on he refused to come to Madras to answer
the charges brought against him.
Yusuf Khan stayed only two days at Trichinopoly, and by
a forced march reached Madura on the 20th May. The short-
ness of his stay and the rapidity of his march may possibly be
accounted for by a quarrel with the Nawab wliich appears to
have taken place at this time. Of this we have only the
account given by the Nawab, who said in a letter to Council,
dated the 30th January, 1770,^ that on one occasion when he
was lying ill at Trichinopoly he happened to be alone with
Captain Joseph Smith when Yusuf Khan, coming in, drew his
sword upon him, and would have killed him but for Smith's
interposition. A native hfe of the Nawab * gives the further
detail that Yusuf Kian had come with a large retinue to inquire
1 Letter dated 30th April. Cons., 3rd May, 1759.

Mil. Council
resolved, " We are much surprised thatYusuf Khan should have gone to the
southward by a different route than that resolved upon at a consultation of
Field Officers, as it is the first instance he has given of his disobedience of orders."
* Yusuf Khan to Council, received 18th June, 1759. Mil. Country Corre-
spondence, VII. No. 124.
3 See Appendix V., p. 281.
•*
Life of the Walajah. Wilson''s Madras Army, Vol. I., Appendix E, p. 387.
"It is evident from H.H.'s despatch that when His Highness, the Lord of
Wealth and Country, was located at Trichinopoly and confined to bed owing
to ill health, and being deprived of rest and sleep was seated one day on his
cot by himself with only one attendant waiting upon him with folded arms, and
General Smith allowed an audience, Muhammad Yusuf Khan, apparently with
a view of enquiring into H.H.'s health accompanied with an imposing retinue
called on H.H. and observing the Royal Court void of guards and doorkeepers
unsheathed his sword but when the eyes of that villain fell on General Smith
;
he was overawed by the majestic appearance of that lion of the forest of war.
He began to tremble and dropped the sword from his hand."
after the Nawab's health, and found the court empty of its
usual guards. The inference is that Yusuf Khan thought he
had found a suitable opportunity for revenging himself upon
the Nawab ;but the fact that Joseph Smith never reported
the affair to the Madras Council, as would have been his duty
had Yusuf Khan really attempted to kill the Nawab, shows
that either the whole story is false or that the quarrel was a
trifling one,^ which the Nawab afterwards exaggerated when
there was no possibility of disproving his statements.
^ Yusuf Khan mentions (Appendix I., p. 244) that on coming to Triohino-
poly after the siege of Madras the Nawab deprived him of certain allowances
he had always received from the Companj', "which vexed me verj' much."
CHAPTER VIII
YUSUF KHAN AS GOVERNOR
YusuF Khan was now the acknowledged ruler of Madura and

Tinnevelly, though only for a Hrnited period and as the
nominee of the Madras Council holding office contrary to the
wish of the Nawab. The exact conditions of his appointment
are nowhere stated, but there is little doubt that, subject to
the payment of the rent, he was given absolute discretion in
aU matters civil and military. No questions were asked as
to the number of his troops or the pay he gave them. That they
were, in fact, as Orme had suggested to Mr. Payne, ^ in the service
of Yusuf Khan and not in that of the Company is practically
proved by the fact that after the fall of Yusuf Khan, none
of his followers were punished by the Nawab. Such were Yusuf
Khan's ability and the resources of the country that, in provinces
which had hitherto been a source of loss instead of revenue, ^ he
was not only able to remit his rent regularly and in full, but in
three short years to create and equip a force with which he was
prepared, not without some chance of success, to bid defiance
to the combined forces of the Nawab and the Company nor ;
does it appear that, in amassing the wealth required for his

enterprise, he was guilty of tyranny or oppression,^ for his
1 Orme to Mr. John Payne, 4th July, 1757. Orme MSS., 28, pp. 170-1.
Appendix V., p. 271. When, in 1756, the Council had proposed to recall
Yusuf Khan, they wrote {3Iil. Conn., 16 Dec.) to Caillaud that the troops left
—
with Mudali were to be absolutely in his service: "The Svbadars, Jemadars,
etc.. Officers and Seapoys being first made acquainted that they are from that
time to look upon Mtidali as their only paymaster, and that the Company is
no wise answerable for their pay while they are in hi.s service, but whenever
he sees occasion to discharge them, as many as can produce his certificate of
good behaviour shall be received into the Company's service again."
* Mil. Letter to Court, 28th July, 1759, para. 10, Madras Records,
^ See, however, the opinion of Mr. J. Sullivan. Appendix V., p. 300*
— —

people stood by him to the end and held his memory in grateful
recollection, and their constant prayer to the Nawab and the
EngHsh was for a return to his methods of government.
When he arrived in Madura on the 20th May, 1759, he
found the whole country relapsed into confusion, and the
garrisons of Madura and Palamcotta practically beleaguered
in the towns from which they were supposed to control the
country. It was no time to draw up a report, such as Mr.
Pigot required, on the state of the provinces and the possibilities
of future revenue, nor, though its intended preparation is
frequently referred to,^ is this report in the Eecords. His first
task was to restore order. He began with the Nad Kalians
in the immediate neighbourhood of Madura, as soon as he
had organized some kind of a mihtary force. From
Conjeeveram he had brought six companies of sepoys and
sixty horse. At Madura he was joined by three thousand
men, horse, Kalians, and sepoys, sent him by the Tondaiman
and the two Mara van poligars, with whom he had always been
upon friendly terms. This force was not of much military
value, and Yusuf Khan was so destitute of mihtary stores
that he had to make his own gunpowder and to purchase
firearms and guns from the Dutch at Negapatam and the Danes
at Tranquebar —
a business connection which was begun at
the suggestion of the Council, ^ but later on formed a subject of
complaint when used against the Enghsh themselves. With
took in hand the Nad KaUans, and on
this force, howêver, he
the 6th July ^ reported to the Council :
" I remained so long in Madura in order to punish the Nad

Kalians and to enquire into the accounts. Now the afiairs of the
Kalians are finished in so efiectual a manner that they will commit
no manner of disturbance in the Sarkar's country in future."
Orme * explains how this business was finished :
" As all of the troops with Yusuf Khan were fit for hostilities
against such an enemy, he resolved to employ them in attacking
1 e.g.in his letter of the 6th July. Country Correspondence, 1759, No. 140.
"
Pigot to Yusuf Khan, 6th Sept., 1759. Country CorrespondeTice.
3 Country Correspondence, 1759.
* History, III. 562.
——
YUSUF KHAN AS GOVERNOR 97
were forming to better discipline. He

their haunts, whilst his levies
however attended the service himself, which appeared more like one
of the general huntings peculiar to Asia than a military expedition.
Avenues were cut into the forest, and the inhabitants shot as they
fled ;but some were reserved to be released or executed on
occasion."
M. Marchand ^ gives other details of Yusuf Khan's

methods :
" Scarcely had he taken over the administration of Madura when,

having carefully considered the troubles which agitated the pro-
vince, he resolved to arrest them at their very source by an example
of severity which would terrify every malefactor. Combining
prudence with courage, he calculated that the milder the example
the less would be the impression produced by it. He attacked
therefore first the least powerful of the rebel poligars, hoping that
his weakness would hasten both his defeat and the promptitude of
the chastisement by which he wished to intimidate the other rebels.
Success justified his expectations. The poligar upon whom he fell
could not resist the impetuosity of his attack and offered to capitulate
and submit, but Yusuf Khan forced him to surrender at discretion,
and then hanged him as well as five hundred of his Kalians who had
fought for him. These he executed in a single day. This cruel
instance of severity frightened the boldest. It is true they did not
all submit, but they kept quiet and the province was pacified for
^
the time."
By such means Yusuf Khan quickly forced the Nad

Kalians
" to beg quarter and to pay cattle, their only money, mostly collected
by theft, which with the others he procured, to the amount of 1000
beeves and 2000 sheep, were sent to Trichinopoly, from whence they
were forwarded at different times by Captain Joseph Smith to the
sea-coast for the use of the squadron, and enabled them to keep the
^ Precis Historique, p. 8.
This extract from Marchand's Precis appears to refer rather to 1757 than
*
to 1759, but the story of the massacre of the surrendered Kalians is probably
only a rechauffe of the storm of Nattakottai, or, as Orme calls it, Nellicotah, in
the time of Colonel Heron, see p. 37 above. On the other hand, the Tamil
Ballad gives the site of a similar massacre as the Piratta Hill (? Tiruppuran-
kundam).
H
—

windward station without consuming their own stock of pro-
visions." 1
This payment was, however, only in the nature of a fine

for past misconduct, or perhaps merely an act of restitution,
for Yusuf Khan did not impose rent upon a people who must
have stolen from others that with which the rent was to be
paid. After having erected forts at Melur and Vellalapatti
to overawe them by military force, he simply demanded that
they should keep up the roads, discharge the duty of watchmen,
refrain from robberies, not molest those going to visit the
government's managers at Madura, and deliver up any one
who broke the agreement. ^ At the same time he is said to
have encouraged their private quarrels, teaching them to refer
these to himself as the supreme arbitrator.^
As soon as this business approached completion Yusuf
Khan sent a body of three hundred horse and seven hundred
sepoys * to relieve the garrison at Palamcotta and to ravage
the territory of the Ettaiyapm-am pohgar, and thus to prevent
the junction of the two poligar leagues the western led by —
the Pulidevar or poligar of Nelkattamsevval, and the eastern
led by Kattabomanaik, the poligar of Panjalamkurichi. On
the 2nd July he followed with 600 horse, 3000 sepoys, and 2400
men belonging to the Tondaiman and the two Maravans.
Orme says ^ :
" The muskets of his sepoys were old, infirm, of various nations and
not sufficient in number, and were supplied [i.e. supplemented] by
fowling pieces and any fuzees lie could collect."
1 Orme, History, lU. 562. The King of Tanjore, being a Hindu, not only
could not allow cattle to be sent from his country for the consumption of the
English army, but would not even permit them to pass through his country,
Yusuf Khan to Council, 6th July, 1759. Country Correspondence, 1759, No. 140.
» Col. de Beck to Council, 5th July, 1767 {Mil. Cons., 13th JuJ.y, 1767),
mentions an agreement to this effect entered into with, the KaUans bj* him
"as it has been customary in the time of Yusuf Khan."
3 Nelson, Madura Country, II. 46. India Office Map Dept., MS. B. 27, f. 2.
Sketch of the History of the Southern Divisions of the Peninsula. See Appendix
v., pp. 302, 309.
* Under " Ravanah Naick," probably the same man as Ramanaik men-
tioned p. 66 above. Yusuf Khan to Council, 3rd July, 1759. Country
6 History, III. 563.
He was also short of flints for his muskets, and had to ask
a supply from Madras, begging at the same time for a couple
of eighteen-pounders and two field-pieces of six, with a supply
of shot.
He began by the capture of Kollamkondan,^ which had
been garrisoned by the PuUdevar and the pohgar of Vadagarai,
and then sent the detachment which had been ravaging Ettaiya-
puram to Kollarpatti, half way between Madura and Tinnevelly
and about fifty miles from each. Kollarpatti was taken in
three days, and the detachment rejoined Yusuf Khan, who
marched via Gangaikondan to Tiimevelly. Here he received a
letter from Mahfuz Khan offering to quit his allies and retire
to the Camatic, provided a sufficient maintenance were allotted
him. As Yusuf Khan knew that the Council had already
proposed this arrangement to the Nawab, he gave the required
promise without waiting for formal permission, though he sent
on the letter to Madras. Mahfuz Khan's hopes of estabhshing
himself in the provinces had long been idle, but that these had
been continually buoyed up by promises from Pondicherry is
shown by the follo^\ang extract from an intercepted letter from
M. LaUy2: —
" Srirangam
is in danger of being attacked by the garrison of
Trichinopoly the English gain any advantages in the Madura

if
country. I amuse Mahfuz Khan, Prince of that country, with hopes

of a speedy succour in order to cause him to make efforts to resist
the English. ... I leave always an officer in the Madura country
to make a diversion without being obliged to send any troops
thither."
Next, to defend the rich open country to the north and west
of Tinnevelly Yusuf Khan garrisoned the fort of Uttumalai and
a post at Sorandai, which left him free to deal with the south.
This had suffered severely from the ravages of the Travan-
coreans, who had alhed themselves to Mahfuz Khan and the
pohgar leagues but it happened that the Kalians of the pohgar
;
of Vadagarai had raided the territories of Travancore, which so
* Five kos, i.e. about ten nules, from Srivilliputtur. Caldwell's Tinnevetty,
p. 102.
* Letter dated 15th March, 1758. Onne MSS., 17, p. 357.
incensed the King of that country that in August he made pro-
posals of alhance to Yusuf Khan. A meeting was arranged,
and the King, having promised his assistance against Vadagarai
and the Pulidevar, sent a force of ten thousand men, which in
September marchedto Vadagarai, whereupon the terrified poligar
abandoned his fort and fled for refuge to the Pulidevar. The
latter, who had but a short time before surprised and destroyed
at Sorandai ^ a small force under one of Yusuf Khan's of&cers,
was so impressed by his recent increase of strength, that he
wrote to the King to try, if possible, to reconcile him to the
pohgar of Vadagarai. But the King was a man of craft, like
his predecessor, Martanda Varma, of whom Sampati Rao, the
Nawab's diwan, in 1756, wrote to Caillaud ^ that " among black
men he never met vnth. so wise a one." He had not joined Yusuf
Kian merely in order to take revenge upon so small an enemy
as the pohgar of Vadagarai, but because he wished to estabHsh
his claim to the Kalakadu by its cession from the real
District
governor of the provinces. He took
the letter to Yusuf Khan,
pointed out to him that, owing to his assistance, Yusuf Khan
had already conquered much more territory than that of which
he asked the cession, and also that, if he himself assumed a
hostile attitude, it would be very difficult for Yusuf Khan
to keep order in the south. He asked, therefore, as the price
of his alUance the cession of the Kalakadu district. Yusuf
Khan was probably not much by this proposal. At
surprised
his first coming to the provinces he had been advised by
Caillaud to secure the friendship of Travancore,^ for which a
price would certainly be asked, and moreover he was not in a
position to resist the demand, for he had just received informa-
tion that the heavy guns requisitioned from Madras together with
a supply of five hundred muskets had been lost at sea, whilst
the two field-pieces, though safely landed, had been detained
by the Dutch Agent at Tuticorin. Under these circumstances
Yusuf Khan made over Kalakadu to the King on condition that
the latter should assist the Nawab and the Enghsh against aU
1 Letter received 28th Aug., 1759, from Yusuf Khan. Orme MSS., 221,
p. 207.
« Caillaud to Council, 12th Aug., 1756. Orme MSS., XII. p. 3340.
3 See p. 53 above.
—
their enemies whenever called upon to do so. He reported his

action to the Madras Council, and on the 3rd December, 1759,
they formally approved the arrangement, but the Nawab
declared that the cession of Kalakadu was the price paid by
Yusuf Khan for the King's assistance in his schemes of
independence.
On the conclusion of the alliance the Travancoreans assisted
Yusuf Khan to ravage the territory of the Pulidevar, and on the
4th December, the field-pieces having arrived from Tuticorin
and other military stores from Anjengo and Negapatam, Yusuf
Khan laid siege to Vasudevanallur, one of the strongest of the
PuHdevar's forts. Though he had a very large force, the
position of the town exposed his camp to constant attacks from
the Kalians, whilst the garrison was composed of excellent
material, for Donald Campbell tells us of the natives of this
place ^ :
" The resolution and contempt of death which they have acquired
is inconceivable. When the four guns played upon the breach,
they were repairing it very steadily with palmeira [trees] and heaps
of straw nor did the survivors seem in the least concerned for the
;
fate of their companions, some of whom every discharge from the

battery tore to pieces."
he says they were as superior to other

In another letter ^
natives of the Carnatic " as the best Europeans that ever were
in the East Indies."
Yusuf Khan's only heavy gun burst the day after it was
mounted, but he determined to risk an assault. He lost two
hundred men, and the Travancoreans about the same, but
though the enemy's loss was heavier they repulsed the assault,
and want of ammunition forced Yusuf Khan to raise the siege.
News of this failure reached Madras on the 28th January, 1760.
The Travancoreans returned to their country, and Yusuf
Khan retired to Tinnevelly.
Vasudevanallur was Yusuf Khan's only failure. The
country was fairly —
tranquil in December he had remitted two
1 Donald Campbell to Council, 20th May, 1767. Orme MSS., 77, p. 102.
» Donald Campbell to Orme, lat December, 1777. Orme MSS., 72, p. 112.
102 YVSUF KHAN: THE BEBEL COMMANDANT
lakhs of rupees to Captain Joseph Smith at Trichinopolyand —
Mahfuz Khan had, as has been mentioned, at last resolved
to throw up the game. In January he joined Yusuf Khan at
Tinnevelly, whence he was sent to the Tondaiman at Puduk-
kottai. There he stayed for some time pretending to fear
the vengeance of the Nawab, but at last came into his camp
and was forgiven. On the 22nd July he joined the army of
Colonel Eyre Coote with a body of horse. The Colonel was
by no means on good terms with the Madras Council, a
fact of which the Nawab took advantage to inform him
that that body had " from time to time compelled him to
^
quarrel with all his brothers."
At this time the Nawab was in great want of money, and on
the 7th February, 1760, the Council received a letter from Yusuf
Khan, saying he had, in accordance with their orders, sent two
lakhs of rupees to Trichinopoly as the first instalment of his
rent from Madura and Tinnevelly. On the 27th March, Council
received notice of a further instalment being on the way, and
decided to instruct Yusuf Khan to send his rent direct to Madras,
as the Nawab would not allow a penny to escape him if the
money once got into his hands. It looks, therefore, as if the
Nawab had detained the first instalment. ^ In June Yusuf Khan
sent a further remittance, which must have been much appre-
ciated by the Council in their desperate and expensive campaign
against LaUy, but they were still unable tomake up their minds
to accept Yusuf Khan's proposals for a three years' tenure of
the rentership.
In June the Council ordered Yusuf Khan to co-operate with
Captain Eichard Smith against the Mysoreans, for it was
reported that Haidar had made a secret treaty with the French,
by which they promised to assist him in the conquest of Madura
and Tinnevelly. On the other hand, Yusuf Khan wrote to say
that the Dutch were preparing an expedition which seemed to
be aimed at Tinnevelly. Captain Smith declared this was only
1 Eyre Coote's Journal, 9th May, 1760. Orme MSS., VIII. p. 1945.
* In his 20th Sept., 1762 (Appendix I., p. 243) to Mr. Pigot,
letter of the
Yusuf Khan says " When our army besieged Pondicherry I sent from hence
:
to the Nawab about two lakhs of pagodas, the rent of these countrys, as the
Nawab said he wanted them for the use of his army."
an excuse, 1 and on^ requested that Yusuf Kban should be

later
instructed to obey any orders he might send him, whilst even
Colonel Coote expressed doubts ^ as to the Dutch being in a
position to despatch so many Europeans as Yusuf Khan re-
ported. Orme, however, says ^ that some four hundred men
were landed and approached Tiimevelly, but on Yusuf Khan's
approach decamped on the 18th June without fighting. On
the other hand the Dutch Kecords mention only a small ex-
pedition of some forty-four men, sent under a Captain D. E.
Medeler to punish the natives for insults offered to the
Dutch employes. If this is correct, then Captain Smith's
suspicion was justified.
Though unable to join Captain Smith himself, Yusuf Khan
sent 300 horse, 1500 sepoys, and 3000 peons under an officer
named Shir Khan. This force reached the Dindigul district
in the middle of July. Having taken a few smaller places,
Shir Khan managed to reduce the fort of Vattila Gundu in
September, but in October his garrison was driven out. Shir
Khan, effecting a junction with them as they were retreating,
defeated the Mysorean general in a pitched battle, kilHng
him and taking all his artillery. He also made himself master
of many of the neighbouring poligarships in the Dindigul
district, and is said to have been still in possession of them at
the time of the death of Yusuf Khan, when he found it advisable
to surrender them to the Nawab.^
According to the native memoir's ^ Yusuf Khan reduced all
the poUgars, without exception, to obedience. The last
^ " Yzisuf Khan has wrote me a long story of Dutchmen coming fi'om
Batavia, 400 being landed and 1000 more expected at Tuticorin. I am not at
a loss to know what artifice gave rise to his intelligence he has requested my
;
orders, the first time he ever required any orders from hence. In consequence
of your general letter in February I have directed him to oppose all Europeans
that shall attempt to enter those districts of which he is Renter." Rich. Smith
to Council, 2-ith June, 1760. 3Iil. Cons., 9th July, 1760, p. 613.
2 Richard Smith to Council, 6th Sept., 1760. Mil. Cons., 16th Sept.,
1760, p. 793.
» Coote to Council, 1st July, 1760. Mil. Cons., 3rd July, 1760, p. 696.
See Appendix V., p. 275.
* History, III. 706.
^ Nelson, Madura Country, III. pp. 280, 290.
« Hid., III. 281.
—

apparently to submit was the Pulidevar, and as late as May,
1761, we Yusuf Khan reporting the capture of three of
find
the Pulidevar's forts. ^ M. Marchand says ^ that it took Yusuf
Khan three years to subdue this chief, but with his submission
came that of all the others. As we have seen, the Nad Kalians
paid no tribute, and the same was true of the two Maravans,
who had been practically independent since the year 1733.
Secured on the south by his alhance with Travancore, the only
military power from which Yusuf Khan was now in any danger
of attack was Mysore under the rule of the ambitious Haidar Ah.
As has been stated, Yusuf Khan's tenure of the rentership
was contrary to the wishes of the Nawab, and even his patrons
in Madras did not think it wise to incense the Nawab by
making it tenable for more than one year at a time. It was
naturally Yusuf Khan's object to make it as nearly as possible
a permanency. In March, 1760,^ he again apphed for a three
years' term. In June of the same year, when he remitted
his rent, he made an effoi-t at reconciHation with the Nawab
through Mr. Pigot, who wrote to the Nawab :
" I send you a letter I have received from Yusuf Khan, which
must satisfy you he is a good man, as the contents show that he fears,
without a friend to recommend him to you, he is ruined. He is as
good a man as Mr. Smith, ^ I will answer for it and if he wants arms
;
they are to defend your coimtry and add to your honour. If I can
procure him any he shall have them and I will answer for his being
a good servant to you." ^
The Nawab, perforce, agreed to what was practically an

order,and Yusuf Khan was allowed to continue in his post for
another year, but apparently it was on the understanding that
^ Namely, Nelkattamsevval, Vasudevanallur and Paniyur. Country

- Pricis Historique,
p. 10.
3 Mil. Cons., 27th March, 1760, p. 310.
* Captain Joseph Smith.
* Mr. Pigot to the Nawab (no date) enclosing a letter to ilr. Pigot received
9th June, in which Yusuf Khan, hearing that he was leaving Madras for
England, wrote :
—
" I beg you. Honourable Sir, to settle my affairs in good time,
for I am quite ruined and have no other friends at all." Appendix No. 17 to
Sir John Lindsay's Letter to Court dated 13th Oct., 1770. I.O. Records, Home
Misc. No. 103.
the revenue should be sent to Trichinopoly and not to Madras as

the Council had ordered. Then followed the Dutch expedition
and the despatch of a force to Dindigul. It will be remembered
that Yusuf Khan had not undertaken to pay for the expenses of
defending the country against external attack accordingly on
;
the 11th September, 1760, Council received a letter from him

saying that, owing to the expenses of the Dindigul affair, he was
unable at the time to make any remittance, and on the 30th
of the same month came another letter asking for a full receipt
for the year 1759-60. That he had paid his revenue so far is
shown indirectly by the fact that a further sum of 20,000 rupees
was demanded from him to make good the loss by exchange.^ In
October Yusuf Khan asked for orders as to the mode of pay-
ment, as the Nawab was now demanding that the rent should
be paid to him.^
On the 20th November the Council received a letter from the
Nawab, saying that Yusuf Khan was building a fort south of
the Nattam pass. As this would block the direct road from
Trichinopoly, the Council ordered Captain Eichard Smith, Com-
mandant of the garrison there, to make inquiries by a proper
person. He sent Lieutenant Matthew Home, who reported
that he could not reach the place as the pass was blocked owing
to private quarrels between the local poligars,^ a report which
the Council apparently accepted as explaining the reason of
Yusuf lOian's estabhshing a post near the pass, for nothing
further was said on the matter.
On the 17th January, 1761, Pondicherry surrendered to
Eyre Coote. The best of the French soldiers and officers were
now and all that remained to represent the interests
prisoners,
of France were the refugees in neutral settlements, and a number
of men who in various ways had escaped into the interior and
taken service with native princes.* Curiously enough, some
1 Letter dated Trichinopoly, 21st Nov., 1760, from Mr. Andrew Newton.
Mil. Cons., 4th December, 1760, p. 1054.
* Country Correspondence.
3 Mil. Cons., 24th Dec, 1760, p. 1107.
* In para. 4 of the Court's letter dated 9th December, 1762, the number
is given as 500. In Council's letter to Court, dated the 26th March, 1764,
para. 6, they put the total number of these at 1500. I.O. Records, Madras
Letters Received, I. A.
thirty French prisoners had in October, 1759, been allowed to
take service with Yusuf Khan as an alternative to the hardships
of prison hfe —an engagement which involved no dishonour, as it
was not hkely to bring them into conflict with their own country-
men.^ No one could have anticipated that these men and their
vagabond companions from the native states would form the
backbone of the force which caused the EngUsh and the Nawab
as much loss in blood and treasure as they had suffered in the
reduction of the French Settlements. ^ From what happened
later, one cannot help feeling a certain amount of amusement
in reading that the Council received congratulations from such
persons as the King of Tanjore and Yusuf Khan on the fall of
Pondicherry. Yusuf Khan for his part sent a present of tlurty-
three Venetians ^ to Mr. Pigot.*
In June, 1761, it appears that Mr. Pigot formally ordered
Yusuf Khan to pay his rent to the Nawab, and to hoist his flag,
instead of that of the Company,^ at Madura and Palamcotta,
his chief fortresses, an order which possibly he was privately
instructed to disobey, for, though he sent the money to Trichi-
nopoly, it was, as we shall soon see, to the Company's officer at
that place, and it which he lowered when

was the EngUsh flag,^
he declared his alhance with France. In August Mr. Pigot

again wrote to the Nawab begging him to confirm Yusuf Khan
in the Eentership, and to accept his offer of 9, 10, and 10 lakhs
respectively for a term of three years.' Messrs. Bourchier and
Dupre, who were with the Nawab as deputies from the Council,
1 Orme, History, III. p. 534.
* At the Euiopeans
siege of Pondicherry in 1760-61, the English loss in
between the 10th Sept., 1760, and the 16th Jan., 1761, was only 37 killed and
149 wounded. Orme MSS., 27, p. 75.
' i.e. sequins.
* Country Correspondence, Vol. IX. p. 31, Feb. 1761.
^ At Fort St. George the Company flew the Union flag from the year 1688,
but its own flag at sea was a white flag with red stripes. Fryer describes
Governor Langhorne as having a " flag with 2 Balls on a Red Field," which
Mrs. Penny (Fort St. George, p. 110) calls the Company's flag, but Colonel Love
( Vestiges of Old Madras, I. 283 and
II. 272) calls the Governor's flag. In the
second of Col. Love's instances there is a charge for dyeing the Governor's
flag or flags blue, which would show that the Governor now had the Union flag
carried before him.
® Marchand, Precis Historique, p. 18.
' See Council's estimate of the real value of the Provinces, pp. 89, 90 (n.)
above.
— — —
pressed him to accept these terms, but he demanded 12 lakhs,

which Yusuf Khan's agent refused.
Messrs. Bourchier and Dupre reported as above on the 1st
October. On the 8th the Council resolved :
" With regard to the letting, out the Tianevelly and Madura
countries Yusuf Khan hath ever proved himself a faithful servant
to the Company and has on frequent occasions manifested his
attachment to their interest. Such a person the Board would wish
to hold the management of these countries at least until the Nawab
has somewhat reduced his debt to the Company. It is therefore
agreed that he be recommended in the strongest terms to the Nawab
Madura and Tinnevelly,
as the properest person to be continued in
and at the same time to remind him that much is owing to the
conduct and good management of Yusuf Khan in bringmg these
now in. We do not mean they should
countries to the state they are
be than their real value
let for less at the same time we think it
;
necessary to desire the Nawab not to insist on such terms as Yusuf

Khan must be obliged to reject."
The same day Mr. Pigot wrote to Messrs. Bourchier and

Dupr6 to this effect, concluding his letter as follows :
" It should be as fresh in his [i.e. the Nawab's] memory as in
ours, the money and trouble it has cost us to bring the country to
what it now is, and he should at the same time remember that we owe
the merit entirely to the good conduct and good management of the
present Renter."
On the 30th October the deputies wrote that the Nawab

had lowered his demand to 11 lakhs, and on this being refused,
had ordered Yusuf KJian's vakil to go and consult his master.
They added :—
" We must say that the Nawab's reluctance to contmue Yusuf
Khan in the management of these countries seems not to arise so
much from the difference between the rent ofiered by him and that
offered by others as from some personal insults and slights which
have at times been shown him by Yusuf Khan."
This answer was considered on the 11th November, when

the Council resolved :
" Although Tittarappa Mudali's ofiers for the rent of the Madura
and Tinnevelly countries are more considerable than those of Yusuf
—

Khan, we doubt much whether they would in the end prove so
advantageous, and are therefore still of opinion that Yusuf Khan
and no other person in the present situation of afiairs should be en-
trusted with the management. The poligars in those countries, who
are ready upon every occasion to take up arms, are very powerful,
and it is well known would never submit to pay tribute were they
not kept in awe by a force which Yusuf Khan, with the large army he
maintains and the military talents which he possesses, is scarce able
to effect.These circumstances considered and for the reasons
heretofore urged we think it should be recommended to the Nawab
to continue the rent to Yusuf Khan for the present year, and not
expose us to the risk of having these countries, scarce yet settled,
again involved in troubles through the mismanagement of a Renter.
Ordered that a letter also be wrote to Yusuf Khan recommending
to him to behave himself on all occasions towards the Nawab with
the respect due to his rank and dignity."
On the 17th Mr. Pigot wrote to this effect to the Nawab

and reminded him that when they had last met he had fully
explained the necessity of this step, and that the Nawab had
then consented to appoint Yusuf Khan at a rent of 11 lakhs. The
Nawab, it will be remembered, had at first asked for 12 and
had only lowered his demand toll as a pretence at concession.
At the same time, to humour the Nawab and to show some
attention to his repeated assertions of Yusuf Khan's intention
to make himself independent, Yusuf Khan was told that he
must be prepared to receive English garrisons at Madura and
—
Palamcotta a warning which Mr. Pigot probably had no in-
tention of carrying into effect, but which must have been very
annoying to Yusuf Khan as a pubHc expression of distrust.
On the 30th November a letter was received from the
Nawab that he had been paid no revenue from either Tinnevelly
or Nellore, and the Council recorded :
"It is certain that the Nawab has not hitherto received any
money on account AVe hope
of the Tinnevelly or Nellore countries.
however he expediency of Yusuf Khan's holding the
will see the
management of the former and will accordingly continue him for
the present year, when he will immediately receive the amounts of
the kists i due to this time."
^ i.e. instalments of rent or revenue.

—
From this it appears that, as said above, Yusuf Khan had

sent his rent to the English officer at Trichinopoly and not to
the Nawab.
A happened an event which strongly
short time after there
affected the course of events in the south. The Council had
determined to enable the Nawab to pay his debts ^ to the
Company by assisting him to reduce his tributaries, and they
thought it wise to begin with the reduction of Vellore. How
Murtaza Ali foiled the Nawab's attempt to seize his capital in
1756 has been narrated already in Chapter VI., but now that
Pondicherry had fallen he had no one to play off against the
English. His reduction would be a useful lesson to all the
other tributaries of the Nawab, and as the Council wrote to
the Court of Directors ^ :
" We
have chose to begin with the Kiladar of Vellore as he is
a bad man
^ and we shall have less remorse should things be carried
to extremities an example made of him may be a means of the

:
other powers coming easily to terms."
Murtaza Ali made a good defence, holding out from the

28th September to the 18th December,^ but was then forced
to surrender and carried away prisoner to Arcot. Some of
his dependants appear to have betaken themselves to Yusuf
Khan at Madura.^ His defence, unaided by a single European,
covered, says Colonel Monson, the EngUsh with derision and
the Nawab with debts.^
^ "A detachment of the army is still in the field to support theNawab's

demands on kiladars, poligars and rajas in order to enable him pay the
to
Company the very large debt he has contracted with them." Letter from Col.
G. Monson to Lord Chatham, dated Fort
St. George, 15th April, 1762. Public
Rp.cord Office, CO. See pp. 240 (n.) and 308 below.
11, No. 22.
* Letter to Court, 2nd October, 1761, para. 17. I.O. Records, Madras
Letters Received, Vol. I. A.
* He is credited by Orme with the murder of more than one person who
stood in his way.

* Lawrence in a letter of the 31st March, 1762, says the 26th December.
PMic Record Office, CO. 11, No. 22.

^ Letter from Murtaza Ali to Yusuf Khan. Orme MSS., India, XIII.
pp. 3695-7.
* " As soon as the army appeared he came out of hia fort and
surrendered
himself and would have paid a very large sum of money to the Nawab, allowing
the superiority of the Nawab's army and saying it was impossible for him to
no YUSUF KHAN: THE BEBEL COMMANDANT
On the 9th January, 1762, j\Ir. Pigot advised the Nawab
to let Yusuf Khan have the Eentership for 9 lakhs, which it
will be remembered was Yusuf Khan's first offer, and on the
18th the Nawab's reply was received saying he had arranged
with Yusuf Khan for that sum. On the 29th the Council received
notice from Mr. Newton, Paymaster at Trichinopoly, of a re-
mittance from Yusuf Khan of nearly four lakhs of rupees, asking
how he should dispose of the same. They ordered him to
inform Yusuf Khan that " as the Madura and Tinnevelly
countries are let to rent hy the Nawah and not by us, the rents
should he faid to the Nawah."
This order he appears to have received on the 8th February,
and this final settlement of the question, though Yusuf Khan
had obtained the Eentership on his own terms as regards the
amount of the rent, placed him in the position of a servant
of the Nawab, whom he hated and distrusted. Ever since IVIr.
Pigot had assumed the governorship, the Nawab's vassals had
been taught to look to the Madras Council rather than to the
Nawab as the supreme authority in the Carnatic and, so ;
long as they satisfied such demands as were made by the

Council or with its consent, the Nawab was not allowed to
interfere with them. Accordingly the enforcement of the
order given to Yusuf Khan to pay his rent to the Nawab,
which exposed him to all the exactions and petty annoyances
inflicted by the Nawab's officials on his tributaries, was a
distinct change of poHcy, which Sir John Malcolm ^ ascribes
to Mr. Palk. For the time Yusuf Khan kept his own counsel,
but he never paid a rupee into the Nawab's treasury, and began
his preparations for rebellion.
Mr. Palk, as a matter of fact, did not replace Pigot until
the end of 1763, but Pigot was easy-going and indolent, and
therefore Palk's influence in Council was probably already
stand against the force that had taken Pondicherry. His offers were rejected,
he went back into his fort and defended it without the assistance of a single
European near three months, so that we exposed ourselves to the derision of
the natives, who had before a great opinion of the force of the English, lost a
number of men and run the Kawab more in debt to the Compan}'." Letter
dated Fort St. George, 15th April, 1762, from Colonel George Monson. Public
Record Office, CO. 77, 22.
^ Life of Robert, Lord Clive, II. 295. See Appendix V., p. 307 below.
—
very great. He was commonly reputed ^ to dislike the

military, and he knew that the Court of Directors did not
approve of the Council diverting its attention from com-
mercial affairs to poUtical.^ The main thing at the time
was to enable the Nawab to pay his debts to the Company, and,
not understanding the military temperament, he may have
thought that Yusuf Khan could be persuaded to pay a higher
rent to the Nawab than the Council could ever extract from him
as long as he remained their servant. The fallacy of this idea
is well illustrated by the Kev. Mr. Gleig in his comments on
the mutiny of the European officers in Bengal. He says :
" There is no order of persons with whom under common cir-

cumstances greater liberties may be taken by the governing power
than with soldiers. Where the spirit of discipline has been well
preserved soldiers obey, through the force of custom, commands
which they feel to be unjust, and submit to wrongs, grumbling
perhaps all the while yet never dreaming that to go beyond a little
^
idle complaint is possible." i
The danger comes when disciphne is weak, and Yusuf Khan

had been for years practically uncontrolled. High-spirited as
he was he now felt himself touched in his self-respect, and he
had a lively fear of what must happen if he submitted to the
rule of a mean and grasping enemy. A pecuUar conjunction
of circumstances made it just possible that rebeUion might
prove successful, but before we proceed to discuss these cir-
cumstances a few words are necessary in reference to Yusuf
Khan's civil administration. On this subject unfortunately our
information is but meagre.
In the first place his duty was to restore confidence amongst
all classes of the people, from the Brahmans down to the culti-
vators. To please the Brahmans he, as has ah-eady been said,
renewed the worship in the celebrated shrines and temples of
^ " Mr. Palk is to succeed to the Governorship of Madras. Like a true priest
he worries everybody. He hates military men and has just succeeded in
suppressing all the privileges and perquisites which used to be allowed them."
Maudave to Desforges, 29th July, 1762. Archives du Ministere des Colonies,
Paris, 97 C^ f. 281.
* See Appendix V., p. 284.
' Life
of Robert, first Lord Clive, p. 215.
Madura.i The revenues of these were derived from lands
which had been seized by Chanda Sahib, the priests being com-
pelled not merely to close the temples, but in some cases to
conceal the sacred images. The Marathas gave back the
revenues when they captured Madura in 1741, but they were
taken away again by BarkatuUah, and Yusuf Khan found the
temple lands partly in the possession of Government, and partly
held in private by the priests. He resumed those held by the
latter, and seeing that the amount of the whole was more than
sufficient for the support of the ceremonial and of the temple
attendants, substituted a fixed grant from the public revenues
for all purposes. This was just, but could hardly be considered,
at least by the Hindus, as generous, and therefore cannot have
done much to make him popular amongst the priests, though it
quieted active discontent. I find no record of his making direct
gifts to the temples —
for a Muhammadan ruler this might have
—
been difficult but when the Woodiataver ^ and his Pradhan
Tandava Eaya Pillai presented him with a golden cradle on the
birth of his son in 1762-3, he acknowledged the gift by granting
to the latter, in jagir, the village of Sakkudi, which the Pradhan,
" not being in want of the village," presented to the temple
of Sri ^Minakshi.^ On the other hand, Mr. Schwartz teUs us he

greatly embelHshed the tomb of Alexander at Sikandarmalai.
As regards the largest class of the population, i.e. the
peasants and the Kalians engaged in cultivation, we have
already seen how he reduced the latter to submission. To keep
them quiet it was necessary to apportion their burdens to their
abiUty, and hence, in the case of people Uke the Nad KaUans,
he was satisfied with the mere performance of certain pubhc
services,* whilst with the inhabitants of more fertUe tracts
the rents were moderate, and whatever agreement he entered
In the War of the Khan Sahib, it is stated that Yusuf Khan made him-
1
selfmaster of immense treasures, which he found in the temple of ilinakshi,

having propitiated that goddess by a human sacrifice.
* i.e. the poligar of the Greater Marava or Ramnad. Pradhan means
"chief minister."
Memorandum of the Villages allotted to the Temple of Sriminachi at Madura.
2
Mackenzie MSS. {India Office), Vol. XVI. Jsos. 5-13. Another village. Alia
Colum (?) was given for the same purpose by Moota Pilla, who was Yusuf Khan's
samprati, i.e. vakil or accountant. Ibid.
* See p. 98 above.
—
into was rigidly observed by himself, whilst any infraction by

others was severely punished. Colonel Fullarton writes ^ :
" While he ruled those provinces his whole administration

denoted vigour and effect his justice was unquestioned, his word
:
[was] unalterable, his measures were happily combined and firmly

executed, the guilty had no refuge from punishment. His maxim
was that the labourer and the manufacturer should be the favourite
children of the Sarkar because they afford strength and comfort to
the Public Parent, but that the poligar and Kalian, though equally
entitled to truth and justice have no pretension to indulgence,
because they are the worthless prodigals who waste their own means
and ravage those of others. Let them become Zamindars ^ said
' '
he 'and cultivate their own lands instead of plimdering their in-

dustrious neighbours, then they shall be cherished but whilst their
;
habit is idleness and their business devastation, I will treat every

one as a public enemy who wields a pike ^ or wears the turban of a
poligar.' On comparing the state of that country with his conduct
and remarks, I found that wisdom, vigor and integrity were never
more conspicuous in any person of whatever climate or complexion."
Of the Kalians Yusuf Khan speaks in one of his letters to

Mr. Pigot as " rather devils than men," * and yet they became
his firmest adherents. The common cultivator of other castes
he assisted not only with grants of money, but by the proper
upkeep of the tanks and embankments which are necessary
to cultivation in a country in which violent downpours of rain
alternate with prolonged droughts.^ The artisans, e.g. the
weavers of Madura, he assisted with advances of money without
which people of this class, Uving as they do from hand to mouth,
^ Colonel William Fullarton, A View
of the English interests in India and
an Account of the Military Operations in the Southern fart of the Peninsula,
1782-4, p. 139. Also Letter to Lord Macartney and the Select Committee,
7th Jan., 1785, p. 212. /. 0. Records, Home Misc., 331. See Appendix V.,
p. 298.
* t.e. landlords.
* The long pike was the usual weapon of the Kalians. Mr, James Landon
in a letter, dated 29th July, 1793, to the Madras Board of Revenue, says Yusuf
Khan disarmed the poligars, and that, in his opinion, there would be no real
peace until Yusuf Khan's method of dealing with them was adopted.
* Yusuf Khan to Mr. Pigot, 26th Aug., 1759. Orme MSS.^ 221, p. 207.
* On the Nadijninni Anient on the Tamraparni River, there is an inscription
stating that it was made as a charitable work by Yusuf Khan in 1759. Cald-
well's Tinnevelly, pp. 63, 64.
I
—

were unable to prepare the cloth which was not only sold locally
but bought for export by the Company. For mihtary purposes
he had men trained to make gunpowder and muskets, and
even to cast cannon.^ The general commerce of the country
was facilitated by his arrangements with the Kalians, which
provided for the security of the roads, and by the erection of
choultries or rest-houses for travellers. The village authorities
looked after these as long as he ruled, but on his fall they soon
began to appropriate the funds set apart for them to their own
uses.
In his report ^ on the province of Tinnevelly, Mr. S. Lushing-
ton, afterwards Governor of Madras, sums up his account of
Yusuf Khan's administration as follows :
" Notwithstanding the disadvantages under which he laboured

of an usurped authority he accomplished by the vigour of his mind
and military talents the complete subjugation of the Province. In
his time the tribute of the poligars was regularly collected, private
property was in no danger from their depredations and the revenue
of the Sarhar lands was very largely increased. The effect of the
subordination he established may be seen in his Jamabandis ^ from
the year 1761 to 1764, when they never fell below 1030,489 [chak-
rams] * and were in one year as high as 1244,530."
The lower of these figures is higher than that for any year
between 1749 and 1760. In 1770 the Jamabandi fell as low
as 739,035. This was after the Council had followed Caillaud's
advice,^ and allowed the Nawab to govern and collect revenue
as he pleased under the protection of a miUtary force placed
absolutely at his disposal. The disgust with which the mihtary
^ " The Kalians had and they manage
several Malabar guns in their forts
them They have them on barbit (sic) and in several of the
surprisingly well.
forts which I have taken from them they had three four-pounders east in the
European manner by some of the natives that was learned with Yusuf Khun
at Madura." Donald Campbell to Orme, 1st Dec. 1777. Orme MSS., 72,
p. 111.
* Report by Mr. Stephen Rumbold Lushington, Collector of Tinnevelly,
dated 28th May, 1802, to the Board of Revenue, para. 18. /. 0. Records,
Board of Revenue Proceedings, 16th Aug., 1802, p. 9027. For a fuller extract
from this Report, see Appendix V,, p. 303.
3 Statements of rent or revenue from land due to the Government.
* The chakram equalled in Tinnevelly at this time

2J rupees.
* See Chapter V.,
pp. 45, 46 above.
—
performed their degrading task is clearly shown in the

officers
following extract from a letter written by Colonel Donald
Campbell, brother of the conqueror of Yusuf Khan, who had
been specially chosen by the Nawab for the miUtary com-
mand ^ :
" The Nawab's Accounts with the poligars will clearly evince the
prodigious disproportion between the sums demanded and those
actually paid from the beginning of their connexions with one
another, and it is with a view of giving the gentlemen [of the Council]
a thorough idea of their nature that I have sent them. Most of . . .
the persons whose names stand in capitals in those Accovmts are

prisoners here is their misery confined to the
and at Madura, nor
mere loss of liberty ; innumerable have been made use of to
stripes
induce them to pay what are called their debts some have been
;
tied upon the muzzle of a cannon and threatened to be blown off,

yet they still denied their being able to satisfy the demands of the
Sarkar. It is difficult to believe that they would purchase the
possession of a little money with the deprivation of life and liberty,
and if it can be supposed possible it must proceed from a circumstance

which reflects a still greater disgrace upon the Government, [i.e.]
that they have no security against the repetition of the same treat-
ment as soon as they could be imagined in a condition to repeat
paying for their enlargement.
" Such is the case of the poligars who are allowed to retain a
kind of ideal sovreignty in their territories the countries im-
;
mediately under the management of the Sarkar are to the full in as

deplorable a condition for every cottey ^ of seed the cultivator
:
sows he pays as rent 150 Tinnevelly /awams.^ If the soil is good it

produces on an average fifteen fold these fifteen cotteys of grain
;
selling at 12 Tinnevelly /awa?/is each are worth \Q0 fanams so that

the labourer has only 30 fanarm for his own support and that
of his family, nor indeed has he that clear of deductions, for the
amaldars and other officers of the Sarkar are always sure to have
their part.
" To be a spectator of such scenes of oppression is of itself painfull
to a humane mind, much more so when it becomes his duty to support
* Letter from Donald Campbell dated Palamcotah, 18th July, 1767.

Orme
MSS., 308, p. 53. Donald Campbell was appointed Commandant of Madura
and Tinnevelly on the 10th Nov., 1764.
* i.e. kati, an old grain measure.
' Twelve fanams equal one rupee.

—

the authors of it. The Nawab told me once he would put all his
countries on the same footing with that of Arcot. If he established
it in Tinnevelly it would become in a few years the most valuable
part of his dominions. ... I cannot dismiss this subject without
observing to you that if the Nawab was to receive annually one half
of the sums he demands he will be very well off, and I dare say you
will, upon a review of what has been received heretofore, be of the
same opinion." i
Temporary confinement for the non-payment of revenue

might be considered a mild punishment in those times, but
Palamcotta, the place from which the letter just quoted was
written, was in reahty a kind of Bastille or State Marshalsea.
There exists a hst of Government prisoners at Palamcotta
dated 13th July, 1782.^ The first prisoner is noted as having
been " confined by Yusuf Khan since 20 years," ^ then follow
eightmen with the remark :
" Poligars confined for seventeen years by the Nawab soon after
the place was taken from Muhammad Yusuf Khan. The kiladar
can give no information of their crime, but it is said that they were
confined as a pledge for the payment of the taxes due from them."
Caillaud's anticipations of what would happen under the

unchecked government of the Nawab are thus shown to have
been well founded, and what was patent to a foreigner like
Caillaud must have been at least equally so to the people of
the country, emphasized as it was by their previous experience
of the government of his brother Mahfuz Khan.* The first
^ This was the condition of the country two years after it had come under
the rule of the Nawab, who on the 29th Jan., 1765, had wTitten to the Court of
Directors as follows " The stated payments [i.e. instalments of the debt due
:
to the Company] fixed for the last year have been duly discharged though not
without difficulty. The reduction of the Rebel Yusuf Khan having involved
me in a most incredible expence, the remaining balance shall be paid off as soon
as possible, but in this I must request your patience, it being necessary my
tountry should be restored to its cultivation and the poor inhabitants, distressed
and harassed for near twenty years, be encouraged." Letters to and from the
East India Company^ s Servants at Bengal, Fort St. George and Boinbay, 1756-
. . ,
1766.
* /. 0. Records, Military Miscellany Bool; 11th to 30th Sept., 1782, p. 276.
' i.e. two years before the fall of Yusuf Khan. He had been the Nawab's
prisoner therefore for 18 years !
* " Soon after, the six companies of Sepoys began their march from Tinne-
velly to Madura, and the harvest began, on which the enemy's army entered the
reason, therefore, which Yusuf Khan had for thinking he might

be successful in his rebellion was his knowledge of the detesta-
tion in which the Nawab was held by the people of Madura
and Tinnevelly.
In his letter of the 12th February, 1763,^ the Nawab men-
tions as one of the crimes of Yusuf Khan that he had built a
new house. Local tradition says that Yusuf Khan had a resi-
dence in the village of Sammattipuram, two miles west of Madura,
where he was executed, and where his tomb was erected.
Marchand in his plan of Madura marks Yusuf Khan's town
dwelUng in the south-west corner of the city, and this probably
explains the local tradition that when the mutiny, in which
he was seized, broke out he fled to the Temple of Peramal,
which is close by.
town where Mahfuz Khan proclaimed his dominion, which his agents and de-
pendants exercised with much violence and injustice. Even the shroffs or
bankers did not escape, although the necessity and neutrality of their occupa-
tion protects their persons and property throughout Indostan from the violence
either of the despot or the conqueror." Orme, History, II. 237.
^ See Appendix V., p. 278. The Tamil Ballad says that Yusuf Khan built
himself a magnificent palace with the wealth which he obtained from the
t«mple of Minakshi. See p. 112 (n.) above.
CHAPTEE IX
THE CHANCES OF REBELLION
At the moment when Yusuf Khan determined to rebel

against the Nawab the probabiUty of success, though not so
small as to warrant the supposition of a " temporary
lunacy " ^ on his part, could hardly be described as more than
a " fighting chance." The EngUsh were at peace \s4th all the
native Powers, and the Nawab, who was, by reason of his
heavy debt to the Company, httle better than their servant,
was entitled to all the assistance they could give him in the
support of his authority. Their mihtary prestige, it is
true, had reached its cHmax in the capture of Pondicherry,
and had been somewhat tarnished by the difficulties they had
experienced in the capture of Vellore,^ and their actual force on
the Coast was soon to be diminished by the despatch, contrary
to the opinion of all the Council's mihtary advisers, of a strong
detachment to attempt the conquest of Manilla.^ It has been
already said that Yusuf Khan could rely on the loyalty of his
people, and it seemed likely that he would receive the sympathy
of his neighbom's, if not their active assistance. The Maravans,
long practically independent of Madura, had always been his
friends, as might well be expected seeing that he was born in
the Eamnad or Great Marava country and was by birth a
caste-feUow of its Chief Minister. Travancore had assisted him
^ David Leighton,
Vicissitudes of Fort St. George, p. 113.
* See109 above.
p.
* The expedition left Madras on the 1st August. The town of Manilla was
captured on the 6th Oct., 1762. (Wilson, Madras Army, I. 161.) Maudave
says that it was only when Yusuf Khan knew that the Manilla expedition
had started, that he determined to declare his independence, and even this
he would not do until he had been joined by Marchand and the French from
Tan i ore.
s
THE CHANCES OF REBELLION 119
in the conquest of the southern poligars and had been paid

her price in by the cession of the Kalakadu District. Mysore,
full
in the west, was growing strong under the rule of Haidar Ah.
Himself a successful rebel, Haidar Ah could have no prejudice
against rebellion, and the fact that he had twice been foiled
by Yusuf Khan was not hkely to weigh in his mind against
his hatred for the Nawab, who had so disgracefully broken
his promise to cede Trichinopoly to Mysore, and for the Enghsh,
who had supported the Nawab in spite of his disloyalty, more
especially as Yusuf Khan could promise the return of the
Dindigul districts which he had wrested from him in 1760,
and possibly the ever-coveted Trichinopoly itself.^ Lastly,
there was the wealthy kingdom of Tanjore constantly fretted
by the spiteful action of the Nawab, who wished to treat it
as he had treated Vellore. The King was avaricious and timid,
but Trichinopoly depended upon Tanjore very largely for
provisions, and mere inaction on the part of the King would
hamper the advance of an army despatched from Trichinopoly,
and might be fatal to such an army if compelled to retreat.
From his European neighbours Yusuf Khan could not
expect much. The French settlements were in the hands of
the EngUsh. The Dutch and the Danes were at peace with
England, but had, under the sanction of the Madras Council, ^
opened a business connection for the sale of military weapons
and stores, which Yusuf Khan knew would continue in secret
as long as he could pay the price that might be asked. ^ That
he had plenty of money is clear from the single fact that
after settHng to pay a rent of only five lakhs of rupees in 1759
he had recently offered of his own accord a rent of nine lakhs,
and it would give him infinite pleasure to spend upon fighting
the Nawab the money of which the Nawab was seeking to
^ Yusuf Khan's agent in Mysore was one Alizaman Khan, brother-in-law
of Badruzaman Khan, one of Haidar's chief officers. He failed to obtain Haidar'

assistance for Yusuf Khan, but he was one of Haidar's representatives when
that chief made peace with the English in 1769 at the gates of Madras. Karmani,
History of Hydur Naik, p. 285. The Nawab (see Appendix V., p. 279 below)
mentions another agent, Ghulam Hussain.
* Pigot to Yusuf Khan, 6th Sept. Country Correspondence, 1759.
* " The foreign companies, particularly the Danes, bring out arms as mer-
chandize." Letter to Court, 14th Oct., 1765, para. 80.

deprive him.^ Manapad were
Tondi, Yaippar, Tuticorin, and
all ports with fair roads to Madura or Palamcotta,
either
so that communication "with the Dutch and Danes was easy.
As regards the mihtary strength of the country, Madura
and Palamcotta werewell fortified and strongh'' held. The former
was separated from Trichinopoly, the nearest English garrison
and the residence of the Xawab, by eighty miles of rough country,
without- any made roads and almost impassable if Yusuf Khan
could rely upon the Kalians of Nattam and the two Maravas to
defend their woods. ^ Palamcotta, nearly a hundred miles fm-ther
south, within easy reach of Tuticorin and with a good road to
Madura, would serve as a collecting point for recruits, pro-
\'isions and stores, and a point d'appui for a flying force which
might harass an army besieging Madura if things should come

to such a pass. The road to Trichinopoly was covered by the
Httle fort at Yelichi-nattam, that to Dindigul by Solavandan,
and the western passes by the forts of Srivilliputtur and
Vadagarai, through the latter of which he could communicate
with the western coast. Of Yusuf Khan's army we have no
definite figui'es. Excluding the KaUans (whose numbers
varied probably from time to time, but of whom he could
have as many as he might want at a moment's notice), the
garrison of Madura appears to have consisted of about 3000
sepoys, 1000 Moor horse, and 200 to 300 Em-opeans that of ;
Palamcotta of 2000 sepoys, 100 horse, and a few Europeans.^

His fl\^g force is stated by Yusuf Khan himself to have com-
prised 4000 sepoys, 2000 KaUans, 1000 Moor horse, 100 topasses,
and 6 guns with two officers and 30 gunners,* but perhaps
he included in these figures part of the garrison of Palam-
cotta, which would have been available in case of a determined
^ "In short, Yusuf Khan spares neither money nor provisions ; and he has
plenty of both, which must fall into our hands if he does not use it."' Call to
Lawrence, 4th Sept. Mil. Cons., loth Sept., 1763, p. 188. See also Appendix
v., p. 287 (n.).
Court to Madras, 24th Dec, 1765, para. 7.
* I. 0. Records, Madras De-
spatches, Vol. in. See Appendix V., p. 284. Hamilton {Hindustan) in 1820
gives the distance from Madras to Madura as 307 miles. Trichinopoly was
about 80 and Tondi about 50 miles from Madura.
3 Letter from Palamcotta, 22nd Oct., 1764. See Appendix V., pp. 287, 289.
* Intercepted letter dated 26th Feb., 1764 to M. Hausse. Orme MSS., 281.
THE CHANCES OF BEBELLION 121
attempt to relieve Madura. In all it is probable that, including

the garrisons scattered about the country, Yusuf Khan had
at his disposal at least 10,000 sepoys, 2000 Moor horse, 50 to
60 European horse, and from 400 to 600 Europeans, topasses,
and Coffrees, as infantry and artillery. He had also an
indefinite number of Kalians, a full supply of labour for his forti-
fications,and the country people in his favour. If he could not
face the in the field, he might still hope, with good luck,
enemy
to prolong operations until hardship and disease had so reduced
the invading force that he could count upon being granted
favourable terms,if not actual independence.
In including Europeans in the above calculation I have

anticipated Yusuf Khan's alhance with the French. Every
one in India expected that the latter would make some
attempt to recover their possessions from the Enghsh but ;
at the time, their strength in India was almost a neghgible

quantity, being Umited to the fugitives who had betaken them-
selves to the neutral settlements of the Dutch and Danes, or
who had entered the service of the native princes.^ No one
knew better than Yusuf Khan the value of European soldiers,
as well as of European and training for the sepoys.
discipline
He had never been in command European officers, but he had
of
served with them his own sepoy companies had European non-
;
commissioned officers ^ his artillery had always been manned

;
by Europeans and, as we have seen, French prisoners had

;
been allowed to enhst with him in 1759.^ Probably many others

had joined him unnoticed by the Council. There is no mention
of his having ever experienced any difficulty in controlling his
Europeans from the time when Caillaud gave him special in-
structions as to his conduct towards his European sergeants.'*
To employ Europeans, therefore, under their own officers can
hardly have appeared to him as a hazardous experiment, and
at this moment the temptation must have been irresistible.
Since the fall of Pondicherry there had been no repre-
sentative of the French nation in the Carnatic of any importance
or abiHty, but on the 4th April, 1762, there arrived at Negapatam
^ The numbers of these fugitives in southern India was estimated as high

as 1500. See note, p. 105 above.
* See p. 51 (n.). » Ormc, History III. p. 534. * Seep, 53 above.
from Mauritius the French frigate Fidele, on board of which
was M. de Maudave/ who had served as a Colonel under Lally,
but had left the Coast before the fall of Pondicherry. Forced
to leave France again by the loss of his property, he determined
to pay another visit to India, and when he arrived at Mauritius ^
he received a general commission from the French Council
of that island to represent France in India, to make an effort
to resuscitate the French party amongst the Indian princes,
and to give the English as much trouble as possible. All
Frenchmen in the service of the King or the Company were
ordered to obey his instructions. He had but Uttle money,
and what more he wanted he was to raise as best he could in
India from well-disposed persons, to whom he was to promise
the speedy arrival of a large French force. All this, of course,
was to be done without giving his hosts, the Dutch or the Danes,
any tangible grounds for supposing that he was violating their
neutrality. On his landing, therefore, he gave out that his
only concern was to alleviate the sufferings of his scattered
compatriots. This furnished an excuse for a voluminous
correspondence ^vith the Deccan, Mysore, Malabar, Goa,
Masulipatam, and Tanjore. He tells us that the very amount
of his correspondence enabled him to lull the suspicions of
the Dutch Governor, Van Teylingen, whose chief characteristics,
according to Maudave, were the love of drink and the Enghsh,
and " a violent and imbecile hatred of the French." ^ His
chief hope lay in the strong force of French cavalry,
under M. Hugel,^ an Alsatian Captain of Hussars in the French
service, who had joined Haidar before the fall of Pondicherry ;
^ Maudave's Relation. See Appendix II., p. 250, and Pouget de St.

Andr6, La Colonisation de Madagascar sous Louis X
V.
* Known by the French as " lie de France."
^ Admiral Pocock's letters in 1758 constantly refer to the hatred of the then
Dutch Governor, Van Eck, towards the French. Orme M8S., 290.
4 See a paper (N.A.F. 9365, ff. 370-373) in the Bibliotheque Nationale.
Hugel joined Haidar Ali in 1760, and with great difficulty was allowed to leave
him in 1764. Not being able to obtain any suitable employment on the Coast,
he returned to France, and in 1769 proposed to the Due de Choiseul to go
out to India, collect his old soldiers and join Haidar. This he did in 1771,
but was mortally wounded at the battle of Chinakurali on the 8th May, 1771,
when Haidar was defeated by the Marathas. He was succeeded in his
command by Le Sieur Ruasel le Cadet.
but Haidar was already surfeited with the unfulfilled promises

of French adventurers, and declined to make any move until
the promised French force showed itself in the country. The
only Prince ^ from whom Maudave received a promising
reply was the King of Tanjore, who, though already distrustful
of the French owing to the villainy of a certain Jean Dumont,
who had pretended that he represented the French Government,
was so moved by the danger of his own position that he at last
gave a quahfied assent to his propositions. The King had already
in his service a small body of Frenchmen, which he allowed
to be increased and at the same time he provided a rallying point
for others in his dominions, but soon becoming frightened
at his own audacity and horrified at the expense ^ into which
M. de Maudave appeared to be leading him, he advised him
to ^^Tite to Yusuf Khan, with whose feehngs towards the Nawab
he was well acquainted. Maudave wrote to Yusuf Khan, and,
receiving a favourable reply, despatched to Madura first
M. Mallet and then a M. Charles Flacourt.^ In July the latter,

it is said, persuaded Yusuf Khan to enter into an agreement
by which he acknowledged himself a subject of France in return

for French assistance * Maudave was to write to Mauritius
;
to obtain reinforcements and a French fleet, whilst in the mean

time, Yusuf Khan supplying the necessary funds, all the French
^ Maudave says his brother was at Goa, but could obtain no assistance from
the Portuguese. At Calicut his agent was M. Hausse.

2 Possibly also the King of Tanjore thought, in view of a treaty concluded
towards the end of 1762 by the mediation of the English, that the immediate
danger of a rupture with the Nawab had been averted.
3 The Dutch accounts (letter of 24th Jan., 1764, from the Council of Ceylon
"
to the Governor-General and Council of India at Batavia, and " Short Accounts
of occurrences in Madura, Madras, Travancore, etc., by opper-koopman God-
fried Sweepe for 1763 and 1764. Col. Arch, The Hague, say the treaty was
negotiated by M. Charles Flacourt assisted by Johannes Landeman and his
secretary, Anthony Damois, but Maudave says that Flacourt went to Madura
only when M. Mallet had been despatched to Mysore with money from Yusuf
Khan to extricate Hugel. The date of the Treaty between Yusuf Khan and
Maudave is given as July, 1762, by M. Flamicourt in his letter of 2nd Sept.
to the Madras Council. Mil. Cons., 15th Sept., 1763.
* It is fairly certain that Yusuf Khan obtained a promise of French assist-
ance at this time, but that he ever acknowledged allegiance to France is very
doubtful, for Marchand says (see Appendix III. (6), p. 261), that the mere
suggestion of such a thing made Yusuf Khan frantic and was the cause of
his first quarrel with him.
in Southern India were to be collected inMadura. The French
in Tanjore were to join him immediately, and M. Mallet was
to be despatched with money to bring M. Hugel and his force
from Mysore. To the Council in Mamitius Maudave explained
his plan as follows. The English on the Coast being much
weakened by the despatch of the expedition to Manilla, it
would suffice if the Council were to send him 500 Europeans,
with whom he was to join those collected at Madura, who, as
he calculated, would amount to about the same number.
With these and Yusuf Khan's own army he proposed to
march towards Trichinopoly so as to draw the whole
remaining EngUsh force in that direction, whilst the fleet
would make a sudden attack upon Madras, which it was
expected they would find absolutely defenceless. However
feasible this plan appeared upon paper, its weakness lay
in the fact that of all the essentials to success only one,
i.e. the disposal of the Tanjore contingent, was under the
control of Maudave himself. Yusuf Khan, indeed, would have
marched on Trichinopoly with this alone, but Maudave was not
prepared to take such a risk.
The Tanjore contingent was commanded by Messieurs

Marchand and Flamicourt. The latter, a gallant young
gentleman, had been in the service of the King of Tanjore
when Maudave arrived at Negapatam. He immediately
wrote to ask for a commission, which Maudave, on the recom-
mendation of M. Desforges, formerly Chief Engineer at Pondi-
cherry, sent to him. M. Marchand was an extraordinary
personage, of whom it is necessary to give a more detailed
account. In his Precis Historique des deux sieges de la ville
de Madure, he signs himself simply " the ChevaHer Marchand,"
and I have not been able to ascertain even his Christian name,
much less any details of his parentage. This was apparently
humble, for he first appears as a servant [domestique) ^ or
secretary of the Chevalier Jacques Law, who, according to
M. Louis Bruno, 2 seeing his capacity for the military hfe,
made him a partisan or officer of ii'iegulars. In one or other
^ Plainte du Chevalier Law centre le Sieur Dwpleix. Lettre de M. de Maisain
d M. de BoisseroUe, 6th June, 1759, pp. 63-71.
2 Journal. See Appendix V., p. 296 (n.).
—
of these capacities lie was with Law in the disastrous campaign
of Srirangam. Law, released on parole by the English, returned

to Pondicherry, where he was placed under arrest by Dupleix,
and a military court was appointed to examine into his conduct.
The president of this Court, M. Maissin, an officer new to the
country and ignorant of the vernacular, was astounded to find
that, whilst practically all the evidence tendered by the European
officers who had been with Law was in his favour, that tendered
by the Indians through an interpreter was against him. He also
noticed, as did his assistant, who knew something of the verna-
cular, that the interpreter appeared to tutor the Indian witnesses
as to what they should M. Maissin, therefore, refused to
say.
accept their evidence. Upon this,
says M. Maissin, M. Dupleix
presented as witnesses two partisan officers, Messieurs Marchand
and Lambert but in spite of great pressure to give evidence
;
against Law, they refused to admit anything disadvantageous

to him. Law was accordingly acquitted, and Dupleix compelled
to set him at liberty. ^ MarcHand's loyalty, united to previous
good conduct, was so much appreciated that, when he deter-
mined to go to Bussy in the Deccan, he took with him recom-
mendations not only from Law, de Leyrit, and others, but from
Dupleix himself. Bussy gave Marchand the command of his
own bodyguard of hussars, an appointment which excited
some jealousy, for certain officers wrote to de Leyrit, who had
now succeeded Dupleix as Governor, that they objected to
associate with a man who had once held a menial position.
De Leyrit referred the complaint to Bussy, remarking that it
might be necessary to take notice of it, though Marchand was
a fine fellow who deserved any favour that Bussy could show
him. To this Bussy repHed that none of his officers who had
served at Trichinopoly with Marchand, and of these there were
many, had ever objected to his promotion, and, moreover,
that Marchand' s duties kept him near his own person apart
from the other officers. Apparently the matter went no further.^
^This did not prevent Dupleix, in his Minwirecontre la Compagnie, 1769,
from repeating his charge of incompetence and treachery against Jacques Law
a peculiarly ungracious act as, subsequent to Law's acquittal, he had allowed his
own nephew de Kerjean to marry Law's sister, Rebeca Louise.
* Letter, dated 25th Jan., 1756, from De Leyrit to Bussy, and letter dated
25th Feb., 1756, from Bussy to De Leyrit. Bibliotheque Nationah, N.A.F. 9360.
In the Deccan, says Bruno, Marchand distinguished
himself by manydeeds of desperate valour, and whilst other
officers enriched themselves, all that he gained in the service
was a number wounds, one of which never completely
of
healed, causing him
at times to vomit great quantities of blood,
but such was the iron constitution of his body and the strength
of his will that he was able to undergo hardships and fatigues
which few men in sound health could have endured.
Apparently Marchand left the Deccan when Bussy was
recalled by Lally in 1758, for he tells us he was present at the
siege of Madras, and that he took part in all the rough fighting
against Preston and Yusuf Khan, and was not only wounded
again but had the misfortune to see his brother killed at his
side.
In March, 1760, Marchand and a brother officer. Captain
St. Denis,were captured near Devikottai by Captain Eichard
Smith whilst on their way to Tranquebar.^ Being both in a
bad state of health, they were allowed, on giving their parole,
to proceed to Negapatam. Here Marchand, having recovered
his health, decided that hehad been captured in neutral teiTitory
and that he was therefore entitled to ignore his parole. This
he proceeded to do, entering the Dutch service and collecting
European recruits for that nation.
In January, 1762, some French prisoners, residing on parole
at Wandiwash, ran away, but being pursued and captured, a
letter was found on one of them written by Marchand, in which
he incited the prisoners to break their parole and offered to
provide for them in the Dutch service. The Council of Madras,
therefore, on the 31st January, addressed the Dutch Council
at Negapatam, saying that, as this was a breach of the parole
which Marchand had given, they revoked the same and requested
his surrender. The Dutch rephed that Marchand had mis-
represented his position, and had acted without their authority ;
accordingly, though they could not surrender him to the EngHsh,

they had punished him severely and turned him out of the town,
and he had gone to Tranquebar.^ Here he proceeded to take
1 R. Smith to Council, 30th March. Mil. Cons., 15th April, 1760.
* Letter from Council of Negapatam, dated 7th Feb., 1762. Mil. Cons.,
22nd March, 1762, p. 148.
—
his revenge upon the Dutch by trying to induce the French

in their service to desert and join him, and the Danish autho-
rities, on receiving a complaint from the Dutch, turned him out
of their town also.^ He now managed to make his way to

Mysore, where he joined the force under M. Hugel, but, owing
partly to some annoyances to which he was exposed, and partly
to the natural restlessness of his character, as soon as he heard of
the arrival of Maudave he left M. Hugel, came down to the coast,
and from a hiding-place at Tranquebar wrote to offer his services
to Maudave. The latter, as he says, knew of but one good
quality in Marchand, namely, " a rare and brilliant valour,"
unfortunately combined with a total want of bon sens ei
raison, so that he was quite unfit to be trusted in a delicate
position. At the same time he was the very man for a desperate
undertaking. Maudave, therefore, gave him some money
and sent him with a small troop to Tanjore to join and take
command of the force already there under Flamicourt. There
Marchand remained until he received orders from Maudave
to march to Madura, which in December, 1762, he succeeded
in doing without the Madras Council being aware of his
movements.
Maudave now made every effort to enhst men, both French
and sepoys, even going so far as to attempt to excite a revolt
amongst the French prisoners at Trichinopoly, but this becoming
known to the Dutch Governor, Van Teylingen, was disclosed
to Captain Preston, ^ who took the necessary measures to prevent
it. On
the 12th July, 1762, Preston reported to the Council
that owing to his having observed a spirit of desertion amongst
the sepoys, affecting the very best men, he had offered a reward
for the discovery of the instigators, and that these were found
to be agents of Yusuf Khan, and that he was informed that
Yusuf Khan was largely increasing his army. He said :
" Yusuf Khan (by all accounts) is raising a very considerable

army. I am told that he has already above 6000 sepoys and 300
horse, all completely armed by himself, and that he has bought up
many thousand firelocks from the Dutch and Danes, that he has
Mil. Cons., 22nd March, 1762, p. 151.
1
Preston was at this time Commandant of the English garrison

• at
Trichinopoly. The English Records do not mention this incident.
many Europeans and CoSreys and that he is
likewise collected
employing some thousands of Cooleys upon the fortifications of
Madura." i
According to the Nawab, Trichinopoly was itself in danger

of attack from both Yusuf Khan and Haidar Ali. This unwel-
come news the Council refused to beUeve, and replied to Preston
that, so far as Yusuf Khan was concerned in the desertion of
his sepoys, he must have been misinformed through some
trickery of the Nawab, that Trichinopoly was in no danger,
and that the Nawab had better come and stay in Madras. This
they wrote on the 26th July, though on the 19th they had warned
Preston to be on the watch for the emissaries of M. de Maudave,
whom they suspected of wishing to join Haidar Ah.
Though " snubbed " for excess of zeal, Preston did not
relax his caution. On the 28th August he wrote that the Nawab
" put several questions tome what I would do in a case of treachery,
that convinced me
he was very uneasy and that he didn't think it
safe to leave any of his family here. His intelligence relating to
Yusuf Khan he was pleased to speak of in a tender and restrained
manner, as if he was afraid of appearing prejudiced agaiast him." ^
However much the Council distrusted the Nawab, they at

length realized that something very serious was in the air,
and on the 7th September Mr. Pigot wrote to Yusuf Khan

that his conduct was suspicious, that he had better come to
Madras to clear his character, that his affairs with the Nawab
should be settled, and that he should be confirmed in the
Kentership for the present year. On the 13th September
the Council received a letter from the King of Travancore,
saying that Yusuf Khan had asked for his assistance against
the Nawab, who, according to Yusuf Khan, was at variance
with the Council, and was about to attack Madura. He had
1 Mil. Cons., 26th July, 1762, p. 143.
* Many years later the Nawab had the face to assert that the Madras Council
—
forced him into war against Yusuf Khan " Afterwards they obliged me, without
the least reason, to take the field against YusuJ Khan at Madura, which cost me
about one crore of rupees, besides the revenues of that country for two years,
which I lost also." Letter dated 5th Feb., 1770, from the Nawab to the Court
of Directors. Eotis" Appendix, Vol. III. p. 1507.
refused Yusuf Khan's request, of which refusal Council wrote

their approval.
if Yusuf Khan had gone to Madras
It is quite possible that
at this time, he could have obtained what terms he pleased
in regard to the Eentership, for it is certain that nothing was
known of his arrangements with Maudave, but of this he could
not be certain. What he did know was that his English
friends at Madras were now few in number, and that the Nawab
would use all his influence against him.^ His friend the King
of Tanjore ^ wrote to warn him against going. Murtaza
AH 3 did the same, and also bade him remember that Mr.
Pigot's term of ofiQce was nearly over and that he would
do well to seek the friendship and protection of his successor,
Mr. Palk, who, he wrote, " has quitted God's service for
money," ^ and might therefore be accessible to bribes, a poor
consolation to Yusuf Khan, for, if he had believed anything
so foolish, he must also have known that his offers would easily
be outbidden by the Nawab. He followed, therefore, the advice
given by his friends, and on the 20th September replied to Mr.
Pigot in a long letter,^ enumerating his services to the English,
complaining of the ingratitude and injustice of the Nawab,
and promising to come to Madras as soon as he had collected
the next instalment of revenue and settled the arrears of his
troops.
The possibiUty between the English and Yusuf
of trouble
Khan had now become In fact, it could not well be
public.
concealed any longer, for on the 22nd October the Council had
written to its agents at TelHcherry and Anjengo warning them
^ Colonel Richard Smith in a note written in 1763-4 says that Governors of
Provinces would seldom come to the capital when summoned to give in their
accounts, as they could never trust even the most solemn promises of safety
given them by their masters. Orme 31SS., 88, p. 180.
* from Muhammad Ali, Nabob of Arcot to the Court of Directors
Letter . . .
with an Appendix of original papers, p. 46. Translation of a letter from

Pertaub Sing, Raja of Tanjore, to the famovs rebel Isouf Cawn.
^ Murtaza Ali was at this time a prisoner at Arcot. His letter, the authen-
ticity of which is uncertain, is to be found in the Orme MSS., India, XIII.
pp. 3095-7.
* Orme MSS., XIII. p. 3697. Mr. Palk first came to India as a chaplain
on the fleet of Admiral Boscawen, and soon passed into the civil employ of
the Company.
* See Appendix I., pp. 242-245.
K
— ^

to prevent the passage of stores and ammunition to Yusuf
Khan, as it was feared that he was meditating rebellion.
To send news of this kind to Anjengo was the same thing
as sending it to Travancore, for Anjengo Hes in the territory
of that kingdom. From Madras Mr. Thomas Felling, formerly
a clerk in the service of Mr. Orme, wrote ^ to his old master,
" Yusuf Khan sticks fast to the TirmeveUy countries. This man
has played his part very keen hitherto, but his reigning star to
me seems to be on the decline."
14th November the Kmg of Travancore wrote to say

On the
that Yusuf Iân had attacked him on his refusing to join
him in his contemplated rebellion against the Nawab, and on
the 22nd of the same month the Council resolved as
follows :
The many trifling excuses alleged by Muhammad Yusuf Khan

"
to avoid coming hither notwithstanding the repeated summons sent

him for that purpose, and his now taking upon himself to march
against the King of Travancore without either the NawaVs or our
approbation appear to us but as so many indications of his resolution
to rebel,and the President acquainting the Board that the Nawab
recommended our writing a letter to him iu terms of some severity
which he hoped would have the desired efiect of inducing him to
come hither, it is agreed that a letter ^ of that kind be wrote to him,
and at the same time promising him in case he obeys the summons
to confirm to him the Cowle ^ of protection promised him in. the
Presidejit's letter to him of 7th September last. But lest he should
after all remaia obstiuate, it will be necessary for us to fall upon some
other methods to reduce him to obedience, it is therefore resolved
that a suf&cient quantity of stores and ammimition be sent immedi-
ately at Trichinopoly that we may be ready to march against him
whenever we shall find it expedient. General Lawrence ^ is therefore
desired to call to his assistance the Engineer and Commandant of
1 Mil. Cons., 1762, p. 332.

* Thomas Pelling to Orme, 8th November, 1762. Orme MSS., 30, p. 29.
' This was despatched on the 24th November, 1762.
* i.e. Kaid, a promise of pardon, a safe-conduct, also any agreement granted
by a superior to an inferior. See p. 128 above.

6 Lawrence went home in 1759. He was made Major-General 11th March,
1760, and returned to Madras as Commander-in-Chief in October, 1761.
—
THE CHANCES OF REBELLION IBl
Artillery to consider what quantity of stores will be necessary to be

^
sent thither for such an enterprise."
On the 24th the Council, without making any inquiry, wrote

to Yusuf Khan forbidding him to make war upon the King
of Travancore, and it was not until the 29th that they received
a letter from him saying that his visit to Madras would be
delayed by the necessity of repelhng an attack from that
country. On the same day they heard from Captain Charles
Campbell ^ at Vellore that the King of Travancore had cut off
seven companies of Yusuf Khan's sepoys and taken three guns
near Tinnevelly. It appears, therefore, that the King, no doubt
relying upon the immediate action of the Nawab and the Enghsh,
had followed up his alleged refusal to assist Yusuf Khan by
invading his territory, and that it was he and not Yusuf Khan
who commenced the war.
Yusuf Khan had already marched south, and, if we are
to beheve M. Marchand, found he had no easy task before him,
and, in fact, was saved from defeat only by the arrival of
Marchand himself with the contingent from Tanjore.^ This
took place on the 9th January, 1763, when with Yusuf Khan's
permission, Marchand hoisted the French colours in place of
the English, which he lowered and burnt in the midst of the
camp. On the 16th February the King of Travancore sub-
mitted and signed the following agreement * :
" I . . . King of Travancore, &c. ... do give the following

agreement to Muhammad Yusuf, Khan Bahadur, ruler of the Madura
^The wording of this resolution is important as it shows that Council took
the advice of the military on this subject. Macpherson, in his History and
Management of the East India Company, p. 145 (n.), asserts that Council treacher-
ously sent insufficient supplies so as to ensure the failure of the expedition.
" The late General Monson knew a great deal about this business. He did not
ascribe the want of success to accident. But it would have been cruel to have
deserted an old friend in his distress."
* Charles Campbell to Council, 25th Nov., 1762. Mil. Cons., 29th Nov.,
1762, p. 44.
* Marchand Tan j ore in December. Precis Historique, p. 17. The Kings
left
of Travancore, Martanda and Rama Varma, had in their service a Flemish
officer, Eustace Benedict de Lannoy, who is said to have disciplined a large
number of his sepoys in the E'uopean manner. Buckland, Dictionary of
Indian Biography also Orme, History, I. 400.
;
* Enclosure to the Nawab's letter to Council, dated 18th October, 1764.
Country Correspondence, 1764.

^

country. That if an enemy marches against you in Madura country
I shall in such case regard your enemy as my owm
and send an army
of horse, sepoys, &c., with necessary ammunition relating to the same
and assist you iu what I can. The charges of the troops which I
may send shall be defrayed by myself. I shall commit no hostilities
in your districts nor give a place to your enemy in my dominions.
On the contrary I shall act in perfect union and friendship with you.
Thus I give this agreement to you."
The Dutch records tell us that the King promised an asylum

to Yusuf Khan's wife, and that valuable presents were
exchanged, Yusuf Khan giving the King three horses with their
saddles and receiving in return one horse with its saddle, a
gold bracelet, and a gold chain upon which was hung a gold
medal set with diamonds. The relative value of these presents
is not stated, but the fact that the King, in spite of his promises
to the Nawab and the English, did not dare to stir hand or foot
during the war shows of itself that the beating he got was
a severe one. He practically confessed this iu a letter which
the Council received via Anjengo on the 21st March, 1763,
explaining that he had been compelled to make peace.
Meanwhile, Maudave had made Negapatam too hot to
hold him. Van Teylingen, he says, quarrelled with him for
no reason whatever and forced him to leave the town on the
pretext that he was trying to seduce the soldiers in the Dutch
service. Accordingly he went to Tranquebar, where he arrived
on the 1st January, 1763, and setting about in earnest to do
that of which he had been falsely accused, managed to enUst
two-thirds of Van Teylingen's men. About this time Maudave
received 'parwanas from Nizam Ali,^ Subah of the Deccan,
appointing Yusuf Khan Governor of Madura and Tinnevelly.
1 See also p. 138 below.

* Nizam Ali Khan deposed his brother Salabat Jang on the 27th June,
1762.
—
CHAPTER X
PREPARATIONS
On his return from Travancore the Dutch Records say that

Yusuf Khan ravaged the lands of all the poligars adverse to
him, and also, in order to make it difficult for the EngUsh to
obtain supplies, all the country round Madura. In the excess
of their zeal his officers plundered close up to the Dutch factory
at Tuticorin and seized some of the native messengers, but on
a representation being made by Heer Sweepe, these were set
free with an apology.^
All through December repeated letters came from the Nawab
to the effect that Yusuf Khan was collecting troops and receiving
supplies from Mysore and Tanjore, from the Tondaiman, the
Maravans, the Dutch, and the Danes, ^ whilst as late as the 28th
December a letter was received from Yusuf Khan repeating
his assertion that the Travancore invasion would not allow of
his coming to Madras, but that if the Council insisted on his
coming he would do so. The Council did insist, but still he did
not come, and he was clever enough to prevent trustworthy
news of his doings from getting through to Trichinopoly.
On the 13th January, 1763, a letter was received from Yusuf
Khan with further excuses, upon which the Council
resolved :
" As we find there is no possibility of his obeying the summons

senthim but seems, on the contrary, to be endeavouring by all possible
methods to render himself independent, we think that some steps
should be taken to reduce him to obedience."
As the Nawab suggested that Yusuf Khan might be

^ Dutch Records, Sweepe's Short Account for 1763.
« Mil. Cons., 20th Dec, 1762, p. 91.
—

intimidated by the despatch of a force to Trichinopoly, and
that others would, at any rate, be thereby convinced that
he was considered to be in rebeUion, that step was also
agreed to, and letters were written to Tranquebar and
Negapatam requesting that no assistance should be given
to the rebel. The Danes repHed very promptly that they
would give no assistance to Yusuf Khan, and the Dutch
in February that Yusuf Khan had never asked their assist-
ance, but that if he did so they would refuse.^ Lawrence
meanwhile went to Cuddalore to review the troops that were
to go to Trichinopoly, and PreSton met him there to take over
the command after which LawTence returned to Madras,
;
leaving to Preston the task of appointing European officers

to the sepoy companies, which, though they had European
sergeants, had as yet no European officers permanently
attached to the battahons.^
On the 5th February Preston first heard of Yusuf Khan's
pubhc declaration of his alliance with the French. He
wrote :
" About fifteen days ago lie hoisted French colours m liis camp
and sent orders for the same to be done iti all his forts. Till then he
had always hung out English colours. One of our artillerymen ^
that is with him showing some discontentment at this proceeding,
Yusuf Khan ordered him to be tyed up in his presence and flogged
in the severest manner, and the poor wretch has been kept in a
miserable manner ever since."
The punishment of this brave fellow appears to confirm

the Dutch account, also mentioned by Sir John Lindsay,*
that Yusuf Khan, when the English colours were hauled down,
had them blown away from the mouth of a cannon, which,
as has been said above, was the usual punishment for treachery.
^ Council's letter to the Dutch and Danes was dated the 15th Jan., 1763
;
the Danes replied on the 20th Jan. and the Dutch on the 4th Feb.
2 Mil. Cons., 1763, p. 243.
* It is improbable that Yusuf Khan would at this time, when he was
trying to attract Europeans to his service, have publicly flogged a

European ; the man was
therefore probably a topass.
* Narrative.(Appendix 46 to his letter of the 13th Oct., 1770.) /. O.
Records, Home Misc., 103. See Appendix V. p. 294.
—
PREPARATIONS 185
Marohand, however, who was present at the hauling down of

the colours, does not mention this additional outrage, saying
only that the English colours were burned in the middle of the
camp, which was itself sufficiently insulting.
On the 7th February the Council received a letter from

Yusuf Khan,
" desiring that some person might be sent to him to take an account
of the rents of the coimtry together with the charges he has been
at in keeping up the Sibandi i and procuring stores and ammunition,
and to receive from him the charge of the country, which done he
desires leave to go where he pleases as he is not willing to come to
this place."
In reference to this proposal the Council naturally decided

that it was
" only intended to prolong the time. It is therefore agreed that he
be informed we shall not send any person to him, but that we insist
upon his coming hither and that we are making all the necessary
preparations to compel him by force in case he continues obstinate."
To this Yusuf Khan made no reply.

Preston, meanwhile, was making every effort to obtain
trustworthy information about Yusuf Khan. On the 7th
March he reported be 10,000 sepoys, 15,000
his force to
Kalians, over 1700 black horse, 300 of which were very good,
being clothed and accoutred like English hussars, 200 European
foot, and 20 or 30 French troopers. ^ Yusuf Khan was also
reported to have ordered, in accordance with Indian practice,
all the tanks, wells, and watering-places to be spoiled for some
distance round Madura. Both Tranquebar and Tanjore
were supplying him with stores. On the 13th March Preston
sent to the Council a letter,^ in which he dealt with the whole
situation. He pointed out that the long delay was having a
^ Sibandi, i.e. irregular troops. Here apparently local levies as opposed
to State troops.
* On
the 21st March Preston sent in a complete statement of Yusuf Khan's
garrisons. The total number of men was 74^ companies (or 7450) of sepoys,
1580 black horse, and 6700 matchlock men and Kalians. 3Iil. Cons., 4th
April, 1763, p. 173.
3 Mil. Cons., 1763, p. 138.
very bad effect upon the native chiefs, who were hesitating
which side to take that it was not a mere question of beating
;
Yusuf Khan, but of crushing him so completely that he should

not be in a position to demand any conditions for his sub-
mission; that for this purpose the invading army must be strong
enough to be able to make two simultaneous assaults ^ on
the fortress that the direct route to Madura through Nattam
;
was destitute of water and blocked against an advance, and

might therefore be left for the present whilst the army advanced
through the country of the Tondaiman and the Little Mara van,
whose woods had never been attacked as yet by Yusuf Khan,
and would therefore allow a safe passage for the army into the
open country round Madura that this plan would deprive Yusuf
;
Khan of the chief advantage he expected not only from his

Kalians, but also from his sepoys, namely, the damage they
might inflict on the English during their march through
difficult country. For the dangerous duties of the advanced
guard he proposed to enlist some of the French prisoners to
form a Select Picket, as he considered the extra pay would
ensure their loyalty. In conclusion, he deferred sending any
final report on Yusuf Khan's strength as he found that the
reports of his spies were not always trustworthy.
As a matter of fact, Preston's spies did not care to enter
Madura, for they were well known to many of Yusuf Khan's
sepoys who had served under the Company. Two of them
Yusuf Khan caught and hanged, and others, rather than face
the risk of discovery fled to the Tondaiman's country.
Quantities of stores poured into Madura from the Karur and
Dindigul countries. Some had been stopped on suspicion by
Lieutenant Hart, and to encourage the vigilance of his men,
Preston had the captured stores sold for the benefit of the
captors.
The Council now thought it worth while to take some direct
notice of Maudave, whose presence at Tranquebar they
^ " I am opinion Sir, (as I mentioned in my first letter to Council)

still of
that the army should be such
as to admit of two attacks on it [i.e. Madura].
One of 'em to be a grand one and the other (if ever so small) can't but make a
very essential diversion." Preston to Lawrence, 15th Dec. Mil. Cons,,
27th Dec, 1763.
PREPARATIONS 137
were aware had hitherto ignored.

of, but They did not
possess, it is knowledge of what he was doing
true, sufficient
to demand his expulsion from the neutral Settlements, but
they shrewdly suspected that his actions were dangerous,
and thought to embarrass him by demanding ^ that he should,
as representative of the French nation, pay for the subsistence
of the French prisoners in their hands. He rephed on the
28th March, saying that he had no funds for such purposes, and
refusing to make any payment on this account whilst warning ,
the EngHsh that any failure on their part to make proper

provision for their prisoners, whether in prison or on parole,
would justify them in making their escape.^ Of course, Maudave
hoped that if the English ill treated their prisoners in any way
the latter would make every effort to join him. The Council,
however, made them the usual allowance.
On the 22nd March the Laboratory or Powder Factory at
Trichinopoly was accidentally blown up, eighteen artillerymen
being killed and six wounded. This unfortunate event caused
some delay to the expedition. It also suggested to the good
Padre Schwartz the necessity of a European orphan asylum at
Trichinopoly.
Towards the end of the month ^ the King of Tanjore wrote
to say that, on the conclusion of the treaty between himself
and the Nawab in 1762 by the mediation of the Council, he
had disbanded some of his sepoys, topasses, and the French
in his service, and that, having no suspicion of Yusuf Khan's
intention to rebel, he had allowed them to go to him, but that
he would send him no more assistance. The King, however,
at this time did not seem much incKned to give any active
support to the Nawab.
On
the 15th April the Council refused to allow Preston to
enlist any of the French prisoners, as they feared the latter
would enter the English service only in order to faciUtate
1 Mil. Cons., nth March, 1763.
* In a letter to Council dated 16th Sept. {Mil. Com., 26th Sept., 1763,
p. 250) Maudave used the same argument in protest against the Council's
declared intention of using the utmost rigour towards any Europeans who might
be captured in Madura, the greater part of these having, he said, been ill-treated
by the English.
8 Mil. Cons., 24th March, 1763.
— —

their own escape to Yusuf Khan. The same day they
considered a letter from Lawrence, now in Madras, reviewing
the military situation. He said :
" Yusuf Khan has thrown ofi his allegiance. He has despised
your orders and declared himself independent, and considering the
enterprising genius and amhition of this man as well as the prepara-
tions he is making and the large body of forces he now entertains,
it becomes highly necessary to put a stop to his usurpations as soon
as possible, lest, by the daily reinforcements he receives from the

French at Tranquebar and Negapatam and Haidar Naik's army, he
should become too powerful for us to subdue, and like another
Chanda Sahib, lay the foundations of a ten years' war, which will
not only immediately stop the Nawab's payments towards clearing
his debt, but entail again the whole burden of expense upon the
Company."
Lawrence enumerated the forces of Yusuf Khan, and

described the strength of his position and the force which he
considered necessary for his reduction —
about 900 Europeans,
5000 of the Company's and 2000 of the Nawab's sepoys, 2000
black horse, and as many poligars and Kalians as the Nawab
could persuade to join him. He also enumerated the force
which the Council could rely upon obtaining from Bombay
and Bengal as well as what they had on the Coast, which
barely came up to his requirements.^ He concluded this
long letter by remarking :
" I regard the Company's possessions on this Coast in more

imminent danger than they have long been exposed to, and unless
the Gentlemen at Bombay make a speedy efiort to reinforce us I
see not how the misfortunes we have to apprehend can be avoided."
These were very serious words, but after- events showed

that,if anything, Lawrence, underrated the strength of Yusuf
Khan, and more especially that of his fortress of Madura. The

same day news arrived from the King of Travancore that he
1 The force in Madras alone consisted of 182 cavalry, 162 artillery, 1674
Europeans and Topasses, and 6963 sepoys. Of these there could be spared
182 cavalry, 44 artillery, 780 infantry, and 4680 sepoys. Mil. Cons., Uth April..
1763, p. 193.
PREPARATIONS 189
had been compelled to conclude peace with Yusuf Khan, which,

in spite of a promise to assist the EngUsh when he should be
required, convinced the Council that they must expect nothing
from him.^ Further ill news came from Preston, who,
though he had managed to capture two of Yusuf Khan's
spies, one of whom was living quietly in Srirangam on a regular
salary, now reported ^ that two harharas, who had been sent
to Yusuf Khan at Tinnevelly and received poUtely by him,
had been murdered by the Kalians whilst on their homeward
journey. This somewhat improbable story is repeated by
Maudave, who, whilst reprobating the action, says that
Flacourt had remonstrated with Yusuf Khan on his receiving
the harharas so politely, and had been grimly told to await
the end of the story. This showed, says Maudave, how impos-
sible was any chance of reconciliation between Yusuf Khan
and the EngUsh. On the other hand, if Yusuf Khan really
took the share ascribed to him in this business, one cannot
understand how any agent of his would ever have dared sub-
sequently to show his face in Madras.^
A little later ^ Preston reported that Yusuf Khan was
occupying the country through which he had advised the
advance should be made, and it was expected that he would
soon attack the Little Maravan. His forces were increasing
rapidly. He had now more than 400 Europeans and a still
larger number of topasses and about 50 European cavalry.
The French were building a handsome church in Madura, and
had charge of all the ammunition and a very good laboratory.
As regards the French horse, these were largely deserters
from Karical, where Captain de Beck was stationed with
some Hussars originally from cavalry who had
recruited
come over to the English Madras.
after Lally's failure to take
Their Captain, Riquet, appears to have been a German, and
so possibly was their quartermaster Hurts,^ and many others.
^ Repeated orders were sent to Anjengo to persuade the King to make a

diversion by attacking Tinnevelly, but he never moved. See letter from
Anjengo to Madras, 2nd May. Mil. Cons., 4th July, 1763, p. 45.
* Preston to Council, 8th April, 1763.
' See p. 166 below.
* Preston to Council, 18th May. Mil. Cons., 25th April, 1763, p. 216.
6 De Beck to Council, 2l8t April. Mil. Cons., 25th April, 1763.
At the end of this month or the beginning of May ^ Yusuf
Khan visited Tinnevelly with a small force of sepoys, retm'ning
about the middle of May to Madura with some six lakhs
of rupees which he had collected. This shows that the
rumours of approaching war had not disturbed the southern
province.
Whilst matters were in this unsettled state, news arrived
from Bombay on the 19th May that a cessation of arms had
been concluded between England and France. This was
unsatisfactory to both Maudave and the Council. The
former had pledged himself to support Yusuf Khan in his
rebeUion, but could no longer do so openly, and yet he could
not either safely or honom'ably withdraw the men he had sent
to Madura. The Council, on the other hand, feared the early
recall of the King's regiment ^ to England, and knew that such
a reduction of their strength would make the capture of Madura
almost impossible, nor could they wait for further orders,
" as there is all the reason to imagiae that the French will lose no
time in endeavouring to settle their affairs in India, and should
Yusuf Khan remain unreduced till their arrival, he may probably
co-operate with them in such a manner as to make the reduction of
them very difficult." ^
On the 1st June, in order to put the French prisoners at

Trichinopoly and other out-stations beyond Maudave's reach,
they were all ordered to Madras, and on the 6th Lawrence
informed the Council that he would, on his own authority,
retain Colonel Monson and his regiment on the Coast, though
they had received orders to return to England, and that as his
own health did not allow of his taking the field, he should place
the army for Madura under the command of Colonel Monson.
The latter accepted the command, but he strongly dishked
assisting the Nawab in coercing his recalcitrant vassals,* whilst
his men, disgusted at being retained in India, showed but
^ Letters from Preston to Council, dated 5th and 23rd May. Mil. Cons,,
11th and 31st May, 1763, pp. 251 and 253.
^ The 96th, under Lieut. -Colonel George Monson.
3 Letter to Bombay, 14th June. Mil. Cons., 15th June, 1763, p. 25
* See above, p. 109.
—
PREPARATIONS 141
little enthusiasm for the service.^ Lawrence went to Trichi-

nopoly, where he arrived on the Ist July, to superintend the
preparations for the campaign.
At Trichinopoly Lawrence found the Nawab engaged in
negotiations. It was important to secure a safe route for the
army through the country of the Little Maravan, and to obtain
supphes from Tanjore. Fortunately for the Nawab, Tanjore
and the Little Maravan were hereditary enemies, and were
now engaged in one of their periodical quarrels. He gave
each to understand that if he would assist him in the present
expedition, he, in turn, after the fall of Madura, would assist
him against his enemy. ^ This, with the addition of a little
money, persuaded both to take sides against Yusuf Khan.
Tanjore sent a large supply of rice, and the Little Maravan
gave the English free passage through his territory. Nothing
now impeded actual invasion. Preston was ordered to go
to the support of the Little Maravan, and on the 8th July
Lawrence, without waiting for orders, affixed the following
proclamation to the gates of Trichinopoly ^ :
" Major-General Lawrence, do hereby give notice that I have

I,
joined theNawab against the rebel Yusuf Khan. Whoever is taken

with him will be deemed a rebel and treated accordingly. But those
who leave him in due time or before his troops come to any action
will be favourably received by the Nawab.
" As the English are in peace with all nations, Europeans who are
found with him will be treated as rebels likewise, except they will
leave before his forces act against the English, in which case they
may be assured of a favourable reception.
" Trichmopoly, 8th July, 1763."
Lawrence would doubtless have done better to leave the

Nawab, whose ally he was,
issue of this proclamation to the
and against whom Yusuf Khan had rebelled. It would also
1 " It was most unfortunate that the King's regiments and artillery should
be ordered home just at such a juncture, and consequently perform any duty
very unwillingly." Call to R. Smith, 18th Jan., 1764. Orme MSS., 27,
p. 112.
* SelectCommittee Proceedings, 11th Feb., 1771, and A General History
oftJie Kings of the Ramanad. Mackenzie MSS., IV., No. 21, pp. 195-8.
» Mil. Cons., 18th July, 1763, p. 74.
—

seem doubtful for the same reason whether he had any right
to declare that Europeans in the service of Yusuf Khan should
be treated as rebels. Maudave pointed out ^ that French-
men were not English subjects, and whether France and England
were at peace or war such a declaration was unjustifiable.
It was, in fact, merely a threat, made possibly in order to force
Maudave to declare his intentions, and it was certainly never
actually carried out. As Maudave says :
" In the petty combats which took place [in the field] and later
on during the course of the siege, prisoners have been exchanged
and the wounded sent back to their own party. This has been the
case all through." -
However this may be, Lawrence could count on the approval

of the Council, foron the 12th July, i.e. before they had heard
of his proclamation, they wrote giving him a free hand as to
the preparations for the expedition, suggesting that as England
was at peace with all European nations, any Europeans assisting
Yusuf Khan should be warned that they would be " treated
with the utmost rigour practised in such cases," asking him
to warn the Nawab to waste no time in negotiations with Yusuf
Khan, and instructing him to grant no terms except surrender
at discretion if Yusuf Khan persisted in defending his fort,
but requesting that he might be sent to Madras if he were
taken alive,
" though the nature of Yusuf Khan's rebellion is such that he deserves
to be punished in the severest manner and it is our firm resolution
to proceed with the utmost rigour against him, not only for what he
has done but as an example to deter others from the like."
At the same time Lawrence was granted discretion, if he

thought the reduction of Madura too difficult and too costly
on these terms, to modify them according to his own judgement.
Lawrence, however, was a man who never pardoned a deserter
or a rebel,^ and, if he had ever entertained any idea of mercy in
1 Maudave
to Council, 15th Aug. Mil. Cons., 25th Aug., 1763.
See Appendix II., p. 248.
*
' In 1753 one cause of quarrel with Governor Saunders was a supposed
insinuation that Lawrence was over-severe in dealing with deserters. Mil.

Cons., 4th Dec, 1753.
— —
PREPARATIONS 143
the instance of Yusuf Khan, this was wiped out by what he

beheved to be a direct insult to hinisolf and his officers. The
two Maravans, having come to Trichinopoly at the invitation
of the Nawab, paid a visit to Lawrence, and, as he writes :
" they informed me that Yusuf Khan had always frightened them
by telling them that he was certain uo expedition would ever take
place against him, that possibly a force might come as far as
Trichinopoly with a view of pleasing the Nawah, but no further,
and that even should they [the English] march from hence
[Trichinopoly] he could easily subdue them by his bribes. Yusuf
Khan will soon be convinced of the absurdity of his notions, for Major
Preston marches to-morrow morning." i
The absurdity of the idea that he could bribe the English

commanders should have shown Lawrence that it had not
originated in the mind of a man so shrewd and so well acquainted
with Enghsh officers as Yusuf Khan, and that its mention had
probably been suggested to the Maravans by an enemy who
wished to ruin Yusuf Khan irretrievably in the eyes of the
English. He, however, believed the story, and seeing in the
order of the Council to send Yusuf Khan to Madras an inten-
tion to show mercy, he strongly objected to such an arrange-
ment, ^ and declared that he ought to be made over to the
Nawab, whose countries he had usurped. This, though he
had yet to be conquered, decided the ultimate fate of Yusuf
Khan, for the Council replied on the 1st August :
" We observe what you are pleased to say relative to Yusuf Khan
should he be taken alive. Our desire of having him sent to Madras
proceeds not from any willingness we have to show him the least
favour. On the contrary, it is thatwe may in our cooler hours
dispose of him in such a manner as might appear properest. We
confess to you we think he will be a dangerous man to be entrusted
in the hands of the Nawab if his intentions are to make him a State
prisoner, but if it be agreeable to you to order the commanding officer
to execute him upon the first tree in the sight of the army, it will be
quite satisfactory to us."
^ Lawrence to Council, 13th July, 1763.

* Lawrence to Council, 22nd July. Mil. Cons., 1st August, 1763, p. 102.
Of the members of Council who were responsible for this
and Bourchier had been present on the
order, Lawrence, Pigot,
27th March, 1755, when Yusuf Khan had been awarded a
medal for gallantry and loyalty. Lawrence repUed briefly
that he would order Colonel Monson to consult the Nawab
" concerning the disposal of the rebel should he be taken alive,
but if I find the Nawab averse to put him to death, I will send
further instructions to Colonel Monson to hang him up in the sight
of the army." i
There was not, however, any necessity to apprehend undue

lenity on the part of the Nawab towards an enemy whom he
feared, and who had always treated him with contempt.
1 Lawrence to Council, 6th Aug. Mil. Cons., 9th Aug., 1763, p. 114.
CHAPTER XI
FIRST SIEGE OF MADURA
As soon as Yusuf Khan discovered the defection of the

Maravans, he invaded and ravaged their territory,^ but this
caused no serious impediment to Preston, who left Trichinopoly
on the 14th July, and taking the eastern route arrived unmo-
lested at Tirupuvanum, fifteen miles south-east of Madura, on
the 6th August. The Nattam Pass, having thus been turned,
was abandoned by Yusuf Khan and taken possession of by
Mr. West, an officer in the Nawab's service. In this way
direct communication with Trichinopoly was open to the
invaders.
Though, on the advice of Maudave, Yusuf Khan had
given up the idea of attacking Trichinopoly, it was necessary
to his prestige to makesome effort to check the English advance,

but at he ventured only upon small skirmishes. On the
first
11th August 2 a more serious affair took place. With a superior

force he attacked one of Preston's reconnoitring parties and
almost destroyed it, the EngHsh losing 150 sepoys killed and
wounded and 40 missing, as well as 200 stand of arms.' Yusuf
Khan sent word of this success to Haidar Ah, who replied mth
congratulations and promises of assistance, but reminded him
that he had not yet returned the districts taken in 1760.^ It
was probably, therefore, at this time that Yusuf Khan returned
Periyakulam to Mysore, but beyond supplies of all kinds and
» Nawab to Pigot, 2l8t Aug., 1763. /. 0. Records. Home Misc., 104.

' La%vrence to Council, 18th Aug., 1763.
' At a Court Martial held 18th Aug., Abdul Kadir, Commandant of Sepoys,
was acquitted of cowardice, but convicted of not having sufficiently exerted

himself, and was reduced to the rank of Subadar. Orme MSS., 47, p. 74.
* Haidar Ali to Yusuf Khan. Country Correspondence, 1764. Enclosure
No. 4 to Nawab's letter of 18th Oct.
L
—

permission to recruit secretly in Mysore, Yusuf Khan received
no material assistance from Haidar. Kirmani tells us ^ that
Haidar was too busy elsewhere in Malabar and with the —
—
Marathas to give effective assistance to Yusuf Khan, but if
he had really wished to help him it would have been easy to
postpone other matters, and it would seem that all he intended
was to support Yusuf Khan so as to weaken the Nawab by a
prolonged war, but not so far as to enable the former to
estabHsh his independence, for that would have only been the
creation of a more dangerous rival to Mysore.
It was now necessary for Maudave to make good his
promises of assistance to Yusuf Khan. He had probably
received news of the signature ^ of the Preliminary Treaty about
the same time as the EngHsh. His position, through no fault
of his own, had become terribly difficult. M. Jean Law, wTiting
a year later, said :
" I don't know what state I shall find this afiair. Perhaps
in
there will be no question of Yusuf Khan, for if tlie English have been
able to employ their full strength against him, he must probably
have fallen, but if he still holds out how heart-breaking for us what !
shame also in the eyes of the people of the country, who will never
understand our policy in abandonmg this man how much tact !
will be required on the one hand to reassure the English and on the
other to guard the Frenchmen in the service of Yusuf Khan against
his ill-humour !If in the end this man, either by force or accommo-
dation with the English, manages to secure his position, what have
we not to fear from him ? He mil make incursions even as far as
Karical in spite of the King of Tanjore, who certainly will not trouble
^
to protect us."
Such were the difficulties which Maudave had to solve.

His knowledge of the Peace made it impossible for him to assist
Yusuf Khan any longer openly, that is, effectively. He could
hope to save the reputation of the French in the eyes of the
Indian Powers only by mediating an honourable reconciliation
1 History of Hydur Naik, p. 162.

* The Preliminary Treaty was signed at Fontainebleau 3rd Nov., 1762.
Collection of Treaties, I. 0. Library, 15 G. 17, p. 1.
* Letter to M. Bertin, Ministre Secretaire d'Etat, dated 16th Nov., 1764.
Archives du Minister e des Coloni'^^s, Paris, 98 C^, p. 95.
I
FIRST SIEGE OF MADURA 147
between Yusuf Khan and his enemies but negotiation is fruit-

;
less when one has nothing to offer. Had the war in Europe con-
tinued the English might have been intimidated by the throat
of an attack upon Trichinopoly by the combined forces of
Yusuf Klian, Haidar AH, and the French, but. now the French
were unable to act and Haidar AU would not move until he saw
a French force landed in India. Maudave, recognizing that
Yusuf Khan alone could not attack Trichinopoly with any hope
of success, succeeded in dissuading him from making so rash an
attempt, and placed his last hope in the effort to check the
English advance by persuading them that Madura was pro-
tected from attack by the lately signed treaty. On the 15th
August he wrote to this effect to Madras, claimed Madura as a
French possession, asserted that the officers of the French
corps in Madura held commissions from him, and that the corps
was therefore a regular corps belonging to the French King
and Company, and that the right of Yusuf Klian to dispose of
Madura ^ was as good as that of Muhammad Ali himself to his
dominions stating in conclusion, that he was authorized by
;
Yusuf Khan to arrange an accommodation. To this the Council

for the time gave no reply, ignoring the letter on the ground that
as Maudave had refused to provide subsistence for the French
prisoners,^ and had produced no credentials,^ there was no need
to recognize him as the representative of France. Maudave's
brother had been arrested at Tiyagadrug early in August.
His papers revealed nothing, but he was supposed to be re-
cruiting for Yusuf Khan.
Preston on his arrival before Madura had encamped at
1 " By an act or deed signed at Negapatam by M. de Maudave on the one

part and by Yusuf Khan on the other."Flamicourt's letter to the English,
dated 2nd Sept., 1763. Mil. Cons., 16th Sept., 1763, p. 196.
* By Article III. of the Treaty it was settled that each country should pay
for the subsistence of its own soldiers, whilst prisoners in the hands of the
enemy.
' In this letter of the 15th Aug., Maudave claimed to have full powers as
representative of France. In his Relation he speaks of " la mission donn6e k
M. de Maudave parle Coraite de I'lle de France." M. Pouget de Saint Andre
says he held his commission from the Eling. Under any circumstances, as this
commission authorized him to annoy the English in every possible manner the
production of the original or even of a copy would have justified his immediate
expulsion from any neutral territory.
—

Chittapet in the bed of a dry tank. On the 17th August this
was flooded by sudden, heavy rain, and much of his musketry
ammunition was spoiled. That brought for the artillery had
already suffered from other causes, and stores of all kinds were
wanting, for nothing could be obtained locally, Yusuf Khan
having thoroughly devastated the surroundiag country.^
Major John Call, the Company's Chief Engineer, who had now
joined Preston, wrote to the Council :
" I can form no idea of the plan Yusuf Khan intends to adopt
for his defence, but his cruelties are unparalleled to men, women
^
and children, as well as the destruction of the country."
On the 19th August news arrived direct of the signing of

the Definitive Treaty and the conclusion of peace in Europe
on the 10th February, 1763.
In spite of his difficulties, Preston on the 20th August
took the fort of Tiruvadur, and on the same day Colonel
Monson with the main army arrived in camp. He had told
the Nawab that he expected to take Madura in eighteen
days.^ On the 23rd Preston took Tirumbur, and the two forts
of Vehchinattam and Umasatrum, on the way to Nattam,
were abandoned by Yusuf Khan. The Enghsh now advanced,
and on the 28th came in sight of Madm'a, where they
found Yusuf Khan's army encamped outside the walls, upon
which were flying the French colours as well as those of Yusuf
Khan. Here they learned that Yusuf Khan had wished to
send his wife and family to a place of safety, but that his officers
had refused to allow him to do so unless he sent their own
famihes also.
" So it seems," wrote Major Wood, " all their families are still in
the fort, on which accoimt most people think he will make the better
defence." ^
^ Nawab /. 0. Records, Home Misc., 104.

to Pigot, 21st Aug., 1763.
» Call to Council, 18th Aug. Mil. Cons., 29tli Aug., 1763, p. 153.
s
Nawab to Council, 26th Nov., 1770. /. 0. Records. Home Misc., 104.
ijawTence's letter of the 2nd Aug., 1763, to the Council shows that he expected
the reduction of Madura to be an easy matter. He says, " I hope I shall soon
be able to give you an account of the reduction of Madura."
Wood to Council, 31st Aug. Mil. Cons., 4th Sept., 1763, p. 163.
On the 1st September the army passed close to the town,

and was fired on by the Fort. On the 2nd September Monson
encamped at Teppakulam about two miles to the south-east
of Madura. There is no official return of his force, but it was
stated by an officer who served in it as " about 1600 Europeans,
including two troops of dragoons, i.e. German Hussars, 4000
sepoys, 2000 black horse and many thousands of Kalians."
The same officer gives the garrison of Madura as consisting of
3000 sepoys, 1000 horse, one troop European Hussars, 200
French, and a large body of Kalians. ^ As soon as Monson
had encamped he received a protest from M. Flamicourt
against his attacking a fortress belonging to the French.
The besiegers being in absolute ignorance of the defences
of Madura, Monson rode out the next day to reconnoitre the
western side. He had with him the European cavalry, about
300 Moorish horse, a battahon of sepoys, a European picket, and
two guns. Near the south-west angle of the fort they came to
a bank behmd which the enemy had about 250 or 300 native
horse with another high bank in the rear. There was a fine
plain between the two banks, and though the ground was under
the fire of the fort, as the enemy appeared to be rething, Monson
posted his sepoys behind the first bank and ordered his cavalry
to cross it into the plain. The hussars went over in a moment,
and without waiting to form charged at once, but the native
horsemen, who owned their own horses and were nervous of
exposing them to artillery fire, hesitated to follow. Yusuf
Khan's men, noticing this hesitation, immediately turned,
^ Letter from Palamcotta dated 22nd Oct., 1764. (Scots Magazine, 1765,
p. 264. See Appendix V. p. 287. Marchand (see Appendix, p. 267) says the
English had 2500 Europeans and 30,000 Indians, Yusuf Khan 200 Europeans and
6000 Indians in garrison. In a letter dated 1st Oct., 1763, when he had given
up all hopes of success, Monson wrote that the minimum force required to reduce
the place would be 1000 European infantry and 250 artillery, which leads one
to suppose that his army was at the time less than this and much less than that
given in the text. In all probability Monson had taken to Madura only (exclusive
of his regiment, possibly 700 strong) about 900 Europeans and Topasses, the
number estimated as necessary in Colonel Lawrence's letter of the 11th April.
See p. 138 above. Colonel Wilson {Madras Army, I. p. 186) asserts that
Lawrence's proposals were sanctioned, adding that about 100 Europeans
from Bombay joined later on. Godfried Sweepe, in his Short Account for 1763,
says Preston's detachment contained 200 to 300 Europeans and the main
army 1400.
charged the small body of hussars and drove them in confusion
back to the bank, which the survivors crossed in safety, their
pursuers being checked by the steady fire of Monson's sepoys.
Sixteen or seventeen troopers were killed or wounded.
Lieutenant [Samuel] Stevenson was killed, and Captain Donald
Campbell wounded and taken prisoner.
" When Yusuf Khan, who was out to see the fight, met Donald
Campbell stripped and wounded, he shed tears, said he was sorry
for his misfortmie and wished it had happened to another person.
After that Donald was treated very civilly by the Rebel and the
French." ^
In fact, Yusuf Khan sent him back to the Enghsh camp.

—
Though very severely wounded he was still in the year 1767^
—
suffering from a wound received this day he speedily recovered
sufficiently to resume his duties, but he was not present in the
camp at the time of Yusuf Khan's capture and execution.
Apparently Yusuf Khan himself directed his men in this
affair — it is the last occasion in which he is mentioned as being
actually on the field —but the French commander in the town
was now M. Flamicourt, M. Marchand being at the time in
disgrace. On the 2nd, as has been said, M. Flamicourt had
written to protest against the attack on the town, but to this
Monson only rephed on the 5th, pointing out that he had
himself commenced hostilities by firing on his men on the 1st,
and summoned him to surrender. On the 6th he sent in
a printed copy of the Definitive Treaty.^ Flamicourt
rephed that he held the place under orders from M. de Maudave,
and could and would do nothing without his orders.
On the 9th Maudave wrote to Madras protesting against
the English threat to hang any European taken with Yusuf
Khan.
" I would willingly believe," he said, " Gentlemen, that this
indecent declaration is rather a vain threat than a determined
1 Call to Lawrence, 4th Sept. Mil. Cons., 15th Sept., 1763, p. 188. Call
explains the bad behaviour of the native cavalry as follows : " Yusuf Khan
has bought all the horses of his people, so that they are not afraid of having them
kUled, whereas most of ours bestride their whole dependence."
« Donald Campbell to Council, 17th Aug., 1767. Orme MSS., 77, p. 149.
« Mil. Cons., 1763, p. 186.
resolution. impute it indeed to the character of one of the

I
commanders your troops more known in this co\mtry by the
of
^
childish hatred he affects against the French than by^his exploits."
This letter crossed one from the Madras Council, ^ who had
reconsidered their determination to ignore M. de Maudave. .
They refused to recognize him as the accredited representative

of France (as his statement that he had no funds for the support
of the French prisoners whilst he had funds to raise troops,
showed that he was a representative of his nation only as far
as it suited his own purposes), but demanded that he should, in
his private capacity, and in conformity with Article XI. of the
Definitive Treaty,^ by which Muhammad Ali was acknowledged
as Nawab of the Carnatic, refrain from assisting in any way the
rebel Yusuf Khan, " whom you call Khan Sahib," ^ and notify
the same to the officers he had sent to Madura. On the 16th
the Council demanded that he should order M. Flamicourt to
cease all acts of hostility and either evacuate or surrender the
town.
Matters meanwhile were not going well for the EngHsh
before Madura. It was all very well to adopt a haughty tone
towards M. Flamicourt, but the troops were disheartened by
the defeat of their small force of cavalry on the 2nd, and the
cavalry and Kalians of the enemy made it very difficult to
approach near enough to the town to begin the siege works ;
sickness had already appeared amongst the troops, and desertion

commenced amongst the Europeans.^ Call suggested that the
offer of a reward of 50,000 rupees when the siege was over
would reanimate the ardour of the men, and on the 9th September
Lawrence wrote to Monson that the Nawab had promised to
give them this amount at once and a similar amount on the fall
of Madura.
1 Mil. Cons., 15th Sept., 1763,

p. 191. Apparently Maudave alludes to
General La^vênce, who seems to have been personally disliked by the French.
* Dated 10th Sept., 1763.
' See p. 154 below.
* Yusuf Khan is repeatedly referred to in the English Records as the " Khan
Sahib " in fact, this is the usual mode of reference to one who has been granted
;
the title of Khan Bahadur. Yusuf Khan's right to this title was acknowledged
by the inscription on the medal presented to him in 1755 see p. 21 above.
:
* Call to Council, 4th Sept. Mil. Cons., 15th Sept., 1763, p. 188.
152 YUSUF KHAN : THE BEBEL COMMANDANT
So early as the 5th September at Call's advice Monson asked
for fourteen heavy guns and sufficient ammunition for a ten
days' bombardment, with the intention of attacking the north-
east angle of the fort and the east face adjoining, but Call
then declared that, owing to the great extent of the gla9is and
esplanade, it would be impossible to fix his camp at a less
distance than two and a half or even three miles, or to commence
breaking ground for the trenches closer than twelve or fifteen
hundred yards. On the 7th Monson called a Council of War,
comprising Majors Piers, Chapman, ^ Preston, and Call, which
decided, contrary to the opinion of General Lawrence, that
without more guns and ammunition, it was useless to prosecute
the siege. This conclusion was communicated to Lawrence,
who repHed on the 12th ^ that the reduction of Madura could
not be laid aside with due regard to the reputation of his
Majesty's troops and without sensibly affecting the security
of the Company's possessions and again on the 14th, ^ when he
;
had received a letter from Monson, pointing out that the

immense amount of labour requu'ed for a regular siege would
need more time than was likely to be available before the
coming of the heavy rains, Lawrence wrote that if the
siege had to be deferred to another season it would have
to be deferred altogether, but if Monson still thought that
the siege could be raised consistently with the honour
of England, " after the insults we have met with from the
French,"* he hoped he would favour him with his opinion
to that effect. Meanwhile he would supply him with every-
thing required to continue operations.^ At the same time
he forwarded Monson's letter with his own replies to Madras,
where the Council, after considering them on the 19th September,
1 These two officers belonged to the 96th Regiment, and left Madura with
Monson at the end of the first siege.
2 Mil. Cons., 17th Sept., 1763, p. 212.
» Mil. Cons., 20th Sept., 1763, p. 219.
* e.g. the burning of the English colours by Marchand in Yusuf ELhan's
camp on the 9th Jan., 1763.
^ Lawrence's difficulty in sending artillery to Madura lay in the impossi-
bility of finding draught cattle. He so denuded Trichinopoly of men that he
had not 30 left fit to bear arms. Lawrence to Council, 4th Sept. Mil. Cons.,
19th Sept., 1763, p. 218.
— —
decided to send whatever might be needed, and then came to

the following extraordinary resolution ^ :
" If after all, the difficulties that may occur should appear
insurmountable and the siege of Madura cannot be undertaken with
any probability of success, it may be more adviseable for the present
to desist from the enterprise, for though the consequences to be
apprehended from a fruitless retreat are very bad yet those from an
ineffectual attempt must be much worse. It is therefore agreed that
General Lawrence be fully acquainted with our sentiments on this
head as well [as] with the measures we have taken, and that in case
he should think it adviseable to order Colonel Monson to retreat
it is to be recommended to him to cause a formal declaration to be
delivered to M. Flamicourt, as we shall to M. Maudave, setting forth

that, as they have hoisted French colours on the fort and declare
it to be the property of the French acquired in the year 1762, we
refrain from hostilities against it, expecting their compliance with

the Treaty of Paris as soon as they shall be authorized. It is also
to be recommended to the Greneral, in case of a retreat, to keep pos-
session of the forts they have taken and, if possible, to secure the pass
through the Nattam woods."
In reference to the Treaty of Paris the only article of im-

portance in this connection is the eleventh,^ which runs as
follows :
" In the East Indies, Great Britain shall restore to France, in

the condition they are now in, the different factories, which that
Crown possessed, as well on the coast of Coromandel and Orixa,
as on that of Malabar, as also in Bengal, at the beginning of the year
1749. And his most Christian Majesty renounces all pretension
to the acquisitions which he had made on the coast
Coromandel of
and Orixa since the said beginning of the year 1749.^ His most
Christian Majesty shall restore, on his side, all that he may have
conquered from Great Britain, in the East Indies, during the present
1 Mil. Cons., 20th Sept., 1763, p. 221.

* This corresponds to Article X. of the Preliminary Treaty. The latter,
however, does not contain any mention of the mutual recognition of Muhammad
Ali as Nawab of the Camatic and of Salabat Jang as Subah of the Deccan.
George Chalmers, Collection of Treaties, I. p. 467.
' Madras itself was French at the beginning of the
in the possession of the
year 1749, but as the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed 7th Oct., 1748, provided
for a general restitution of conquests, Madras was considered as being in the
possession of the English from that date.
war : and will expressly cause Nattal and Tapanoully, in the island
of Sumatra, to be restored ; lieengages further, not to erect forti-
fications, or tokeep troops in any part of the dominions of the subah i
of Bengal. And
in order to preserve future peace on the coast of
Coromandel and Orixa, the English and French shall acknowledge
Muhammad Ali Khan for lawful Nawab of the Camatic, and Salahat
Jang ^ for lawful subah of the Deccan and both parties shall renounce
;
all demands and pretensions of satisfaction with which they might
charge each other, or their Indian allies, for the depredations or

piUage committed on the one side or the other during the war."
It is clear that it was not easy to bring the case of Madura

under this article. If Madura belonged to the Nawab, then the
French could point out that there was nothing in the treaty
them to restore places ^ which they had taken from
to require
the Nawab, whilst on the other hand the EngUsh might retoi*t
that there was nothing but Maudave's alleged treaty with
Yusuf Khan to show that Madura had ever been in the posses-
sion of the French before the signature of the Preliminary
Treaty on the 3rd November, 1762, and therefore that, Muham-
mad AH being recognized by the Definitive Treaty of the 10th
February as the lawful Nawâb of the Carnatic, the EngHsh
had a perfect right to assist him in putting do^Ti the rebellion
of his vassal Yusuf Khan, but the French no right to support
a rebel against him. It would have been fatal to the
prestige of the English to have postponed the settlement of the
^ Subahdar, or Governor for the Mughal.

i.e.
^ Salabat Jang had been deposed before this time. See p. 132 (n.) above.
^ "Upon considering the 11th Article of the Treaty we find a distinction
is made between such places that may have been conquered from Great Britain
and all other acquisitions since the beginning of 1749. It is stipulated that the
conquests made from Great Britain shall be restored, but his Most Christian
Majesty [i.e. the King of France] only renounces all the pretension to other
acquisitions. It follows from hence that we acting in right of the Company
cannot demand of the French restitution of Madura unless it can be made
appear that it was theirs [i.e. the Company's] at the time Yusuf Khan made
a cession of it to the French." Mil. Cons., 21st Sept., 1763, p. 231. " It is
very possible that the French may on their resettling in India endeavour
to form connections with any of the Country Powers, who may be best able
to assign to them countries for the maintenance of their forces, as that will be
the only means by which they can support them, and it does not appear that
they are by the Treaty of Peace restrained from obtaining new grants."
Letter to Couit, 7th Nov., 1763, para. 5.
case, as Maudave proposed,^ iintill the arrival of the French

Commissary for the settlement of affairs on the Coast, and they
decided that only two courses were open to them. The
firstwas to claim that Madura had belonged to them before
Yusuf Khan had signed his agreement with Maudave, which
could be proved only by the production of a Sanad^ from
the Nawab, bearing an anterior date and giving them the pro-
vinces of Madura and Tinnevelly.^ Fortunately for the credit
of the Council, this solution of the difficulty was put aside.
The second course was to compel Maudave to disavow all
connection with the French now in Madura. This, though
apparently difficult, was feasible, for the reason that, if they
were under his orders and continued to carry on war against
the English, he could not at the same time continue to enjoy
the protection of the Danes, the latter being at peace with the
Enghsh. The Danish Governor, M. Abestie, and his Council
were on the best of terms with Madras, and accordingly on the
23rd September a letter wâs despatched to Tranquebar com-
plaining of Maudave's behaviour. On the other hand Colonel
Monson was instructed to withdraw the threat to hang any
Europeans taken in Madura.'*
Monson, akeady doubtful of success, continued his opera-
tions. On the 15th September work was commenced on the
trenches at a distance of fifteen hundred yards. Fire was
opened on the 24th. On the 28th Call reached the foot of the
gla9is by a double sap and estabhshed himself on the counter-
scarp. —
But the ditch was wide 28 yards it is said and it —
would have needed 15,000 fascines to make a passage only 12
feet broad, and this work, moreover, would have to be done
in face of 8 or 10 guns and a heavy musketry fire which, with
the amount of ammunition at their disposal, the Enghsh could
not keep down. Even had the passage been completed, further
1 M. Maudave to the Madras Council, 16th Sept., 1763. Mil. Con^.,

26th Sept., 1763, p. 250. The Commissary appointed by France was M. Jean
Law. His commission was dated 18th March, 1764, and he did not leave
France until April, 1764 {Mil. Cons., 31 Jan., 1765), but his appointment waa
known in India early in 1764. See p. 171 below.
* An official grant.
» Mil. Cons., 2l8t Sept., 1763, p. 231.
* Mil. Cons., 26th Sept., 1763, p. 254.
success was doubtful when the assault had to be made on such
a narrow front against a determined garrison, " which at any
time could retreat when they were sure they could no longer
oppose us." ^ It was clear, therefore, that with the guns and
Umited amount of ammunition at their disposal nothing further
could be done. Monson wrote to this effect to the Council.
All this time the besiegers were unable to prevent Yusuf
Khan from communicating with his friends outside the fort,
and he constantly received suppUes without the Enghsh being
able to intercept them.^ As has been said, M. Flamicourt
commanded the French in Madura. M. Marchand appears
to have been in command of a mixed force acting from outside.
We have seen that he joined Yusuf Khan in Travancore. From
his own account
it then fell to his lot to conduct negotiations
for loans with Yusuf KJian, whose disgust and suspicion were
quickly roused by the Httle assistance which he received from
the French. Maudave says that Marchand was a man of
violent temper, and that it was impossible for Yusuf Khan,
who was also of a fiery disposition, to get on with him for any
length of time. After a number of minor quarrels Yusuf Khan
became at last so exasperated that, without consulting Maudave,
he threw Marchand into prison ^ and gave the command to the
German, M. Eiquet.* The latter behaved very badly and
proved incompetent, and both Maudave and M. Charles Flacourt
begged Yusuf Khan to restore Marchand to his post. To this he
would not consent, but gave him charge of the mixed force
already mentioned, with which he caused much annoyance to
the EngUsh, whilst Flamicourt took command in the fort. Onthe
night of the 4-5th October, Marchand entered the town with a
large convoy, and, according to his own account, two nights later
he made a successful sortie, causing heavy loss to the besiegers.
As early as the 28th September,^ Monson had written that
he was hopeless of success. In this and subsequent letters he
1 Call to R. Smith, 18th Jan., 1764. Orme MSS., 27, p. 1 10.
* Letter to Court, 26th March, 1764, para. 5.
In an undated letter (see below, p. 171) Marchand says that during the
2
months of August and September he was ill in Tinnevelly and Palamcotta, but
he mentions his imprisonment in his Precis Historique, p. 22.
* " Un mauvais officier Allemand." Maudave, Relation.
5 Mil. Cons., 10th Oct., 1763, p. 260.
—
explained that his own health was unsatisfactory, and he wished

to be reUeved of the command, though he offered to leave as
many men of hisregiment behind as might be necessary, and to
use every endeavour to induce them to enlist in the Company's
service. He advised the postponement of further operations
until after the rainy season, and that in the mean time Major
Preston should take the command and retain possession of the
forts akeady captured. These proposals were accepted by the
Council on the 17th October,^ for by this time they had received
a favourable reply from the Danes at Tranquebar, which solved
i.e. the risk of fresh embroilments with
their chief difficulty,
the French.
On the 6th October, ^ M. Abestie, the Danish Governor, re-
phedtothe Council's letter of the 23rd September that Maudave
had arrived in Tranquebar on the 1st January, 1763, that they
had received no intimation from him as to whether he came
in a public or in a private capacity, and that therefore on the
1st March they had asked him to declare his position. He had
replied that his commission was merely passive and concerned
with the maintenance of the friendly sentiments of those of
who were well incHned towards the French.
the native princes
Since that date M. Abestie had received no complaints from
the English until the arrival of their letter under reply, when
the Danish Council had immediately asked Maudave for an
explanation. He had appeared before the Council on the 28th
September and again on the 3rd October and disowned any
connection with M. Flamicourt. Thereupon the Danish Council
had required him to write to M. Flamicourt to that effect, and
to give them the letter with a copy which might be sent to M.
Flamicourt through the Madras Council. This he did, and
declared at the same time that he was about to leave India. His
letter to M. Flamicourt was as follows ^ :
" I have the honour to inform you, Sir, that I am preparing

myself to quit this country and to return to the Isles. I think myself
^ Lawrence had returned to Madras and resumed his seat in Council on
the
10th October.
* Mil. Cons., 5th Nov., 1763, p. 280.
^ Mil. Cons., 5th Nov., 1763, p. 284. The translations of Maudave's letters
entered in the Madras Consultations are very badly made, but it seemed best
to copy them verbatim.
obliged to acquaint you also that I do not by any means meddle
in the afiairs ofMadura nor in those of your army. It will entirely
depend upon you to answer to your conduct in the present circum-
stances, and you are only to listen to reason and your duty in the
resolutions you have to take. Therefore I now request and desire
that you do not consult me in anything, for I have the honour to
repeat that I cannot anyways concern myself in these kind of things.
I hope you may be able to content all the world, but I beg you may
find the means through your own prudence without having any
manner of recourse to my advice or to my orders, which I have a
thousand solid reasons for refusing you. I hope that this declaration
will be sufl&cient, and that you will conform yourself accordingly."
In his Belation M. de Maudave informs us that, finding

himseK hard pressed by M. Abestie, he wrote to warn Flami-
court to pay no attention to any letters which might be trans-
mitted through the English, for such would only be written
under compulsion and intended to deceive them but this letter
;
supplied all that the English required, namely, a disclaimer of

any connection between the French in Madura and the repre-
sentative of the French nation in India. In other words, it
was a withdrawal of the French claim to Madura and a practical
confession that, whatever the terms of his alliance with the
French, Yusuf Khan's cession of his country to the French
was all a fiction. The Enghsh were now free to deal with
Madura as they pleased, and were able to represent to the
native powers that the latter could expect nothing more from
France.
All through October, under pressure from Lawrence, Monson
continued his efforts against Madura. Early in November
he twice reconnoitred the Ditch, ^ and convinced himself that
it was impossible to cross it, and the approaching bad weather
made it imperative for him to retreat, whilst it was still possible

tomove his guns. Before he did this he thought it worth while
to attempt negotiations for a surrender, but speedily convinced
himself that Yusuf Khan washed for nothing better than to
waste his time in this way. On the 6th November he wrote ^ to
1 Monson to Lawrence, 5th Nov., Mil. Cons., 15th Nov., 1763. " An unford-
able ditch 28 yards broad which they had not the means to fill up being an
insurmountable object." Madras Council to Bengal Council, 18th Nov., 1763.
* Mil. Cons., 17th Oct., 1763, p. 267.
the Council that he was about to retire from Madura, and that,
in his opinion, the best course would be to retain their hold on
the Nattam Pass and the forts they had taken near Madura,
to collect provisions and stores and resume the siege after the
rains before the harvest was gathered, so as. to force Yusuf
Khan open or to give up the country
either to fight in the
outside his forts. The guns were withdrawn the next day and
the army retreated to Tirumbur, whore it arrived on the 12th,
just in time to escape a heavy fall of rain, which continued
incessantly for about ten days, and, says Major Call, would have
made it impossible to save their artillery ; as it was, not a shot
or anything was left behind. ^ On the 18th Monson and Majors
Piers, Chapman, and Call departed for Madras, Major Preston
being left in command.
Maudave tell us ^ that in this siege the English fired more
than 40,000 cannon shot, and threw into the town more than
18,000 shells, and that they lost by death and desertion 700
Europeans, and spent about a milhon pounds sterHng, not to
mention that they had been prevented from using their forces
in any expedition which might have injured France, and that
all this had been achieved without costing France or the French
Company a penny. There exists no record by which to test

these statements. Monson kept no Journal, and submitted
no returns. Maudave mentions that the gallant M. Flami-
court was killed a day or two before the siege was raised,
thus forcing Yusuf Khan to replace Marchand in command
of the French troops. On the side of the besiegers Lieu-
tenant Stevenson and a young engineer named Barnard ^
were killed, and Captain Donald Campbell wounded.* A
1 Call to R. Smith, 18th Jan., 1764. Orme MSS., 27, p. 111.

* See Appendix II., p. 248.
3 Letter to Court 4th May, 1764, para. 59.
« Call in his letter of 18th Jan., 1764, to R. Smith (Orme MSS., 27,
p. 116),
says that with the exception of himself all the members of his Corps were
wounded and one killed. The oflBcer killed was certainly Barnard ; William
Stevenson was in Manilla, so the officers wounded must have been Edward
Cotsford and John Maclean. He also says that three pioneer officers were
wounded, but only two pioneer officers, Abraham Bonjour and Thomas
Casemore, are mentioned in the Army Lists. Capt. Grant says vaguely
{Journal, 11th Jan. 1764. Orme 3ISS. 4, p. 57) "We lost a great number of
men and some gallant officers before it [i.e. Madura]."
Dutch account indeed says that Preston's younger brother
was killed, and M. Bruno says that Captain Eudolph
Marchand (no connection of the officer of that name in the fort)
lost a leg, but I can find no corroboration of the former state-
ment, whilst Captain Eudolph Marchand certainly lost a leg
at the siege of Vellore in 1761, and remained in the service for
some years after the siege of Madura, so that it seems im-
probable that he lost a leg in this affair also.
Thus ended the first siege of Madura, undertaken in almost
absolute ignorance of the difficulties of the undertaking, and
conducted apparently without either skill or energy. The
failurewas universally ascribed to the lack of ammunition and
military stores,^ and some people went so far as to say that
these were intentionally withheld so as to prevent success, but,
seeing that Lawrence denuded all his garrisons of practically
every man capable of active service, and that he and Major Call
were given a free hand as to the stores they considered neces-
sary, one can only conclude that the abiHty and strength of
Yusuf Khan had been grievously underrated.^ So severely
did the prestige of the English suffer that the Subah, Nizam
Ah, wrote to Maudave that he was thinking of appointing
Yusuf Khan to be Nawab of the Carnatic in the place of
Muhammad Ali.^
The latter was now at Madras. At first the Council wished
him to go to Madura, but it was feared that the presence of
the rabble which always accompanied him would only hinder
the miUtary operations. On the 4th October he came to Madras,
and was treated with the usual display of respect. On the 17th
October he attended a meeting of the Council, and was solemnly
assured that in the event of his death the Enghsh would protect
and support his sons, and that, in future, care would be taken
1 Monson, in his letter of 3rd Oct. {Mil. Cons., 17th Oct., 1763, p. 268),
e.g.
says " It gives me great concern this attempt has proved unsuccessful, which
:
has been entirely owing to the want of military stores."

" Madura is much better provided than we
2 See
pp. 131 and 152 above.
could have imagined." Lawrence to Monson, 4th Nov. Mil. Cons., 15th
Nov., 1763.
3 Many years before this the Nawab asserted that Mr. Orme had told him
that he had been offered 40,000 Pagodas by Yusuf Khan to secure for him the
Eentership of the Trichinopoly and Srirangam countries. Public ConevJtations,
25th Sept., 1758.
—
" to place no persons designedly in the

management of any of
his countrieswho may be disagreeable to him."
On the 14th November Mr. Pigot, who had always been a
good friend to Yusuf Khan, made over the Governorship to
Mr. Kobert Palk. The influence of the latter in Council had long
been very great, and it is unhkely that the actual change made
any difference to Yusuf Khan ^ except to convince him that
under no circumstances could he ever hope for any favour from
the Council. A native of Madras named Sunku Kama, formerly
in the service of Kobert Orme, wrote to him as follows ^ :
" Sir, You know well what faithfull services that the Commandant,
Muhammad Yusuf Khan, done it to our army at the time of siege
of Trichinopoly for to carry the provisions to our garrison and also
at the time of siege at Madras by Mons. Lally he brought forces from
Tinnevelly and prevented all the French undertakings and fought
well at St. Thomas Mount, which will appear by the history book ^
made by General Lawrence at England. All which our President
and Coimcil did not think of it and sent the army against him by the
perswation of the Nawab. I believe this is thankful kind for the faith-
full services he done to us, and now I am
informed by severall hands
that the Commandant beat well to ourkilled good many
army and
men, which makes to retreat our army to this side the river, but I
cannot recollect it particularly whether it is certain or not."
Apparently Maudave had but httle communication with

the French in Madura after his letter advising Flamicourt
that he must in future act as he thought best, and must expect
no further orders. Though he had informed the Danish
Council in October that he intended to leave India shortly,
he lingered on until the Expedition frigate, at the end of January,
1764, brought orders for himself and M. Flacourt to return
to the lie de France. He
Tranquebar on the 6th
finally left
March. On the 20th of the same
a letter from M. month
Marchand to M. Hausse was intercepted, in which he wrote
that they had not heard from M. de Maudave for three months,
but that he and M. Flacourt had left for the lie de France,
taking Yusuf Khan's money with them.^
^ See, however, p. 110 above.
* Postscript to letter dated 6th Nov., 1763. Orme MSS., 30, p. 45.
^ Cambridge's Account of the War in India. See also p. 308 below.
« Orme MiSS., 281, pp. 18, 19.
M
—
CHAPTEE XII
SECOND SIEGE OF MADURA
YusuF Khan was well satisfied with the retreat of the English.
Marchand writes :
" He came himself to my house to wish me joy and to thank me

for his success, all the glory of which he attributed to me. He gave
me a written promise for 50,000 rupees and distributed money to my
men.
" However, I felt we must profit by the rest which our enemies
were giving us to prepare ourselves for fresh combats. I had the
damaged fortifications repaired and constructed several redoubts
at some distance from the fort." 2
In other words, Yusuf Khan, no doubt with the assistance

of Marchand and a M. Perigny, who had at one time served
as an engineer at Fort Saint David, set about strengthening
the town. The damage done by the first bombardment was
repaired,^ the ditch cleared, and, as it was found that the
approaches of the besiegers had been faciUtated by the numerous
watercourses which intersected the plain round Madura, these
were filled up.* Further, to delay the actual attack on the town
and at the same time to protect that portion of his army which
was encamped outside, a ring of redoubts was constructed at
^
distances of six and even eight hundred yards from the ditch.
1 For thda and the remaining chapters I have made use chiefly of Colonel
Campbell's Journal {Orme MSS., 74), indicating always where facts are taken
from other sources.
* Precis Historique, p. 27.
* " The east face of Madura
is entirely new repaired. Above 3000 workmen
are constantly employed upon other parts of the Fort." Preston to Council,
15th Jan., 1764. Mil. Cons., 23rd Jan., 1764, p. 45.
* Preston to Council, 25th Jan., 1764. Mil. Cons., 6th Feb., 1764, p. 87.
6 Call to Council, 15th Feb., 1764. Mil. Cons., 23rd Feb., p. 128.
;
SECOND SIEGE OF MADURA 1C3
Provisions ^ and warlike stores of all kinds were collected,

powder was made, and some new guns were cast.^ Yusuf
Khan was so sure of the revenue of his provinces that he
sent out orders for it to be collected half in money and half in
grain.^ Finally the Kalians in the neighbourhood were con-
firmed in their loyalty by the gift of arm-rings and other
presents of cheap trinkets with which Yusuf Khan appealed
to their love of finery.*
Yusuf Khan was, indeed, under
no illusion as to the
intentions of the English. He
expected them to return with
increased forces, and he was determined that they should
find Madura still stronger than before.^
As soon as Preston had taken over charge from Monson
on the 18th November, he wrote to the Council to announce his
intention to return towards Madura and to convince the people
of the country that the war was by no means ended but when ;
the cessation of the heavy rain ^ made it possible for him to

move, and he wished to start on the 25th, the men of the 96th
Regiment {i.e. Monson's Eegiment) refused to march. They
knew that their regiment had been ordered home, and their
colonel and field officers had akeady started for Madras. They
acknowledged that Colonel Monson had advised them to enhst
in the Company's service, but they could not be compelled to
do so, and there was no one present whose orders they w'ere
bound to obey. Captains Johnson and Lysaght of the 96th
used what influence they had to persuade the men to follow
Preston but they were obstinate, and he had to leave them
;
at Tirumbur until they were recalled to Madras.' However,

before this happened, some 400 were induced to enUst by certain
* These came chiefly from Dindigul. Preston to Council, 15th Jan., 1764.
* Letter from Palamcotta, 22nd Oct., 1764. Scots Magazine, May, 1765.
» Preston to Council, 15th Jan., 1764. Mil. Cons., 23rd Jan., 1764, p. 44.
* Call to Council, 15th Feb., 1764. Mil. Cons., 23rd Feb., p. 128.
* In spite of Yusuf Khan's efforts, the weakness of his walls is shown by
the fact that, on more than one occasion, portions fell down in consequence of
the concussion produced by the firing of his great guns and from similar causes
e.g. see pp. 199, 200, below. See also Appendix V., p. 297.
* The rains actually ceased on the 22nd Dec.
^ See p. 140 above. Apparently neither of these ofiScers (Johnson and

Lysaght) entered the Company's service themselves.
—

of their lieutenants, to whom the Council granted Captains'
commissions on condition that they each enlisted fifty of their
men. A similar difficulty had arisen in 1749 when Lawrence ^
had tried to enlist the men in the Independent Companies
brought out by Admiral Boscawen, as they refused to engage
unless placed under the command of their own officers, who
in turn could be persuaded to enter the Company's service
only by the offer of higher rank, since by doing so they forfeited
their standing in the King's army. At that time the want of
officers was so great that this concession to the new men did
not seriously affect those already in the Company's service,
but now the case was different, and the Company's subalterns
suddenly saw their promotion indefinitely blocked and a
dangerous precedent estabUshed. To this grievance was added
the fact that they conceived the Council had acted by no
means generously in regard to their field allowances whilst they
were serving at Trichinopoly,^ and that, much against their will,
the best of them were forced to take extra turns of duty with
the sepoy companies, a duty which often deprived them of all
chance of distinguishing themselves, for the loss of which they
did not consider the allowances granted an adequate compensa-
tion.^ Thus whilst the private soldiers in the King's regiments
were by no means eager to enter the Company's service, the
» Lawrence to Council, 8th Oct., 1749. Orme MSS., India, XI. p. 2987.
* A demand for half-batta was granted by the Council on the 2nd of May,
1763, only because "the present situation of our affairs obliges us to overlook
their behaviour," and Captain Black, the senior of the officers concerned in
this demand, was dismissed as an example to the remainder.
^ At this time, though the sepoy companies were grouped in battalions,
apparently the European officers were appointed only when they took the
field e.g. when they concentrated at Trichinopoly, Preston was ordered to
appoint European officers (see above, p. 134). Preston accordingly con-
sulted Colonel Monson.and wrote to Lawrence {Mil. Cons., 7th Dec, 1763) " Our :
sepoys, Sir, at present are upon a very bad footing, I may indeed say upon no
footing at all. . The Colonel is of opinion that each Battalion ought to have
. .
a captain, two subalterns, and nine sergeants, and that these officers ought to
be fixt to them those at present seem heartily tired of their situation and can't
;
help at times complaining of it. They say (I believe you will allow with some
justice, Sir) that the extraordinary pains and trouble which is required for the
proper discipline of the sepoys and the little credit to be got by them in com-
parison of Europeans, makes it but fair and just that every officer in [the]
Battalion of Infantry should take his Tour. But it's not every officer in the
Infantry (as you are very sensible. Sir) that will do for the sepoys."
SECOND SIEGE OF MADURA 165
officers already in it were in some doubt as to whether it was

worth their while to retain their commissions.
Meanwhile, on the 15th December, Pratab Singh, King of
Tanjore, died unexpectedly, and was succeeded by his son
Tulsaji. The Nawab ^ asserted that Pratab Singh had been
murdered by his son, and that both Haidar Ali and Yusuf Klian ^
had been privy to the crime. One caimot conceive any reason
for this charge, but it is quite certain that Tulsaji was as
hostile to the Nawab and as friendly to Yusuf Khan as his
father had been. The Council, knowing well the reasons for the
Nawab's hostility to whatever Prince might be on the throne
of Tanjore, refused to make any enquiries as to the cause
of Pratab Singh's death. On the 22nd Preston wrote to
the Council that Yusuf Khan had received 200 sepoys from
Diudigul, who, he pretended, had been sent to him by
Haidar AU, though they had really been recruited by his
own agents and with his own money. It was shown later on
that Haidar Ali pubhcly dismissed large numbers of his men,
to whom he secretly gave orders to enlist with Yusuf Khan.'
These reinforcements, however come by, necessitated Preston's
own army being strengthened, and he again insisted on being
provided with a force sufficient for two simultaneous assaults.
On the 27th December the Council decided to issue regular
commissions to all Subadars and Jemadars attached to sepoy
companies. This matter, which was of great importance
for improving the status of the sepoy officers and the discipline
of the native troops, had been under consideration for some
years, but Colonel Wilson points out that the present order was
not carried into effect until 1766.^
1 John Wood
to Council, 16th Dec. Mil. Cons., 22nd Dec, 1763.
In their letter to Court of the 24th March, 1764, the Council mention
*
this matter, but refer only to Tulsaji and his minister Mankoji.
* " Yar Khan, who had the command of 40 horse in the King of Tanjore's
service,having desired a Cowle from Haidar Naik went from thence to him, in
allappearance as dismissed from the former's service. Haidar Naik made him
a present of an elephant and gave him permission to go and assist Yusuf Khan,
and wrote a letter to the people in garrison at Dindigul ordering that every one
under pretence of being dismissed his service should repair to Yar Khan."
Extract of news from Dindigul received with the Nawab's letter of 5th April,
1764. Rous' Appendix, No. XIII, p. 193.
* Madras Army, I. 181.
— ^

On the 29th December Preston was at last able to make
a start from Tirambur, and, leaving the 96th behind him,
he advanced to Andakottaram, only one mile from Madura.
The enemy made a display of force, but did not offer any actual
resistance,and by the 5th January, 1764, ^ Preston had received
ample supplies of provisions and reported that he was fortify-
ing Teppakulam. His plan of campaign was, by means of
strongly fortified posts, to cut off all communications between
Madura and Yusuf Khan's supporters in the Provinces and
so force a surrender by famine, without running the risk of
losing a number of men in assaults on the town itself, which
was sure to be desperately defended. ^ On the other hand,
Yusuf Khan received early in January a reinforcement of
100 Europeans collected from all parts of Southern India.
This showed that it would be necessary to cut off his com-
munications with the south before the investment of the town
could be considered complete.
Onthe 20th December Yusuf Khan had despatched his
vakil Ishwant Eao to Madras with letters to the Council and
General Lawrence, in which he expressed regret for his past
conduct, and promised obedience for the future on condition
that he might be allowed to continue as Eenter of the Pro-
vinces at seven lakhs of rupees a year. The vakil reached Madras
on the 9th January,* but though the Council, very naturally,
did not believe in the hona fides of his mission, they on the
12th gave him the following answer :
" Whereas Muhammad Yusuf Khan, late Renter of the Madura

and Titmevelly countrys, has, by letters to the Honourable President
and to General Lawrence, expressed himself sorry for his late dis-
obedient conduct and desirous of returning to his obedience, we,
the Governor in Council of Fort Saiat George, do hereby engage our
words and honour, that in case Muhammad Yusuf Khan does
^ Captain Thomas Adair says it was not until the 18th January that
Preston received sufficient supplies of provisions from the poligars, and that even
then he was in want of military stores. /. 0. Records, Misc. Letters Received,
Vol. 47, No. 63.
" See
pp. 205 (n.), 211, and 286 below.
' Mil. Cons., 16th Jan., 1764, p. 33. If one is to believe all the reports of
additions to Yusuf Khan's European Corps, he must have enlisted, immediately
preceding and during the course of the war, between five and six hundred men.
* Mil. Cons., 9th Jan., 1764,
p. 22.
;
SECOND SIEGE OF MADUBA 167
restore to such persons as we appoint to receive them, the forts of

Madura and Palamcotta, togetlier with all other forts and places
under his orders belonging to the Madura and Tinnevelly countrys,
a fair account sliall be taken of all the guns, stores, ammunition,
provisions and expenses, which he has been at, on account of those
coimtrys and places, and that for all these articles he shall have due
credit, and if it appears, after he has been debted (sic) for the rent
due from the country at nine lakhs per year since July, 1761,i that
any balance is coming to him, it shall faithfully be paid, and Yusuf
Khan may freely come under our protection to Madras or go to any
other place he please without any hurt or hindrance being offered
to him." 2
Khan did not trust this offer, which was

Either Yusuf
practicallyan acceptance of the terms he proposed in his letter
received on the 7th February, 1763,^ or he had sent Ishwant
Eao only to spy out the state of affairs at Madras, for the vahil so
employed himself that on the Slst of the month the Nawab
suggested to Council that he should be turned out of the town
but before this request was received the man had been sent
away under a guard of peons.*
1 This shows that Yusuf Khan had cleared his accounts up to that date at
least. He hadcertainly sent instalments at later dates (see p. 1 10 above),
but, probably, had not sent in his final accounts.
* Country Correspondence, also Wilson, History of the Madras Army, I. 188.
This letter is hardly as stern as one would expect from Council's Letter to Court
" Soon after he found we were preparing to re-
of 26th March, 1764, para. 5.
commence the siege, he sent his Vakil to Madras with a letter signifying the
concern he was under on account of his late behaviour and promising to return
again to his allegiance provided he was permitted to continue to rent the
countries. We know not whether this proceeding (sic) from fear or an intention
to amuse us and induce us to enter into a negotiation with him and by that
means delay our operations. We however returned his Vakil immediately to
him with a letter informing him that nothing but his immediately surrendering
himself to us could entitle him to expect any favour." (B. M. Addl. MS.,
34688, f. 76.) Yet the letter to Court is in conformity with the actual
resolution of the CounciJ, which runs as follows :
—
" Tho' we have no reason
to imagine Yusuf Khan has any other view in writing the above letters than
to amuse us for the present, it is however agreed that an answer be returned
to him informing him that he cannot expect to continue in the management of
those countries and that the only means he has for securing to himself his Life
and Effects are to surrender up immediately all the places in his possession to
the Company and rely entirely upon our mercy." {Mil. Cons., 9th Jan., 1764.)
Apparently the actual letters despatched were left entirely to the Governor.
' See p. 135 above.
* Mil. Cons., 31st Jan., 1764, p. 74.

— —

On the 27th December reports were received from Preston
that Yusuf Khan was trying to seduce the officers of the
Mara van poligars. On the 15th January he wrote that one
of them had brought him a letter,^ which had been sent
them by Yusuf Khan, warning them that in supporting the
Nawab they were only preparing their own ruin after he himself
should have fallen. This was a true warning, but their ruin
was certain whatever course they took.
Yusuf Khan's vakil had much information to give to his
master. On the 31st December the Pitt had arrived with 250
Europeans, and these were sent on to Tondi on the 25th January
under Captain Vilhers Fitzgerald. Artillery of all kinds
was being collected, and was thus described by Call ^ :
" Our artillery for the siege is now to consist of 8 twenty-four

pounders, 12 eighteen-pounders, 4 twelve-pounders and 4 nine-
pounders, with near 40,000 shot, three or four hundred shells and
5,500 barrels of powder, a pretty apparatus indeed for the reduction
of a rotten old country fort, but it is at a great distance from Madras,
and as there can be no sending for repeated supplies we must have a
sufficient stock with us."
had been the intention of the Council to leave the con-

It
clusion of the campaign in the hands of Preston, with whose
conduct and plans they were fully satisfied, but on the 23rd
January Lawrence informed them that Major Charles Campbell,^
then at Vellore, had requested that, as he was the senior officer
on the Coast, and practically the whole of the Company's force
was being concentrated at Madura, he might be placed in
command. The Council recorded the following resolution :
" We are much concerned that Major Campbell should by the

above application put us under the disagreeable necessity of taking
^ This was simply a repetition of his appeal to them before the beginning
of the struggle. General History of the Ramnad (Mackenzie MSS. Translations,
IV. 21).
* Call to Richard Smith, 1 8th Jan., 1764. Call, who was a member of
Council, had returned to Madras by the 7th Dec, 1763. Orme MSS., 27, p. 112.
^ " Campbell, I believe, will go and take the command soon, because every
man of the Company's troops is to be employed, and he thinks it would be a

reflection on him if he did not insist on having his right." Call to Richard
Smith, 18th Jan., 1764. Orme MSS., 27, p. 110.
the command from Major Preston, with whose conduct we have

the greatest reason to be well satisfied ; yet as we cannot, agreeable
to the rules of the Service, well refuse Major Campbell's request,
and as there is an absolute necessity for more field officers in camp,
it isagreed that Major Campbell do take upon him the command of

the army and that instructions be prepared for him accordingly.
It is also resolved that a letter be addressed to Major Preston,^
thankiag him for his services and informing him that we do not
doubt but he will still continue to exert himself as usual in conjunction
with Major Campbell for the good of the Service."
On the 26th the command was given to Major Campbell

with practically the same instructions as had been drawn
out for General Lawrence at the beginning of the war,^ the only
difference being that he was to consult Majors Preston and
Call before consenting to any modification in favour of Yusuf
Khan.
On the 31st January news arrived of the despatch of a strong
detachment from Bombay. The same day the French frigate,
the Expedition, arrived at Tranquebar. Yusuf Khan was
informed that it had brought a promise of French assistance.
It had really brought the recall of Messieurs Maudave and
Flacom-t .^
Some time in the course of this month M. Hugel had
arrived at Goa, i.e. in Portuguese territory.* It was over a year
sinceM. Mallet had been sent to fetch him, provided with the
money requisite to pay the debts incurred by himself and his
men in Mysore, as it was obvious that Haidar AU would not
do anything to facilitate their departure. M. Mallet, fearing
that a direct request to Haidar to release M. Hugel would
meet with a refusal, halted at Salem, and, whilst he com-
municated with M. Hugel, ostensibly engaged in trade. It
1 Despatched 26th Jan., 1764.
See p. 142 above.
'
Letter from Mr. Brouwer. Mil. Cons., 8th Feb., 1764.

*
* Letter to Court, 20th Oct., 1764, para. 34. According to this letter Hugr>l
arrived at Goa in Jan., 1764. Apparently he stayed at Goa for some months,
as Campbell heard from Anjengo only on the 2nd April {Orme 3ISS., 74, p. 30)
that he had marched through the Pass near Calicut with 200 Frenchmen. From
what port he embarked for Tranquebar is not mentioned, but he did not reach
that place until the 3rd June, 1764 {Mil. Cons., 7th June, 1764). The details
regarding M. Mallet's visit to INIysore are taken from M. de Maudave's Relation.
was reported to Yusuf Khan that M. Mallet was using his
money own private purposes. He therefore sent one of
for his
his officers to make inquiries. This man, being of a talkative
disposition, when he got to Dindigul, let slip the object of his
mission to Haidar's governor, who immediately sent word to
his master. The thereupon refused to allow M. Hugel
latter
to leave Mysore, and when he was
told that it was important
that all the French should rendezvous in one place so as to be
ready to act when the French fleet and army should arrive,
Haidar rephed that in that case they might as well come to
him as go to Yusuf Khan, and that he would willingly let them
march as soon as they were really required. M. Mallet naturally
did not think it wise to return to Madura, and, though the
money he had brought relieved M. Hugel' s necessities, it was
some time before Haidar would let him go. In fact, he did
not do so until he had heard that peace had been concluded
between England and France, and had satisfied himself that
no help was to be expected from the latter country. Instead,
however, of sending him by the direct route through Dindigul,
he sent him down to the Portuguese settlement at Goa, so
that if M. Hugel chose to go to Yusuf Khan and thus cause
a fresh rupture between the EngUsh and French, the Madras
Council would have no tangible ground for offence against
himself.
On the 2nd February Mr. Colley Lucas was appointed
senior surgeon with the army at Madura with instructions to
inspect the work of the other surgeons.
On the 10th February Campbell arrived at Madura and
i
took over command from On the 13th ^ the latter

Preston.
reported that he had occupied Sikandarmalai on the road
to Tinnevelly, and that his posts now closed all communications
between Madura and Dindigul and Tinnevelly. According to
information received from deserters, there were 200 Europeans
and about 300 Topasses and Coffrees in Madura. Preston also
wrote ^ that an Englishman, the first European to desert from
Madura, had come in with a letter from a M. Eiquet, proposing
1 Campbell's Journal, Orme MSS., 74, p. 3.
« Mil. Cons., 27th Feb., 1764, p. 144.
» Preston to Council, 13th Feb., 1764. Mil. Cons., 27th Feb., p. 144.
—
to bring over his corps of hussars, and he forwarded a copy of

a letter to the Council which had been sent into camp by M.
Marchand, closed and without any covering letter to the of&cer
incommand. He had taken a copy of it, and then returned it
with as httle ceremony as it had been dehvered. This letter
was as follows :
" Gentlemen, I make no doubt that you know I came into Madura
a year ago with a French detachment, empowered to join Yusuf
Khan, then carrying on war with the Raja of Travancore. I joined
his army on the 9th day of January, 1763, when I raised the standard
of the King, my master, in the place of yours, which was hoisted in
his camp.
" I cannot suppose, Gentlemen, that you are ignorant of the
treaty of alliance which Yusuf Khan entered into with M. Maudave
in the year 1762, or that he received some time ago sanads for the
Kingdom of Madura from the Subah of the Deccan. Sickness
obliged me to leave this place during the months of August and
September, 1763, during which time I remained at Tinnevelly and
Palamcotta to re-establish my health. I gave the command of
my troop at my departure to M. Flamicourt, one of my officers.^
" On my return to the Capital at the beginning of October I
found that your army had been firing at that place for some days,
" I learned at the same time that you had paid no manner of
respect to the protest which M. Maudave made you, nor to that made
by M. Flamicourt to M. Monson in regard to the march of your army
against that place. I immediately perceived that I had no choice
but to oppose your army, which was daily drawing nearer by sap to
that place, of which it was at last obliged to raise the siege.
" Yusuf Khan has just showed me. Gentlemen, the two letters
which you have written to him. I was much surprised at your
style, and at the same time I reproached him for having written to
you and for having despatched a vakil to you without my knowledge.
For I declare that, if he had consulted me upon this occasion, as he
ought to have done, I should have saved you the trouble of returning
him such answers. I am to acquaint you. Gentlemen, that in con-
sequence of my powers and the treaty of alliance existing between
Yusuf Khan and my nation, he can by no means dispose of Madura,
Tinnevelly or Palamcotta, without my concurrence, and as for me
I can do nothing without that of M. Law (Governor-General of our
Settlements in India), whose arrival with our forces on the Coast is
* See p. 156 above.

— —

daily expected. ^ It is with him, Gentlemen, that you must discuss
the matter of Madura. ... I entreat you. Gentlemen, to consider
seriously in reference to your second and imjust expedition against
this Capital, for my orders and intention are to support it as well
as the standard of the King, my master, which is hoisted over it,
until the arrival of our Governor-General."
On the 14th February Major Call arrived in camp, and at

once set out to inspect a new post which was being established
on the north side of the river opposite the camp, probably
that named Fort Defiance.^ It is the only outpost erected
during the siege which can be identified with any approach
to confidence. Portions of it what
are said to be included in
is now known as the Tamakam.
was a lofty building, an old
It
pagoda being utilized in its construction, and was used as a signal
station for communicating rapidly with all the other outposts.
On the 15th Call wrote to Madras, reporting very unfavour-
ably on the state of affairs :
" By means
of presents of rings &c. Yusuf Khan has found the
means drawing over the Nad Kalians again to his interest and to
of
infest Tiruvadur, Tirumbur and Nattam. Yesterday while I was
entering Oury Sahom [? Uma Satrum] with 300 horse and 200
sepoys they attacked our rear and wounded 5 men. They have also
promised to surprise Tiruvadur or Tirumbur and have invested the
road to Tondi, so that we have had no letters from thence for ten
days. In short there are here so many clashing interests and the
Nawab expects such immediate returns from the conquered country
that it is impossible to reconcile all parties." 3
Call asked for carpenters, fascine makers, and even coolies,

for, said he :
" we cannot get one here by means of the deficiency in their pay in
bandying (sic) their money in exchange.* Yusuf Khan, however, has
See p. 155 (n).

1
" The Pajmaaster lived in a very roomy building, of eastern architecture,

*
about two miles to the northward across the river, called Fort Defiance." Col.
James Welsh. Military Reminiscences, I. 23. 1830.
Mil. Cons., 23rd Feb., 1764, p. 128.
3
* Even the sepoys found it difficult to furnish themselves with provisions
upon the Batta allowed them. The Nawab therefore, in lieu of Batta gave
them rice " sufficient for them to live on," and paid the excess cost out of his
own pocket. Charles Bourchier to Joseph Smith, 11th April, 1767. Ortne
MSS., 76, p. 71.
2000 at least working out of the fort on the glafis, and at

severalredoubts besides a great number within the walls. I
am astonished how he makes his people stay with him or finds

money to pay them. We shall most certainly want all the troops
— —

we can assemble together even though we had all the Manilla
garrison."
This may well have been the case, seeing, as he says in

a letter dated the 16th :
" We have not here above 400 efiective Europeans and about
1200 sepoys, and we had only 2 field-pieces last night in the Une." ^
This is the first reference made to the number of troops

with which the siege was recommenced,^ and even allowing
for the withdrawal of a large portion of the 96th Eegiment,
it shows how heavy had been the losses suffered by the English
in the first siege. Marchand says the English resumed the
siege with 3000 Europeans, but that is, according to the Madras
recordiS, practically twice as many as the highest number that
the English ever had effective at any time during these opera-
tions.^
went on to advise that, in order to avoid the delays

Call
of the sea passage, all reinforcements should be sent by land.
He concludes :
" Unless something very favourable happens you must not expect
that we can begin any siege or even attempt it till we have double
the force we have nowEuropeans, and have entirely taken from
in
the rebel all fifty miles of Madura.
the forts within He has really
made great additions to the fort and has outposts to a considerable
distance on three sides,* so that we shall be obliged to take them
all before we can get near to begin our approaches, and we shall
want more sepoys as well as horse to cut ofi a communication of

ten miles round or more. The Kalians are now very troublesome
both near Nattam and between Tirumhur and Tiruvadur, and I fear
will continue so unless we can contrive to buy them over by means
of arm-rings and such things as Yusuf Khan distributes plentifully
amongst them."
Mil. Cons., 23rd Feb., 1764, p. 130.

1
In an intercepted letter dated 23rd Feb., 1764, from Yusuf Khan to M.

*
MaUet, the former says the English had renewed the siege with 500 fewer
Europeans than the first time. Onne MSS., 281.
^ Precis Eistorique, p. 31. See also p. 188 below.
* Yusuf Khan had no outposts on the north side because of the river.
The same day Campbell moved his camp towards Preston

at Sikandarmalaiand began the construction of a new post
called the Exagon,^ in front of his camp to the west of the
town.
On the 17th Preston was despatched with a small force
to intercept a convoy, which was reported to be coming for
Yusuf Khan from Tinnevelly but saw nothing of it and
;
returned to his camp.

On the 13th February the Council had received a letter
from Mr. Brower ^ at Tranquebar, saying that the French at
that place had formed a kind of Council under a M. Dupetitval,
formerly first bookkeeper at Pondicherry, and now a councillor.
The Madras Council therefore thought it advisable to draw up
a formal protest against French interference, in which they
summoned the French commander in Madura to surrender and
threatened the severest penalties if he failed to comply. To
disprove the French claim to Madura, reference was made to
Yusuf Khan's letter of the 20th December, 1763, as proof that
he had acknowledged himself to be a servant of the Company
at a date much later than his alleged transfer of Madura to
France. On the 17th the Council requested M. Jûpetitval to
forward their Protest to the Governor of the He de France
and to M. Law. M. Dupetitval repUed,^ with quiet mockery,
that he did not understand English, and that, even if he had
been able to do so, he had no authority to deal with such
matters, but that, if he could obtain trustworthy translators in
good time, he would forward their letter as requested. A copy

of the Protest was also sent to Major Preston, to be delivered
to the commander of the French forces in Madura.^
The same day Campbell despatched Ensign Hamilton to
open a new road to Nattam through Satrum, the old one
being infested by the Kalians.
On the 19th Yusuf Khan fired a salute of twenty-one guns
in the fort. It was supposed that he had received news of the
1 13 always so called, though Campbell probably meant Hexagon.

This fort
* Apparently a Danish gentleman who acted as an agent or special corre-
spondent for the Madras Council.
3 21st Feb., Mil. Cons., 27th F ih. 1764, p. 152.
* Mil. Cons., 17th Feb., 1764, p.. ;8.

arrival of the Expeditio7i with its pretended promise of French
support.^
On the 20th Campbell gave orders to repair the great tank
to the west of Madura in order to secure a good supply of water
for the various outposts.
Captain Fitzgerald arrived in camp on the 21st with the
250 men who had come by the Pitt.
On the 22nd a letter from Yusuf Khan to M. Mallet, and
on the 23rd one to M. Hugel, were intercepted. In these he
said that the English had renewed the siege, but with greatly
reduced numbers, and that he hoped with the aid of M. Hugel
not only to repulse them and capture their train of artillery,
but even to drive them back to Trichinopoly and possibly
to Madras. He accepted M. Mallet's explanation of the delay in
extricating M. Hugel from Haidar AU's clutches, and requested
that they would go to Calicut, where they would be supphed
with money by M. Hausse,^ and then, going by sea, effect a
landing between Manapad and Tuticorin. From thence it
would be easy to pass to Palamcotta and march on Madura
together with the army of observation, which was based
on that fortress.^
On the 22nd Campbell and Call reconnoitred the high
ground in front of Yusuf Khan's outposts, and thinking there
was possibly something in Eiquet's offer to bring over his troop,
sent in a man, who pretended to be a deserter, to confer with
him and to fix the attempt for the morning of the 26th.
On the 23rd Yusuf Khan's cavalry showed signs of activity,
and Campbell on the 24th strengthened all his outposts so as
to be prepared against a sortie. This day Campbell received
the Council's reply to Marchand's letter and also theh Protest,
which he sent in with a proftosal that, as he himself did not
understand French, Marchand should come out and have
an interview with Captain Bonjour, a Swiss officer who knew
^ See p. 169 above.

^ M.Hausse (see p. 123 (n.) above) was the agent for Maudave
and the French generally at Calicut. After the war the Nawab made many
efforts, with what success is uncertain, to force him to surrender property
alleged to have belonged to Yusuf Khan..
3 See p. 120 above. >.
' —
that language. Marchand agreed, and the interview took

place on the 25th. Marchand describes it as follows ^ :
" After the usual compliments Captain Bonjour notified me, in

the name of the Colonel, [i.e. Major Campbell] of the ratification of
peace in Europe between France and England. He summoned
me to quit Madura immediately with my troop and not to bear
arms any longer against the English imder pain of being punished
as one who had broken the treaty concluded between our two
sovereigns.
" I replied to this summons that, having been sent under superior
orders to Madura, only the revocation of those orders could authorize
me to quit the party of Khan Sahib that it was my duty to obey,
;
without questioning as to whether I was right or not in fighting

against the English, and that, without being intimidated by the
threats of Captain Bonjour, I would scrupulously fulfil what honour
and obedience to my superiors might require of me.
" Captain Bonjour became milder at this reply, and no longer
addressed me as the Commandant of the French corps. He tried
to tempt and dazzle me as a mere private man. It was no longer
the captain of 200 Frenchmen whom he sought to detach with his
troop from the party of Khan Sahib it was only the private person,
:
whose judgement, zeal and courage he had the honour to fear.

'
Why,' said he to me in the name of the Colonel, why attach '
yourself to a hopeless cause ? Yusuf Khan cannot escape being

beaten what use is there in sacrificing your life and reputation ?
;
What do you expect from this Rebel ? Even if you succeed in main-
taining him against our efforts, have you forgotten his treacherous
treatment of you ? He will be all the more treacherous the more
he owes you, and will pay you only in the coin which traitors use.
—
Consider on the other hand what is offered you immense and certain
rewards, your honour saved by the conclusion of peace between our
two countries and your fortune assured !
" I replied to this harangue that, when it was a question of doing

my duty, I calculated neither dangers nor rewards
that the former ;
were equal for us both, and, Fortune favoured me, I hoped to

if
escape them and to enable Yusuf Khan to triumph, even at the risk
of making him imgrateful to me. I withdrew after this reply and
reported to Yusuf Khan on my return what had been said to me,
without however mentioning the proposals which had been made
to me at the same time."
^ Precis Hislonqtie, pp. 32-34.
—

Before retiring Marchand gave Bonjour a written reply ^
to the Council's Protest of the 17th February, in which, after
saying that he could do nothing without orders from M.
Law, he added :
" Therefore I exhort you, Gentlemen, to reflect on the topic of

your last article, ^ for I think you will be responsible for the Christian
blood shed in the first siege and for that which may be in the
second. As to your threats. Gentlemen, they do not in the least
affright me, the more so as the right of reprisal is allowed to be made
against those who act contrary to the laws of humanity. ... As
to myself I am so little master of political affairs that I understand
no other business than to make use of my sword against all those
who attack or shall attack the French flag [now] hoisted in Madura."
When the Council received this letter (14th March), they

recalled the fact of Marchand's breach of his parole (see p. 126
above), and decided to write to Campbell, that if Marchand was
the same man who was taken prisoner by Captain Smith in
1760, incase he
" should come out again with a flag of truce or should by any means
fall him
into his hands, to detain . . . and send him to Madras."
Apparently Campbell took no notice of this order.

On the 26th February the German officer Eiquet brought
over his hussars to the Enghsh. It will be remembered that
this officer had succeeded to the command of the French
when Marchand was imprisoned by Yusuf Khan. Marchand
says ^ he crept into Yusuf Khan's favour by flattery and tale-
bearing, and that he was a coward, and was saved from
punishment only out of respect to the prestige of the Europeans.
However this may be, in his first letter to Preston * Eiquet
Mil. Cons., 14th March, 1764, p. 185.

1
This article (see p. 175 above) or paragraph protested against the con-
*
tinuance of the French in Madura, and demanded that they should either
deliver up the town or leave Yusuf Khan, under penalty of being " treated with
the rigour due to so manifest a violation of the Treaty of Peace." Mil. Cons.,
18th Feb., 1764, p. 122.
* Precis Historique, pp. 23, 24.
* See p. 170 above.
asked that matters might be so arranged that he should appear

to be taken in an ambush, that he might be sent to Chidam-
baram with his men, none of whom should be allowed to enter
the English service, and that he should receive 15,000 pagodas
for maintenance until the arrival of M. Law. Preston agreed
to these terms, with the exception of the price of his treachery,
which he reduced to 8000 pagodas. Nothing more was heard
from Eiquet, and so Campbell was in some doubt as to
whether the whole affair was not a trick contrived by Yusuf
Khan. However, on the chance of Eiquet being in earnest,
he, as has been said, sent in a man to say that the pretended
ambuscade would be arranged. He hoped that if Eiquet
came out of the town he would be accompanied by the native
horsemen, and that thus, by a proper disposition of his own
troops, he might capture at one stroke not only Eiquet's
troop, but the bulk of Yusuf Khan's cavalry. An ambush
was therefore formed of 200 grenadiers, 150 Europeans, all
the European hussars, 1700 sepoys, six field-pieces, and 800
native horse, who took up their positions on the evening of
the 25th near Fort Defiance on the north side of the fort,
the signal to be given by the firing of rockets.
" Early this morning I sent to Major Preston to send out small
parties from the high ground to endeavour to induce the enemy's
cavalry to skirmish, but none appeared for some time. At last the
enemy's hussars came off in full gallop and surrendered themselves
to our cavalry, which wheeled from the right and left on them.
They were immediately conducted to camp, in number 45, ^ including
officers, all extremely well mounted. The enemy's black horse
not coming out, partly deprived us of putting our whole scheme into
execution by cutting them off." ^
Of the officers one was Lieutenant Fowkes, and they were

accompanied by the surgeon, Carere,^ who was much in
In his letter of the 26th Feb., Campbell says 3 officers and 41 hussars
1
{Mil. Cons., 2nd March, 1764, p. 167), but there was also the surgeon, M. Carere.
* Campbell's Journal, 26th Feb., 1764. Orme MSS., 74, p. 9.
* This gentleman was apparently a Protestant, for he received promotion
in due course, whilst none of the other French surgeons admitted to the English
service in these times ever rose above the rank of Asst. -Surgeon. His connec-
tion with Riquet, a German, probably implies that he was Swiss and not French.
favour with Yusuf Khan, and was taken into the Enghsh
service.
According to the agreement it was proposed to send Eiquet
away with his troop, but some of the latter asked to enlist
with the Enghsh, and on being refused, said they would not
accompany their leader. They were then shown the agreement
and discovered how they had been betrayed, for it now appeared
that Riquet had not sought their consent to his act of
treachery. Enraged at this,
" sixteen of them again declared that, if they were not sufiered to
remain in our service, they would take the first opportunity of killiag
M. Riquet and enter into some other service, for they were fully
determined not to serve under him or the French again." i
Upon this Eiquet wilhngly consented to i\Iajor Campbell

enHsting them, which he did on the double ground that they
could not be safely allowed to wander off into the native states,
and that he was positively certain that they would be loyal
owing to their fear of Yusuf Khan, who punished any attempt
at desertion on the part of his Europeans in the most cruel
manner.2 Eiquet, however, had, later on, the impudence to
complain that Campbell had broken his agreement. Campbell
retorted, in proof of his scrupulous observance of the terms,
that,
" though his [Riquet's] quartermaster ^ had been a deserter from our
service, and made no secret even in our camp of his having with his
own hand killed one of our troopers after he had surrendered himself
*
prisoner, I took no notice of it."
Eiquet's desertion was a serious blow to Yusuf Khan,

but he bore with more philosophy than Marchand, who did
it
not wish him to communicate it to M. Hugel. Yusuf Khan,

however, wrote to the latter that all he considered was the loss
of the horses, for which he had paid 40,000 rupees. As a matter
1 Campbell to Council, 7th Sept., 1764. 3Iil. Cons., 13th Sept., p. 701.
2 Campbell to Council, 2nd March. Mil. Cotis., 14th March, 1764, p. 180.
3 Probably the man Hurts mentioned on p. 139 above.
* Campbell to Council, 7th Sept. Mil. Cons., I3th Sept., 1764, p. 701.
—
SECOND SIEGE OF MADUBA 181
of fact, Yusuf Khan might well have spared the hussars them-
selves, but it was the consequences of their act which were
of really serious importance. Up to this date many desertions

had taken place from the English,^ and Marchand asserts^
that 300 men who had formerly been in the French service
had agreed to come over to him, but now changed their minds.
From this time on the desertions were mostly from and
not to Madura.
On the 27th Yusuf Khan abandoned his most advanced
post on the south. This stood on a high bank. It was
immediately occupied by Preston, and from it he cannonaded
the camp under the walls, so that it had to be evacuated.
Whilst choosing a site for a new post ^ on the west, Major Call
was thrown from his horse and broke his arm, but this accident
was not sufficiently serious to keep him very long from the dis-
charge of his duties. The same day Ensign Davis reported
the capture of a small fort at Pudakudi, twelve miles south of
Madura.
On the 29th the hospital was fixed at Sikandarmalai,*
and the camp moved to the south of the town, Preston taking
up his position on the west.
On the 1st March Yusuf Khan ordered his men to cut the
banks of the great tank on the south. As the camp was on
higher ground, Campbell did not notice the full amount of
the damage done by the escaping water, and on the 2nd he
wrote to Council :
Major Preston's detachment will this night move to Teppa-

kulam, and then the Rebel will be completely invested and find it
extremely difficult for to get out or in from the country a single
harkara, as our posts are within gunshot all round. . . .
1 Letter to Court, 26th March, 1764, para. 6.

- Precis Historique, p. 37.
^ ? the po3t at PolljrpoUam.
* " The hospital was in a great Rest House, wherein were at the least 300
Bick people. I have never seen such a beautiful Rest House. It is all of hewn
stone. The roof also of broad hewn stones, which are well fitted together, is
supported upon a number of splendid pillars covered with carved figures. At
the entrance one sees a crowd of lions and horses with riders all carved in stone.
It is lofty, wide and long, but as air can come in only by the entrance, it was
very unhealthy for the sick." Oeschichte der Missions, Vol. IX., Pt. I., p. 586.
" The Rebel's communication being now entirely cut off with
the country and his troops within the walls, I imagine they will soon
be greatly distressed, especially the horse. By all intelligence the
ditch ofMadura dries fast, and that of the south face is now very
low. ... I do not find that much or hardly any of this year's grain
has been carried into Madura or yet cut, so that I hope the Nawab
will have the advantage of it." i
As mentioned in this letter, Preston left the same evening

with a detachment to strengthen Teppakulam. On his way
it was found that the water from the southern tank had flooded
all the low ground between the Tinnevelly road and Teppa-
kulam. The rear guns of the detachment stuck fast in the

mud, and one of those which had got through appearing to
be too far ahead, Lieutenant Baillie and some artillerymen
riding after it were ambushed, the Lieutenant being very
severely wounded and seven of his men killed. Preston did
not reach Teppakulam until the morning of the 4th, and in
the meantime on the 3rd, another party from the fort, having
concealed themselves in a tank near the Nattam redoubt on
the north, cut off a guard of sepoys bringing in letters and
returned safely into the fort, in spite of Campbell's efforts to
intercept them.
The investment was evidently not as effective as Campbell
had supposed, so he spent some days in strengthening the
posts and increasing their number, but he was able on the
6th March to send a small force under Captain Hart to take
the little fort of Chinampettah, eighteen miles south of Madura,
at which he heard Yusuf lOian was estabHshing a magazine of
stores. Hart started on the 7th, and reported its capture the
next day.
" Upwards of three hundred of the enemy were killed and wounded
in the fort and endeavouring to escape. This was agreeable to my
orders for an example which, I hope, will have a good effect." ^
On the 9th Ensign Dawson, who was in command at Sola-

vandan, which covered the road to Dindigul, was ordered to

2 Campbell to Council, 8th March, 1764. Mil. Cons., 17th March, p. 211.
— —
attack Ariyur, about ten miles from him. It was the last
fort held by Yiisuf Khan in the Madura district.

On the 12th March ^ the Council received a friendly letter
from Haidar AU, denying that he was giving any assistance to
Yusuf Khan, and saying that he had ordered his officers at
Dindigul to help the Enghsh in every way. The letter was
accompanied by a present. It is quite possible that Haidar, who
had excellent means of communication with Madura, had heard
of M. Kiquet's desertion, but the letter may have been only
a blind.
The same day Campbell managed to repay Yusuf Khan
for the attack on Lieutenant BaiUie by ambushing a body
of his horse which had made a sally. On the other hand,
Ensign Dawson wrote to say :
" that he had marched to Ariyur and had summoned the place, which
refused to surrender, and that from his knowledge of the place,
being there some time with Yusuf Khan, when in our service,^ he
knew the walls to be strong and high, and as he had neither guns
nor ladders he thought it most prudent to encamp within two miles
. .and to wait for orders."
.
A
few days later Captain Harper was sent to reinforce him
with guns, engineers, etc. On the 15th news arrived that the
enemy had abandoned Ariyur, also two forts on the road to
Tinnevelly, the garrisons of the latter retreating towards that
town.
On the 13th Campbell wrote to the Council :
^
"I have
catched one of Yusuf Khan's head harkaras, a person
who has been years in his service, and who by all accoimts he had
great confidence in, and who seems thoroughly acquainted with his
afiairs. As I keep him close prisoner I have assured him his future
punishment or reward will entirely depend on the truth of his intelli-
gence. He has promised to make me acquainted with everything
he knows, and that if after the reduction of Madura I find he has
told the least untruth he will desire no mercy. I hope he will be of
some service as he is perfectly well acquainted with the spies of
» Mil. Cons., 1764, p. 178.

* This was probably when Caillaud was in the Madura country.
« Mil. Cons., 19th March, 1764, p. 212.
—

Yusuf Khan, some of whom
lie hopes soon to discover to me. Eight
of the Rebel's sepoys have deserted to us these two days past, and
all agree that the sepoys in general are greatly discontented and would
certainly come ofi, was it not on account of their families which are
prisoners in the fort. No provision but what is served out of His
Magazines.
" Poligars and others are coming daily for Cowle, and Daud
Khan who commands Yusuf Khan in the Tinnevelly country
for
has only 250 black horse and 900 sepoys with him and nothing but
small mud forts between me and Palatncotta."
The harkara mentioned by Campbell was Kamalinga.

There is no evidence that he gave any information of any value
to Campbell, and no mention of his ultimate fate.
On the 14th Major Call received a large number of lascars,
cooUes, and a supply of tools from Madras. Preston advanced
from Teppakulam and seized the high ground near the enemy's
outposts on the south-east, the enemy vainly attempting to
dislodge the victors. On the other hand, their cavahy very
nearly cut off a convoy coming from Sat rum, but it was brought
in safely by the EngHsh horse, " not a bullock load missing."
On the 16th Campbell wrote to the Council :
" there has been no arrack for the army for twenty days past, and
our sick list is a hundred more than last month, which the
surgeons impute to the want of arrack." ^
It seemed, indeed, that the unhealthy cHmate of Madura was

having that fatal effect upon the Enghsh forces which Yusuf
Khan had anticipated. On the other hand, as we learn
from a letter from Marchand,^ whilst outside the Enghsh
soldiers both native and European were suffering much from
illness, there was no sickness in the city a fact which, con-
;
sidering the general poverty of the inhabitants, the lack of

any food supphes outside Yusuf Khan's own magazines, and
the presence of a large garrison, including a numerous body
of wdld Kalians, speaks volumes for the order and organi-
zation maintained by Yusuf Khan, as compared with the
dreadful condition of the town even when it had been under

* Marchand to M. d'Haumartin, 20th March, 1764. Orme MSS., 281, p. 18.
—
English rule for a considerable number of years. In 1820

^
Hamilton writes :
" The natives with a few exceptions are miserably poor and their
huts of the worst description. The streets are narrow and filled
with dirt and rubbish, and the old drains having been choked up
the rain stagnates everywhere in pools. Thousands of cattle are
kept within the walls, where filth of all sorts accumulates. The fort
is also too crowded with trees, which retard evaporation and infect
the air with exhalations from their decayed leaves, and the water
in the fort tanks, being seldom renewed, becomes putrid and sends
forth a deleterious effluvia {sic)."
This state of affairs could not naturally be maintained for

ever, but for the present, at any rate, the health of the garrison
was much better than that of the besiegers. Campbell was,
however, troubled not only by the sickness prevailing in his
camp, but by the want of provisions. Preston had obtained
promises of supplies from the southern pohgars it will be —
remembered that Yusuf Khan had devastated the Madura
district before the war, and consequently its reduction was of
little value to the English —
but these petty chiefs, probably
tlirough fear of Daud Khan, the commander Yusuf Khan's
of
flying corps, failed to keep their promises.^ As I have said,
Campbell had now learned that this corps had been reduced
to insignificant dimensions, and so he thought it advisable
to detach a small force towards Palamcotta, to take that place
if possible, but at least to dispose of Daud Khan and to reduce
the rich district of Tinnevelly.
On the 16th March Major Preston started vnth 130

Europeans, one troop of hussars, 600 black horse, 1200
sepoys, and 500 Kalians. On the 26th he reported the
capture of Sundarapandiyam, the commandant of which place,
Muhiuddin, was looked upon as one of the most faithful
followers of Yusuf Khan. He was, it is said,^ persuaded
to surrender without fighting by a Jemadar in the English
^ Description of Hindustan, II, p. 472.
* Letter dated — April, 1765, from Captain Thomas Adair to the Court of
Directors. /. O. Records, Misc. Letters Received, Vol. 47, No. 63.
* The Old Sepoy Officer. Narrative of the Dlustrious Services of Meer Sahib.
English Historical Review, April, 1913.
—

service, to which Muhiuddin was admitted. Apparently
Muhiuddin wrote to his brother Parced Sahib, ^ kiladar of
SrivilHputtur, to follow his example, for that place also sur-
rendered without waiting to be attacked. Meanwhile, Captain
Hart, Preston's second in command, had taken Nemilly,^
and it was reported that Muhammad Yakub, Governor of
Palamcotta, was on bad terms with Daud Khan, so that it

seemed possible that he too might be induced to surrender.
Preston therefore pushed on to Palamcotta and arrived in its
neighbourhood on the 5th April, ^ where at last he came into
touch -^^th Daud Khan. He wi-ites:
" About three miles from Palamcotta we fell in (a little 7)ial a
propos) with Mr. Daud Khan, who it seems was just come out to
watch our motions. He had a considerable body of horse with him
in a hollow way, which had something the appearance of a post,
and, as he might have had a larger body of troops concealed from us
than what appeared to us, I thought it prudent to make a halt with
the hussars for the coming up of tlie black horse (which you may
judge were not very thick together after a march of sixteen miles
succeeding the one we had yesterday of twenty). In the meantime
an advanced guard of hussars and a few of the black horse that were
with us amused the enemy with a little scampering and popping till
they thought proper to move out of their hole, observing us, as I
suppose, increase very fast in our number of black horse. Their
number we judged to be about three himdred. Our hussars were
ready formed for an attack and immediately made towards them
upon a gallop. They waited but a very little while before they betook
themselves to a general flight without waiting to give us a chance
to get up with them but by a general pursuit. I accordingly let
loose the whole of our black horse and Mr. Heyne to attend them
with his little troop, keeping the hussars in a squadron to support
them. The most of Innis Khan's horse, about fifty of Asserah
Beg's horse and Mr. Heyne with about eight of his troopers
were up with them before they could all cross the river of Tinnevelly.
A few of Innis Khan's and Asserah Beg's (who had been skirmishing
with them from the first) were in. the thick of them and behaved
^ Parced Sahib brought most of his men with him, but " twenty-two sepoys
deserted him upon the road, being doubtful of the bread they were coming to."
Preston to Campbell. Mil. Cons., 12th April, 1764, p. 275.
* ? Nemmeni.
3 Mil. Cons., 16th April, 1764, p. 286.
themselves very gallantly. Six of them came back severely cut [i.e.
wounded] and two them are lost entirely. One of them overtook
of
Mr. Daud Khan himself and made two cuts at him, but unluckily this
fine fellow was apart from his fellow pursuers and was therefore cut
dowTi himself, but there's great hopes of his getting better of his
wounds. It's very certain that Daud Khan has got a sliver over his
neck and that above twenty of his men were overset from their horses,
for the horses are brought into camp. Mr. Heyne with eight of his
troopers, one of InnisKhan's jemadars, one of Asserah Beg's jemadars
and about 20 of their black horse pushed over the river where it was
breast high, and Mr. Heyne, with his sergeant, the above jemadars
and about eight of the black horse pushed on fairly into the skirts
of the enemy's camp, which lies close under the wall of Palamcotta.
Heyne has acquired a great name amongst the black cavalry. i One
of the jemadars assured me that he saw him cut down three of the
enemy's horsemen himself. I promised him that I should make his
good behaviour knoAvn to you and I hope you'll communicate it to
the Nawab. It's very remarkable that several prisoners were
brought to me by the black horse without being cut or so much as
plundered of their clothes.2 Daud Khan's bodyguard of sepoys
(consistmg of one havildar, one naik and eight privates) were taken
with their arms, all extreme good English firelocks. I have no more
room here you see than to subscribe myself,
" Your affectionate,
" Achilles Preston."
Preston's subscription to this letter shows that his super-

session by Campbell had not given rise to any unfriendly
feelingbetween the two men, and this, as well as other instances
of Preston's kindly character, explains why he was such a
favourite with all ranks of the army.^
Preston now went on to Palamcotta. Parced Sahib and
the other prisoners had written to their friends in the place
advising them to surrender, but Muhammad Yakub showed
no signs of following their advice in fact he could not well
;
^ " It was found that in single combat the address of a native horseman is
Beldom equalled by a European." Wilks, History of Mysoor, II. 392. See

also p. 84 (n.) above. Mr. Heyne was an oflScer in the Nawab's service.
Campbell's Journal. Orme MSS., 14:, p. 37.
* In his letter of the 26th March, reporting the capture of Sundarapandiyam,
Preston said he had vainly tried to prevent his men from stripping the prisoners
of their clothes. Mil. Cons., 4th April, 1764, p. 216.
3 See Appendix V., p. 289.
—

do so, as his wife and family and those of his chief officers were
in the hands of Yusuf Kian at Madura. ^
On the 17th Preston Captain Hart with part of his
left
force so posted as to make
dangerous for the garrison, which
it
consisted of 2000 sepoys, 200 horse, and a few European gunners,^

to make any movement, and himself returned to Madura, where
he arrived on the 20th April. His expedition had been so
successful that the agents of the Nawab were now in a position
to collect revenue throughout the province of Tirmevelly, as
they were akeady doing in that of Madura. On the other hand,
the King of Travancore, who might now have been supposed
free from all fear of Yusuf Khan, made no effort to advance to
the help of the Enghsh.
We
must now return to Campbell at Madura. With
Call's assistancehe continued the building of posts to hem in
the besieged, whilst Yusuf Khan constantly harassed his
movements but avoided an actual engagement. Campbell
now had at his disposal practically all the troops that he could
expect to receive. On the 26th March ^ the Council wrote
home saying :
" Our Europeans and

force at present consists of about 1784
Cofirees, including non-commissioned and private men.
officers
But of these, in which are included infantry, artillery, cavahy and
the Bombay detachment [which did not arrive at Madura until the
7th Jime], 200 will generally be in hospital. This may be said to be
your whole force of Europeans on the Coast, as those who are left
in the different garrisons consist almost entirely of invalids, pensioners
and men imfit for field or even garrison service .about 5500
. .
sepoys are also employed on the expedition."
On the 4th April Campbell was warned that he must not

expect any more reinforcements after the arrival of the Bombay
detachment above mentioned.
On the 27th March Captain Thomas Fitzgerald, with his
1 See p.(n.) below, and Letter from Palamcotta, 22nd Oct., 1764.
238
Scots Magazine, May, 1765, p. 266. Appendix V., p. 290.
* Letter from Palamcotta, 22nd Oct., 1764. See Appendix V. p. 289.
3 Letter to Court, Para. 7. 7.0. Records, Madras Letters Received, Vol. I. A.,
and Brit. Mus. Addl MS. 34688, f. 77.
— —
own troop of European cavalry and three hundred Tanjore horse,

which formed part of a contingent which the King of Tanjore
had at last found himself compelled to send, repulsed several
attacks made by a superior force from the fort. Possibly
Yusuf Khan counted on the defection of the Tanjoreans,
—
but they behaved extremely well " as well as Europeans " ^
and Campbell gave each man a present besides saluting the
whole body with nine guns in acknowledgment of their valour.
It has been mentioned that the Company's European
ofl&cers were at this time suffering under various grievances.

Campbell, like Preston, did not hesitate to place these before
the Council, dramng upon himself a somewhat severe rebuke
from the Governor ^ :
" I have received your two very extraordinary letters of the

24th and 25th, from which I perceive that you, the commanding
officer, cannot easily give up the article of grievances, and instead of
putting your orders in execution and sending away those that are
resolved to be discontented, and by that means banishing Faction
and establishing Obedience and Subordination, you have descended
to little pitiful stories that, I suppose, never had any existence but
in brains full of malice, rancour and revenge, and notwithstanding
we have condescended to explain ourselves sufficiently and to give
you reasons for what we have done, you still suppose it may be
altered and amended."
But the outbreak came before this letter was even written
by Mr. Palk. On the 28th March ^ Campbell reported that
Lieutenants Hunterman, Ward, and Phillips had requested
permission to resign their commissions owing to the grant of
Captains' commissions, involving their supersession, to King's
officers, and that others would probably follow their example.
He asked permission to promote some of the ensigns in their
1 Campbell to Council, 28th March, 1764. Mil. Cons., 4th April, p. 244.
Fitzgerald had only one troop of hussars and a few Tanjore horse. His success
was due to the steady fire kept up by his men, which drove back the enemy,
who numbered 5 or 6 hundred men, on three successive occasions. These were
the tactics adopted by the French at the battle of the Mount. See above,
p. 84 (n.).
» Brit. Mus. AMI. MSS., No. 34686, f. 10. Palk to Campbell, 2nd April,
1764.
3 Mil CoTW., 4th April, 1764, p. 242.
—

place, and to give ensigns' commissions to the best of the
sergeants. On
the 31st he reported that Lieutenants Bridger
and Buck had been permitted to throw up their commissions,
and he thought these would be the last. He recommended that
severe measures should be taken with all the men who had
behaved in this way whilst on active service, but he must
have felt his position keenly, for in the Military Consultations
of the 26th August, 1754, there stands the following entry :
" In regard to Captain Campbell's letter to the President that

he would resign his commission in six days and come in, the Board
are of opinion that his ofiering to throw up his commission, when on
the march at the head of a party he had been particidarly singled
out to conduct, was an action imbecoming an officer, for which he
might be called to account by a Court-Martial, but, that he might
first have an opportunity of justifying himself before the Board, he
was ordered to attend, and the President having acquainted him

with the sense of the Board he acknowledged his fault, imputed it
to rashness and promised a more strict regard to his duty in future,
whereupon the Board thought proper to reprimand him, but in con-
sideration of his past services and submission to pass over that wrong
step without further notice."
Campbell had grown wiser with age. On the 4th April

the Council approved of his action so far as the acceptance
of the offered resignations and the promotion of the ensigns,
but they strongly disapproved of the grant of commissions
to sergeant s.i Mr. Palk wrote :
—
" Your making sergeants officers, especially such sergeants as we
are blessed with, is a step I cannot approve. We have lately refused
two very good men, recommended by Colonel Monson, because we
^
see the ill effects of it too often."
On the 23rd April the Council formally accepted the

resignation of the five officers named above.
After the capture of Sundarapandiyam, Preston had sent
in most of his prisoners to Madura. Campbell wrote to
^ It seems that seven sergeants received commissions on the 26th March,
(Council to Campbell, 19th July. Mil. Cons., 1764, p. 510) ; possibly Campbell
had to fill up other vacancies besides those caused by the five resignations.
» Palk to Campbell, 2nd April, 1764. Brit. Mus. Addl. MS. 34686, f. 10.
— —
Yusuf Khan that he would treat these men well if Yusuf Khan
would do the same with his prisoners. This was on the 3rd April.
Yusuf Khan replied very ourtly, asking that they might be
sent to him along with his harkara Ramahnga, a request which
was naturally ignored. Into Yusuf Khan's letter had been
shpped a note from his Portuguese clerk, Bartholomew Rowhng
(or Rowland), which ran as follows :
" I take this opportunity of enclosing this little billet to your

Honor, begging your protection, as your Honor certainly must know
by some people or other in what cage I have got at present here,
that have no way to come down to your Honor's feet. I beg your
Honor will not \viite to me anything, for if come to know or be
ketched I shall lose my life. Six months provisions have got here
in the fort and expects some forces from the Dindigul country. I
remain with great submission &c &c. P.S. If anybody see or know
this, some spy will certainly tell and I must die."
Campbell sent on this letter to Madras, where the Council

expressed their opinion that Rowling had written it with the
knowledge of Yusuf Khan, and that he was not to be trusted.

On the 4th April a large supply of money arrived in camp.
This day being a fast amongst the Muhammadans, a salute
was fired in the town together with voUeys of firearms. Outside
the fort all Major Call's workmen took a holiday. The same
day Yusuf Khan sent out of the town some four hundred poor
people, chiefly women and children which was looked upon as
;
evidence of an increasing want of provisions.

On the 5th Campbell reported that the Nawab had sent
him a man who had promised to bring over a part of the garrison
of Madura :
" By my intelligence the troops there are, in genera), very much

discontented, but Yusuf Khan behaves with such severity and
cruelty to them that even brothers are afraid of revealing their
sentiments to one another. He hangs and cuts heads, hands and
ears ofi for trifling affairs, and I hear he has got several of his jeynadars
of horse in irons for being repulsed by Captain Fitzgerald."
On the 6th it was discovered that the enemy were building

a redoubt across the river to cut off communications with
Nattam and facilitate the entry of the Kalians. As it would
have been very risky to attack this redoubt, it was determined
to post Captain Frischman between the Nattam redoubt and
Fort Defiance to keep its garrison in check.
On the 7th Campbell received " an insolent letter from the
Eebel." In this, after offering to exchange an English gurmer
for Eamalinga, Yusuf Khan goes on :
—
" My last iatention is, as I have wrote before to Colonel Monson,
my body I never shall render
as long as I have got a drop of blood in
the place to nobody. As for some of my hussars joining you, you
must not thuik that everybody will play the same tricks with me as
those rascals and rogues, who never did the least service in all the
time they was here but only put me to expense. As they played
tricks with you when they came to me from Karical, the same they
did to me, at which I am not surprised. Of their desertion 1 think
no more lost than so many cooleys from the fort." i
On the 8th Campbell received news of the European mutiny

in Bengal, which not only put an end to any hope of reinforce-
ment from that province, but seemed Hkely to involve a fresh
drain upon the resources of Madras. The same day he managed
to catch some thirty Kalians engaged in carrying Betel and
tobacco into the fort. As the Abbe Dubois ^ has noted. Betel
and tobacco are almost the only luxuries known to the lower
classes in India. Supplied with these and a httle rice, they will
cheerfuUy undergo hardships intolerable to Europeans.
In spite of the intercepted letter in which Yusuf Khan
bade M. Hugel come by sea, the later news from Anjengo
caused Campbell to expect him by Dindigul.^ He made
special inquiries to ascertain whether Yusuf Khan ever
spoke of him. His spies reported that he never mentioned
his name. This added to Campbell's suspicion :
" he is so extremely close and secret on matters of consequence, that

I shall be as much on the watch as if I had certainty of Hugel's
approach." *
^ Country Correspondence, 1764, slightly altered to make it intelligible.

^ Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, p. 526.
3 See pages 169 (u.) and 176 above.
* Campbell to Council, 12th April. Mil. Cons., 19th April, 1764, p. 291.
On the 15th Lieutenant Bawdwin,^ riding between the

Nemilly redoubt and the river, was taken by the enemy. As
he was reported by those who witnessed the incident to have
made no resistance or effort to escape, Campbell supposed that
he had deserted, but the next day a letter arrived from M.
Marchand, saying that Lieutenant Bawd win was in much
distress of mind in consequence of his capture, and that Yusuf
Khan was prepared to exchange him for Muhiuddin Sahib, his
brother Farced Sahib, and Ramalinga the harkara. In reference
to which proposal Campbell remarked in his Journal ^ :
—
" I answered these letters, but could not consent to an impre-
cedented action by exchanging blacks for whites, beside I knew the
prisoners he desired to be his principal Trusties and of great con-
sequence to his present afiairs."
On the 17th Yusuf Khan, for the first time in the course of
the siege, moved out some big guns and cannonaded the English
camp an act which made Campbell suppose that, wilHngly
;
or unwillingly. Bawdwin had disclosed its dis-

Lieutenant
position. On day Captain Hooker arrived with one
this
hundred and eighty men and two 6-pounders from Madras.
On the 18th the camp was cannonaded again. Captain
Cotsford of the Engineers, who had been at Manilla, arrived
at Madura.
On the 20th Major Preston returned,^ and the next day
Campbell reported to Madras that the whole of the two pro-
vinces, with the exception of Madura and Palamcotta and a few
small places, were in the hands of the Nawab's people, and must
bring in a considerable revenue, but he wished the Nawab
would himself come to Madura,
" especially as he has now got so extensive a country here to look
after, for too often those employed under him make but a bad use
of their power, and the people in this country are in a manner new
subjects, and it requires a good deal of art in managing them." ^
1 Of the Bombay Artillery. His name is given as Lieutenant Fireworker

Thomas Bawdevin in Col. F. W. M. Spring's Bombay Artillery, p. 70.
« Orme MSS. 74,
p. 40.
' Accompanied by his Aide-de-camp Lieut. Adair. Orme MSS. 74, p. 43.
* Mil. Cons., 27th April, 1764, p. 299.
O
—

Thus early were the inhabitants of the provinces to experi-
ence the effects of a return to the rule of their lawful master !
Campbell was now free to set about the second stage of the
siege, i.e. the reduction of the ring of redoubts erected outside
the walls by Yusuf Khan and Marchand. On the 25th Preston
captured a small fort, taking many prisoners, amongst them
a M. Colombe, Lieutenant of Artillery. On the 27th two
Englishmen ^ managed to escape by means of a rope from the
north-west bastion, and reported that there was only " two
foot " of water in the ditch at that point —
Campbell noted the
appearance of their clothes to test this statement and that —
the north and west faces were quite dry.
Campbell's plan was to attempt first the redoubts on the
south and east, taking those on the south himself, whilst
Preston, with his right at Teppakulam, dealt with those on
the east. By the 28th all the batteries intended to prepare
the way for and to cover the combined attack were ready.
The redoubts to be assailed were protected in the usual way
by thorn hedges, which, if they had been dry, might have been
fired, but heavy rain fell in the night, making this impossible.
Nevertheless, at 8 a.m. on the 29th the attack began. Campbell
thus describes his own share of it :
" The moment our cannon began, the enemy abandoned theirs
in the redoubts and quitted the highest part, sheltering themselves
in the reverse and ditch. Our cannon soon ruined the parapet of
that on the bank [of the tank] though it was of good turf, ten feet
thick, and by noon it was imagined that the shot had broke many
of the thorns and that our conquest would be made easy, that obstacle
removed. Therefore a party of volunteer Coffrees with fireballs and
portfires, covered by about twenty sepoys, undertook to set fire to
the thorns, and crept, under favour of the bank, very near the
redoubt. They were then discovered by the enemy who fired so
warmly on them that they could not proceed. However they kept
their ground and I, thinking it might encourage the enemy if they
retreated, resolved that instant to attack the redoubt on the bank
^ One, a cavalryman, had been captured on a patrolling party, the other
was a deserter from Tellicherry, and belonged to the Highland Regiment.

Orme MSS., 74, p. 51.
with the second troop ^ of horse dismounted and armed with carbines,
pistols and swords, as being better able to proceed through the thorns
with their boots. The first company of grenadiers [under Captaui
Robert Orton] supported them and near two hundred of the battalion ^
followed, with a battalion of sepoys. The whole marched off very
briskly under the bank, not discovered by the fort or redoubt, and
instructed not to push on hastily until they were pretty near the
redoubt, as the day was so excessive hot ^ and the consequence of
too great a hurry to be apprehended. The first troop of cavalry
[under Captain James Kirkpatrick], and all the black horse were
ordered out on the plain in full view of the fort, to be ready to cut
off the retreat of the troops in the redoubts and to confuse the
enemy. The instant our dismounted troopers approached close to
the thorns the enemy quitted their first redoubt. Our horse rode
full gallop towards them. They then quitted their second redoubt,
which was to support their first and their troops in that on the
;
high ground, observing Major Preston's party close on them, took to

their heels Our cavalry rode amongst them and
and joined the race.
cut many fire of round and grape from
desperately under a heavy
the fort. We took 4 good guns, 7 Europeans, 8 topasses and a few
sepoys and many were killed and wounded. Our loss 2 troopers
killed and 2 wounded, one hussar and 2 gunners killed, 2 grenadiers
of the 2nd company killed and 5 wounded by one shot from the fort.
We immediately turned the enemy's guns on them and made the
necessary preparations for repairing these redoubts, which will keep
the enemy within their walls on this side. The Brigade Major
[Captain Blake *] had his horse shot under him by an eighteen-
poimder from the fort many of our people fainted away with the
;
heat, and was it not for a most fortunate breeze which, immediately
after the places were carried, sprimg up, I am inclined to believe we
should have lost more men by the heat and fatigue of running than
we did by the enemy's fire."
The men on the besiegers' side, both European and native,

behaved very well in this affair on the other side not with
;
so much spirit as had been expected. Campbell ascribed the

merit of his success to the batteries, which had been erected
1 i.e. of Captain Thomas Fitzgerald. Campbell to Council, 29th April.

Mil. Cons., 6th May, 1764, p. 307.
- i.e. the Company's European infantry.
^ This is always the case in India after heavy rain in the hot season.
* See letter undated from Campbell in Mil. Cons., 24th May, 1764, p. 342.
— ^

by Major and to the courage shown by Major Preston ^
Call,
in the field. Yusuf Khan lost five redoubts at one stroke,
16 Europeans and topasses were made prisoners, and 400
sepoys, 8 Europeans, and 20 topasses killed and wounded.
In the evening he sent out a flag of truce for permission, which
was granted, to bury the dead. Soon after he abandoned
all such outposts as appeared to be too far from the town to
be easUy protected.
The news of this affair, the first important success in the
war, reached Madras on the 7th May, simultaneously with
information that a body of Yusuf Khan's partisans had arrived
in the Trichinoply country and were plundering it. Several
such expeditions are mentioned during the îege but all of ;
them were easily dealt with, and the only interest attaching to
them hes in the fact that Yusuf Khan's old comrade Jamal
Sahib was killed whilst opposing one of his parties.^
On the 1st May Campbell agreed to exchange Lieutenant
Colombe and four French privates for Lieutenant Bawdwin
and four prisoners in Yusuf Khan's hands,
" out of compassion to Lieutenant Bawdwin, who was threatened to

be put in irons, and on account of one sergeant and three Europeans,
who were loaded with irons and have undergone a long and severe
confinement because they would not serve the Rebel." *
Bawdwin was tried by Court Martial and acquitted.^ By

him Bowling sent out a letter, regarding which Campbell
wrote :
" part of which I knew to be false and indeed [I] have little depend-
ence on anything he writes, for I have intelligence out of the fort
almost every day. Two companies of the Rebel's sepoys intended
^ Preston seems to have been invariably successful when he commanded

in person, up to the assault of Madura on the 26th June, when he was mortally
wounded. Campbell's letters to Council, dated 29th and 30th April. Mil.
Cons., 1764, pp. 307, 308. The English lost 8 Europeans killed and 17 wounded,
and 30 sepoys killed and wounded.
2 Mil. Cons., 11th May, 1764, p. 313.
3 Letter from Yusuf Khan to Narasa Naik and Mahomed Yakoob 26th Sept.,
1764. Country Correspondence. Enclosure to Nawab's letter of 9th Oct., 1764.

* Campbell to Council, 4th May. Mil. Cons., 11th May, 1764, p. 312.
6 Mil. Cons., 11th May, 1764, p. 314.
deserting to me the other night, but a rascal of a sepoy discovered

it Yusuf Khan, who has executed the subadars and put moat of
to
the others prisoners. He is grown crueller and crueller every day
and cuts oft" people's heads with his own hand on the most trifling
occasions. His whole garrison are extremely discontented and wish
to be away from him. He is jealous and suspicious of all his officers
and entirely supports his authority now by murder and bloodshed,
and I doubt not but that this manner of his proceeding will shortly
be his ruin, for he seems to be quite deprived of his usual reason. I
shall let no opportunity pass of augmenting the discontent of his
people."
The withdrawal of the garrisons from Yusuf Khan's most

distant outposts enabled Campbell on the 5th May to despatch
Captain James Fitzgerald with a small force to deal with one
of Yusuf Khan's raiding parties in the Karur country.
On the 7th May^ Campbell sent to the Council the substance
of a discussion with Majors Call and Preston as to the advisa-
bility of attacking and capturing Palamcotta at once, so as to
allow the force in Tinnevelly to take part in the approaching
assault of Madura. It was supposed that the garrison of the
latter was now much reduced, and that there were effective
only
European artillery, 50 out of 65.
Topasses and Coffrees, 50 out of 55.
European military, 56 out of 85.
Topasses, 250 out of 285.
Sepoys, 2200 out of 3000.
Peons and Kalians, 500 out of 1000.
Horse, 800 out of 800.
Total, 3906 out of 5290.
Preston was of opinion that he could go to Palamcotta, take
it, and return in six weeks in which case they would have
;
1000 Europeans for two assaults on Madura of 600 and 400

men respectively. This number of men he considered abso-
lutely necessary, whereas Campbell would have, without the
Tinnevelly force, only 750 men available. Campbell, however,
thought that the loss incurred in taking Palamcotta would be
» Mil Cons., 13th May, 1764, p. 318.

—

greater than Preston anticipated, whilstif Madura fell first it
was quite certain that Palamcotta would surrender without

further resistance, as the wives and families of the chief
officers of the garrison would then be in the power of the
Nawab. He therefore advised the postponement of any
attack on Palamcotta, and the Madras Council agreed with him.
On the 11th May, Major Preston, having ascertained that
the Kalians were stiU running betel and tobacco into the
fort by night, was despatched with 2 guns, 200 horse, 600
sepoys, and 500 Kalians to Alagarkovil,
" to burn and lay waste all the villages and to make some
examples of those they found in arms." ^
On the 17th Campbell was informed of the arrival of the

Bombay Detachment at Karical,and fired a salute of twenty-one
guns to welcome the news. The same afternoon Yusuf Khan
fired a salute, which, says Campbell, " I imagine to be a stroke
of Pohcy Kebel to keep up the spirits of his people."
in the
On May Yusuf Khan abandoned a fort on the
the 21st
north and one on the west. These were the last works of any
importance outside Madura, and their abandonment marked
the end of the second stage of the siege. On the 22nd Campbell
WTote to the Council :
" From and from the

this night I will reckon the siege begun,
spirit and willingness that appears and soldiers, I
in the officers
flatter myself it will be carried on with such vigour and resolution
that success must speedily follow and I doubt not but that the
. . .
month of Jime will determine the fate of Madura."

1 Orme MSS., 74, p. 60.
CHAPTER XIII
ATTEMPT TO STORM MADURA
*
On the 26th May the besieged removed their heavy barbet
guns, and could be seen hard at work on the glacis and at
thickening the parapets, for they now reaUzed that the siege
was to begin in form, though it was not until the night of
the 30th that actual work was commenced upon the trenches.
A pretended attack was made against the south-east angle,
but the point actually chosen was the north-west. The working
party consisted of 1100 men, and they started operations about
half-past nine. Their number being so great, the first strokes
of the pickswere heard by the advanced sepoys of the garrison,
who, imagining that an assault was intended, fired and ran
off shouting the alarm. Blue hghts were hoisted on the walls,
and the lascars in the trench, thinking that the garrison was
about to sally, also ran away. But though the musketry
began again and discharges of round and grape were fired all
through the night, the enemy did not appear, and the lascars
managed by the morning to make a good trench within four
hundred yards of the counterscarp, and some sepoys were left
to guard it.
Onthe 1st June part of the curtain adjoining the north-

west bastion feU down, probably owing to the concussion caused
by the firing of one of Yusuf Khan's 18-pounders.
On the 2nd June the besieged were seen raising the glagis
and scouring out the ditch before the north-west angle, and
on the 3rd a coohe who came out of the fort reported that deep
holes were being dug in the ditch. This important information
was neglected.
^ i.e. placed upon mounds so as to fire over the parapet instead of through
embrasures.
On the 6th evening one of the towers near the north-west
bastion fell down few shot had been fired against it;
after a
probably because was too weak to bear the weight of the
it
earth which had been laid on it to make it cannon-proof. The

same night the Nawab arrived in camp. His presence at Madura
was considered necessary to check the oppressions committed by
his people,^ but the rabble which accompanied him was a source
of considerable inconvenience to the operations of the army.
On the 7th a much more useful arrival was that of two
hundred Europeans who had been sent vdd Karical from
Bombay.
By the night of the 10th the batteries for making the breach
were ready. Accordingly, on the 11th the Nawab' s flag was
hoisted and a gun discharged as a signal to the batteries to
open fire. Yusuf Khan repHed to the challenge by hoisting
a yellow flag in sign that he intended to fight to the death ^ ;
but only two of his guns were in a position to reply direct to

the new batteries. They were quickly silenced, and after
a few shot had been fired the yellow flag came down with some
thirty feet of the waU all in a heap. The Nawab celebrated
this successful opening of the bombardment by the promise of
130,000 pagodas to the troops as soon as the siege should be
ended. Of this sum three-eighths were to be given to the
soldiers, sepoys, and lascars, one-half to the captains and
subalterns, and one-eighth to the field officers.^ The same
1 See page 193 above.
* " The Rebell hoisted a desperate yellow flag, by which we are to understand
he is resolved to die in defence of his walls." (Campbell's Journal, 11th June,

1764. Orme MSS., 74, p. 79.) I have not come across any other reference to
the use of " yellow " by the Muhammadans in this way, but Lawrence (Letter
to Council, 19th April. Mil. Cons., 23rd April, 1753) says that the Marathas
after the death of Bajirao " have put on yellow cloathing and swear they'll give
no quarter," and the Rajputs in the ceremony of the Jauhar, when they have
devoted themselves to death, put on safiron robes, so that this symbolic meaning
of yellow seems to be common in India.
8 Campbell's Journal, 11th June. Orme MSS., 74, p. 79. The exact sum
received by each officer is not known, but as at the capture of Ramanadpur in
1772 the Nawab promised to the Company's troops the same as he gave at the
reduction of Madura (Smith to Council, 5th June, 1772) we can get some idea.
In this case each Major received 2400 pagodas, each Captain 1200, and each
Subaltern 600. George Nixon (letter dated 17th March, 1765, Universal
Magazine) says his share was small, but it enabled him to remit £100 home.
Probably he did not send home the whole of what he received.
ATTEMPT TO STORM MADURA 201
evening Lieutenant Colombe, Adjutant Boistel, and two ofi&cers

of topasses deserted from the fort.
On the 13th Captain Eley was wounded, and Surgeon

Buchanan lost his leg by a shot. On the 14th the besieged
made a desperate sally, and though they were repulsed with
a loss offifty men, Captain Alexander Smith and four Europeans
were killed. Captain John Croley was mortally wounded, and
Lieutenant Maitland lost his leg and died soon after.
—
15ih June. Lieutenant Whit hear and two Europeans were
killed and two wounded.
16th June. —
Campbell, being confident that the place would
soon fall, wTote to the Council for orders as to the military
command of the Provinces after the departure of the army.
The Nawab had asked that either Preston, Donald Campbell,
or Blake might be appointed, but Preston, who intended to
return to England after the campaign, declined to accept the
appointment. The Council accordingly chose Donald Campbell.
—
11th June. Major Call began preparations for springing
mines opposite to a pair of redoubts which Yusuf Khan had
constructed close to the ditch, on either side of the point at
which it was now evident the breach would be made.
18</^ June. —
James Hamilton, engineer, was killed by a
musket ball.
%)th-^lst June. —
The mines were sprung, but did little
damage, nor did the falling debris fill up the ditch as had been
hoped, but they made an easy descent into it, and the faussebraye
was breached in several places. After dark three grenadiers
and three pioneers went down into the ditch, and reported that
there was but little water and that it could be easily crossed.
— —
But heavy rain the first for fifteen days was falling, and a
Council of War, consisting of Campbell and Majors Preston,
Call, and Wood, decided that the assault which they had
intended to make the next day should be postponed until the
23rd.i
—
12nd June. Preparations for the assault were pushed on.
There were six practicable breaches in the faussebraye, and
at least five hundred yards of the rampart were totally ruined,
1 Campbell's Journal, 22nd June, 1764. Orme M8S., 74, p. 89.

—

and the storming parties were to consist of 800 Europeans
and 3000 or 4000 sepoys. Campbell was certain of success,
and intended to make the assault at 10 a.m., a time at which
it was reported that the sepoys were usually engaged in pre-
paring their food or in praying or taking their rest. He wrote

to the Council :
" Our officers and men are all ia great spirits, and if it pleases
God to grant us success, I think we shall make such an example
as will deter all India from rebelliag, at least those in the Company's
service." i
His field officers, however, were not so confident, and at

a Council of War held in the evening, though they were all
agreed that the breaches were practicable, the majority con-

sidered that, whilst an attack by night was too dangerous
owing to the inevitable confusion attending such attempts,
an attack by day would be attended with a great loss of fife,
as the troops would be exposed to a heavy flanking fire whilst
crossing the ditch. It was also strongly suspected that Yusuf
Khan had constructed retrenchments behind the breaches,

which would also have to be forced under the same deadly
fire. There seems, however, to have been no anticipation
of any difficulty in crossing the ditch itself, as the men who
had examined it had not found any of the holes which Yusuf
Khan had been reported to be digging in it. It was decided,
therefore, contrary to the opinion of Campbell, and though
two passages vdth straw and hurdles had ah-eady been made
across the ditch, to postpone the assault once more, "to
estabhsh a lodgement on the north-west bastion and carry
an epaulement across the ditch on the west side." -
—
23rd June. This was attempted after dark, but the fire of
the besieged was so severe that, when two Europeans had
been killed and twenty-seven wounded, it was given up.
Preston and Wood both declared that an immediate assault
was impossible.
1 Mil. Cons., 29th June, 1763, p. 438.

« Campbell's Journal, 23rd June, 1764. Orme MSS., 74, p. 91. By an
dpavletncnt is here meant, I presume, a shelter on one side of the passage over
the ditch to cover the men, as they crossed, from the fire on their flank.
—
Mih June. Campbell again called a Council of War, but
the majority would not agree to an immediate attack. They
proposed to continue the bombardment during the 25th and
the next night, and to assault on the 26th. Campbell gave
in to the majority and wrote to the Madras Council, sending
copies of the proceedings of his various Councils of \Yar and
the opinions of his field officers.
" Mine," he said, " was always for an immediate attack, but
as I mentioned yesterday I thought it most prudent to agree with
the others rather than take the whole upon myself. As now our
final resolution is taken, I hope in God the morning fixed upon
will prove fatal to Yusuf Khan." ^
It was resolved to storm the north-west angle tower, on
which apparently the French flag was flying,^ and three others
to the right and left, to attempt to escalade the north and
west gateways and to make an attack with sepoys on the centre
in each front. Major Preston was to command on the
right, and Major Wood on the left. The two troops of
horse were dismounted and were to act as grenadiers. The
time fixed was the break of day. It will be seen that the
assault was to be made upon a very wide front, practically on
half of the north and west faces of the fort, but it was on a
continuous front, and not, as Preston had advised, at two
different points so as to divide the attention of the besieged.
QiGth June.'^ —
At 3 a.m. the disposition was made and the
covering and assaulting parties posted, but some " blundering
artillerymen " missed and it was broad
their disposition,
daylight * before was given, and the enemy,
the signal
of course, were fully prepared for resistance. The forlorn
hopes rushed into the ditch, and, though many of the men
fell into the deep holes of which Campbell had been warned,
and aU were wet through by the depth of the water caused by

1 Mil. Cons., 30th June, 1764, p. 440.
* According to the dispositions for the attack Preston was ordered " to
take possession of the Bastion where the French flag is." Mil. Cons., 2nd July,
1764, p. 448.
' The description of the assault is taken chiefly from Campbell's Journal
and his letter of the 26th June to Council.
* Marchand says 4.30 a.m. Precis Historique, p. 36.
the recent rains, they struggled across, and in a moment stormed
the two redoubts on either side the main breach and put the
defenders to the sword; but the breach itself had been blocked,
and pikemen under cover kept pushing their weapons across
one another ^ so that it was impossible to pass, whilst showers
of stones, hand-grenades, and shells came pouring upon the
assailants from the walls and towers above.^ The Enghsh
hussars found their swords of no avail against such a defence,
and, to their dismay, their cartridges were discovered to have
been so damaged in crossing the ditch that they were useless ;
whilst, so heavy was the fire from the walls, no fresh ammuni-
tion could be brought forward by the covering parties. Still
they pressed on stubbornly, and some of them even managed
to reach the summit of the walls, only to be killed or thrown
down. Preston, in spite of, or perhaps I should say because
of, the fact that the assault had been made against his advice,
fought as if he sought for death. ^ Marchand says he saw him

everywhere encouraging his men. Finally, with his aide-de-
camp, (Thomas Adair,^) Mir Sahib, and another sepoy officer,
he made his way to the tower upon which the French flag was
flying, but the Httle party was misupported. Preston went
down ^sdth a bullet in the groin. Mir Sahib ^ was also wounded,
and the two remaining heroes, seeing that no one could join
them, with great difficulty helped Preston and Mir Sahib
down to the breach and back to their own friends, who, after
about an hour's desperate fighting, were forced to retreat.
As he was being carried "covered with dust and blood" to
his tent, Preston was met by the good padre Schwartz, and
exclaimed, " I am now punished for my sins." He hngered
until the 12th July, being, in fact, thought out of danger, and
^ See p. 29 above.
2 Marchand says he arranged these, and that they with the steady fire of
the musketry decided the day.
* Mr. Bruno's Journal. See Appendix V., p. 297.
* Captain Adair, in a letter dated April, 1765, to the Court of Directors, says
very modestly that he was with Preston when the latter received his mortal
wound. /. 0. Records, Misc. Letters Received, Vol. 47, No. 63.
* Narrative of Mir Sahib. English, Historical Review, April, 1913, p. 278.
The fourth member of the party was probably Tondria Jemadar, who was given
a company in 1766 for his gallantry with Preston at Madura. Mil. Cons., letter
from Cuddalore, 1st July, 1766.
—
ATTEMPT TO STOJRM MADURA 205
then died to the great grief of the whole army.^ No soldier

could wish for a more honourable epitaph than that contained
in a letter from the Madras Council to the Court of Directors :
-' The loss of so

good and so gallant an officer will, if there was
no other consideration, make us look upon Madura, whenever it
falls, to be dearly purchased." ^
Great as was the loss suffered by the army in the fall of

Major Preston, was by no means all they had had to endure.
it
Marchand says they lost 800 Europeans killed and wounded,

—
and more than 2000 sepoys a somewhat ridiculous statement.
The most dangerous share in the assault had been allotted to
the Europeans, and their losses amounted to 120 men, the
sepoys losing only some 50.^ Captain Bullock and Ensigns
Vashon and Macdonald were killed, Major Preston, Captains
James Kirkpatrick, and Thomas Fitzgerald, Cornet William
Knox, Lieutenants Daniel Wear, Thomas Colby Owen, and
Gilbert Painter, Ensign Thomas Bruce, and four volunteers
were wounded. Of the last two died.
The retreat having been effected, it was expected that the
besieged would attempt to sally, but they made no move-
ment, so a flag of truce was sent in to ask permission to
remove the dead and wounded, which was granted.^
Campbell and the two remaining field officers, Call and Wood,
wished to make another assault, but this was given up,
" the very heavy rains which fell immediately after for two or three
nights having rendered it impossible to renew the assault immediately
^ Schwartz says, " The Nawab came and lamented much over him [when he
was brought to his tent] but he told him the plain truth and grieved that a
number of such brave soldiers had been sacrificed without the faintest chance
of achieving their object." Oeschichte der Missions, Vol. IX. Pt. I. p. 583.
In a letterdated 31st July, 1764, to Mr. James Bourchier the Nawab gave as
his reasons for not writing sooner " the concern I felt at Major Preston, my
friend's being wounded, our miscarriage in the storm, the disagreeable news of
my wife's sickness, and my own indisposition." Eous^ Appendix, I. p. 210.
* Letter to Court, 20th Oct., 1764, para. 22.
' Campbell to Council, 26th June. Letter to Court, 14th July, 1764.
* " Mr. Campbell having asked for a suspension of arms came close up to
the breach to compliment me. He could not help showing surprise when he
saw what had caused the repulse of his troops and warmly praised the defence
we had made." Marchand, Precis Historique, pp. 36, 37. In his Journal, p. 94,
Campbell says, " A flag of truce was received on both sides."
— —

as tlie soldiers were greatly fatigued and sickly. The enemy by the
same favourable circumstances had time to repair their works and
clear the rubbish between the faussebraye and [the] inner wall in
such a manner as to render the breaches impracticable without
being battered again, and the approach to them was made still
more difl&cult by the means of thorns and chevaux de frise placed
round the towers and in the most practicable places." •"•
On receiving Campbell's first report of his repulse, the

Council remarked :
" We could have wished that if the breaches were really so

had been made
practicable as they have been represented the attack
on the 23rd, when we have great reason to imagine they would
have succeeded as there were not then so many obstacles to sur-
mount. We conceive no time should ever be given an enemy
after the breach is once practicable." 2
In spite of this they wrote to Campbell :
" We are greatly concerned at the contents of your letter of the

26th in which we find Major Preston and so many good officers
and men have sufiered, but as we are convinced they all did their
utmost, and that with the greatest bravery and resolution, we desire
you will thank the whole army, men as well as officers, in our name,
for their gallant behaviour, and in particular Major Preston, of
whom and the other wounded officers we are very anxious to hear
^
they are out of danger."
There is perhaps no more saintly character in the annals

of Madras than that of the Danish missionary, Christian Fred-
erick Schwartz. At Trichinopoly he had made the acquaintance
of Preston, and when, shortly before the war with Yusuf Khan,
^ Reflections appended to Campbell's letter of 3rd July, 1764. Mil. Cons.,

9th July, 1764, p. 484.
2 Mil. Cons., 2nd July, 1764, p. 451. In a letter of the 28th June, Campbell
remarks, " The breaches were so suddenly made that by all accounts the enemy
were in the utmost consternation, and of course could not possibly be so well
prepared the 22nd as the 26th, besides it was very natural to think that they
would recover fresh spirits by seeing us lay four days looking at the breaches
made, and I believe it is justly remarked that in all military operations the less
time that is given to an enemy to recollect themselves and the more spirit
things are carried on with the more chance there is of success."
3 Mil. Cons., 2nd July, 1764, p. 452.
—
a number of European soldiers were killed by the explosion of

the Laboratory at Trichinopoly,^ he, at Preston's suggestion,
founded a school for the education of their children. From
Madura, horrified at the sufferings of the wounded and the
despair of the dying soldiers, Preston wrote and begged him to
visit the camp. He came during the hot weather of 1764,
arriving in Madura on the 13th June,^ and found five hundred
sick and wounded in the hospitals. These, in spite of the
dreadful odour which filled these buildings,^ he visited in
the mornings, sitting by their straw beds and giving them
what comfort he could. The afternoons he spent with the
sick officers in their tents. After the assault of the 26th June
he wrote :
" When I came into the hospital after the assault I saw such a
scene as I had never before witnessed in my life. Oh ! War is
a terrible punishment from God I went from one to the other,
!
talked with them and prayed with them, but at times I felt dumb,
for the misery was too great. Some prayed, some cursed their
enemies, some moaned; the instigators of the war were not forgotten."
Schwartz' visit to Madura lasted only two months, when it
was cut short by illness ; but so much were the labours of the
good padre appreciated that, when after the
return of the
troops to Trichinopoly, the Nawab's donation was distributed,
600 pagodas were offered to him. He had not asked for any-
thing, but he accepted the unlooked-for gift and divided it
between his Tamil congregation and the school for European
orphans. So pleased was the Nawab with his behaviour in this
matter that he sent him a further present of 300 pagodas for
the school, a present which was supplemented by a subscription
from the Governor, Mr. Palk.*
Yusuf Khan's elation at his victory was great. He rewarded

^ See p. 137 above.
* Geschichte der Missions anstaUen in Ost Indien, Vol. IX. Pt. I. p, 581-587
and 694-597.
* " The dreadful smell of those whose wounds had mortified or who had
been attacked by dysentery." Geschichte des Missions, Vol. IX. Pt. I. p. 582.
* Report of the S.P.C.K. for 1765.
— —

Marchand handsomely for his services,^ and to his friend the
King of Tanjore he wrote :
" The Enghsh have erected batteries opposite the north and west
side of the fort and have day and night kept up a fire for twenty
days both from cannon and mortars. On the 26th Zehige, being
Tuesday, they stormed the fort and scaled the walls at the same time,
but they were beat ofi as the people in the fort fought very well.
They left their ladders behind them and retired to their batteries.
By the assistance of God ^ and your favour I gained a great victory.
Report will inform you of the number of Europeans and sepoys
killed and wounded. There are but fifteen sepoys killed and fifteen
wounded ^ belonging to the garrison should they attack us again
;
*
I will beat them well."
It took some time, however, for the news of the Enghsh

repulse to spread across India. On the 15th October, the very
day when Yusuf Khan was hanged and Marchand with his crew
of vahant vagabonds were prisoners in the Enghsh camp, M.
Bernard Picot de la Motte, afterwards Governor of Mahe, was
writing ^ :
" The news Madura has given us much joy,

of the delivery of
and, for myself, I am charmed who were iu the
that our Messieurs,
place, have got out of their difficulty in a manner so glorious for
themselves. This event makes it clear that the French, when they
like, can make head against the English, and that our party in India
needs only a leader. It has at last obtained the reward of its conduct.
"
Praise be to God !
The most terrible feature of war in these times was the

dreadful suffering and mortahty amongst the wounded, owing
^ Precis Eistorique, p. 37.
^ According to the Diary of the Danish Mission at Tranquebar (29th June,
1764) there was a rumour that Yusuf Khan had consulted the Goddess Minakshi,
who had replied, "Fear not for thyself. The enemy shall do thee no harm."
Oeschichte des Missions anstalten in Ost Indien, Vol. IX. Pt. I. pp. 569-570.
* A
Subadar who deserted to the English on the 2nd July reported that
Yusuf Khan lost 250 men (see p. 211, below) and Marchand {Precis Eistorique,
p. 37) says that he also had lost a number of his men in this assault.
* Letter from Mahomed Ali Chan, Nabob of Arcot, to the Court of Directors . . .
with an Appendix of original papers, p. 49. Letter from Isouf Cawn to Tulsajee,
Raja of Tanjore.
* Biblioth^que Naiionale Nouv. Acq. Franc, 9074, f. 218.
—
ATTEMPT TO STORM MADUBA 209
to the absence of proper surgical and medical appliances, but

even this deficiency furnished occasion for the display of
courage and fortitude. Padre Schwartz ^ writes :
" Another young EngHshman was wounded in the arm. When

I came to the hospital at Sikandarmalai, where he was, he came
to me and discovered with a flood of tears the condition of his soul,
eagerly received instruction, and though ... he had some diffi-
culties, the compassionate High Priest allowed him to taste of con-
solation. Mortification attacked the wound and his arm had to
be amputated. The surgeon 2 asked him whether he felt much
pain. To which he replied, It is of no consequence, you also suffer
'
whilst you perform an operation.' Later on splinters came out

of the arm, and consumption with several other diseases brought
him to his grave but his soul, we may believe, to the peace of the
righteous."
^ Oeschichte der Missions anstalten in Ost Indien, Vol. IX. Pt. I. p. 584.
'
Schwartz mentions no names, but from the Military Consultations of
1st Aug., 1764, p. 553, it appears that the senior surgeon, Colley Lyon Lucas,
was at Sikandarmalai at the time of the assault of the 26th June.
CHAPTEE XIV
BLOCKADE AND FALL OF MADURA
It is not easy to foUow the rest of the story, as Major Campbell's

Journal now becomes very irregular, and Marchand's Precis
Historique is rather an apology for his conduct than a narrative
of actual events. There remains, however, the official corre-
spondence, including translations of several letters from Mar-
chand by which it is possible to check the statements made in
his Precis.
Yusuf Khan, as has been said, was in high spirits, and assured
his men that the Enghsh would now give up the siege, though
after his own experiences in 1757, when he and Caillaud persisted
in the siege of Madura in spite of repeated failures, he can
hardly have beheved that the Enghsh would be satisfied with
a single repulse. Later on, when there was no sign of retirement,
he conceived that they intended to resort to negotiation, and
gave out that General Lawrence was coming from Madras to
settle the terms of peace in person.^ The inaction of the
besiegers was however due to the fact that Campbell could not
make up his mind as to what course he should pursue.
Personally he would have preferred another attempt to storm
the town, being firmly convinced
" thatif Englishmen can but once get within reach of bayonets the
most resolute black troops will give way " ^

;
but he was doubtful whether the state of the Company's

affairs would bear the results of another failure. Moreover,
though the wounded were doing well, there were great
1 Campbell to Council, 5th Aug. Mil. Cons., 13th Aug., 1764, p. 590.
2 Campbell to Council, 27th June. Mil. Cons., 3rd July, 1764, p. 457.
BLOCKADE AND FALL OF MADURA 211
numbers of men sick in hospital owing to the heavy rain

and the fatiguing duty. Some of the officers thought an
assault impracticable without further works, and many went
so far as to say that, even if they could carry the walls, they
had to deal, inYusuf Khan and his chief followers, with such
desperate men that it was extremely likely that they would be,
even then, driven back. Preston, whose gallantry in the assault
had saved him from any loss of prestige, still maintained
his opinion that it was foolish to throw away men in attempt-
ing to storm a place so desperately defended, that the proper
course was a blockade, which could now easily be made
effective, as practically all the poligars had submitted to the
Nawab and were available for cutting off communication
between Yusuf Khan and his friends outside, and he again
urged that Palamcotta should first be taken, so as to concen-
trate the whole army at Madura. From the town itself
came news of increasing scarcity of provisions the horses ;
in particular were reported to be starving, and though the

garrison had plenty of ammunition, the men were discon-
tented and in constant terror of another assault. In fact, on
the 2nd July a Subadar, stationed outside the fort, came over
with his company of 46 men —the only instance during the
siege of any large number Yusuf Khan's native troops desert-
of
ing in a body.i He said that Yusuf Khan's loss in the assault
had been 250 men.
All this Campbell reported to the Council,
" though I must still think that if our men could come within push
of bayonets of them that {sic) they would soon conquer." ^
He went himself to Palamcotta to judge of the feasibility of

its capture, but decided that it was wiser not to make the
attempt, for the reason already mentioned, namely that, as the
wives and famiHes of the garrison were in Madura, it was certain
the Commandant of Palamcotta would make a most determined
defence as long as Madura was untaken, and it was equally
certain that he would surrender without resistance as soon as
he should hear that his family had fallen into the hands of the
» Campbell's Journal. Orme MSS., 74, p. 95.
' Campbell to Council, 2nd July, 1764.
Nawab.i The Council, therefore, though they expressed a fear
that Yusuf Khan might make an attempt to cut his way through
to Palamcotta when Madura became untenable, acquiesced in
his proposal to leave that town for the present and to turn the
siege of Madura into a blockade.^ They ordered him to prevent
—
any one leaving the town an order which, out of motives of
—
humanity, he disobeyed except now and then single persons
from whom he might obtain intelligence, and as the pioneers
had returned from Manilla, they were sent on to Madura, where
they arrived on the 12th July (the day on which Preston died,
having lived just long enough to see his advice finally accepted),
and immediately set to work on a deep ditch, with places of
arms and redoubts, either pahsaded or surrounded with thorns,
which, as may be seen from Marchand's plan, was carried
completely round the town except on the north or river face,
forming a circuit of about six miles. This task proved very
difficult, for, as Campbell says :
—
" Our labour and fatigue was on these occasions very great as the
heavy rains had set in and the trenches being full of water brought
on sickness among the troops, the works often washed down and
the magazines often filled with water notwithstanding the greatest
^
care being taken to prevent it."
To the actual manual labour was added the worry of having

to watch against the constant efforts of the besieged to interrupt
the work by almost daily skirmishes, and also the necessity of
preventing the KaUans from communicating with the garrison.
On the 18th July, however, two of these last were caught carry-
ing Betel into the fort, and from them was ascertained that a
it
large store of this very necessary article was hidden in a village

three miles away. This was partly destroyed and partly brought
into camp by a party sent by Major Wood, who commanded
during Campbell's absence in Tinnevelly. Another possible
source of annoyance was disposed of on the 19th, when Captain
Kelly reported the captm-e of Vadagarai. This strong fort,
with a garrison of 3 officers and 8 European gunners, 94 topasses,
1 Campbell to Council, I2tli July. Council to Campbell, 19th July, 1764.
2 Council to Campbell, 10th July, 1764.
3 Campbell's Journal. Orme MSS., 74, p. 95.
—
3 companies of sepoys and many Kalians, with 16 guns, 3 of

which were fit for the field, commanded the passes into Travan-
core, by which Europeans and topasses, recruited for Yusuf
Khan on the Malabar Coast, were accustomed to join him in —
fact, those taken in the fort were only waiting a favourable
opportunity of doing so.^ There was not, however, much danger
now of any one attempting to assist Yusuf Khan. Even in June
his agents in the sea-coast towns were beginning to look upon
his cause as hopeless. On the 19th of that month Mr. Brower
wrote from Tranquebar " Yusuf Khan's agents here glorify
:
themselves in being masters of his money." ^ The failure of

the assault had certainly brightened the prospect, but even
this was not sufficient to induce M. Hugel, who had now safely
arrived at Tranquebar, to run the risk of involving himself
in the penalties which he would have incurred by attempting
to join Yusuf Khan. He remained quietly where he was,
made a merit to the Madras Council of abstaining from
joining the enemies of the English, and actually had the
hardihood to ask them to support his troop until the arrival
of M. Law.3 Haidar Ali, for his part, wrote to the Council
protesting his friendship for the EngHsh.
The rest of July, the whole of August, and part of September
passed without any slackening in the vigour of the defence,
though the increasing stringency of the blockade added greatly
to the sufferings of the defenders. The Europeans and topasses,
many of whom were deserters, were alarmed at the certainty
that the place must ultimately fall, and began to desert by twos
and threes, in spite of the severity with which Yusuf Khan
punished any who were caught in the act. The horsemen,
apparently the least loyal of the native portion of the garrison,
complained loudly " of their horses dying and the prospect they
have of starving themselves." * On the 14th August, Campbell
wrote :
" By all the intelligence I can learn from the fort, the provisions
which is served out is very bad and in smaller quantities than before,
1 Campbell to Council, 22nd July. Mil. Com., 28th July, 1764, p. 549.
^ Mil. Cons., 7th and 22nd June, 1764, pp. 364, 405.
* Letter to Court, 20th Oct., 1764, para. 34.
« Campbell to Council, 5th Aug, Mil. Cons., 13th Aug., 1764, p. 590.
—

the garrison in general extremely unhappy. They continue to kill
—
and eat their horses are grown very sickly. Yusuf Khan appears
very melancholy and dejected, seldom goes near his family or sufiers
any person to come near him excepting two companies of his oldest
sepoys. From all reports of the situation of the fort I hope we
shall not be obliged to make another attack but get the place by
famine." i
So certain was he of this that on the 29th he sent away a detach-

ment under his brother, Donald Campbell, to assist the Nawab
in the Arcot country against roving parties of the friends of
Yusuf Khan, and also strengthened Captain Hart's detachment
at Palamcotta. At Madura itself, to check the increasing
sickness amongst his troops, he moved the camp up into the
high ground and built huts as a protection against the rain. On
the 30th a French sergeant deserted from the fort and confirmed
the reports of the distress of the garrison. He stated, says
Campbell :
" that the severe rains we have lately had and bad rice and provi-
sions that are served [out] has such an effect upon the troops that
they swell and become dropsical and die with a few days sickness ;
that three more Europeans were coming off with him but were taken
and, I suppose, hanged, as Yusuf Khan does everybody he catches.
It is astonishing how he can keep his troops from delivering up
himself and the fort, for by all reports everybody is ready for such
an action the Frenchmen and sepoys say that dead horses, dead
;
men, women and children lie unburied amongst the ruins of houses,
which must, I think, increase sickness. In short if any credit is
to be given to any intelligence that comes from the fort they must
be in a terrible situation."
There doubt that the deserters, in self-justification,

is little
exaggerated their sufferings but it must be remembered that

;
the second advance on Madura was so calculated that Yusuf

Khan was unable to collect the new harvest, and that the
blockade prevented the native troops from obtaining any supply
of vegetables, the chief article of Indian diet, or of, what dis-
tressed them most,
" betel, an aromatic plant which the natives of India constantly
1 Mil. Cms., 20th Aug., 1764, p. 629.

— ;
chew, and which tliey feci the want of as much as an Englishman

^
would that of beer and roast beef."
The writer of the words just quoted adds :
" You'll easily form an idea of Yusuf Khan's abilities from his
being able to keep togetlier a body of men of different nations,
who with chearfulness undergo the greatest miseries on his account
wretches who have stood two severe sieges, one assault and a blockade
of many months."
On the 12th September a woman brought Campbell a letter

from EowHng, in which he said that Yusuf Khan was turning
all his property into money and forming a party of his best
sepoys with the intention of attempting to cut his way thi'ough

the camp of the besiegers. Eowling's communications had
always been looked upon with suspicion, and this particular
letter is pecuUar because two days later Yusuf Khan made
proposals for a capitulation. It looks as if the letter was
only mtended to influence Campbell in favour of granting terms,
for fear lest Yusuf Khan, with the bulk of his treasure, should
escape him. Marchand tells us ^ that he strongly advised Yusuf
Khan make any attempt at negotiation, on the ground
not to
that would certainly be taken to be a confession of weakness,
it
that his only hope of safety lay in himself, and that it would
be better to die swôrd in hand cutting his way through
the ranks of his enemies or buried beneath the ruins of
his capital. Such suggestions, even if they were ever
made, were heroic only in appearance, for they involved
either the desertion or destruction ofYusuf Khan's family. It
would appear, moreover, that though Yusuf Khan was now
willing enough to accept an honourable capitulation he did not
really trust Marchand, but thought that, if the proposals came
from the latter, Campbell, influenced by Eowling's letter, might
possibly accept them. Accordingly, on the 14th September,^
Campbell received a letter from a sea-captain named Eawdinson,
1 Letter from Palamcotta dated 22nd Oct., 1764. Scots Magazine, 1765,
p. 266. See Appendix V., p. 289.
- Precis Historique, p. 40.
3 Campbell to Council, 15th Sept. Mil. Cons., 2l8t Dec, 1764, p. 716.
^

who had been for a long time a prisoner in Madura, saying that
he had been recently made over to M. Marchand and would be
set at libertyif Campbell would write to the latter gentleman.
Supposing that something must underlie this strange communi-

cation, Campbell ^vrote as requested to Marchand, who immedi-
ately sent Eawlinson out with a letter from himself proposing
an exchange of prisoners and a personal interview. Eawlinson
said that Marchand had pressed him again and again to obtain
the desired interview, and he also brought a small note from
Eowling saying that Yusuf Khan had authorised Marchand to
settle a capitulation,and that he only demanded to be allowed
to go where he pleased. EawHnson had been so closely confined
that he could give no information about the town beyond con-
firming the reports of general distress and the existence of a
report that Yusuf Khan, if he could not obtain terms, would
attempt to cut his way out of the place.
Campbell refused the personal interview at first, but, on the
16th, when Marchand had conferred with Majors Call and Wood,
they brought him to Campbell's quarters, where he proposed
that Yusuf Khan should be allowed to retire to Dindigul with
his family, his troops and a few guns. Campbell replied that
he would accept of nothing but a surrender at discretion, and
flatly refused a further proposal to allow Yusuf Khan to go
away with his family and only a few troops. It was clear, from
what was admitted by Marchand, that the garrison was in the
greatest distress, and that if he could find any way of getting
off with his own men he would take it. He was asked to
consult with Yusuf Khan and come again, for Campbell had
some doubts as to how far Yusuf Khan and Marchand were in
agreement. On the 17th Marchand returned with a letter
from Yusuf Khan, in which he asserted that his only reason for
not coming to Madras when summoned by the Council was his
fear of the hostihty and treachery of the Nawab, and in which
he also complained that his request to be relieved of his governor-
ship and to be allowed to go elsewhere had not been granted,
though as a matter of fact this had been conceded on the 12th
January, 1764.^ Marchand supported Yusuf Khan's letter
1 Campbell to Council, 16th Sept. Mil Cons., 22nd Sept., 1764, p. 718.
* See pp. 166, 167, above.
— ;
with all the arguments he could think of, even threatening

Campbell
" with the most positive assurances that he [Yusuf Khan] can make
the garrison hold out to the end of the year, even though they had
nothing to eat for the last month of it."
Campbell, however, persisted in his refusal to grant any

terms. He would not consent to Yusuf Khan taking any troops
with him, and said that Yusuf Khan's only chance of obtaining
any favour was to surrender at discretion, and that it was idle to
submit any other proposals to the Council. Whilst Campbell was
writing his report to Madras, one of Yusuf Khan's confidants
brought him a letter in which Yusuf Klian suggested that Camp-
bell should send his boy. Sultan, into the fort to talk with him,
or, if he preferred it, he would send out Eowling. Confirmed
in his suspicion that Yusuf Khan and Marchand were not on
confidential terms, Campbell, in the hope of increasing the
jealousy between them, asked that Eowling might be sent out
but apparently Marchand' s report had convinced Yusuf Khan
that any further negotiation was useless, and on the 18th he
wrote repeating his request to be allowed to pass with his family
and a small force as escort, i but saying that he could not send
Eowling as he had fallen ill. Campbell forwarded a full account
of the negotiations and all Yusuf Khan's letters to Madras, where
Council decided on the 22nd and 24th September that they
would accept nothing but a surrender at discretion, and that
they had no fm-ther orders to give on the subject. This decision
appears to have been communicated to Yusuf Iân and
Marchand about the 29th. Marchand ascribes the inflexibility
of the Council to the persuasions of the Nawab, and it is true
that the Nawab wrote to the Council advising them to refuse
Yusuf Khan's proposals on the ground that in money alone his
rebellion had cost them a crore of rupees, and that it was
improper to let him go away " for so long as he is safe so long
;
will there be disturbances in the country " ^ but this letter
^ Yusuf Khan's last proposals were that he should be allowed to go off with
1000 sepoys, 300 horse, 2 covered waggons and 2 field-pieces, with, of course,
his family. Letter to Court, 20th Oct., 1764, para. 21.
' Country Correspondence, 1764.
was not written until the 27th September, and was not received
by Council until the 8th October.
As Campbell fully beUeved that Yusuf Khan would attempt
to cut his way out, he had strengthened his outposts, and had
sent warning throughout the country to be prepared to arrest
him if he succeeded in forcing his way through the line of circum-
vallation, round which the Nawab's horsemen kept up a constant
patrol.^
Meanwhile affairs went from worse to worse within the fort.
Yusuf Khan sent out poor people and weavers by hundreds.^
The Europeans were reported to be eating horses, monkeys,
donkeys, and cats " it was necessary to resort to those horrid
;
expedients which great hunger suggests." ^ The native portion

of the garrison had long been reduced to a diet of old rice and a
modicum of salt.* Worst of all, dissension had sprung up among
the defenders. Marchand tells us ^ that Yusuf Khan, after the
failure of his proposals, had fallen into a lethargy of despair,
from which he roused himself only to indulge in wild outbursts
of fury, when he terrified every one by his violence and cruelty.
But we have seen that from the very beginning of their associa-
tion it was difficult for the two men to keep upon friendly terms,
and now, when co-operation was above all things necessary,
they quarrelled incessantly,^ and it is asserted ' that on one
occasion passion flamed so high that Yusuf Khan actually struck
Marchand with his riding whip, an unpardonable insult never
before offered to aEuropean officer in this part of India.
From that moment, Marchand, who had been prevented
only by superior force from taking immediate vengeance,
1 Campbell to Council, 15t.h Sept. Mil. Cons., 22nd Sept., 1764, p. 718,
Nawab to Council, 13th Oct., 1764. Country Correspondence.
' Campbell received and settled these people in the deserted villages and gave
them employment. Campbell's Journal. Orme MSS., 74, p. 96.

^ Letter from Captain Eccles Nixon, dated 12th Oct., 1764. Edinburgh
Advertiser, 23rd April, 1765. Marchand, Precis Historique, p. 38.
* Letter from Palamcotta. See Appendix V., p. 289.
^ The rest of this chapter is compiled from (1) Letter from Campbell and
Call to Council, dated 16th Oct., 1764 ;(2) Campbell's Journal ; (3) Marchand'a
letter to Council, dated 17th Oct., 1764 ; and (4) Marchand's Precis Historique.
Details from other sources are indicated in the notes.
6 See Appendix III. (b), p. 264.
' Bruno's Journal. See Appendix V., p. 297.

forgot his duty in his thirst for revenge. ^ To attain

his object was not so very difficult, for it willbe remem-
bered that a report prevailed that Yusuf Khan intended to cut
his way out of the fort if terms were not granted him.^ I have
shown that this was a course which was impossible

it for a man
like Yusuf Khan to take for himself, whilst none of his best
men would have left their wives and famihes in the fort to the
vengeance of the Nawab, in order to follow a man who by so
cowardly a flight was betraying the instincts of his race and

profession. 3 But the fatal report had spread abroad and must
have been known to all, and without doubt there were many
who, having fallen into disfavour, thought that they at any
rate would be left behind when the attempt to escape should
be made, and so began to watch every movement of their
leader with suspicious eyes. All this was known to Marchand,
and he fanned the flame, urging the native officers to use
force to prevent Yusuf Khan from escaping. A conspiracy
to seize Yusuf Khan and hand him over to the Nawab
was formed, with Srinavas Eao * and Baba Sahib as its
leaders.
" The latter had private causes of complaint against Khan Sahib,
by whom he had often been ill-treated, and bmrned for revenge."
^ In their letter of the 1 6th Oct. Messrs. Campbell and Call refer to a previous
,
attempt on the part of Marchand to arrange for the surrender of the town.
See Appendix III (o), p. 257.
* See
pp. 215, 216 above.
3 On the 29th Sept., Mr. Palk wrote to.the Nawab of Yusuf Khan's reported
intention to escape as an attempt " in which I think it can only be the interest
of a few of his followers to assist him, especially as their families and eflfects
must remain in the Fort." Country Correspondence. The Abbe Dubois tells
us (Customs, Manners and Ceremonies, III. 9) that Muhammadan chiefs of
high rank "never cry for quarter, and even when the day is going against
them they will not retreat a step as long as they have the support of a few of
their followers. Flight or retreat under such circumstances is considered by
them even more igiaominious than it is by their European opponents."
* A Tanjore Brahman. Kirmani, Hydur Nail:, p. 162. Apparently he was
Yusuf Khan's diwan or chief adviser and not a soldier. The Tamil Ballad says
he was deprived of his eyesight by order of the Nawab. On the other hand,
Mr. Rangasami Naidu tells me that Srinavas Rao's Muhammadan confederate
was rewarded by the gift of the village of Perungudi. The Tamil Ballad says
that Yusuf Khan was warned of this conspiracy in a dream by the goddess
Minakshi, but took no notice of the warning.
220 YU8UF KHAN: THE REBEL COMMANDANT
The conspirators fixed the 13th October for the attempt. The
time chosen was 10 a.m. when most of the soldiers would be off
duty, but Yusuf Khan that morning did not make his appear-
ance in pubUc. This apparently frightened some of the native
leaders, who must have thought that he had stayed in his
quarters owing to suspicion of their intentions, but the bulk
of them had now gone too far to recede. At 5 o'clock in the
evening, Marchand with the leaders of the conspu'acy entered
a private room,^ where they found Yusuf Khan engaged in his
prayers, and there one of the subadars taxed him wîth his
intention to desert thosewho had so long and so faithfully
served him. Furious at the insult, Yusuf Khan drew his sword
and cut down his traducer, but was overpowered by the rest
of the conspirators, bound, it is said,^ with his own turban, and,
though he begged them to him there and then rather than
kill
deliver him to the Nawab, he was carried under guard to Mar-

chand' s quarters, apparently close by, where he was kept under
strict surveillance by some of his troopers.^
Everything so far had been done quietly, for it was the hope
of the mutineers to obtain the full advantage of then* action
by treating with the Nawab for the surrender of Yusuf Khan.
Marchand had posted the artillerymen at their guns with strict
injunctions to be ready to fire at a moment's notice, and the
guards were all going their rounds as if nothing were happening,
whilst the gathering darkness of night, deepened by an ap-
proaching storm, prevented the general pubhc from knowing
what was going on. Only one of Yusuf Khan's men, a brave
young fellow named Mudali, was aware of his master's pHght.
Hurrying to the women's quarters he sent word to Yusuf Khan's
wife, despatched a message to the artillerymen, which, appar-
ently coming from Marchand, made them all abandon their
posts, and having collected five or six hundred men he went to
^ Marchand says he was seized in his Darbar. The Dutch account says he
was seized in a private room. Bishop Caldwell {Tinnevelhj, p. 130) saj's the
native account was that he was seized when at his prayers by " Moossoo
Marsan and his Hindu diwan Srinavas Rao."
* Peixoto, Anecdotes relative to the Rise
of Hyder Ali, p. 82. See Appendix
v., p. 292, below.
3 Letter from Captain Matthew Home to R. Smith, 20th Oct., 1764.
Orme MSS., 27, p. 143. See Appendix V., p. 286.
—
Yu3uf Khan's rescue. But the attempt to create confusion by

the order sent to the artillerymen only resulted in their coming
to Marchand's quarters, where they joined him and the other
conspirators. Mudali was shot or cut down at once he was —
—
the only man killed in the affair and the men whom he had
brought with him, having no one to lead them and afraid to
attack Marchand, who had brought up and posted a couple of
field-pieces in front of his door, quickly dispersed. A last
effort was made by Yusuf Khan's wife, who sent Marchand a
letter, offering him the fort and all the treasure in it if he would
release her husband, but he refused, saying it was the native
officers and not he who held him prisoner.
It was now necessary for the conspirators to communicate
with the camp, where no one yet knew what had happened
within, though they had been surprised at the sudden
cessation of the fire from the walls, which had hitherto never
been wholly interrupted.^ The native officers chose as their
envoys Yusuf Khan's physician, Badruddin Darwesh, and
two other men whose names are unknown, whilst Marchand
selected M. Perigny-Beaumarchais, formerly engineer at Fort
St. David, who had for some time been under Yusuf Euan's
displeasure, and who appears to have been a non-combatant.
M. Perigny and his fellow envoys left the town at 8 o'clock.
He took with him the following letter ^ :
" A Monsieur Campbell, Majeur et Commandant de I'armee

Anglaise devant le Madure. Au camp.
" Monsieur,
" J'ay rhonneur de vous donner avis que je viens d'arrester
le Sr. Kan-saeb avec le consentement de tous ses chefs.
" Je vous envois Mr Perigny porteur de la presente pour vous
faire par de notre position.
" Je vous demande une grace general (que je vous prie de lui
remettre) pour tous ceux qui sont dans le cas de la requirire.
" Demain matin je m'expliray plus emplement pour cette place
^ So unexpected was thia sadden collapse of the defence that on this very
day Major Call had written to R. Smith a letter in which he says, " K this con-
founded place were taken I should, etc., etc." Orme MSS., 27, p. 129.
2 This letter still exists in the Orme Collection, 281, p. 25. I have copied
it veriaiim et literatim.
222 YUSUF KHAN: THE REBEL COMMAND ANT
et celle de Palliancotte, en attendant que je puisse conferer avec vous
demain ou ce soir (si vous pouves envoyer avec ]\Ir Perigny deux
commissaires) des forces superieures a celles que j'ay pour estre
I'aigle sur le glagis de la grande porte de I'ouest, au premier moment
que le cas le requerrera ou les troubles et conspirations qui peuvent
survenir d'juy a demain. Le porteur vous fera plus emplement le
detail des choses.
" J'ay I'honneux d'estre,
" Parfaitement,
" Monsieur, votre ties humble et tres obeissant serviteuTj
le 13 8^'^ 1764, " INIarchand."
a 8^ du soir.
This somewhat incoherent letter reached Major Campbell

about 11 o'clock at night. At first he thought it was a fresh
trick of Yusuf Khan, probably intended to cover his evasion ;
but being somewhat reassured by M. Perigny, he sent him back

with Captain Meyers, the latter being entrusted with a message,
in which Campbell promised M. Marchand and the Europeans
(deserters excepted) their hves, and asked that the west gate
should be given into his possession and Yusuf Khan dehvered
into his hands. To guard against any trickery the whole army
was kept under arms, and Campbell himself went to the trenches.
A company of grenadiers and five companies of sepoys went
with Captain Meyers, and were posted by him near the south
gate 1 so as to be ready at a moment's notice. He and M.
Perigny entered the to^n by this gate at 5 a.m. on the 14th.
They went immediately to Marchand, who told Captain Meyers
the reasons for what he had done and the measures he proposed
to take in regard to the surrender of the place. Having satis-
fied himself that Marchand's offer was genuine, and three guns
being fired as a signal for his return to camp. Captain Meyers
departed, Marchand begging him to obtain the despatch of two
commissaries as requested in his first letter, for he had an enemy
within the fort as well as one without to deal with. He said
1 Marchand had asked for troops to be sent to the west gate ; but that
faced the camp, so possibly the envoys thought it safer to keep it closed. On the
other hand, the south gate, being closer to Marchand's quarters where apparently
Yusuf Khan was confined, was more convenient for the party intended to support
Marchand.
—
he left the treatment of himself and his men to the generosity

of the Nawab and the Council.
About 10 Badruddin and his comrades having
o'clock,
finished their business with theNawab, Captain Meyers returned
to the fort with a paper from Major Campbell, demanding the
fort and Yusuf Khan at discretion, and granting the Europeans
and topasses (deserters excepted) their lives, apparel, and other
effects, but reserving to a later decision the manner in which
the prisoners should be disposed of. Captain Meyers took with
him Ensign Desvoeux, the Nawab' s diwan, and some other of
his officers, and also five palanquins and four companies of
sepoys, for whom he asked admission. The palanquins of
course were for the conveyance of Yusuf Kian and his family
to the camp, but Badruddin and his companions urged that the
sepoys should not be admitted until the terms that had been
obtained from the Nawab had been discussed by the native
officers. This caused another delay until 1 o'clock, when
Marchand drew up four articles of capitulation which he asked
Captain Meyers to take out. These were ^ :
" (1) M. Marchand shall march out with the troops both black
and white with their arms and baggage, colours flying, drums
beating and loaded muskets, to the foot of the glaQis, where they
shall lay down their arms except the of&cers and volunteers.
" (2) No person in M. Marchand's troop shall be molested under
pretence of desertion or on any other account.
" (3) M. Marchand's troops as well as the topasses of the
Malabar and Coromandel Coasts the day before they set out for
Tranquebar shall be advanced one month's pay, agreeable to what
they had in this place, to enable them to proceed there.
" (4) M. Marchand shall be permitted to go to Tranquebar
with his troops, where shall be allowed to them a subsistence
agreeable to the allowances stipulated in the Cartel made in the
lastwar between our sovereigns, until the re-estabhshment of the
French nation in India or until the arrival of the Commissaries."
In other words, M. Marchand, whose only alternative to

surrender was to release Yusuf Khan, and thus to give the signal
for the immediate massacre of himself and all his countrymen,
1 Mil. Cons., 27th Oct., 1764, p. 877.

asked Major Campbell, who was forbidden by his superiors to
grant any terms whatever, to allow him the honours of war.
Naturally enough, Campbell was not so foohsh as to sign such
a document. He proceeded to the south gate himself, and
with difficulty persuaded the guard to admit Ensign Smith ^
(Campbell's aide-de-camp) and some sepoys with orders to
proceed towards the west gate, opposite to the Enghsh camp,
which he particularly wished to get into his possession. On
their way they were stopped by a hundred topasses with fixed
bayonets, who told Smith that M. Marchand had forbidden any
gate to be opened until something certain had been signed for
the garrison. Smith asked to be taken to M. Marchand, and,
as he pretended to have something particular to say to him, he
was conducted to the house where Yusuf Khan was a prisoner,
and there found Marchand with his two field-pieces and about
four hundred French and topasses, deserters included, drawn up
under arms, three deep with lighted matches. Marchand was
in fact Httle better than a prisoner himself. Captain Meyers
had made no secret that he doubted whether Campbell would
grant the capitulation which Marchand had proposed, whereas
Marchand's men thought he had been too moderate. They had
threatened to kill him and his chief officers, and were furious
when they found that sepoys were being admitted to the town;
and now, when Smith coolly urged the absolute necessity of
opening the west gate before anything had even been settled
which would secure the lives of the deserters, of whom there
were a great number in their ranks, they were convinced that
they had been betrayed. It was of Httle use for Smith to pro-
mise vaguely that their good conduct would be favourably
remembered; they were determined to have something definite
or to release Yusuf Khan. Fortunately for Marchand, they
agreed to await another reference to Campbell, and Ensign
Desvoeux, who seems to have stayed with Marchand, hurried
off to inform Campbell that unless a pardon were immediately
granted to the deserters the whole affak w'ould be upset. Camp-
bell, meanwhile, had been steadily introducing his men in small
^ John Smith, brother of General Richard Smith, was at this time Campbell's
aide-de-camp. Campbell does not mention his name, but it is given in Home's
letter of the 20th Oct., 1764, already referred to.
bodies, but neither of the gates had yet been secured, and,
especially as the night was coming on, anything might have
happened in the event of a counter-revolution taking place ; so
he took a piece of paper and with a pencil wrote " something
relative to a general pardon, but not clear enough to protect
them." As this paper has disappeared, it is difficult to know
exactly what Campbell pledged himself to do, but the Council
held that he had promised the deserters their lives, and as a
general pardon was interpreted by Marchand to his men, who
it
thereupon declared they would lay down their arms.

Word was carried to Campbell, who now rode in with the
cavalry. When he reached Marchand's quarters the latter
offered to surrender his sword, which Campbell immediately
returned to him, whereupon the men threw down their weapons.
Yusuf Khan was handed over to the Nawab's servants, who,
though the looks of the people showed they were glad the siege
was over,i evidently thought an attempt at rescue or escape
was possible, and therefore bound him ^ down in one of the
palanquins before they carried him out to the camp, where he
was confined for the night in a pagoda. His wife and family^
who were made prisoners at the same time, were despatched
at once to Trichinopoly.^
" Thus ended this long, bloody and tedious siege and blockade,
much to the satisfaction of the Nawab and Governor and Council."''
^ " Yesterday we marched in our troops and took possession of the Fort
with joy in the countenance of the resigners both black and white. Yusuf
Khan was sent out and delivered to the Nawab, who ordered him to camp, and
—
to-day he was hanged in the front of the lines so much for French faith
"
!
Letter dated Camp before Madura, 15th Oct., 1764. Gazetteer and Daily
Advertiser, 30th March, 1765.
- Letter from Bassora, I2th Feb., 1765. Scots Magazine, 1765, p. 267.
3 Major Wood to Council, 4th Nov. Mil. Cons., 12th Nov., 1764, p. 936.
Practically nothing is known of what became of Yusuf Kian's family. The
Tamil Ballad says however that his wife and son retired to Travancore. The
Dutch account of Yusuf Iran's treaty \vith the King states, it will be
remembered, that the King promised them his protection. As regards Yusuf
Khan's son, see below, p. 233 (n.).
* Campbell's Journal. Orme MSS., 74, p. 100.
— —
CHAPTEE XV
CONCLUSION
On the 15th October the Nawab wrote to Madras :
" To-day, being Monday, the Eebel was hung at five o'clock in
*
the evening, which struck a terror into the hearts of our enemies."
Little is known for certain of what happened in the brief

period between the arrival of Yusuf Khan in camp and his
execution. Marchand 2 says that he was at first in the hands
of the Enghsh and was well treated, it being the intention of the
Council to retain him as a prisoner, whose release they might
hold in terrorem over the Nawab if the latter should at any
time display an inconvenient independence, but that Campbell
was persuaded by a heavy bribe to surrender him to the Nawab,
who ordered him to be hanged immediately in order to antici-
pate any contrary instructions in his favour. The Council, he
adds, were extremely annoyed, and the Nawab had to pay a
large sum of money to appease their anger, but thought this
a cheap price for the destruction of so dangerous an enemy.
This mahcious statement is demonstrably false, for not only
had the Council decided even before the beginning of the war ^
that Yusuf Khan should be punished by death if he did not
submit, but immediately on receipt of the news of his capture,
Mr. Palk wrote to the Nawab :
" It is a satisfaction I scarce expected to get the Eebel himself

; *
in your possession. The measure of his iniquities was full "
and again on hearing of his death,
" I have received your Excellency's letter and am well pleased
1 Country Correspondence, 1764, No. 205. * Precis Historique, pp. 48, 49.
' See p. 143 above. * Country Correspondence, 1764, No. 201.

—
CONCLUSION 227
at the manner of your executing the Rebel, which will, no doubt,

^
deter others from being guilty of his crimes."
Similarly, the Council wrote ^ to the Court of Directors :
" The next evening an example was made of the Rebel which
we hope will have a good effect and deter others from the many
crimes he has been guilty of to support his power."
It is clear, therefore, that the Council were in full agree-

ment with the Nawab as to the necessity of the execution of
Yusuf Khan, as an example to any of their servants who
might high position of the penalty attaching to treason.
rise to
The infliction of the sentence was naturally left to the
Nawab, the Governor of Madura and Tinnevelly being
rightfully the vassal of the Nawab and not of the Company.
All accounts, except that of Marchand, agree that Yusuf
Khan was immediately handed over to the Nawab's officers,
who had arrived in the fort with or before Campbell, and by
them taken to the camp, where it appears he was questioned as
to the whereabouts of the treasure which he was supposed to
have amassed. To this inquiry his only reply was to refer them
to his secretary. Beside three months' provisions and plenty
of ammunition, the captors had found four lakhs of pagodas in
the fort,^ but this did not satisfy the Nawab, and the Dutch
Accounts * add significantly that the secretary died soon after.
Marchand says that Yusuf Khan gave way to undignified lamen-
tation over his fate, but this also is untrue, and it appears from
the testimony of Enghsh officers that he accepted his lot with
manly equanimity, and made no appeal w^hatever to either
Campbell or the Nawab to spare his life.
On the evening of the 15th he was led through the camp,
which lay upon the road to Dindigul, to the side facing the
^ Country Correspondence, 1764, No. 206.

2 Letter to Court, 24th Oct., 1764.
3 Letter from Captain Home to R. Smith, 20th Oct., 1764. Orme MSS.,
27, p. 143. See Appendix V., p. 286.
* Sweepe's Slwrt Account for 1764. Sweepe gives as his authority a
Portuguese priest, Constantino vas Concella [?], who was in the camp.
Whether by Yusuf Khan's secretary is meant Rowling or his Diwan Srinavas
Rao is uncertain.
—

town, and there hanged on a large mango tree. His body,
according to the cruel custom of the age in Europe as well as
Asia, was dismembered.^ His head, Uke that of Chanda Sahib,
was sent to Trichinopoh', his limbs to such places as Tanjore,
Palamcotta, and Travancore, after they had been exposed for
some time over the principal gateways of the city. The trunk
apparently was buried in the village of Sammattipuram,^ where
Yusuf Khan is said to have usually hved whilst he ruled over
Madura, and over it was built a small square mosque, which
still exists and is known by the half Hindu name of the Khan
Sahib's 'pallivdsal. Inscriptions in Tamil and Persian on the

tablet to the left of the doorway state that the tomb was
erected in the year 1222 A.H. (1808 a.d.) by Shaikh Imam,
son of Shaikh Kathal. The local tradition is that only his
head was buried here.
It is generally believed that the circumstances of his
execution partook of the extraordinary if not of the super-
natural. The following is an account by a native writer ^ :
" It may not be screened from tlie reader that the account of
the execution of this rebel which is current among the people at
large is above mutineer was imprisoned at
to the efiect that the
Madura and attempts were made to hang him three times, and at
every trial the rope invariably broke, and he could not be despatched
to his ever-resting place till at last he moved his sealed tongue to
solve this unimaginable mystery, which was kept out of sight of
the people, by revealing that there was a magic ball deposited
*
in my thigh which had been granted to me by one of the most eminent

magicians and leading divine of the ascetics, and it is owing to the
effects of this ball that the treasure of my life is secured, and if it
is removed from me it will obviate the trouble taken to deprive me
^ See p. The Dutch Account and local tradition agree with

231 below.
Marchand on Kirmani {History of Hydur Nail; p. 162) says he was
this point.
impaled, but there is no authority for this statement. The Tamil Ballad says
the reason why the Nawab ordered Yusuf Khan's body to be dismembered
was that, three nights after his execution, Yusuf Khan appeared to his sepoys
in their dreams and told them that if they performed certain ceremonies over
his corpse it would come to life.
* Francis says (Madura, p. 67) the mosque is on the left of the Dindigul
road. Mr. Rangasami Naidu informs me that it is really on a road running

parallel to the Dindigul road and a little to the south.
* Life of the Walajah. Wilson's Madras Army, I. 386.
—
CONCLUSION 229
of my Measures were accordingly

soul.' adopted to do the needful,
and was opened, the spell was
his thigh taken and cast out, when
the treasure of liis soul was conveyed by the angel of death and the
bier of his body was taken up by the earth. God has the best
knowledge of facts."
There is no doubt that the attempt to hang him failed once,

or even twice, by the breaking of the rope, but the charm
by which he was protected is by some said to have been a
golden ball, by others the fabulous horn of the jackal,^ and its
location is stated variously to have been his neck, his arm and
his thigh. It seems to me most probable that this reputed
charm was only the medal given him by the Council in 1755
with instructions to wear it always,^ and that it was
still round his neck when he was led out to execution. It
would have been in accordance with the grim character of
Yusuf Khan, when the first attempts to hang him failed,
to have bidden the Nawab's executioners take away the last
symbol of the Company's favour and protection, if they wished
to achieve their object.
In regard to the character of Yusuf Khan, sufficient has
been said as to his military capacity and as to his ability and
uprightness as a civil governor.^ Tlie reports of his cruelty
(judging by the standards of his age) are not based upon any
certain authority — Peixoto in fact justifies any severity he
exercised during the siege by the necessities of the occasion ^
and that he was capable of chivahy and free from any blind
hatred for the English is shown by his kindly behaviour to
Donald Campbell when he found him lying wounded on
the field of battle.^ Private letters also show that, how-
ever those in authority were compelled by State poUcy to act
with the utmost severity, his past services were remembered
^ Or of the tiger. As regards the magical powers of the jackal honi and
the clavicle of the tiger, see Jerdon, Mammalia of India, pp. 92 and 144.
2 See pp. 21, 22 above, and 293 below.
' As to his military capacity see the opinion of Sir John Malcolm, after-
wards Governor of Bombay (Appendix V., p. 307), and as to his administrative

ability that of Mr. S. R. Lushington, afterwards Governor of Madras (Appendix
v., p. 304).
* See p. 150, above.
and his fate by Europeans as well as natives,
lamented
by civilians well
soldiers. ^
as As the servant of the
as
Company he had been loyal when times were darkest and when
rebellion would have been both easy and safe when he did ;
rebel the Company had no other enemy in the field, and he had
been bidden to consider himself the servant no longer of the
Company, but of his ancient enemy the Nawab. The change
of the Company's pohcy was one which he had no right to
criticize and much less to oppose, but it left him only
the choice of resigning his high ofiice or of a humihating
submission to a man whom he despised. To a soldier
of his character and past this was intolerable, and hence
Mill's assertion that he rebelled in self-defence - can
hardly be questioned. It must also be remembered in his
favour that, in his time, Indian opinion looked with a very
lenient eye on rebeUion against any one but the Great Mughal
himself, for the authority of his so-called officers was only
nominally based upon his grants. ^ A rebel, therefore, was
considered simply as a man who was prepared to play for
his life, success bringing him a throne and failure bringing
death. Such a man was Yusuf Khan. He may have
^ " He [Yusuf Khan], poor wretch ! waa endeavouring to make his escape
when his garrison seized Nawab, who after
him and delivered him over to the
leading him with a halter about his neck round the camp, hung him upon a
tree in an avenue leading to the Fort." Letter from Edward Raddon to James
Leigh, 24th Oct., 1764. Madras High Court Records, Draft Letter Books.
" There fell Yusuf Kian, the greatest black man India could ever boast of."
Letter from Lieut. George Nixon, 17th March, 1765. Universal Magazine,
Oct., 1765, p. 220. In the War of the Khan Sahib it is stated that the
Nawab consulted the English officers as to the disposal of Yusuf Khan, and
that they unanimously recommended that he should be pardoned, but the
Nawab declared that it was a question of his own life or that of Yusuf Khan,
and ordered his execution. There seems, however, to be no documentary
proof of this story, though it probably represents truly the wishes of the
officers.
^ " He resolved to give himself the chance of a struggle in his own defence."
Appendix V., p. 305. Also " Among these soldiers of fortune a man highly
distinguished becomes the rival of his master, and regard to his own safety is
a frequent cause of rebellion." G. Rous, Restoration of the King of Tanjore
considered, p. 45.See Appendix V., p. 295
^ See above.
p. 12 If (see p. 132, above) he really received parwanas for
Madura and Tinnevelly from the Subah of the Deccan, it is not clear that
Yusuf Khan could be correctly called a Rebel, for Muhammad All himself was
the subordinate of the Subah.
CONCLUSION 231
hoped that the Company would have left him to fight

it out with the Nawab, but this is hardly Ukely, for he
knew as well any man by what close links the
as
interests of the Nawab and the Company were cormected,^
and hence he must have been prepared for the consequences
of failure. His long service and previous fidehty could not
serve him any more than tlioy had availed in the case of his
enemy Punniyappan.^ He himself had given but a short and
deadly reply to the rebel Muzaffar Beg's cry for quarter.^ He
threw away the scabbard of his sword when he alhed himself
with the French and allowed the English flag to be burned in
his camp by the hands Frenchmen,^ and he was believed to
of
have insulted the whole corps of his old comrades the British
officers when he told the Mara van poHgars that he could divert
them from their duty by bribes.^ To Yusuf IChan death was
probably welcome. He, the son of a humble peasant, had made
a fight such as could hardly be surpassed by the feats of any of
his countrymen, and when beaten it was by the treachery of his
own men and not by the force of his enemies. The maimer of
his death was to him of no importance, but it was not, as some
writers ^ seem to imagine, a degrading form of death for ;
though nowadays we associate the gallows only with the crime

of murder, it was then and up to the year 1814, the punishment
prescribed by Enghsh law for rebelUon,' and that which, to-
gether with " the barbarous ceremony of unbowelling, mangling
and casting the hearts into the fire," ^ had been inflicted in 1746
upon a number of gallant Scotch and English gentlemen who
had fought for the Young Pretender.
Before leaving Yusuf Khan it is of some interest to refer to
1 " Whatever motives instigated Yusuf Khan to revolt, the English in
support of the Nawab's government were obliged to reduce him." Rous'

Restoration of the King ofTanjore considered, p. 45. See Appendix V., p. 295.
^ See p. 17 above.
' See p. 91 above.
* See p. 131 above.
* See p. 143 above.
* " his enemies, who . with a want of mercy which at this time seems all
. ,
but inexcusable, hung him like a dog." Nelson, The Madura Country, p. 282.
See Appendix V., p. 310.
' See Encychpcedia Britannica, Art. Treason.
^ Lord Mahon, History

of England, III. 475.
his connection with Haidar All. It was not to the advantage
Yusuf Khan, except so far as to damage
of the latter to assist
the Nawab and the Enghsh without creating a possible rival for
himself. Haidar Ah must have watched his career with keen
attention and learned much from it, especially in regard to the
adaptation of European methods of warfare to Indian armies.
The necessity of European discipline and European instructors,
the preparation of his ow^n military supplies, such as muskets,
guns, cannon-balls and powder, the supply of his own horses to
his cavalry, possibly the advantages of attacks by night, ^ were
all matters in which Haidar Ah followêd if he did not actually
imitate Yusuf Khan, and the fate of the latter taught him that,
if he valued his independence, not to mention his personal
security, he must employ only in very subordinate capacities
Europeans of the class which alone would, at that time, enter
the service of an Indian prince. Fortunately for the Enghsh
the fact of Marchand being a Frenchman, and the failure of M.
de Maudave to fulfil his promises (for Haidar natm'aUy could not
understand the dependence of French pohcy in India upon the
state of affairs in Europe) only served to increase his distrust,
and so prevented him, and his son after him, from forming
a really effective alliance with the French nation.^
To return to Madura. The revolution had been almost
bloodless, the only life actually lost being that of the faithful but
unfortunate Mudah, and after the surrender, if we except his
secretary, apparently Yusuf Khan was the only person who
owed his death to the conquerors.^ Tlie Nawab wished to
enhst 21 companies of sepoys and about 200 topasses * who had
been in Yusuf Khan's service, but to this the Madras Council

objected on the ground that, whilst the Nawab spent much
money on his Indian forces, their discipline was so wretched
that they were found utterly useless when required to assist
the Company's troops.^ This can easily be understood when
Attacks by night were not considered to be an honourable form of warfare
^
by Indian soldiers. See Broome, Bengal Army, p. 387.

^ See Law de Lauriston, Etat de VInde en 1777, p. 81, where he shows how
impossible it was for Haidar Ali to trust the French.

3 See Appendix III. {a), p. 256.
« Major Wood to Council, 4th Nov. Mil. Cam., 12th Nov., 1764, p. 938.
* Mil. Cans., 29th Oct., 1764.
—
CONCLUSION 233
we reflect that the chief occupation of the Nawab's sepoys was

to collect rent from recalcitrant tenants. What became of
these men is not stated, but there was a warm welcome from
Haidar Ali waiting for any good fighting man who was in need
of service, and it is not at all unlikely that many of Yusuf
Khan's old soldiers went to him, since in 1780 Yusuf Khan's
son was in Mysore.^
As regards the European prisoners there were only 16 officers
and 94 privates,^ and considering that at one time and
another at least 400 Europeans had come into Madura since
the beginning of the war, even when we allow for the losses
by desertion and disease, this scanty number shows that Mar-
chand's men had fought gallantly and done credit to the flag
under which they had served. Of the privates, 34 Europeans
and 12 Coffrees ^ were deserters from the Enghsh army. Of
the 16 officers only 10 were, according to Major Wood, Euro-
peans, and of these 10 Marchand was the only one who could
claim to be a gentleman, though perhaps Major Wood ought to
have included Messieurs Perigny and d'Haumartin in this
category. In reference to these men the Council decided as
follows 4 :
" We are concerned that Major Campbell eliould have granted

M. Marchand and the other European prisoners, particularly the
deserters, any terms, as it was never our intention that they should
be allowed any. But as he has promised the deserters their lives,
they are to be confined and subsisted by the Paymaster either at
Madura or Trichinopoly. With respect to M. Marchand and the
other Frenchmen, though Major Campbell did not sign the capitu-
lation sent out by M. Marchand, yet we think from his promise
in writing that no difficulty would be made regarding this, they have
a right to expect our compliance, at least with such part thereof
as may with prudence be granted them. It is therefore resolved
1 " It is said that Yusuf Khan's son at the head of 10,000 men is ready at
Dindigul to enter the Madura and Tinnevelly Districts, where he expects to meet
with many friends on his father's account." Letter dated Palamcotta, 1st Aug.,
1780, from Captain James Edington to Council. Mil. Cons.
* Letter from Campbell and Call, 16th Oct. Mil Cons., 27th Oct., 17G4,
p. 110.
' Major Wood to Council, 4th Nov., 1764.
* Mil. Cons., 27th Oct., 1764, p. 877.
—
234 YUSUF KHAN : THE BEBEL COMMANDANT

that they be kept either at Madura or Trichinopoly, and that the
private men be subsisted by the Paymaster till we can dispose of
them in some other manner."
To relieve the Company as quickly as possible of the expense

of keeping these men, Major Wood was ordered to try to enhst
them in the Company's service, but in this he had little success.
He writes ^ :
" I could enlist only two Dutchmen out of the French prisoners
before they were sent away, and one has desired to stay with the
Nawab, as he is said to be a fine Limner. There was one man more
would have entertained in our artillery, but they all say our pay
is too small to entertain them, as being accustomed to such large
pay among the coimtry powers. Besides 33 of these men had served
with Yusuf Khan as officers,^ and, in short, near the whole of these
prisoners had been wounded and maimed, therefore could not be
fit for our service indeed will not reconcile themselves to stay with
;
their own nation after being so long with the black powers."
As regards the pay which they had received from Yusuf

Khan, we find from an intercepted letter ^ that he paid the
cavahy 33, the grenadiers 24, the artillery 22, and the infantry
20-22 rupees a month. What, then, can we think of the EngHsh
pay which these plutocrats refused ? ^ Probably, however,
the chief attraction to the native service for this class of Euro-
peans was the freedom from unnecessary discipline and from
which they enjoyed when away from their
all class distinction,
own flag.^ on asked per-

All the deserters, save seven, later
mission to re-enhst in the EngUsh service, and were permitted
to do so on an engagement for five years.
We have seen that Campbell returned his sword to M.
1 Wood to Council, 25th May. Mil. Cons., 30th May, 1765, p. 510.
* Major Wood probably means officers in sepoy companies.
3 Yusuf Khan to M. Hausse, 20th March, 1764. Orme MSS., 281, p. 22.
Salabat Jang gave Bussy's Europeans 30 rupees a month besides food see :
Journal of Bussy in the Deccan, Bib. Nat. MSS. Nouv. Acq., Fr. No. 9358.
* Wilson {Madras Army, I, 114) gives the pay of the European privates
in 1755 a,s 2\ pagodas, i.e. about 9 rupees, per mensem.

^ Speaking of Lally's troops in Haidarabad, Law says [Etal de TInde en
1777, p. 146), " Except as regards actual military duties, there prevails a free-
dom, a kind of equality which would not be tolerated amongst our troops."
—
CONCLUSION 235
Marchand. The latter says he surrendered himself to the Nawab,

who received him with many compliments, but would listen
to no representations in favour of Yusuf Khan.^ He further
tells us that Major Wood, who had been left in command whilst
Campbell marched south to receive the surrender of Palam-

cotta, comphmented him with a sepoy guard. Major Wood
wrote to the Council in November ^ :
" I have always honoured M. Marchand's person with a trusty

Jemadar's guard, partly to keep him from any insult which may
be offered him from his [own] people and partly to have an eye
over him. The allowance you have been pleased to make to him,
his oflB.cers and men, will not be agreeable to him, I am sure, as
he expects a large reward himself for the piece of service he has done
for putting you and Yusuf Khan, and
in possession of the garrison
his people subsisted the same as when in that service. I assure
you he claims no small merit, and does not stick to say he ought
to have three laJchs from you or the Nawab and received in the
Service asks the command of a troop of a hvmdred horse and three
;
himdred infantry. It will be equal, he says, whether he be in the

Company's or Nawah's service. I told him I would do myself
the pleasure to acquaint you with his good intentions, and that he
might expect to be thanked, but that was all I thought he could
have."
Campbell and Call had already reported ^ that a counter-

revolution in favour of Yusuf Khan had been prevented only by
the good conduct and firmness of M. Marchand, but the Council
thought, no doubt, that he had acted as much in his own interest
as in theirs, and neither the Council nor the Nawab took any
notice of his claim to a reward or of his later request to allow
him to raise a corps of five or six hundred Europeans for the
Nawah's service,* except to warn Major Wood that they did
not trust M. Marchand, and that he must therefore carry out the
orders he had received concerning his safe custody. At first it
appears that they intended ^ to send him to Europe to stand his
^ Pricis Historique, p. 48.

« Wood to Council, 19th Nov. Mil. Con^., 28th Nov., 1764, p. 979.
' See Appendix III. (a), p. 257.
« Marchand to Council, 21st Nov. Mil. Cons., 4th Dec, 1764, p. 1002.
s
Mil Cons., 13th Feb., 1766, p. 118.
^
236 YUSUF KHAN; THE REBEL COMMANDANT

trial, presumably for breaking his parole and for waging war
against a friendly nation, though he protested that he had never
been informed authoritatively of the ratification of the treaty
until his interview with Campbell on the 17th September, and
indeed never by his own superiors.^ Though not in irons,
as he tells us, he was kept prisoner for some time at
Trichinopoly, until at the request of M. Jean Law, who arrived
in January, 1765, in India as Commissary, to receive back the
French factories taken by the English, and who reminded the
Council " that a soldier learns in his profession to obey only the
voice of his officer," ^ the Council decided to set all the prisoners
from Madura free. On the 24th and 25th May, 1765, Messieurs
Marchand, d'Haumartin, and Perigny with 75 privates, all
that remained of the European defenders of the town, were
sent from Trichinopoly to Karical, whence they went to
Pondicherry.
It is a matter of regret that there exists no authoritative
account of the mutiny against Yusuf Klian. In his Precis
Marchand says that Yusuf Khan was made prisoner by the
native oflficers, and that he was made prisoner himself and ran
a great risk of losing his Ufe in his effort to defend him,* but his
letter to Campbell which I have quoted in extenso ^ and the
copies of his letters in the Madras Eecords show that he was
^
one of the leaders, if not the chief of the conspiracy, whilst all
independent accounts ascribe the actual seizure of Yusuf Khan's
person to Marchand and one or more of the native officers.
His well-known courage forbids one to beheve that it was care
for his own safety that actuated him, and his past record in the
Deccan makes it unlikely that he was moved by any motive
so sordid as a bribe, but he had shown as early as September
that he was extreme^ anxious about the safety of his men, all
or most of whom had enlisted at his suggestion and in rehance
on his promises, though many of them, being deserters, were
1 See Appendix III. (a), p. 252.

- " Je languis longtems dans les fers des Anglais." Precis Historique, p. 50.
3 Law to Council, 4th March. Sep. Mil. Cons., 12th March, 1765.
* See Appendix III. (6), pp. 264, 265.
^ See pp. 221, 222 above.
« See especially his letter of the 17th Oct., 1764. Appendix III. (a), p. 252.
CONCLUSION 237
running the risk of death if captured by the English. On

the other hand, pretty certain that bribes were offered
it is
to him/ and though he did not accept them before the

surrender, when the Nawab and the English had profited
so greatly by what had been done, it is possible that he
saw no great harm in asking for some pecuniary reward
for his share in it. The pubHc, however, naturally supposed
he was only demanding the fulfilment of promises made
^
antecedent to the mutiny, and we are told by Peixoto
that he was so badly received by his countrymen that, until the
recollection of the affair had grown dim, he could find no place
where he could live. He had, however, a friend in the Governor,
M. Law, who was at this time suffering much distress on account
of the shameful accusations ^ which M. Dupleix had made
against liis brother Jacques, and who was therefore the last
person in the world to believe evil of a man whose fidelity to
that brother in 1752 had saved liim from unmerited disgrace.
M. Law, after consideration of his story and after hearing the
various accounts which were given of the affair, evidently came
to a favourable decision, for, when Marchand went home to
France, he was on M. Law's recommendation granted the Cross
of St. Louis.* In Paris he published a plan to illustrate the
attacks in the two sieges of Madura, which he dedicated to the
Prince de Conde, so apparently he enjoyed the patronage of
that nobleman, and in 1771 he printed a Uttle book entitled
Precis Historique des deux sieges de la ville de Madiire dans
VInde, which I have often referred. He is stated by
to
M. Bruno to have died in 1773 at Eueil near Paris, but there
is no reference to his death in the official registers of the
^The Dutch Account says Yusuf Khan always suspected Marchand and
watched him closely, but he managed to communicate with the besiegers, who
offered him a bribe of a lakh of rupees. So also Marchand says {Precis His-
torique, p. 34) that Captain Bonjour on the 24th Feb. had offered him " des
recompenses immenses," and further, Campbell himself in his letter to Council
of the 17th Sept., says that his only object in continuing the conference with
Marchand so long was to find out on what terms he stood with Yusuf Kiian and
to "sow jealousys," which shows that he was quite ready to ofEer money if he
thought it would be accepted.
' See p. 125 above.

* M. Bruno's Journal. See Appendix V., p. 296 (n.).
town.^ The cemetery emplojêd in that year has long been
disused and devoted to other purposes. If his body hes
there, there is nothing to mark the spot. M. Bruno tells us
he never wholly succeeded in clearing his reputation.
As had been expected, Palamcotta surrendered without
firing a shot. The Dutch accounts say that the garrison refused
at first to surrender, but when they were shown the gruesome
remains of their late Governor, they were convinced that their
wives and famihes had fallen into the power of the Nawab, and
so made no further resistance. ^ The papers found in Madura
by the captors provided ample evidence of the connivance of
Haidar Ah and of the Kings of Travancore and Tanjore in
Yusuf Khan's rebelhon, and the Nawab, who was grievously
disappointed at the amount of spoil taken in Madura, was
eager to attack and punish them, but the Council decided
that Haidar Ah and the King of Travancore had committed
no overt act hostile to the Company, and that the Nawab's
treatment of Tanjore was so bad as to completely explain
the King's hostihty,^ and therefore that it was wiser to take
no notice of their conduct than
"to enter into disputes with them which may involve the Com-
pany's afEairs in troubles without end " * ;
in other words, that it was not worth while to throw good

money after bad.
1 I personally made inquiries at Rueil, but could obtain no information about

Marchand at that place, nor is any mention of his death in the Gazette de
there
Fraiice or the Mercure de France for 1773 or any adjacent year.
2 Palamcotta surrendered on the 23rd October. It was found " in excellent
condition and in the works in all respects as good as Madura and well supplied
with cannon and all sorts of stores." Campbell to Council, 23rd Oct. On the
27th Oct. Council resolved, " The Board are entirely of the President's opinion
that the sending so considerable a force against Palamcotta was quite un-
necessary, as Yusuf Khan is now no more and the families of the principal
people in that place are in the Nawab's hands." 3Iil. Cons., 27th Oct., 1764,
p. 866.
^ In August Campbell reported that the Tanjore troops would do no duty
and paid no respect either to the Nawab or himself. On this the Council
remarked, " As to the behaviour of the King of Tanjore's troops we are not at
all surprised at it, when we consider what pains the Nawab takes to make him
his enemy." Mil. Cons., 13th Aug., 1764, p. 594.
* Mil. Cons., 27th Oct., p. 880.
CONCLUSION 239
One naturally asks oneself what advantage accrued to

the Company from this war. Sir John Lindsay ^ says frankly
" None," and indeed, beyond the indirect benefit derived from
the discredit of French promises in the eyes of the Indian
princes, and the had shown itself strong enough
fact that it
to subdue the most and able of the Nawab's

powerful
vassals, it is diiiicult to see that the Company derived any
advantage. On the other hand, the Nawab was more heavily in
debt than ever ^ provinces which had paid a small but certain
;
revenue under Yusuf Khan had been restored to the feeble rule
of a Prince who could do nothing with them, and this restora-
tion had been effected at a cost of no less than two crores of
rupees, and the loss of a very large number of European officers
and soldiers.^ The miUtary prestige of the Company had
also suffered, not merely by Yusuf Khan's prolonged resist-
ance, but by the fact that Madura had fallen, not to an
assault, but by the treachery of a portion of the garrison,
whilst the stores of money, provisions and ammunition found
in it showed that the defence could have been prolonged for
months, during which anything might have happened in
favour of Yusuf Khan.* The EngHsh had also exposed them-
selves to the charge of ingratitude ^ to an old and formerly
loyal servant, for public opinion at that time in India could
hardly be expected to understand Western ideas on the abso-
lute submission required from the military by the civil
power.* To the Indian mind it would have seemed more
1 Letter of 21st Jan. to Viscount Weymouth. /. 0. Records, Home Misc.,

104.
" In the years 1763 and 17G4 I was forced to increase my debts to enable
*
me immense expenses of the expedition against Yusuf Khan that

to defray the
strong enemy." Nawab to Council, 12th Dec, 1766. Rous' Appendix, III. 3.
3 Mill says, " a million sterling and no ordinary quantity of English blood."
See p. 116 (n.) above, Appendix II. 248, and Appendix III. (6), p. 267, and V.,
pp. 282, 284, 289, 290, 291, 294, 297, and 306.
* Call wrote, 10th Oct., 1764, " We have taught the country people almost
to beat us." Gazetteer and Daily Advertiser, 2nd April, 1765. General Joseph
Smith wrote to Council 13th March, 1768 {Orme MSS., 64, p. 15), " Were it not
might still have
for the treachery of his soldiers it's not impossible that he
maintained his pretensions to those countries." Appendix V., p. 291.
5 See opinion of Sunku Rama (p. 161 above) and of Mr. Beveridge, Appen-
dix v., p. 308 below.

' Many years passed and much friction took place between the civil and
natural for the Council to have insisted upon the retention of
Madura and Tinnevelly in their own hands with Yusuf Khan
as their, and not the Nawab's, governor. This could certainly
have been arranged with ease, for the Nawab had, many years
earlier, offered to make over these provinces to the Company
in return for a fixed allowance,^ and it is quite possible that
Yusuf Khan, contented and would have been a most
loyal,
useful ally in the long and troublesome wars with Haidar Ali
and Tipu Sultan. To Mr. Palk, however, and to his fellow-
Councillors it appeared that the only possible poUcy for the
Company was to place the Nawab in complete control of all
the country which nominally belonged to him.^ They had
probably no great knowledge as to his incapacity, for Arcot
and the districts within easy reach of Madras appear to have
been not badly managed,^ and they had, no doubt, very exag-
gerated ideas of the sums of money which the rich provinces
of the south would pour into the Nawab's treasury when once
placed under a civil government. Under the circumstances
it was in their eyes intolerable that a man whom they
considered to be only a creature of their own should dare
to dispute their orders. They considered that a great mistake
had been made in placing the Provinces under a military
military before the people of India could be made to understand this. Col.
Fullarton says (^4 View of the English Interests in India, p. 211): "As the
natives of India have little respect for any but the military character, the
civil servants, in order to acquire consequence, have usuallj' assumed a
superiority over the military."
1 In a letter received 29th July, 1751, the Nawab offered to mortgage any
districts the Council chose in return for a supply of money, adding, " If you
don't like this proposal, I am ready to deliver up the countries of Trichinopoly,
Madura and Tinnevelly entirely to the English, provided they allow me two
lakhs of Madras Pagodas yearly for my own expenses, defraying all the charges
of the army themselves, and I will bind myself and my heirs to keep this agree-
ment for ever if the English should chuse it." Country Correspondence, 1751,
No. 103.
* " When the fate of War and the success of the English army subdued all
opposition or contest for the Nabobship in the year 1761 and he [».e. Muhammad
Ali] was acknowledged Nawab of Arcot, it was natural for him to desire and his
alliesthe English to assist him in calling to an account the most refractory and
independent Faujdars, Kiladars, and Zaniindars who were in possession of
strong places or had been his greatest enemies during the trouble." Call to
Court of Directors, 1775. /. 0. Records, Home Misc., No. 287.
3 See p. 116, above.
—
CONCLUSION 241
man/ and, when the Court

of Directors remarked on the
Council's lack of foresight and ignorance of character, not
merely in appointing such a man as Yusuf Khan, but in sub-
sequently leaving him wholly unsupervised, ^ they replied :
" You may be assured we shall be careful never to appoint

subadars of sepoys to be renters of countries. It was troublesome
times and a coiuitry to be reduced that made it appear expedient
to put that confidence in Yusuf Khan of which he gave us sufficient
cause to repent." ^
Thus the rebellion of Yusuf Khan closed for many years all
opportunity of a high career to the natives of Madras who
entered into the mihtary service of the Company.*
Of Yusuf Khan there now remains only a little white mosque,

a street in Madura known to the people by his name though
officially it bears another designation,^ and a fast fading memory
of one who, though he died a rebel, had been a gallant and
skilful soldierand an able and upright governor.^
^ " The transactions of Yusuf Khan ought to have this effect on our adminis-
tration —never to place independent power in the hands of a Mussulman, for
most assuredly, sooner or later, will he throw off his allegiance and become a
competitor for dominion even against your authority." Note by R. Smith.
Orme MSS., 88, p. 183.
2 Letter from Court, 30th Dec, 1763, para. 23. See Appendix V., p. 283.
3 Letter to Court, 22nd Jan., 1767, para. 34.
* " Among the inconveniences of that singular and generally beneficial
government established by the British nation in India is the practice of com-
mitting the higher offices of the Army and State and almost all situations of
trust and emolument to Europeans, and thereby excluding the natives of the
country from every object of honourable ambition." Wilks' Mysoor, III. 471.
^ i.e. Jadamuni Street, running from the Edward Park to South Masi
Street. It was probably in this street that his house (marked in Marchand's
plan) was situated. It is said that the quarter named Khansa Palayam near
Mina Teppakulam, north-east of Tirumala's palace, was the spot where Yusuf
Khan's army was located. The walls which Yusuf Khan defended so gallantly
were pulled down about 1841. Letter dated 14th August, 1841, from the
P^re Garnier. Lettres des Nouvelles Missions du Madure, III. p. 317.
* See Colonel Fullarton's encomium of Yusuf Khan. Appendix V., p. 298.
APPENDIX I
Yusup Khan's Account op His Services to the English i
Letter, dated Madura, 20th September, 1762, to the Honourable George

Pigot, Esq., President and Governor of Fort Saint George.^
" HoNBLE. Sir,

" I had the honour to receive your kind favor dated 7th
instant, which with all due veneration have embraced in my heart,
and will follow your Honor's good advice and orders, which your
Honor was so beneficient to write me. About my coming down
there [i.e. to Madras] nothing will hinder me, or will cause me
any prejudice so long I am under your Honor's favor and protection,
as I have received all this time a heap of favor from your Honor. I
am sorry to understand now my proceedings have given grounds
for many people to think that my intentions are to rebel and to think
myself independent of [? in] the countreys, which I never thought
nor shall do, but the people that have been talking these things
must be some of my bad-wishers and no others but your Honor
;
will find me always, in the same manner I was before, ready to give
my life in the Honble. Company's service and to obtain your
Honor's good will and commands [? commendation], for to avoid
the murmuring I shall endeavour myself to come to Madras before
your Honor's departure to Europe in hopes to settle all my affairs
with the Nawab in a regular manner, in consideration of all my
troubles that I have taken for settling these countreys and
;
it is very hard after my taking so many troubles in this

coimtry, paying the [rent] into the bargain, borrowing money
for the credit for to get more honour [from you] and in the
time when I expect to have the advantage of it I shall lose
my character. I beg your Honor for to grant me leave to
^ For the Nawab's charges against Yusuf Khan, see pp. 278-279 below.
2 Country Correspondence, Vol. X. No. 118, pp. 227-231. I have made
some, though very slight, alterations in this letter where the text of the
original was defective, or, for other reasons, unintelligible.
APPENDIX I 243
manifest my sentiments. When I came to these comi treys first,
the Honble. Company gave me one thousand two three-

sepoys,
pomider gmis and some ammunition, in order to march to these
countreys, without giving me any money for the payment of those
sepoys. Accordingly I did so, but I was taken in considerable
troubles, fighting with the poligars to get the tribute from them
and to collect the rents and revenues of these countreys for the
payment of the said sepoys, and also for the troops that were obliged
to be raised here, and, not only this, I was obliged to fight with the
NawaVs brother i too for the space of seven months time. I
borrowed money from simdry people and merchants for the sub-
sistence of the said troops. Besides this I was bound for and paid
for the troops of the Nawab's brother Mahfuz Khan the sum of
forty thousand rupees that he was indebted to his troops, and I also
paid one hundred and ten thousand rupees for the agreement 2 of
the Madura Fort and a great many other charges. It is true that
your Honor will say, all this money I have got out of these countreys
and paid, but your Honor will be so good as to consider the many
troubles I have had to collect this money from the poligars and from
this country that was quite ruined. All this I have done with
interest [? intent] to obtain the Honble. Company's benefit, or
else the Honble. Company would have been to the expense of
all these charges. The same sepoys that I have had here assisted
at the Trichinopoly and Madras sieges, ^ but the sepoys I had
with me for about three years time were paid by me out of this
country's money, which has saved the expenses of the Honble.
Company's cash for all this time, and they were always in readiness
too for their service. By your Honor's order I sent forces to Haidar
Naik's coimtry to beat his troops which I did accordingly,* and that
broke ofE a great deal of his forces to not give any help and assist
the French at Pondicherry, which expenses I have not got yet from
the Nawab.^ When our army besieged Pondicherry I sent from
hence to the Nawab about two lakhs of Pagodas, the rent of these
countreys, as the Nawab said he wanted them for the use of the
^ i.e. Mahfuz Khan, mentioned below.

* i.e. for its surrender to Caillaud in 1757.
3 i.e. the siege of Trichinopoly in 1751-4, and the siege of Madras by Lally
in 1758-59.
* i.e. in 1760, when Haidar Ali sent his brother-in-law Makhdum Sahib to
Pondicherry, but was forced to recall him before the town was attacked by
Eyre Coote. See p. 103 above.
^ The Nawab agreed to repay the Company the expenses of the capture of
Pondicherry in 1761,
244 APPENDIX I
army, and also out of this country with many troubles sent to
Cuddalore cattle and sheep for the use of his Majesty's Squadron,
under the care of Mr. Bodle who paid me for the same.^ On my
arrival from Madras to Trichinopoly, after its siege by the French
the Nawab have not showed me any good willmg of his generosity.
Instead of doing this he took off the allowances which I have got,
one sepoy to each company, which was given me by the Honble.
Company, which vexed me very much.^ When the Anjengo gentle-
men were in want of cash for the Honble. Company's trade, I
lent them eighty-four thousand rupees without interest for about
six months' time, myself was bovmd and gave security to the
merchants for the said sum.^ This only I mention to your Honor to
show that I am always in obligation for to do anything for the
Honble. Company's service for their advantages. When I have
took all these troubles and render services to the Honble. Com-
pany, which will be the reason to give means for to lose your Honor's
favor that I have gained, therefore I will not give means for to alter
your Honor's intentions.^ I will keep your Honor's letter as a firm
Cowl ^ of safety and shall come down to your Honor as soon as I
can give part satisfaction of the arrears due to the troops, to whom
I am indebted four months' pay. The reason of not paying them is
a great quantity of Paddy ^ remains in the country that have no
price at present, and a great deal of money stands [unpaid by] the
inhabitants, etc., that I cannot get at present for the payment of
'
the troops, and also twenty thousand Pagodas lays upon the cloth
that I had ordered to be made, thinking that your Honor will take
See p. 97 above.
1
Possibly he refers to the interview, or the effects of the interview, in

2
which, according to the Nawab, Yusuf Khan drew his sword upon him. See
p. 93 above,
3 I do not find any record of this loan, but in 1759 Mr. Pigot wrote to the
Council of Anjengo saying that Yusuf Khan had concluded an alliance with
the King of Travancore, and that if they required any trade indulgences from
that Prince they should make their application through Yusuf Khan (Mil.
Cons., 23 November, 1759), which shows the connection between Yusuf Khan
and Anjengo.
* I suppose this means " When I have taken all this trouble and rendered
:
such services to the Company, why should I give any cause for losing the favour
I had obtained with your Honour ? I will give no cause for your Honour to
alter your opinion of me."
^ i.e. assurance or guarantee.
* unhusked rice.
i.e.
^ Madura was at this time famous for its manufacture of cloth, and Yusuf
Khan, like other dependants of the Company, used to order large quantities
in the expectation that the Company would require it later.
APPENDIX I 245
it. The first money I get shall be paid to the troops [on account of J
their arrears and I shall proceed my way to Madras. If I do not so,
perhaps my troops may put some stop to my departure,! which will
be very disagreeable to myself. I most humbly beg your Honor
the favor to take all these causes into your Honor's serious con-
sideration, and I conclude with a profound respect and submission,
" Honourable Sir,
" Your most obedient and most obliged humble servant to command,
" Muhammad Yusuf Khan."
^ Aa was done in 1756 by the troops of Mahfuz Khan. See p. 54 above.
APPENDIX n
M. DE Maudave's Defence of his Conduct in Assisting
YusuF Khan
Letter from M. de Maudave to the Due de Ghoiseul, dated lie de

France, 20th April, 1764.1
" MONSEIGNEUR,
" I have had the honour to inform you as regularly as I
could of the steps I have taken to revive the French party on the
Coast of India and to excite against the English Company the
jealousy and hatred of the Princes of the Peninsula, with the two-
fold object of damaging their establishments 2 and of preventing
them at the same time from making any attempt to carry outside
[of India] what forces remained to them on the Coromandel Coast.
" A part of the year 1762 and the commencement of 1763 have
been spent in binding our party together and making the necessary
preliminary arrangements, in such a fashion that in March 1763
the bomb exploded, at a time when the English troops were, for the
most part, in the island of Lupon.^
" A bold and courageous man, named Muhammad Yusuf Khan
Sahib, held, in the name of the English,* the little kingdom of Madura
and the Province Tmnevelly, that is to say the portion of the
of
Peninsula of India which borders the Strait of Manaar and which
extends as far as Cape Comorin. In consequence of the measures
which we had taken together, I had sent to his coimtry in January
1763 a small body of white and black troops which I had collected
in Tanjore, and as soon as this detachment had joined his army he
^Louis Laurent de Federbe, Comte de Maudave, Archives du De'partemnet

des Affaires Etrangeres, Paris. Memoires et Documents. Fonds France et
Fmds Divers. Asie. No. 13, £E. 323-326.
- i.e. their trading establishments or factories ; in other words, " their trade."
^ i.e. in Manilla.
* M. de Maudave woiJd have had a stronger case if he had said, as was
the fact, that Yusuf Khan held his government in the name of the Nawab and
not in that of the English at the time of his rebellion. See pp. 110 above and
283 below.
APPENDIX II 247
had lowered the English flag and replaced it by that of the King [of
France], making public both our alliance and his resolution to embrace
the party of the French Nation and to put himself at the head of
the side which it favoured.
" From that time my whole up with passing
attention was taken
into Madura all whom I who were dis-
could collect of the French
persed throughout the country. Muhammad Yusuf Khan, on his side
expelled from his new possessions all who adhered to the English,
and even resolved to attack the possessions of the British Company.
He was preparing to march to the Coleroon and to lay siege to Trichi-
nopoly when I received the news of the Suspension of Arms and that
of the conclusion of the Definitive Treaty, which followed each other
very rapidly to India.
" It is useless to weary you, Monseigneur, with all the reasons
of which I made use to prevent Muhammad Yusuf Khan from taking
the offensive against the English. Finally he gave way to my repre-
sentations and confined himself to preparations for a simple but
vigorous defence.
" The English ships, which arrived in India during the months
of May and Jime, had disembarked some troops at Madras, from
which a Corps-d'armee was formed. Muhammad Yusuf Khan was
threatened with extermination if he would not return to his duty,
and, at last. Colonel Monson appeared on the frontiers of Madura in
the month of August 1763 with a large force of white and black
troops.
" Under these circumstances I wrote to the Council of Madras
to represent that their preparations against Madura appeared
opposed to the spirit of the Peace happily concluded in Europe,
that I did not know whether the engagements which I had made
with Muhammad Yusuf Khan had given the French Company rights
compatible with the Treaty of Paris, that the examination [of this
question] was not my business, but that it appeared to me safer and
better to leave matters as they were until the arrival of those who
were charged with the execution of that part of the Treaty which
concerned India.
" On this subject I and the Council of Madras entered into a
most detailed discussion, but in the replies which I received I could
find nothing but a summons, supported by threats, to restore Madura
to them, or at least to cause the French force to leave it, and to
cease from favouring Muhammad Yusuf Khan either directly or in
secret.
" Both these demands were equally impossible for me to comply
248 APPENDIX II
with. (1) Had

I been capable of such an act of perfidy I was not
sufficientlymaster of the place to hand it over to the English. (2) It
was at least equally difficult for the French detachment to leave
Madura contrary to the wish of Muhammad Yusuf Khan, and the
least sign of any desire on their part to do so would have been the
signal for a dreadful massacre. (3) The measures which I had for
a long time concerted with the leading Powers of Southern India,
at a date when the then existing state of war between our nations
made all such engagements legitimate for me, were now producing
consequences which it was not in my power to arrest.
" These reasons did not satisfy the Council of Madras. They
were enraged at seeing the power and wealth of the Naivah reduced
by one half so the English resolved to push the matter to the last
;
extremity and to carry Madura by sheer force. Major Lawrence

declared that the English name should perish under this place or
they would carry it by assault. At the same time he declared that
he would hang all the French who might fall into his hands.
" His second declaration was as vile as his first was fruitless.
In the petty combats which took place, and later on during the course
of the siege, prisoners have been exchanged and the wounded sent
back to their own party. This has been the case all through.
" The English commenced a furious bombardment at the end of
the month of August, and, after having made a breach of one himdred
and fifty fathoms and carried their batteries right up to the counter-
scarp, they retired in disgrace about the 7th of November.
" They had brought to this siege all the troops of the Camatic,
Tanjore, the two Maravans and the Tondaiman, which formed a
multitude of more than a hundred and twenty thousand combatants.
They fired forty thousand cannon shots and eighteen thousand
shells, besides the expenditure of innumerable cartridges. Their
loss in killed and by desertion exceeded seven hundred whites. The
prodigious expenditure of these operations cost the English more
than twenty-four millions of our money, and a check, so considerable
in the consequences which must result from it, will cost the French
Company absolutely nothing, for the small expenses which I have
been forced to incur have all been met from sources which I dis-
covered in the country.
" It is true that the English resumed the siege of Madura at the
end of last Januar}^ though with smaller forces than they had at
first, and on the 6th March, which was the date of my departure,
I saw no signs of their meeting with any different success.

" I have thought it my duty, Monseigneur, to inform you briefly
APPENDIX II 249
of the particular details of my conduct in order to justify myself

against the complaints which the Council of Madras has transmitted
i
to England, and which will certainly be sent on to France. It is

true that I have made war on the English after the announcement
of the Peace, but it was only in the strict observance of a legitimate
defence and after having exhausted all means of persuading them to
make use of the path of gentleness and conciliation.
" I flatter myself that when you shall have considered this matter
with your superior wisdom and knowledge, you will recognize that
itwas impossible for me to act otherwise, and that you will kindly
protect and justify me effectively if there arrive from London at
the Court any complaint against my proceedings, as the Council
of Madras have expressed themselves more than once on this
subject with asmuch hauteur and anger as injustice."
Note on the letter from M. de Maudave hy M. Henneherg.

" The person named Muhammad Yusuf Khan cannot be regarded
by Great Britain otherwise than as a Rebel, since he held the little
kingdom of Madura in the name of the English Company against
which he rebelled.
" M. de Maudave was entitled to assist his rebellion as long as he
was unaware of the signature of the preliminaries of the Definitive
Peace, but the Treaty of Peace put an end to all the engagements
into which M. de Maudave had entered with Muhammad Yusuf
Khan, and after the French officer 2 had been informed of the signa-
ture [of the Treaty] he ought no longer, under the terms of Article I.
and even of Article XI. to have favoured the enterprises of this
Rebel, or to have given him any kind of assistance.
" The preparations of the English against the Fort of Madura
were in no way opposed to the spirit of the Treaty, and they were
not bound to await the arrival of the Commissaries of the two
Crowns to reduce Muhammad Yusuf Khan to his duty.
" In regard to the demand made by the English that M. de
Maudave should deliver to them the towTi of Madura, or at least
cause the detachment of French troops to leave the place, in order
to judge whether it was possible to comply with this request it would
be necessary to know whether this body of troops was sufficiently
strong to impose its will upon Muhammad Yusuf Khan or whether
it was compelled to submit to his wishes in the latter case his [i.e.
:
^ I cannot find that any serious complaints of Maudave's conduct were

sent to England.
* i.e. the French commander in Madura.
250 APPENDIX II
M. de Maudave's] defence is quite legitimate, but M. de Maudave

ought not to have continued to make war openly upon the English,
and there is a strong likelihood that Muhammad Yusuf Khan would
have given up the Fort if the French officer had informed him that
he ought not to and could not give him any help.
" However, as great advantages have resulted from the behaviour
of M. de Maudave, he may be justified upon the grounds which he
puts forward."
Extracts from a " Relation de ce qui s'est passe a la Cote de

Coromandel depuis le 4 Avril 1762 jusques au mois de Janvier
1764, en consequence de la mission donnee d M. de Maudave par
i
le Comite de Vile de France''
" There was in the service of the English a man bold and
courageous, named Muhammad Yusuf Khan This chief, Sahib.
during the blockade of Pondicherry, raised, by order of the Council
of Madras, a small body of troops with which he attacked Madura
and conquered it and its dependencies. He remained in his new
acquisitions,where he established order and regularity and collected
the revenues. Muhammad Ali Khan, or rather the English, seeing
that the man was daily becoming more powerful, wished him to
give an account of his administration, but the knowledge which they
had of his courage and conduct, the friendship which he affected,
and other more pressing operations, were their reasons for leaving
him in perfect tranquillity.
" Muhammad Yusuf was not unaware of the jealousy and secret
dispositions in respect to himself of the Coimcil of Madras and the
Darbar of Muhammad Ali. He was particularly bound to the Eaja
of Tanjore,who took all the more interest in his preservation because
he trusted to find in him a buckler against the eternal pretensions
and ever renewed demands of the Nawab of Arcot and the Madras
Council. . . .
" Khan
Sahib prepared to defend himself, but being himself of a
nature quick and fiery, he could not get on for any length of time
with Marchand. After twenty quarrels of no importance, he became
so angry with him that, without consulting me, he had him arrested
and imprisoned and gave the command of the force to a rascally
German officer named Riquet. . . .
" The trenches were opened on the night of the 16-1 7th September
and the breach was judged practicable on the 23rd. Khan Sahib
1 3Iinistcre des Colonies, Paris. Inde. Correspondance Generah, 1763-5,
98 C*. Summary in the Biblioiheque Natio7iale Nouv. Acq. Frangaises, No. 9365.
;
APPENDIX II 261
was shut up in his capital and, as soon as the enemy were within
reach of him, he got disgusted with Riquet and confided the command
of theFrench troops to M. Flamicourt, who was in every respect more
worthy of it. . . .
" Finally after more than sixty days of obstinate siege the
English saw themselves forced to abandon the game and to retire
three leagues from the town, in spite of a breach of one hundred and
fifty fathoms made by their artillery and of their having effected a
lodgement on the covered way. They had fired against the place
more than thirty thousand cannon shot and more than twelve
thousand shells.
" M. de Flamicourt was killed two days before their retreat,
M. Marchand, recalled some time before from his exile and placed
by Khan Sahib at the head of a body of Indian troops, had drawn
near Madura, where he gave a great deal of trouble to the English
but, though he had no share in the vigour of the defence, which Khan
Sahib owed solely to M. de Flamicourt, he has thought proper to
declare since that it was he who did everything."
APPENDIX III (a)
The Surrender of IVIadura
Letter dated 17 th October, 1764, /rom 31. Marchand to the Council of

Madras?-
" Gentlemen,
" I flattered myself, as is usual in such cases, that before
you stormed the place we should have been summoned in form, by
which I should have been enabled to have caused the two places 2
to be delivered you, and the effusion of blood also on both sides
would by this means have been spared, but you was determined to
run all risques. Khan Sahib's success therein made him imperious
and haughty. Nevertheless, Gentlemen, having well considered
everything I determined within myself to take such measures with
you as to put an end to a war become burthensome to both, and
therefore with Yusuf Khan's consent immediately wrote to Major
Campbell, Commandant of the army, desiring an interview with him,
which he agreed should be the 16th September.
" After having informed him of Khan Sahib's intentions, I then
learnt from you. Gentlemen, that a peace was concluded between
our two Crowns, and as I had received no news of it nor orders from
my superiors, and seeing no appearance of any, I had then no other
desire but to come to an agreement to retire with my troops to the
Coast, which induced me to propose the capitulation sent you the
18th of the same month with a letter from Khan Sahib. Eleven
days after, we received Major Campbell's answer, by which we learnt
your final resolution, which so exasperated Khan Sahib that he
became furious and immediately formed the cruel resolution of
privately getting away, unknown to his Chiefs and me, and thereby
to abandon us and the place to the fury of his enemies.
" As soon as I had notice of his scheme I endeavoured to get at
the bottom of it, and when I was certain that he intended to make his
escape and that, according to the public report, he was causing his
1 Mil. Cons., 27 Oct., 1764, p. 871. ^ j_g. Madura and Palamcotta.

APPENDIX III {a) 253
money to be privately carried away, I did my utmost to sound the

inclinations of the Chiefs, wlio I found, as well as the troops in
general, had all reason to be discontented. I took advantage of
some violent measures against
this to engage the other Chiefs to take
him by representing to them the embarrassment that this man was
going to plunge us into and the risques we were going to run. The
day agreed upon was the 13th instant. The Chiefs were, according
to their promise, to have seized him at 10 o'clock in the morning,
and they had besides promised me four or five hundred men of the
troops to keep Khan Sahib's guards in order, in which I with my
troop was to sustain and support them. This scheme was not put into
execution till 5 o'clock in the evening, when, instead of having the
black forces, I was obliged to make use of my own men to disarm

him, and, in short, to do everything with them that ought to have
been done by those of the Chiefs. As soon as we were masters of
his person — —
not without trouble I caused him to be confined in a
room with eight or ten of his horsemen to keep sight of him, and
with my own troops surrounded the apartment. During the first
commotions one of Khan Sahib's young men, named Mudali, took
shelter in the women's apartment and raised five or six hundred
men who joined him. I had ordered all the artillery to lie upon the
ramparts, every one to his post to take care of his gun and to be
ready upon the first notice, but this young dog sent one of his people
to them, who made them all abandon their posts, after which they
came and joined my black and white troops who were drawn up in
order of battle before the door to keep the revolters in order. In
the mean time people came in from all parts. Night was coming on
apace and a storm was ready to burst upon us. This made me
determme to send M. Perigny to the camp with a note i to Major
Campbell to demand of him a party of men to hold themselves in
readiness at a convenient distance from the west gate, to second us
in case of necessity.This gentleman went away at 8 o'clock at night
with two Moorish officers to consult [? concert] measures with the
Nawab and to inform him of the news. During their absence I
caused two field-pieces with a proper quantity of ammunition to
be placed before the door to keep every one in order. By this
time the minds of the people were a little calmed, the crowd dis-
appeared, everything was quiet, and we passed the night under arms.
" Major Campbell, in consequence of my request, drew up his
troops and sent a body of men to the place I marked out, and Major
^ This note still exists and is given verbatim in the text. See pp. 221, 222
above.
254 APPENDIX III (a)
Wood gave Captain Meyers a company of grenadiers and five [com-

panies of] sepoys who were conducted by M. Perigny to tlie southern
gate to be ready at the first call. Captain Meyers and M. Perigny
entered the town at 5 o'clock in the morning. I told this officer
the reasons that had obliged me to act in this manner, and I com-
municated to him my intentions and the measures that I proposed
taking with Major Campbell. Three guns being fired as a signal
for his return, I desired him to come back again, since I had re-
quested by my note two commissarys that I might settle matters
for my own satisfaction, as I had an enemy both within and without
to deal with.
" At 10 o'clock I heard that five palanquins, some horses and
four companies of sepoys were at the southern gate. I sent M.
Perigny with an officer to go and meet these gentlemen, who were
going when the two Moor Chiefs, who went out the night before,
desired that their admittance might be deferred till they had com-
mimicated to the other Chiefs the conditions they had made with
the Nawab, on which account Mr. Meyers and another officer,^ as
well as the Nawab's diwan and some other Chiefs, were obliged to
wait. The Chiefs returned about 1 o'clock and I then began to treat
with Mr. Meyers in presence of the other officers, when many diffi-
culties were started as well by the blacks as [by the] whites. Four
^
articles that I had dra^\Ti up by way of capitulation were objected to
by my troop, from whose presence I could not withdraw, not having
them well under my command. My life as well as that of the
To"\vn-Majors were often threatened by them ; lastly almost a general
revolt ensued on account of the articles of the capitulation, the
granting of which Mr. Meyers seemed to doubt. Finally, Gentle-
men, Mr. Meyers can witness to you the dangers that I went through,
dangers so great the most expressive writing cannot represent.
" During these commotions Mr. Meyers went with the articles
of capitulation to Major Campbell to sign. The Moor Chiefs were of
opinion with me that two companies of sepoys should be permitted
to enter, and that the opportunity of the gates being opened for Mr.
Meyers should be taken hold of to efiect it. My troop on their
entering made some movements, the Nawab's diwan as well as
myself were obliged to go out of the Darbar, he to make the sepoys
retire, I to appease my troop, in the doing of which we both ran
great risques. Khan Sahib's wife being advised of what was doing,
^ Ensign Desvoeus.
This is apparently a mistranslation, as the context shows that for " objected
-
to " we should read " insisted on."

—
APPENDIX III (a) 255
desired that I would immediately release her husband, and gave me

to understand that I should be entirely master of the place and
treasure, but I was deaf to such proposals and gave her to under-
stand that was not me but the Chiefs who detained her husband.
it
In the mean time your troops by the assistance of the Moorish Chiefs
entered the place, and I did everything that lay in my power to
pacify my troop who, seeing I had not obtained of Major Campbell
the favour I desired for all deserters (although Mr. Meyers had pro-
mised it me, referring it to the pleasure of his commander) were
much exasperated, and I dare assure you. Gentlemen, that, had they
not credited what your officer ^ and I told them, I cannot say what
would have happened. An aide-de-camp however arrived with a
paper signed by Major Campbell, which granted their pardon and
which entirely appeased them, although the articles of capitulation
were not signed or delivered to me. I hope then. Gentlemen, that all
my demands, my disinterestedness and the risques that I ran, will
incline you without hesitation to consent to and confirm the articles
of capitulation that I sent Major Campbell by Mr. Meyers, of which,
Gentlemen, I send you a copy.
" I have &c. &c. Marchand."
N.B. —The above was forwarded by Major Campbell with

letter
his own which he says " The enclosed letter
letter of the 18th, 2 in :
has since been sent me by M. Marchand to forward to you. I have

only to observe thereon that the circumstances of the late revolution
are pretty fairly stated, as far as I could learn from those who went
in with messages from me."
Campbell's own account of the surrender is contained in a letter
from himself and Major Call, dated the 16th October. 3 It is as
follows :
" The destination of M. Marchand and the Frenchmen is not yet

decided, for though they did demand a capitulation and Major
Campbell would have given one, yet no particular articles were signed,
and, that your Honours may be the better enabled to judge con-
cerning them, we will relate what passed on that subject.
" On the morning of the 14th, when Captain Meyers returned out
of the Fort he brought a paper to the Nawah containing some requests
from the Chiefs who had seized the Rebel, the sepoys and the horse-
men, but M. Marchand said he should depend on our generosity for
the treatment of himself and the rest of the French. He only asked
a general pardon for the deserters.
1 i.e. Desvoeux. ^ Mil. Cons., 27 Oct., 1764,
p. 870.
3 Mil. Cons., 27 Oct., 1764.
266 APPENDIX III {a)
" About 10 o'clock, when the blacks had finished their business
with the Nawab, Captain Meyers went again to the Fort with them,
and carried a paper from Major Campbell, demanding the Fort
and YusufKhan at discretion, and that he would grant the Europeans
and Topasses their lives, apparel and other effects (deserters ex-
cepted), but reserved to a further decision the manner in which
they should be disposed of. In answer to this about 4 o'clock
Captain Meyers returned with a paper containing the demand of a
capitulation for the Europeans and Topasses in four articles, the two
principal of which were that all in general should be pardoned, and
that the Topasses with one month's pay should be permitted to go
to the Malabar Coast and the Europeans be sent with M. Marchand
to Tranquebar with one month's pay in advance and subsistence in
future according to the Cartel. ^ Major Campbell did not sign this
paper but proceeded towards the Fort and sent some sepoys with an
officer and aide-de-camp in at the south gate, where with difficulty
they were admitted. He gave orders for more to follow and some
cavalry and for several small parties to get in imder various pretences,
because advice came that the people began to murmur and that there
were great appearances of a second revolution. It was now near
sunset, and we could not get the west gate open nor secure the south
gate so as to be certain of the Fort, and repeated messages came
which made us every moment apprehensive that the Eebel would
regain his liberty. At last M. Marchand sent word by Mr. Desvoeux
(who confirmed it) that in ten minutes the whole scheme would be
overset from the apprehensions of the deserters and other Europeans
concerning their treatment, that he should be massacred and Yusuf
Khan released unless a general pardon was granted and something
certain signed in favour of the whole. Major Campbell therefore
sent a paper wrote with a pencil, promising the deserters their lives
and that no difficulty would be made as to the disposition of the rest.
This pacified them, and the troops of horse with Major Campbell
gaining admittance just after, the whole body of Europeans and
Topasses, who guarded Yusuf Khan and Marchand with two pieces
and groimded their arms, and Yusuf
of cannon, resigned their charge
was immediately sent out to camp. Thus was concluded a revolu-
tion which gave possession of the Fort and the Kebel's person and
all his effects without the least article being plimdered or the least
disorder taking place and without spilling the blood of a man except
an officer of the Rebel's sepoys, who attempted to collect a party
^ i.e. the arrangement agreed upon between France and England during
the late war in respect to the treatment of prisoners.

APPENDIX III (a) 257
in his favour.^ The conduct and firmness of M. Marchand at the

commotion brought this event to so fortunate a conclusion, and
would have happened sooner had not a servant of his sent out with
a note by some accident miscarried. He pleads strongly for a general
pardon from all punishment for the deserters, and says that, though
many of them deserve rigorous treatment, yet they were the most
forward and their behaviour in the revolt was the most steady. He
therefore hopes, and more particularly as the Nawab has pardoned
all the blacks, that you will be pleased to pardon the Europeans and
order the rest to be disposed of at some place in such a manner that

they may be subsisted till the French re-establish [themselves] in
India, or at least till the month of July next. The Nawab also
interests himself in behalf of the deserters and prisoners in general.
We shall however await your orders."
Extract from Major Cam'pbelVs Journal.^
" The aide-de-camp remonstrated in the strongest terms to
Monsieiir Marchand my desire of having the west gate open before
it was dark as the evening was far advanced, and further that Mon-
sieur Marchand might depend upon his good intentions being re-
presented to all parties, and pressed him to have the gate opened.
In the interim the rabble began to murmur and one or two of Mar-
chand's confidants told him they were thinking of setting Yusuf
Khan at liberty if a general pardon was not signed them. This
being reported to me and knowing the disposition of those reprobates,
I took my pencil and wrote Monsieur Marchand something relative
to a general pardon but not clear enough to protect them. This
Monsieur Marchand read to his people publicly, upon which they
all to a man were for laying down their arms and a guard was ordered
with my aide-de-camp to open the west gate, before which our troops
were ready to enter. In the mean time I rode round to the south
gate with the European cavalry and numbers of black horse, which
assembled on this occasion. I rode through the to^vn and was met
by Marchand, who delivered me his sword, which I returned him,
and immediately the whole threw down their arms and Yusuf Khan
was delivered to the Naivab's people, who conducted him to camp.
The prisoners were escorted to a pagoda for the night and Major
Wood was left in possession of the garrison. Thus ended this long,
bloody and tedious siege and blockade, much to the satisfaction
of the Nawab and Governor and Council.
" Afiairs being settled and Yusuf Khan executed, a detachment
was ordered to march to Palamcotta."
1 i.e. Mudali. Seep. 253 above. « Orme 3ISS., 74, p. 99.
S
APPENDIX III (6)
EXTBACTS FROM MONSIEUR ]\IaRCHAND'S " PrECIS HiSTORIQUE

DES Deux Sieges de la Ville de Madure " (Paris, 1771). •
Page 7. " Muhammad Ali, not being able to go personally against

the rebels,! cast his eye upon Khan Sahib to take the place of Mahfuz
Khan and to re-establish order and obedience in this province [i.e.
Madura].
" Khan Sahib owed this distinction to the proofs which he had
given on more than one occasion of his genius and military talent.
A simple sailor at Pondicherry, a released convict he had had an —
—
ear cut ofi for some crime 2 ^this active and turbulent genius was
tired of an obscure occupation, and resolved to take a part in the
wars, in which he hoped to find a more rapid path [to distinction].
He served at first in the army of Muhammad Ali as a sepoy, and
quickly signalized his courage and won distinction from his Prince
and from the English. He was promoted from one military rank to
another, and at last obtained the command of a body of two thousand ^
men in the same force in which he had first served as a private soldier.
It was under these circumstances that the orders of the Nawab sent
him to replace Mahfuz Khan in 1757.
" The new Governor justified his selection by the prompt remedies
which he applied to the evil."
Page 10. " Madras being delivered, Khan Sahib returned to
Madura. He then undertook to reduce the Pulidevar, a great
Poligar and the most powerful of those who had shaken off the yoke
of Mahfuz Khan. It took him three years to reduce him. It was
^ i.e. his brother Mahfuz Khan and the poligars.

- " This is the way in which theft is punished in India." Note by Marchand.
^ Marchand refers apparently to a native title of " Do-hazari," said to
have
been bestowed on Yusuf Khan by Muhammad Ali after the siege of Madras in
1758-9. In the life of the Walajah (see p. 282 below) the writer says the
Nawab " made him the chief of 5000 horse and 10,000 foot and granted him
*
Manseb Jaghir and title for his services during the siege of Madras."
'
APPENDIX III{h) 259
his couragewhich enabled him to triumph over this enemy, whose

defeat brought asits consequence that of all the others. The whole
country submitted and returned to its obedience to the Nawab, its
legitimate sovereign.
" The Raja of Travancore alone seemed vmintimidated by this
success. He even
dared to attack Khan Sahib at a moment when
the latter thought he had nothing more to fear from his restless
neighbours. Soon he was so hard pressed that he grew alarmed
and trembled at the prospect of losing the fruits of his glory and his
toil, but my arrival in his army and the victories which I won over
the Travancorean ^ forced the latter to beg for peace from the Khan
Sahib and to surrender to him the guns, carts and troops which he
bad captured.
" It was now that, intoxicated by his success and devoured by
the thirst of dominion, this ambitious Moor, tired of administrating,
of pacifyingand of guarding for another a country which owed its
happiness and tranquillity to the force of his arms and the resources
of his genius, resolved to declare himself its absolute master and to
restore it to its ancient footing by proclaiming himself King of
Madura.
" From the moment when he cameto Madura he had formed this
project, and had worked quietly towards its accomplishment, collect-
ing together every means for rendering himself independent, con-
cealing his ambitious views under the pretence of the interest of the
province and the necessity of assuring its tranquillity by placing it
in a condition too strong to allow of its being insulted by its
neighbours. He had collected from all sides workmen of all nations,
carpenters, blacksmiths and foundry-men, who had worked without
ceasing and supplied him with all kinds of implements and
mvmitions of war.
" His coffers were and though he had been almost con-
full,
tinuously engaged in war and the revenues of Madura amoimted to

only twenty-six lakhs of rupees, he had managed by economy to
amass sums large enough to provide for the expense of a new war
and to purchase both assistance and allies. . . .
" The occasion was favourable. His success had gained him the
respect of his neighbours and of his new subjects. His restless and
suspicious nature, the hardness of his character, his cruel severity,
had in truth alienated every heart, but he was admired and feared :
^ Marchand says he arrived in Yusuf Klhan's camp on the 9th Jan.,

1763.
The submission of the King of Travancore (enclosed in the Nawab's letter to
Council dated ISth Oct., 1763) was dated 16th Feb., 1763. See p. 131 above.
260 APPENDIX III (b)
such feelings are sufficient for Usurpers. Having little desire to

reign in men's hearts, they seek only to enslave men's spirits and to
prevent rebellion by enchaining their courage by the terror they
inspire.
"
Khan Sahib however felt that he was not strong enough single-
handed to oppose Muhammad Ali and the English, whom he expected
to see falling upon him at the first news of his rebellion. He . . .
tried therefore to draw the French to his side by convincing them

that it was the sole method by which they could re-establish them-
selves in the Peninsula."
Page 15. " The new King of Madura had already addressed
himself to M. de Maudave, who represented the Company on the
Coast of Coromandel, to ask for the alliance and protection of the
French. . . . M. de Maudave, who had his own private objects and
who had already often begged of me to arouse our nation from
the state of stupor in which it lay in India, lent himself to the
Khan Sahib's projects. Accordingly he wrote to me to betake
myself as soon as possible with my troop to the Khan Sahib,
and sent me instructions regarding the new role which I was
to play. It was not an easy one, and the least difficult part
of it was that of fighting against the English and the troops
of Muhammad Ali. I was also instructed to sound this new ally,
to study the secret plans which he might have in his mind, to watch
over all his actions, to obtain money from him for the fresh reinforce-
ments which we mu^t only promise, in short to make use of him
merely for the purpose of collecting in Madura our forces which
were now scattered throughout India, of increasing their number at
his expense and of employing them thereafter as our interest might
require, to the prejudice of all other interests whatsoever. I realized
to the full the importance of such a commission. I foresaw its

difficulties. I knew I had to deal with a man, tricky, suspicious,
avaricious and intriguing. My zeal for my coimtry however carried
the day. I resolved to sacrifice myself for her and I set out for
Madura. ... I was received by our new ally with the most lively
demonstrations of friendship and gratitude. He at once gave me
the command of his troops, cavalry, artillery, topasses and sepoys,
and declared me his Lieutenant-General and Second-in-Command
throughout his Kingdom. At the same time he announced his
alliance with our nation, allowing me to lower the English flag and
that of Muhammad Ali and even to bum them in the middle of the
camp, and to hoist the French flag there with all the pomp and
solemnity proper to such an occasion.
APPENDIX III{h) 2G1
" I took advantage of these first moments to extract from Khan

Sahib some fresh pecmiiary contributions, and, beside the expense
which he had incurred on accoimt of my troop, I obtained ten
thousand rupees and two hundred Pagodas, which I caused to be sent
to M. de Maudave."
Page 20. " A ship from the Isles i,had arrived at Tranquebar.
M. de Maudave had sent me word of this and ordered me to inform
Khan Sahib that he had received letters from the Company, by
which the latter approved of our treating with him, and promised
all sorts of assistance, and especially to equip a fleet which would
appear at once and would attack Muhammad Ali and the English.
M. de Maudave particularly recommended me to profit by these
fortunate openings to solicit the completion of the fifty thousand
rupees 2 he charged me to demand at the same time that Khan
;
Sahib should do homage for the kingdom of Madura to the French,

who would be its actual sovereigns and of whom he would be the
Viceroy, explaining to him that it was under this aegis only that he
could be sheltered from the blows which Muhammad Ali and the
English would not fail to deal him.^
" I should have liked to make some objections to M. de Maudave
on which I foresaw would be a very difficult ^not
this last proposal, —
to say dangerous —one,
but having been ordered to go ahead, I
seized the first opportunity, and used the utmost tact possible in
explaining these demands. It would be difficult for me to depict
the anger and rage of the ]\Ioor when he had heard them he poured ;
forth a thousand imprecations upon me and upon all my nation ;
he reproached me with the uselessness of the twenty thousand

rupees given to M. Mallet, who had stopped at Salem instead of going
to M. Hugel he said he knew I was a traitor and in concert with
;
M. de Maudave (? M. Mallet), and that I should bitterly repent

having deceived him so cruelly, These insults and suspicions
. . .
were only the preliminaries to a more violent storm. Some days

after, being encamped at Vellalapatti (three leagues from the town).
Khan Sahib summoned me to his tent, which was at the other end
of the camp. I went alone and on foot, when I was suddenly sur-
rounded by some fifty Moors, who fell upon me, disarmed me and
carried me prisoner to the Fort of Tirumbur, where I was imprisoned.
My tent was pillaged, my property and papers were seized, and I
^ Mauritius, or the lie de France.
* This sum had been promised conditionally by Yusuf Khan.
' Had been done openly, possibly Yusuf
this Khan would have been secure
under the articles of the Treaty of 1763.
remained totally abandoned and destitute of even the barest neces-

saries of life."
Page 27. " On the night between the 6th and 7th November
the English raised the siege and retired to avoid the Rains, which
are very heavy at that season. One can easily conceive the joy of
Yusuf Khan to see himself delivered from a dangerous enemy. He
came himself to wish me joy and to thank me for a result, all the
glory of which he attributed to me. He promised me in writing
fifty thousand rupees and distributed money to my troop."
Page 28. " It was now that Khan Sahib sought the alliance
of Haidar Ali, to whom he sent a Vakil. The similarity of their
adventures seemed to him a reason for their union. Haidar, like
him, had revolted against his legitimate sovereign and had seized
his kingdom. He had made war on the English. ^ Their cause
seemed to him a common cause. But Haidar, whether he did not
trust the offers of the King of Madura or whether he foresaw his
speedy fall, refused to take any part in his quarrel or to join him.
" If we compare these two rebels, the superiority remains with the
usurper of Mysore. Haidar has shown in his behaviour more
resource in his genius, more activity in his courage, more firmness
in misfortune than did Khan Sahib. The latter showed rather the
qualities of a tyrant, but the former those of a King. Liberal to his
soldiers,he knew how to attach them to himself by the punctuality
with which he paid them faithful to his word, he showed himself
;
more scrupulous in keeping it than did the conqueror of Madura,

who almost always broke it for the sake of petty immediate advan-
tages. His conquests have been more rapid and have shown a greater
breadth of view. Khan Sahib seemed to confine his views to reigning
over the little province he had seized, but Haidar, with his vast
projects, seemed, in his seizure of Mysore, to have made but a
beginning, for he aimed at the monarchy of all India. Lastly he
was more successful, and if, in human estimation, success justifies
the prudence of an enterprise, the man who dethroned the Raja
of Mysore and still keeps him a captive in his chains, who has given
his daughter in marriage to Raza Sahib, son of Chanda Sahib that
unlucky protege of our nation, who for twenty-five years ^ has been
1 i.e. when he was defeated by Yusuf Khan in person, and in 1760
in 1757,
when were defeated by one of Yusuf Khan's Subadars.
his officers
^ As Marchand wrote in 1771, this would take us back to 1746 when
Haidar was a very insignificant person (some accounts say that Haidar was
at one time a private soldier in the French employ !), but Haidar certainly
distinguished himself against the English as early as 1752, during the Trichi-
nopoly campaign.
APPENDIX III{h) 263
the scourge of the English in India, that man shows that he had
formed a better concerted project and a bolder and better sustained
plan than did the sepoy of Muhammad Ali, who reigned no more
than three years and succumbed at once to the efforts of his master
who came to punish his rebellion."
Page 41. " The Council [of Madras] had written to Colonel
Campbell that he must not consent to any other accommodation
than the surrender at discretion of Khan Sahib and the town. The
Commandant informed me of tliis reply and that it was useless for
me to write to him imless it were to ask him to come and take posses-
sion of the town. This dreadful news deprived Khan Sahib of the
little energy which remained to him. Broken by the weight of his
misfortunes, he fell from which he roused
into a kind of lethargy
himself only to fall paroxysms of fury. Incapable
into inconceivable
of forming any plans, he seemed to wait upon events, not that he
had sufficient firmness to realize that he must yield to necessity
and endure his lot with courage, but because he was too much over-
whelmed to stand up against it. I vainly suggested various methods,
dangerous but honourable, by which we might extricate ourselves
from our terrible embarrassment, but he had not sufficient strength
of mind to adopt any of them, whilst he blamed everybody for the
sad extremity into which he had fallen, and breathed rage against
his own subjects instead of turning it upon the enemy, and thus
concluded by making himself both hated and despised. A con-
spiracy was formed against him.
" Two Moor chiefs, Srinivasa Rao and Baba Sahib were the
leading authors of the conspiracy. The latter had private causes of
complaint against Khan Sahib, by whom he had often been ill-treated,
and burned to revenge himself. To these motives of hatred were
joined [those produced by] the reflections of every one upon the
existing state of affairs and upon the course which ought to be
followed. They felt that it would be very dangerous for them to
be captured, arms in hand, defending this rebel, whilst to deliver
Khan Sahib to the Nawab would be a mode of making their peace,
and they resolved to sacrifice him to their safety and vengeance.
" The plot was conducted with much secresy. The meetings
[of the conspirators] were held in the hovels adjoining the Darbar.^
The 13th October was fixed by the conspirators for carrying out
their enterprise. I had noticed certain movements which alarmed
me and had heard certain seditious remarks which showed only too
clearly the secret disposition of the soldiers. I tried in vain to pacify
^ " That is the place where the Council is held." Note by Marchand.
and soften their minds. I went to to tell him my

Khan Sahib
suspicions and fears. most moving way the
I represented in the
necessity of resolving upon some plan, and I begged him to make
use of the precious moments which remained to us.
" These loyal coimsels, far from having any good efiect, only
threw him into a passion. Fixing a haggard eye upon me, and quite
losing control over himself, he said I could do nothing but prophesy
misfortime, that I had better sleep and eat in quiet without troubling
about anything, and leave him in peace. This reply filled me with
grief. I felt tempted to abandon this fierce and obstinate person
to his unlucky fate, but at last, overcoming my first impulse of
anger, I determined to do my duty, if possible, in spite of him. With
this object I ordered my troop to keep mider arms, and determined
to find out what were the intentions of the Moors. I passed the
night of the 12th-13th in a cruel anxiety, which was, without doubt,
a presentiment of the dreadful catastrophe with which we were
threatened.
" In the morning I sent an intelligent and trusty soldier of mine
to make enquiries. He returned saying he had seen a large number
of the Moors under arms, and much movement in the direction of
the Darbar. I sent to enquire if Khan Sahib had gone there and
learned that he was still shut up in his Harem, so I gave orders to

inform me as soon as he was visible.
" The conspirators, having been unable to execute their project
in the morning, as Khan Sahib had remained in his Harem, a place
sacred to all Muhammadans, postponed its execution rmtil the
afternoon.
" As soon as I heard that Khan Sahib had entered the Darbar,
I started at the head of my men to get close to him, so as to be in a
position to defend him if he should be attacked. On the way I saw
nothing seriously to augment my anxiety, for the Moors, observing
the weakness of my troop, which consisted of only 35 officers and
soldiers,allowed me to pass without saying anything, promising
themselves, no doubt, to overwhelm us by their number, and con-
ceiving that so feeble a reinforcement would be no hindrance to the
blow they intended. I arrived at the Darbar, and, leaving my
troop at the gate, I went in to speak to Khan Sahib and to tell
him again of all that I had observed.
" Hardly had I saluted him, when I heard a great noise outside,
the enclosure of the Darbar was surrounded on three sides and an
immense number of sepoys fell upon us, sword in hand.
and Kalians
We attempted to resist, but, overpowered by numbers. Khan Sahib
APPENDIX III{h) 266
and I were surrounded in an instant and made prisoners. I was

immediately taken out of the Darbar with threats of having my
head split open if I made the least resistance. My troop, which had
been attacked and which had likewise succumbed to numbers, had
been disarmed. It was sent back to barracks with me and we were
closely guarded.
" The chiefs of the conspiracy, quickly giving orders, had two
field-pieces brought up, one of which was trained upon the door of
the Harem and
the other on that of the Darbar. At the same time
they seized the chief Powder Magazine and the Armoury, took
possession of the Fort gates, and having placed guards at all the
posts on the Bazar Square and in all parts of the town, they made
the rounds, taking charge of the besieged town as if everything were
in perfect order. At 9 p.m. the conspirators sent a Fakir i and two
of their comrades to the Camp, to inform Muhammad Ali that they
were ready to surrender the town and Khan Sahib the next day, if
he would send a deputy to treat with them. I took advantage of
this circumstance to ask the Moors if I might send an officer of my
troop with a capitulation for myself and my men. My request was
granted, and I sent M. de Parigny {sic) with a letter to M. Campbell,
containing four articles to which I demanded his signature. . . .
However, whether the Moors, to consummate their treason, had

promised to surrender me with the few Frenchmen I had left, or
whether they were themselves surprised by an enemy more alert
than themselves, the English took advantage of the moment when
their envoys entered the to\vn to introduce some companies of their
troops, who immediately spread through the to^vn, seized the chief
positions and made my troops prisoners of war. I was, myself, guarded
by an escort of thirty sepoys. I took advantage of the slight amount
of liberty allowed me to go to the Camp and surrender my sword to
Muhammad Ali, declaring myself his prisoner. This prince received
me with much distinction, and complained of the harm done him
by that same sword which I was then surrendering. I thought
this a good opportunity to say a word in favour of his prisoner, but
he pretended not to hear me, and I understood from his silence what
I must fear on his behalf. He had been taken to the Camp on the
14th under a strong escort, commanded by Colonel Campbell himself.
He was carefully guarded in a tent, and at first very kindly treated.
He was still in the hands of the English. The Council at Madras,
which respected his courage and which was well satisfied to have,
in his person, a rival of whom it could make use to oppose Muhammad
^ Marchand means Yusuf Khan's chief Surgeon, Badr-ud-din Darwesh.

should wish to shake off the yoke which they

All, in case the latter
had imposed upon him, had ordered that he should be well treated
if he surrendered at discretion.
" Muhammad Ali, who felt that all the fruits of this conquest
would be him if this rebel were to escape from his vengeance,
lost to
resolved to make any sacrifice in order to secure the immolation to his
own security of a redoubtable competitor who had caused him so
much alarm. He addressed himself to M. Campbell, representing that
Khan Sahib had rendered himself unworthy of the clemency, promised
him by the Madras Coimcil, by refusing to surrender at discretion.
He pressed him to hand over the culprit that he might inflict an
exemplary punishment, and supported his request by two lakhs of
rupees, which last decided the Colonel. The unfortunate Moor was
placed in the hands of his sovereign. The revengeful Nawab, fearing
the arrival of some order from Madras in favour of the prisoner,
made haste to hang him on a tree between the Fort and the Camp,
and having cut his body into four pieces, exposed his severed limbs
upon the principal roads from Madura, whilst his head was sent to
Trichinopoly.
" Khan Sahib, whose courage had suffered eclipse in the last
siege, ended his life with the same weakness. The Madras
days of the
Council learned with indignation that he had been disposed of
without their knowledge. They expressed great discontent with
M. Campbell and with Muhammad Ali, and the latter was forced
to spend much money in appeasing the Council but, in paying so ;
dearly for the death of the rebel, he did not think he had made a bad
bargain.
" Such was the sad ending of this war and of the bold chief
who had excited it : fortunate if he had been able to join to the
military talents, with which he was endowed, more equanimity
and gentleness of character together with a soul stronger in adversity.
The ferocity of his manners and his invincible obstinacy precipitated
the fall of Madura and were the cause of the catastrophe which
terminated his days."
" Note Historique " attached to Marchand's " Plan des

Attaques de la Ville de Madur^." 1
" The kingdom of Madura is situated at the extremity of the
Indian Peninsula to the south-west of Pondicherry. Formerly it
had its own kings. It is now only a province of the kingdom of the
Camatic under the rule of Muhammad Ali Khan,
1 Orme MSS., 332, p. 24.
APPENDIX III{b) 267
" The government of this province having been granted in 1758

to Khan Sahib in recognition of various services, ambition impelled
this chief to throw ofi the yoke and to declare himself king of Madura.
Muhammad Ali Khan, aided by the English, invaded the kingdom
the same year to punish this rebel. The usurper defended his country.
" The Sieur Marchand, Captain of Cavalry in the French service
in India, received orders at the end of 1762 to join him with two
himdred Frenchmen who had escaped from the ruins of Pondi-
cherry.
" The English, with Moor sepoys and cavalry, came to lay siege
to the town on the 15th September 1763, to the number of 30,000
Indians and 2500 Europeans. Khan Sahib had no more than 5200
men, including the troop commanded by M. Marchand, which con-
sisted of 200 Europeans. The first siege was raised after 52 days
of open trenches on the night of the 6-7th November 1763. The
English withdrew into winter quarters two leagues away. They
brought from Bombay and Bengal, in 1764, 1500 Europeans. i They
returned on the 1st January and constructed a number of redoubts to
protect their encampments. Several fights occurred during the
next six months in the open plain. The trenches were opened on
the night of the l-2nd May 1764. On the 26th June the English
delivered an assault. The Sieur Marchand, at the head of his men,
repiilsed them twîce. Major Preston, second-in-command in the
hostile army, was mortally wounded in this assault.
" The English, having failed to succeed by force, resorted to craft.
They seduced a number of Moor officers in the garrison, whom Khan
Sahib had disgusted by his severity. These men handed over both
him and the town to the enemy on the 14th October, 1764.
" Khan Sahib was hanged the day after the surrender of the
place by order of Muhammad Ali Khan. Captain Marchand was
forced to leave the town and with difficulty was granted his life, so
irritated were the English by a defence which had lasted for eighteen
months, in which they knew he had taken the leading part, and
which had cost them more than 2000 European soldiers, 130 officers,
7000 sepoys and Moor horse, immense labour and more than two
hundred thousand 12, 18 and 24 pound cannon-shot, as well as a
quantity of 12 and 8-inch shells and countless stones, and involved
the expenditure of 60 millions of French money, as they and Mu-
hammad Ali Khan themselves confessed."
^ In his Precis, p. 31, Marchand says the English renewed the siege with
3000 Europeans, so here he must refer only to supposed reinforcements.

2
APPENDIX IV
EXTEACTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE CHARACTER OF THE NaWAB
Muhammad Ali Khan
(1) Letter from the Nawab to Mr. Saunders. Received 22th

July, 1751.1
" It is impossible for me to express the midaunted valour and

bravery of Mr. Giagins and the other officers of the English army,
for in all our battles with the enemy they have behaved with Rustum
like resolution and conduct and frustrated their designs. I am
therefore surprised to find them retreat from their posts. ... I
cannot conceive the reason of their retreating in this manner.
Perhaps they will say my troops wont fight as they ought to do.
Let me inform you they were never expected to fight they were ;
only to stay with yours for a show but the battle entirely depends
;
upon your army, and wherever that is my troops will continue. It

is your men's business to fight. For instance I beg leave to say
that when the French waged war against Nasir Jang they had not
a horseman with them their whole force was some soldiers and
;
sepoys, and with them they raised disturbances and defeated my army
of ten or twelve thousand horse at Tiruvadi. They afterwards
attacked Nasir Jang, who had fiity thousand horse, in the plains of
Gingee, and killed him, and in reality gained the whole Deccan
country to themselves. Thus you see the horsemen are of no service
in the present war. ... I must tell you that my whole dependance
is upon your troops. I undertook the government of the Deccan
coimtry by the advice of the English, and engaged in the present
expedition by their assistance. land my family remain in the fort
of Trichinopoly and it is talked all over Indostan, Deccan and Bengal,
that I am protected and assisted by the English, who for their own
honour should exert themselves to the utmost to support my repu-
tation. Don't let the French and Chanda Sahib seize me. I
. . .
1 Country Correspondence, 1751, No. 102.

* The reason given by Capt. De Gingins was that the Nawab had utterly
failed to furnish them with provisions.
APPENDIX IV 2G9
depend upon God and you. Do whatever may be conducive to your

honour and reputation regarding my affair."
(2) Letter dated Wassinellore 26th May, 1767, from Colonel Donald
Campbell <o (?) Colonel John Call A
"I have already informed you that my motive for not offering
terms to these people was my having never been empowered by the

Board or the Nawab to grant them any. To this last I have paid
the compliment of communicating an account of my transactions
regularly as they happened, and he has never had the civility to
return me one syllable of an answer. Now was I to follow the
dictates of my own judgement of matters on the spot, and to admit
the submission of the Kalians upon conditions which should appear
to me reasonable and just, what security have I that this step of
mine would be approved of ? The recollection of what other officers
have experienced in the like circumstances leaves little reason to
expect that the Nawab would stand to any agreement not made by
—
himself and, if these people can be believed in a story which bears
strongly the marks of probability, a failure even in that has been
the source of all these troubles. How far men of his rank in life may
consider themselves at liberty to dispense with the performance of
their promises I will not pretend to determine, but my word shall
never be passed with an intention to deceive.
" In all my Board, to the Governor, to the Nawab
letters to the
and it as my opinion that, to accept the
to you, I have ever given
submission of the Rebels upon such terms as would deprive them
of the power to be troublesome hereafter, is the most eligible method
of treating them. This opinion is founded entirely on the nature of
the country, for in other parts of the Nawab' s dominions it would
argue the utmost weakness to adopt a plan of the kind. In the
districts of Arcot, for example, should the inhabitants rebel and
abscond from the dread of punishment, they can be for ever excluded
—
and their places supplyed but no man in his senses will settle in
Sivagiri, while the natives of it can rush out of their lurking places,
destroy him with the fruit of his labours, and be back again in the
space of a few hours. Their present situation is, in their own opinion,
barely preferable to surrendering at discretion —yet, while they have
no better prospect than chains or death, they will certainly spin
out their days, miserable as they are, in the imaginary possession
of their liberty, and use every means in their power to distress the
government and to evince that treating them with some degree of
humanity will be most lastingly conducive to its interest."
1 Onne MSS., 308, p. 27.
APPENDIX V
References to Yusuf Khan in various Printed Books and
Unpublished Papers
Major-General Stringer Lawrence.

Military Journal^
" They [the enemy] never could get right intelligence which way
we went or sent out partys. And they often had detachments out
waiting on one road while we were marching in with a convoy another.
We were gxeatly assisted in this by a Moorman, who for his deserved
merit was made commander of our sepoys. This man, commonly
called the Nellore Subahdar (from the place whence he came), had
first a company of sepoys
in our service which were raised by himself.
He is an excellent partizan, knows the country well, is brave and
resolute but cool and sensible in action. In short he is bom a
soldier, and better of his colour I never saw in the coimtry. He
never spares himself but is out on all parties, and by his good in-
telligence brought in provisions to keep us in a moderate plenty."
Robert Orme.
History of the War in Indostan, I. 347.
(1754). " In this service

[i.e. the provisioning of the army] they
were much assisted by the activity and vigilance of Muhammad Yusuf,

an excellent partisan, whose merit had raised him from a captain
of a company to be Commander in chief of all the sepoys in the
English service, into which he first enlisted under Captain Clive a
little before the battle of Kaveripak he was a brave and resolute
:
man but cool and wary in action and capable of stratagem he :
constantly procured intelligence of the enemy's motions, and, having

a perfect knowledge of the country, planned the marches of the
convoys so well, that by constantly changing the roads and the times
1 Orme MSS., 13, p. 78.

APPENDIX V 271
of bringing the provisions out of the woods, not one of them was
intercepted for three months."
Letter dated ith July, 1757, from Orme to Mr. PayneA

" Madura will, I make no doubt, be taken if Caillaud is not as
before suddenly recalled from his operations in reducing it.As soon
as in our possession the value of all the districts dependant on it
must be ascertained and these must be farmed to a man who can
give the security of the Shroffs - for the fulfilling of his contract.
This contract must leave nothing vmdetermined concerning the
support which the Company are to give the Renter in case of dis-
turbances. To which end it is necessary to stipulate that he maintain
a number of English soldiers, say forty, and an officer in the Fort
at his own expence, but this expence to be regulated to him. He
may likewise have delivered over to him such a number of sepoys as
may be necessary to maintain his Fort and Districts. Their pay
and allowances must likewise be adjusted and ascertained, and they
must be acquainted that the Renter is not only their Master but
Paymaster, the Company no longer so after they once engage in
his service, into which it follows they must enter without compulsion.
These adjustments and ascertainments will cut ofi all extravagant
demands on the Renter from his soldiery and all complaints from him
to us. After a just calculation is made of the deductions to which
the maintenance of this Force will subject the real incomes of the
Coimtry, the Price [i.e. the Tribute] must be fixed, and better with
moderation to a capable and trusty man than for a greater to an
imcertain character. know no man in the country so proper for
I
this employ as Muhaymnad Yusuf Khan the Commander of your
sepoys, the reputation of whose military genius will avail him greatly
in preserving the Country in tranquillity, and, though a soldier,
by being a Renter it becomes his interest not to fight. I cannot
refrain from giving you, though improperly in this place, an instance
of his gallantry, which I have but just now heard. Four hundred
of the best sepoys in Madura, horsemen dismounted, sallied on
Muhammad Yusuf Khan's quarter, where were only three companies
of sepoys. These instantly deserted him [almost] to a man. He
retreated to a Choultry near at hand. Mr. Rumbold advanced
from his Quarter which lay at a considerable distance, with what
troops he could get together, and found Yusuf Khan defending him-
self with only ten men against the whole body of the enemy, who
^ Orme MSS., 28, p. 170. - i.e. the Native Bankers.

—
272 APPENDIX V
could neither take, destroy or put to flight this invincible spirit.
His attachment to the Company is, I think, inviolable. . . . For
my part I should be willing to accept of any sum that I can see assured
to the Company without incurring the advance of expenses on our
part or the furnishing of troops, neither of which, you plainly see.
Sir, we are able to do. It will only remain with me to be certified
in the character of the man that he is such as to subject us to no
risque of his revolting against us or betraying us."
George Lord Pigot.
Letter, dated lith March, 1756, from Mr. Pigot to Yusuf Khan.^
" As I have a great dependance on your good conduct, bravery
and fidelity to the Company, I have thought proper to entrust you
with the command of a reinforcement to be sent to Mahfuz Khan
in order to quell the disturbances which the poligars have raised in
the Tinnevelly countries. You are to carry with you one thousand
sepoys, some Cofiries and six gunners with two guns. You may
take your own company of sepoys from Arcot, and Captain Caillaud
will supply you with the rest at Trichinopoly and the proper stores.
With these you are to proceed with all expedition to join Mahfuz
Khan, consult with him concerning the proper measures to be taken
to reduce the poligars to good order and settle the country and act
accordingly. I entrust you not only with military affairs but also
with the management of the Company's other concerns in the
Madura and Tionevelly countries, which are as follows Mahfuz
:
Khan is indebted to the Company on account of the rent of Tinne-

velly, according to his agreement with Colonel Heron, 121,000
Rupees, which I desire you will demand and receive. Besides this
the Nawah agreed with the Company that they should have half
of all the revenues of Madura and Tionevelly and also half of whatever
sums the poligars might pay. Colonel Heron let the countries only
for three months beginning in April 1755. You will therefore
enquire what the coimtries have been let for since, and what the
poligars have paid since, and receive half the amoimt for the Com-
pany, and also settle a method for the future payment of the share
due to the Company in a regular manner. Whatever money you
receive must be remitted to Captain Caillaud, to whom you will
communicate the occurrences that may happen and follow his orders
and advice on all occasions. Thus I have entrusted you with a
1 Mil. Cons., 16th March, 1756.

APPENDIX V 273
business of great importance, not doubting but you will act therein
so as to gain an advantage to the Company and the Nawab and to
yourself a good name, reputation and future favour."
Letter dated \lth November, 1161, from Mr. Pigot to the Nawab.'^
" I have received your letter relating to the Madura and Tinne-
velly affairs, wherein you wrote to me that you had offered to let
Yusiif Khan tliose countries for twelve lakhs of rupees for the
present year, but his Vakil would not agree to it. You then offered
to deduct twenty thousand rupees from the above-mentioned sum,
at last you told him that you would let him have them for eleven
lakhs of rupees, but he would not agree to any of those terms, and
likewise you wrote to me that Tittarappa Mudali had offered you
thirteen lakhs and another person still more. Notwithstanding this
you have agreed to take only eleven lakhs from the said Khan.
But I acquaint you as a remembrance that we have not got any
benefit from them before we delivered the management of those
coimtrys to the said Khan, but on the contrary we have been obliged
to keep a large force there to keep those countrys in peace and quiet,
as they are very large, and we have been obliged to spend money
in the room of getting it. I beg you will remember that I have
represented to you all these [facts] when you was at Madras. Then
you thought proper and said you would let Yusuf Khan continue
in the management for the present year. I think it is proper to keep
your promise and favour him with those countrys if his Vakil will
propose reasonably. I have wrote to Yusuf Khan about it and
enclosed the copy in my letters to you, and hope it will be settled
between you."
Colonel John Caillaud.

Letter to Council, dated 8th December, 1756.^
" I have also wrote to Mudali desiring him to inform me if with the
troops which he will require to be left by Yusuf Khan he can now
pretend to manage the country himself, for I am pretty well con-
vinced that if it is left to the other's [i.e. Yusuf Khan's] discretion
to come away when the troubles are finished, they may not be finished
for these many months, the country is so happily disposed for
a person's turn who has rather the art of making disturbances than
1 Appended to Sir John Lindsay's letter 21st Jan., 1771, to Lord Weymouth.
I.O. Records, Home Misc., 104.
2 Orme MSS., XII. p. 3364.
T
274 APPENDIX V
quieting of them. Believe me, Gentlemen, I do not speak this out of
disrespect against the man whom you have thought proper to employ.
I am convrnced he is a faithful and good servant, but I am also con-
vinced that his only talentlies in the military way, and that he is
fond of opportunitys to show it, and rather than to avoid them

seeks them, and, in short, he will do best when not too much left
to himself."
Letter to Council, dated 18th March, 1757.1
" I found Yusuf Khan here with his army in very good condition.
As to liimself the same faithful, honest servant to the Company I
everknew him. The little difierences which have happened between
him and the Mitdali I am almost sure have proceeded in the former
—
from a good principle ^the good, welfare and interest of his masters,
but as he had proceeded sometimes with more warmth than dis-
cretion, it hath made the latter, who is naturally a timorous man,
easily mistake the other's intentions, and in that point of view to
represent them, and not, as they mostly were, the effect of an honest,
but perhaps not well tempered zeal."
Letter to Council, dated ith August, 1757.2
" As to Madura I will venture to assure you, Yusuf Khan is the

proper man to command in that place and rent the country round it.
The neighbours he has will require a brisk, active man amongst them
to keep them to their duty and obedience it is a large trust, but if
:
there is faith in men, he is as honest and true a servant to the

Honourable Company as ever eat their bread."
Letter to Council, dated 8th February, 1759.3
" One thing more, the Man ^ who is the Soul of all these black
people thinks badly of the scheme [i.e. to force an entry into Madras]
and that it is throwing away the people to no purpose who otherwise
will be usefully employed. He himself will follow and some of his
people, but the majority — if he can't answer for them, who can
"
?
1 Orme MSS., XII. p. 3391.

2 Orme MSS., XIII. p. 3430.
' Madras Records. Public Department, Sundry Boole, No. 13. " TransactionB
during the siege of Fort St. Gfeorge," Appendix.
* i.e. Yusuf Khan.
APPENDIX V 275
Henry Vansittart.i
Letter to Clive, dated 2nd March, 1759.2

" I should not forget to mention that your old friend, the Nellore
Subadar, was of great service during the siege. He brought a large
body of country horse and sepoys from Tanjore and Trichinopoly ;
and being joined by Captain Preston and about fifty Europeans from
Chingleput, and afterwards by Major Caillaud, they occasioned a
powerful diversion. The French were obliged four times to send
out considerable detachments, but our people always kept their
post, till a scarcity of provisions forced them to move further off.
The enemy however lost many men in these different actions, beside
the hindrance it gave to their work."
Sir Eyre Coote.

Letter to Council, dated 1st July, 1760.3
"I am sorry to find that there is likelihood of disturbance in the

Tmnevelly country. I hope that Yxisuf Khan is not endeavouring
to deceive you, for my part I cannot conceive the Dutch have such
a number of Europeans to bring, however it's right to ward off in
time any schemes that may be forming against us."
Muhammad Ali Khan, Nawab of the Carnatic.
Letter to Mr, George Pigot, Governor of Fort Saint George, dated

March, 1759.*
"Lately Yusuf Khan wrote a letter to Mr. Smith, ^ from which

I understand you have confirmed the Governorship of Madura and
Tinnevelly to Yusuf Khan. I cannot believe this, as I have your
promise to the contrary in writing, but the hearing such news has
made me ill. It astonishes me greatly. Perhaps you remember the
terms upon which the Company rented the Tinnevelly countries for
^ Afterwards Governor of Bengal.

* Malcolm's Life of Clive, II. pp. 48-50, note.
3 Mil. Cons., 3rd July, 1760, p. 596.
* I.O. Records, Home Misc., 104. Appended to Sir John Lindsay's letter
of Dec. 1770/21st Jan. 1771. The translation is so bad that I have been
forced to re-word it in parts.
5 Captain Joseph Smith, at this time commandant of the garrison at
Trichinopoly.
.
276 APPENDIX V
three years, the Company to have the profit as well as I. It is now
more than three years, and I understood from what you said that
there was no profit from those countries, the charges being greater
than the income, through things beirig in a state of disorder and con-
fusion, and that you had returned them to me. You sent these
orders to the Commandant of Trichinopoly and Yusuf Khan, and I
appointed an AmaldarA I suppose that as soon as this was made
public Yusuf Khan informed you that the charges exceeded the
Income, and so you intend to advance him money on behalf of the
Company to meet them. I went to the Fort and said that such
statements of his were false, and that he made them so as to be kept
in the post. You wTote to me that you would be content with any
Amaldar whom I should appoint. Yusuf Klian may pay what is
due now or when he has made out his balance, as you may prefer.
I have allowed him to extend his term by nine months. It has
often been stated, and proved, that Yusuf Khan has collected more
money than he is entitled to, and has transmitted it to Trichinopoly.
The Commandant knows this, yet I have paid two lakhs of rupees
to Mr. Smith through the Bankers in case there should be any deficit,
and when I gave him your order to return the country to me,
I told him if there were ten or even twenty thousand rupees
owing I would pay it. Everybody knows this. Accordingly I have
been collectmg troops from all sides at great expense and am still
—
increasing their number, but which may God forbid if you have —
determined as stated in Yusuf Khan's letter to Mr. Smith, it will be
quite contrary to the English custom [of keeping good faith] and I
will not agree to it. I cannot endure such a burden. You may be
assured of the fact that the mere hearing of such a thing made me
ill. Consider how mean I shall appear under such circumstances
and what will be my loss. but for a few days
Worldly afiairs are
and even Only a good

for these one cannot always be the same.
name is eternal. Accordingly I ask you, in conformity with your
promise and agreement, to let me have possession of Madura and
Tinnevelly, so that I may send my servants there. Please God, of
whatever remains over the charges of these countries, one half shall
be paid towards my debt to the Company and I will have the other. . .
In my father's time I was in charge of Trichinopoly, Madura and

Tinnevelly. I also collected the tribute and peshkash ^ of Tanjore,
the kiladars, Zamindars and Poligars of the Camatic, and I was
1 Revenue Collector and Civil Governor.

i.e.
The customary present made on special

* occasioas, as e.g. the time of
paying tribute, to a superior. Sometimes used of the tribute itself.
APPENDIX V 271
appointed to punish the Marathas. So long as Anwaruddin Khan i

was the friend of the English I was rich, and as long as I had any
money I spent freely and I borrowed from nobody. Now I am poor,
but I ask only for your assistance, which you must grant me if I am
to preserve my honour and credit. But I cannot accept any such
order as the present, though you who give it are my father,^ and I
will never agree to his keeping those countries. As you have often
told me, you are very careful about the Company's and military affairs,
and the English are so strict in their accounts that no one can spend
a single rupee without good reason. It astonishes me therefore that
such an illiterate man as Yusuf Khan should be appointed without a
capable person in the Company's employ to assist him, and that you
should approve whatever accounts he presents to you. I don't know
that he keeps any accounts. I write all this because you and I are
friends, and I hope to receive a favourable answer from you soon."
Letter to Council, dated 12th February, 1763.3
" Tinnevelly coimtry was worth double the sum it was let for,
notwithstanding it was let out to him in the manner it was. Your
Honour is sensible of the offers made by other people concerning
that country. Nevertheless I was necessitated to let it out to
Yusuf Khan for nine lakhs * of rupees of the Company's coin on con-
dition of his paying them at Madras. Even in this he detained a
balance of upwards of three lakhs of rupees. ^ ... It is the custom
in this world that if there is a necessity for any Renter to have an
extraordinary Sibbendy, to apply to his Master for assistance, which,
if he thinks proper to grant, he will either allot a force or sum of
money to enlist the same, according to which a discount is made out
of the Sarhar rents. ^ As for instance if the Commander of Vellore
'
enlists any troops unjustly without orders from the Council Board
and the Sarkar, can the Board allow him the expence thereof ? If
Yusuf Khan hath enlisted an extraordinary Sibbendy on just occasion
by my and your orders, it may be admitted ; if not, by what authority
1 The father of Muhammad Ali.
* An Indian expression meaning that the person so addressed is one's sole
protector.
^Country Correspondence, 1763.
"In the year 1762.
5 I have shown (see
pp. 110 and 167) that, up to the time of the final order
to pay his rent to the Nawab, Yusuf Khan had paid all that was due from him.
Apparently the Nawab received only 6 lakhs for the year 1761-2, and this
only because it had already been paid to Mr. Newton.
® i.e. State Revenue.
' Madras Council or Select Committee of the Council.

— : :
278 APPENDIX V
and by whose orders does lie presume to demand the expences of the
Sibbendy, repairs of forts, guns, firelocks, &c. ? As this is a time of

peace no expedition hath happened, but he put out all the foligars
and possessed himself of a large sum of money out of their countrys
in lieu of the expense of the Sibbendy ^ &c. He broke out in war
with the Zamindar of the Maleavar ^ upon a certain cause, who has
wrote both to me and you several times and sent his vakil to me
when in Madras. In short the Khan behaved disobediently in so
many respects as it cannot be numbered. Although you forbade
him to make war with the Maleavar, yet he acted contrary to it and
entertained a large force imder that pretence. Nine years ago he
served Muhammad Kamal at Vellore [i.e. Nellore] as a physician at
15 rupees per month. He had not any of his father's estate by him,
nor has he acquired anything by serving any others. All that he
has at present is got out of my country by roguery. If he had
defrayed the charges of the Sibbendy, repairs of the forts &c. of his
own accord or without my or your orders it is no matter, because we
may conclude what money he has got out of the country during his
stay there was spent for the service of the said country. ... It is
well knoAvn to the world ^ :
(a) that Yusuf Khan has been busy in repairing the fort of
Madura &c. for this long time without my or your orders :
(6) that he maintained an union and correspondence of letters

with the King of Tanjore &c.
(c) that he sent an advance of 60,000 rupees and sent for * the
French, Dutch and Danes from Negapatam, Wacamnad (?) and

Tuticorin to join him :
{d) money and sent for lead, gunpowder, gims &c.

that he sent
(e) that he built a new house ^ :
(/) that he began a war with the Maleavars contrary to your

orders :
{g) that he sent one Zainaluddin vakil two years ago to Nizam
^ The tenure of the Poligars or petty chiefs was feudal, they being bound to
supply troops when required. But they also paid Peshkash or presents of
money. This passage supports the statement made by Mr. Landon (29th July,
1793, to the Board of Revenue) that Yusuf Khan disarmed the poligars.
* i.e. the King of Travancore. It has been shown (see p. 131 above) that
there is good reason for supposing that the King of Travancore and not Yusuf
Khan was the aggressor.
3 The charges which follow are run together in the original.For con-
venience' sake each has been given a separate paragraph and numbered.
* i.e. enlisted Frenchmen, Dutch, and Danes.
* Possibly the Nawab means a palace. In Marchand's plan Yusuf Khan's
dwelling is marked.
APPENDIX V 279
AH to perswade him and to demand a sanad for the Camatic Country i
with an offer of a large sum of money and to desire him to negotiate

the affairs of his Court with the English through his means, and
further to request him to disturb and lay waste the country in some
measure, promising that he would in some measure then undertake
to make it up with the English :
(/i) that he moreover entered into a union with Haidar Naik and
sent one Ghulam Hussain ^ to him :
{i) that he placed tappies from Tmnevelly as far as Mysore

3 :
{j) that he sent messages with oflers of alliance to Basalat

Jang :
(k) that he sent to different parts to invite troops into his service,
and
(l) that he shed innocent blood of men of distinction as well as
the poor.
" As the gentlemen of the Council are very sensible and well
acquainted with these proceedings 1 need not urge much to them on
that subject. The English entered into agreement with Mansur
. . .
ul Mulk,^ Subadar of Bengal, but he behaved amiss only in one

point, that he gave protection to French deserters,^ for which
is
reason the English were displeased with him. Yusuf Khan is a

servant to the Company. How is it that he entertains the French ? ^
He mentions also in the letter that you was provoked against him by
my perswasion. Let me inform you that I have represented to you
concerning him from the beginning and wrote to you several letters
about him, which you'll find in the Company's ofl&ce, but the gentle-
men of Council did not believe me. It is the custom of great people
not to believe anything before it is proved. At present several of
his bad proceedings [have] induced you and the gentlemen of Council
to be enraged against him whose crimes are proved. ... I am in
friendship with the English nation and never wrote to the French
^ M. de Maudave asserts that Nizam Ali, Subah of the Deccan, actually gave
Yusuf Khan a sanad for Madura and Tinnevelly, and that he was thinking of
giving him one for the nawahi of Arcot in place of Muhammad Ali. See pp.
132 and 160 above.
2 Kirmani (History
of Uydur Naik, p. 285) says Yusuf Khan's agent with
Haidar was Ali Zaman Khan.
' i.e. posts for the despatch of letters.
* i.e. Siraj-ud-daula, who was defeated by Clive at Plassey and soon after
murdered by his cousin Miran.
^ The Nawab means " to Frenchmen and to deserters." See Hill's Bengal
in 1756-57, p. cxlix.
* In 1759 Council permitted 30 Frenchmen to enlist with Yusuf Khan.
Orme, History, III. 534. See p. 121 above.
280 APPENDIX V
without their knowledge. ... As to Yusuf Khan, he entered into
union with mine and your enemies. People of distinction,^ who
might have had the management of afiairs from the time of their
fathers and grandfathers will never do bad things and behave
deceiptfully to their Masters. Haidar Naik was weak till the manage-
ment was given him, but when that was given him he
of Dindigul
grew strong and took the whole Mysore country under his power.
This is the case with Yusuf Khan. As the Zamindar of Mysore was
weak, he could not be revenged on Haidar Naih. By the blessing
of God, Yusuf Khan's Masters, who are the English, are powerful,
good soldiers, resolute and skilfull. I am therefore confident they
will revenge themselves of his proceedings in such a manner that it
may strike great terror in other betrayers.

" Yusuf Khan mentions further that you was perswaded by
certain persons that he [has] acquired a large treasure. By the
blessing of God and the friendship of the English I am creditable 2
Subadar of all the countries beguming from Nellore to Tinnevelly.
A number of proper and substantial sahukars ^ resides in my country,
who know and believe that I am honest in my dealings and in pay-
ment of money. Notwithstanding this if I apply to them for any
moderate sum I cannot get it. As to Yusuf Khan, who in comparison
was a common fellow, the other day, and that yesterday, [he] obtained
a sanad for the Faujdari ^ of the Tinnevelly country for one year
through my favour and yours. If so, can it be supposed \i.e. believed]
that any one would lend him lahhs ofmoney without proper security
obtained from him out of the revenues of the country vmder him,
for he advances several lakhs and sends for armies, forts {sic) and
gathers provisions, &c. As your Honour is very wise you'll consider
from whence he was able to defray all these expences. By the . . .
blessing of God
a proper time to detach [? despatch] the
this is
Company's troops in order to settle the Tinnevelly &c. countries, in

which case Yusuf Khan cannot possess himself of the whole crop of
the present year. If otherwise, his long stories and discourses can
be with no other end than to possess himself of the produce for the
present year, to collect armies and fortify forts and delay time. . . .
If Yusuf Khan delivers up the country and forts with all stores to
the Sarkar without fight, we may quite [i.e. remit] the Sarkar's
^ The Nawab's own claim to high descent was somewhat shaky (Orme,
History, I. 52). It was certainly not better than, if so good as, that of Haidar AIL
See p. 5 (n.) above.
* i.e. " fully acknowledged as."
* i.e. bankers.
* i.e. military governorship.
APPENDIX V 281
demand on him, which is above ten lakhs of rupees. Can I show him
any more civility ? Agreeable to your desire I have acquainted
you with my opinion. You'll also inform me of your sentiments.
You have nobody with Yusuf Khan to write to you the news on
that side,i but he has a vakil in Madras who writes to him all the
occurrences. your inclination to let his vakil remain in your
If it is
place, you'll sendone on your part that he may continually write
to you of Yusuf Khan's proceedings. If not, it is necessary that you
should send him away."
Letter to Council, dated [30] January, 1770.2
" They ^ persuaded me to give the said countries to Yusuf Khan,

who was Subadar of sepoys in the Company's service, illiterate, void
of understanding and roguish. His ears were cut ofi at Pondicherry
by Monsieur Law for his roguery, which was seen by every person
when he was hanged. You * remember how positive the Governor
and Council were in this matter when the army was near Vellore.
You and Mr. Dupre were field deputies and wTote me ^ pressingly
by order of the Governor and Council to appoint Yusuf Khan to
those coim tries. The Governor then wrote me a letter with his
own hand, wherein he was bound security for him. An instance of
his bad behaviour was this, that he was appointed by means of the
Company to command all my sepoys and was WlJ deputy in my
Countries. When I was [taken] ill at Trichinopoly and General
Smith was with me, I was sitting sick upon my cot and but one
servant stood by me. He came with a great many people to visit
me and drew his sword, but I was saved by the General's being near
me. Among all the nations in the world it is not allowed to draw a
sword in a Darhar without any reason, and in return the person who
—
draws his sword is killed among the English specially this is much
attended to, but I found no redress for Yusuf Khan's behaviour.
On the contrary by giving him guns, firelocks, ammunition, stores &c.
^ It was the common practice for Princes and Governors to entertain news-
writers, stationed at the headquarters of subordinate officers, to report privatelj'

on everything that happened. In the same way a subordinate would entertain,
if he were able, a private agent at headquarters, ostensibly to transact his
business, but really to warn him of any intrigues likely to injure him. The
English alone neglected what the Nawab thought a very necessary precaution.
* I.O. Records, Home Misc., 103. Corrected copy in 104.
* i.e. the Madras Council.
* i.e. Charles Bourchier, governor of Madras, 25 Jan. 1767-31 Jan. 1770.
^ Letter from Messrs. Bourchier and Dupr6 to the Nawab, 10th Oct., 1761.
I.O. Becords, Home Misc., 103.
282 APPENDIX V
they made liim so strong that, besides neglecting to pay the money,i
he was ready to fight against the Company. I have lost a great deal
of money in turning him out of and retaking the countries from him."
Life of the Walajah.^

"It observed that Muhammad Yusuf Khan was quite an
is
and imeducated man. He was first enlisted in the infantry

illiterate
branch of the service and gradually rose from the ranks and [was]
promoted to Suhadar, which gave him the command of a company
of one hundred men, and in the actions fought with M. Lally he
attained the dignity of Risaldar,^ and when his Highness was engaged
in the neighbourhood of Pondicherry in war-like operations he dis-
tinguished himself remarkably and evinced great valour. His
Highness, who was a patron of the men of [the] sword, having in
view his future fidelity, made him the chief of five thousand horse and
ten thousand foot and granted him Mansab Jagir and title."
The Madras Council and the Court of Directors.

Journal of the Siege of Madras.^
5th February, 1759. " Captain Vasserot carried with him a

gold watch and a large amethist ring set round with diamonds as
presents from the Company to Abdul Wahab Khan and Yusuf Khan."
Letter from Messrs. Bourchier and Dupre to Council, dated 1st October,
1761.5
" The day before yesterday the Nawab desired our presence in
the Darbar. We accordingly attended him there, and he acquainted
us that, in consequence of the President's recommendations of Yusuf
Khan for the preference of renting the Tinnevelly and Madura
countries for the present year, he had offered it to him for twelve
lahhs of rupees but he declined accepting it at that rent. The Nawab
then sent for the VaJcil ^ our presence made him the same offer
and in
free of all demands of Nazr,"^ Darbar charges &c., and upon the
^ The rent or revenue of the Provinces.
^ " Walajah," one of the titles of Muhammad All. Wilson's Madras Army,
vol. I., Appendix E, p. 386.
' i.e. commander of a troop of horse.
* Madras Records, Public Department Sundry Booh, No. 13, p. 131.
6 Mil. Cons., 8th Oct., 1761.
6 Yusuf Khan's agent.
'Nazr, i.e. a complimentary present to a superior. The Durbar charges
were the perquisites of the Treasury and other ofBcials.
APPENDIX V 283
VakiVs declining to acceptit he offered to abate twenty thousand
rupees of that sum, but the Vakil persisted that his master would
still
not take the farm i on those terms. We acquainted the Nawab

that we had not any instructions from your Honor &c. &c. on this
head he desired however that we would acquaint you with what
;
had passed and that he should be under the necessity of letting the
country to some other person if Yusuf Khan did not accept his
offer."
Letter from Court to the Council at Madras, dated 30th Decemler,

1763, para. 23.2
"It with extreme concern we learn from your letter of the

is
30th of May that Muhammad Yusuf Khan, the Renter ofthe Madura
and Tinnevelly countries, has thrown off his allegiance from the
Nawab and has collected such a force together as there is too much
reason to apprehend will occasion much trouble before he is brought
to reason. We observe you are taking vigorous measures to suppress
this rebellion, and we trust they will be prosecuted with that prudence
that they may be attended with the wished for success. We shall
only make remark that, as you well knew the genius, ambition
this
and abilitys of this man, we could wish he had not met with so much
indulgence from you, and that a more watchful eye had been kept
upon all his actions, as this event might probably have been foreseen
and expected from such a character."
Letter to Court, doled 2ith October, 1764. Supplement.^
" We have the agreeable satisfaction of advising your Honors

that the Rebel Yusuf Khan is at last reduced. M. Marchand, who
since the departure of M. Maudave commanded the French troops
in Madura, made him a prisoner on the 13th instant and wrote to
Major Campbell to send in two Commissaries and to have a body of
troops on the glagis ready to march into the Fort. Major Campbell
therefore sent in an officer who returned the next morning with
proposals from M. Marchand of delivering up the Rebel with the
Fort, on conditions that the lives of the garrison should be saved,
which were in part agreed to, and Major Campbell took possession of
the Fort the same day. The next evening an example was made of
^ i.e. the Rentership.

* British Museum, Addl. MS. No. 34,687, f. 35 B.
* I.O. Records. Fori St. George Letters Received, Vol. II.
284 APPENDIX V
the Kebel, which we hope will have a good efiect and deter others
from the many crimes he has been guilty of to support his power."
Letter from Court, dated 26th April, 1765.1
Para. 2. "
At length we are happy in being informed of the
surrender of Madura and the death of Yusuf Khan, events that we
hope will be attended with that wished for tranquillity on the
Coast which will give you leisure and opportunitys for turning your
thoughts without interruption upon mercantile concerns and the
reduction of your military expences, objects so frequently recom-
mended to your care and which you have given us the strongest
assurances shall be duly attended to. We shall therefore expect
to find your utmost endeavours are exerted in serving the Company
in these essential points.
Para. 3. " However agreeable and beneficial to the Company
the Madura will in its consequences prove, yet the loss of such
fall of
a number of officers and men as have perished in the expedition

fills us with the deepest concern, and in particular we are greatly
afiected at the death of so good and gallant an officer as Major

Preston, who in the whole course of his service has behaved with
that uniform zeal and attachment to the Company as always to have
merited their esteem."
Letter from Court, dated 2iih December, 1765, para. 7.^
"It is incident to all feudal governments that one insurrection

begets another, but more especially so in the Asiatic States, where
custom seems to have established as a rule that no tribute is to be
paid without compulsion. This the Nawab
has often experienced.
The Madura and Tinnevelly countries have cost him more in one ex-
pedition than the revenues of many years will repay, and often have
the poligars in other places, taking advantage of their position,
withheld their tribute and encouraged rebellion. The most effectual
remedy to which seems to be the cutting practicable roads into the
hearts of their countries. Had their been any such to Madura,
Colonel Heron would not have been exposed to the defeat he suffered
in the Nattam woods in the year 1755, and latterly Yusuf Khan
would not, in all probability, have dared to attempt, as he did, an
independancy in those Provinces."
1 Brit. Mus., Addl. MS. 34,687, f. 43.

* 7.0. Records, Madras Despatches, Vol. III.
APPENDIX V 285
Thomas Felling, Merchant at Madras.

Letter to Orme, dated ith June, 1763.1
" Yusuf Khan has at last thrown off the mask and declared for
himself. All warlike preparations are going forward, and as soon
as the Coleroon is passable our troops are intended to march against
his territories. This is an artfull and experienced soldier, and I
could wish that matters were otherwise accommodated with him."
Letter to Ortne, dated 9th November, 1763.2

"acquainted in ray last of Yusuf Khan's having declared for
I
himself and that our troops would soon make him a visit, at the same
time giving for my humble opinion that 'twould be more for the
publick advantage to accommodate matters than come to an open
rupture with him. As I foresaw, so has been the event. This man,
finding what we were determined upon, took every precaution of
pay a large number of Europeans
fortifying himself, entertained in his
(mostly French, under whose banner he fights) and, before our forces
could reach his territories, was ready for their reception, and though
it is now several months that our forces have been employed against
him, in which time a good deal of blood has been spilt and money
exhausted, it is doubtfull whether we shall be able to accomplish
the siege this season now the monsoons are set in."
SuNKU Rama, formerly Agent for Robert Orme.

Letter to Robert Orme, dated 2Uh October, 1764.^
" The Madura Fort taken the 13th of this month from the
is
Commandant Khan Sahib after sixteen months' siege. The French

officer who was under his service sent a message to our army if the
Naiuab should save his life and with his troops, he will taken Khan
Sahib prison {sic) and deliver the Fort, which proposal Natvab
consented and got the Fort the same the 13th of this month, and
the Khan Sahib is hanged the 15th."
Captain Matthew Horne.

Letter to Colonel Richard Smith, dated the 20th October, 1764.*
" I shall only observe that, from the hints I can gather from the
officers I have seen that have been at Madura, that {sic) the attack ^
1 Orme MSS., 30, p. 35. - Ibid., 30, p. 49.

» Ibid., 30, p. 57. lUd., 27, p. 141.
•
* i.e the assault of the 26th June, 1764.

—
286 APPENDIX V
was not conducted with that judgement that might have been
expected from Call's long experience. Poor Major Preston (whose
capacity was undoubtedly superior to any ofi&cer's in India with regard
to afiairs of that kind) very much disaproved of storming the place.
By all accounts it was ill-timed, after some days' rain that allmost
filled the ditch. If your advice had been followed when first you
suspected Yusuf Khan, this long and bloody afair in all probability
would never have happened.
" Your brother is aide-de-camp to Major Campbell. . . .
" P.S. Oct. 2Uh. Advice arrived here the 21st of Madura's
being in our possession. The accounts of its fall [are] as follows.
It was supposed by Yusuf Khan's behaviour that he was pre-
paring to make his escape privately. This alarmed some of his
principle men, and one of his Suhadars ubraided him with it, asking
him how he could think of leaving them a sacrifice who had so
faithfully stoodby him. This interrogation put Yusuf Khan in
such a passion that he drew upon and wounded the Subadar. His
people, seeing this, fell upon and seized Yusuf Khan, and the
Subadar ordered him to Monsieur Marchong's quarters who com-
manded the Europeans. He immediately sent out to Major
Campbell and delivered up the place, stipulating for the lives of his
countrymen. Yusuf Khan, when he was seized, requested them to
kill him, which they declined but never apply 'd to Major Campbell
;
or the Nawab to spare his life. After leading him through the
Camp, he was hanged, and there was found three months' provision,
plenty of ammunition and about four lakhs of Pagodas in the
1
place."
Letter from a Gentleman in the East Indies to a Friend in

Scotland, dated Camp before Palamcottah, 22nd October,
1764.2
" In my last dated September 1763, 1 informed you of my resolu-

tion of staying on the Coast of Coromandel with my reasons for so
doing. I at the same time made you acquainted with our army's
having taken the field under the command of Colonel Monson, in
order to reduce the Rebel, commonly known as Khan Sahib. Khan
[Sahib] is by birth a Moor, and is descended from the ancient seed of
that nation. His first appearance in the Company's service was as a
1 " A considerable booty in gold was found in the fortress, with a large
quantity of rice and ammunition in general." News from Constantinople,

let April. Scots Magazine, 1765, p. 267.
2 Scots Magazine, 1765, p. 264
APPENDIX V 287
Suhadar or Captain of a Company of sepoys. While he remained in

this character he often gave proofs of his abilities as a soldier. About
six years ago he was recommended by the Governor to the Nawab
as a very fit person to govern the kingdom of Madura and the
country of Tinnevelly. These countries are a part of the Nawab's
dominions, but being distant from Trichinopoly, the Nawab' s capital,
the inhabitants of the above countries often refused to pay the
Nawab his revenues. For these reasons the Nawab appointed Khan
Sahib kiladar or Governor of Madura and the countries depending
on it, and furnished him with twelve companies of sepoys and a
small train of European artillery. With this force he took possession
of Madura, the capital city. He in a short time obliged the people
to acknowledge the Nawab as their prince.
" Having settled the affairs of the country, he began to repair
the fortifications of Madura, which at that time were much out of
order. As he did not pay above one fifth i part of the revenue that
he collected, he soon was in a capacity of raising troops, both foot
and horse, and of buying large quantities of all kinds of military
stores. He was plentifully supplied with this last article by our
cordial neighbours the Dutch. After the reduction of the French
settlements, numbers of their soldiers took refuge at the Dutch and
Danish garrisons. Khan
[Sahib] prevailed upon them to come into
his service, promisingthem that he would acknowledge the French
King as his master. The Company and [the] Nawab were not
ignorant of his making these preparations, but their affairs at that
time would not admit of their taking notice of it. When Colonel
Monson with the army arrived before Madura the beginning of
August, 1763, he demanded that Yusuf Khan should deliver the
garrison to its rightful owner the Nawab, which he refused. . . .
The garrison at this time consisted of three thousand sepoys, one

thousand horse, one troop European Hussars, two hundred French
commanded by a French Captain and a large body of Kalians,
1 This is not an exaggeration, if the calculations given by Mr. Lushington
(sec p.303 below) are correct. From these it is clear that the total revenue of
Tinnevelly for the seven years 1757-1763 amounted to 6,488,000 chakrams or
162,20,000 rupees, which gives an annual average of 927,000 chakrams or
23,17,100 rupees or, say, 23 lakhs, to which about 2 lakhs may be added for
Madura, i.e. 25 lakhs of rupees in all as the gross revenue of the Provinces:
(Marchand, see p. 259 above, gives the revenue as 26 lakhs.) On the other
hand, in Madura the ordinary expenses exceeded the revenue, the deficit
being met from the Tinnevelly revenue, which was also burdened with the
expenditure of that province. Still, if Capt. Home (see p. 286 above) is
correct in saying that only 4 lakhs of pagodas (14 lakhs of rupees) were found
in Madura on its capture, it is evident that Yusuf Khan spent his money royally.
288 APPENDIX V
inhabitants of the woods. They use large pikes and match-lock
pieces.
" Our army consisted of about sixteen himdred Europeans,
including two troops of dragoons, one of German Hussars, four
thousand sepoys, two thousand Black Horse and many thousands
of Kalians. The siege commenced about the middle of September
and continued until the 12th of November, when it was found
necessary to raise it on account of the rainy season, which at that
time had begun. Our loss during the siege was very considerable.
The army retired to Tirumhur, a small fort distant from Madura
five miles. Here we incamped till the Monsoons were over, which
were the severest I have felt. The Rains being over, in the beginning
of January we again took the field imder the command of Major
Preston, an officer of great abilities. During the Monsoons Yusuf
Khan was not idle, he having in that time repaired the damage his
works had sustained in the siege he also formed large magazines
:
of grain, made powder and cast some pieces of cannon in short he ;
was every way better provided than when we first came before the
place. Major Preston opened the campaign with erecting posts on
the garrison in order to prevent his getting in any supplies
all sides of
from the country round him. In February Major Charles Campbell

took the command of the army, he being a senior officer to Preston.
He continued to follow Major Preston's plan in establishing redoubts
round the Fort. By the latter end of May the heavy cannon and
stores arrived from Madras, and our army was considerably aug-
mented by recruits from the regiments that were ordered home, as
also by recruits sent by the Company from England. The trenches
were opened the 30th of May, and by the 12th of June we had twenty-
five pieces of heavy cannon besides mortars playing on the Fort.
The 26th of June the breach was declared practicable. The storming
party consisted of the two troops of dragoons, who were dismounted
for that service, two companies of grenadiers and three hundred
battalion men i the attack was commanded by Major Preston.
;
Our people descended into the ditch with great chearfulness, in the
middle of which they foimd an obstacle they were not aware of, a
deep and narrow ditch into which our men fell up to the very neck.
Nevertheless they pushed forward through a heavy fire of grape and
musketry. When they had reached the foot of the breach and were
forming to attack they found that, in crossing the ditch, they had
wet all their ammunition, not a single cartridge being dry. The
dragoons and grenadiers attempted to force the breach sword in
1 This would make the assaulting force to consist of about 600 men only.
APPENDIX V 289
hand, but were repulsed with loss by the enemy's horsemen, who
defended the gap with long pikes, and behind them were the sepoys.
The commanding officer, seeing they could not succeed, ordered a
retreat, in performing which we suft'ered much from the enemy's
grape, small arms, arrows and stones. Our loss on this occasion
was so considerable that it was not thought safe to hazard a second
attack at the same time we were assured that the garrison had not
:
provisions sufficient to serve them for more than two months. For
these reasons a blockade was resolved on and lines of circumvallation
drawn roimd the Fort.
" We lost in this siege thirty-two officers killed and wounded and
private men in proportion. Among the slain was the gallant Major
Achilles Preston at the age of thirty. He died justly lamented by
all who knew him he was the darling of the army and an ornament
;
to the Service in him I lost one of my best friends.

: It is now three
months since the assault, during which time we have daily expected
the place to fall, the garrison being in the utmost distress for want of
provisions. Their only food is two-year old rice with a little salt.
They have had no vegetables for these many months, which are the
principal part of a black man's diet, but what distresses them most
isthe want of beetle,' an aromatic plant which the natives of India
'
constantly chew and which they feel the want of as much as an

Englishman would that of beer and roast beef.i You'll easily form
an idea of Yusuf Khan's abilities from his being able to keep together
a body of men of different nations, who with chearfulness undergo
the greatest miseries on his account ; wretches who have stood two
severe sieges, one assault and a blockade of many months. The
reduction of the French garrisons did not cost the Company half the
blood Yusuf Khan has spilt them in these two sieges, nor is it certain
how much more blood will be spent. Conquer or reduce him we must,
otherwise lose our credit amongst the Country Powers. In March
a detachment was ordered from the main army into the Tinnevelly
country in order to reduce some small forts belonging to Khan Sahib
as well as to prevent any succours being sent to Madura. I was
ordered to attend this detachment. We
soon destroyed the little
mud forts and obliged the inhabitants of the country to join us.
In April we reached Palamcotta, a strong fort belonging to Yusuf
Khan. ... Its garrison consists of two thousand sepoys, two
hundred horse and a few European gmmers. On their bastions are
planted eighteen and twenty-four pounders. This fort is commanded
^ Later on in this letter the writer sa3\sthat owing to the prejudices of the
Hindus the force besieging Palamcotta was unable to procure any beef.
U
—
290 APPENDIX V
by four of Yusuf Khan's trusty chiefs, for whose fidelity he has taken
a pledge, their wives and families, whom he keeps with himself in
Madura. This is an instance of his policy."
\
Letter dated Fort Saint George, the 17th March, 1765, from
Mr. George Nixon, an Officer in the Service of the East
India Company, to a Gentleman in the jVIiddle Temple i :
" Since my arrival in this country, which was in July last, I have
been constantly in the field. My first service was against the ancient,
magnificent and strong city of Madura, which for a whole year

obstinately resisted our strongest efiorts and was, in the month of
:
October last, betrayed by a Frenchman, and delivered into our hands

with the usurper who defended it, who was the day following hanged
by order of the Nawab of the Carnatic. There fell Yusuf Khan, the
greatest black man India could ever boast of Our loss before !
Madura was very considerable, as we had killed during the siege

thirty-seven officers, upwards of four hundred Europeans and black
troops almost innumerable. Soon after this great conquest the army
was ordered against another very strong garrison called Palaincotta,
which place surrendered without much trouble. . . .
" We have profited very considerably by our late acquisition,

. . .
and [I] make no doubt of getting money if this climate agrees with
my constitution. My pay in the field is upwards of eleven shillings
a day, out of which can be saved, as an officer is obliged to
little
keep a great number of servants, which is very expensive. However,

in a successful campaign there are several wind-falls, which some-
times turn out to considerable advantage. My late campaign,
though a very trifling one to what sometimes happens, has enabled
me to remit a cool hundred ^ to Europe. The country, generally
speaking, is agreeable enough, rather hot than otherwise but not in
so great a degree as to prevent some Europeans from wearing cloth
coats with heavy lace or embroidery.
Brigadier-General Joseph Smith.
Letter to Council, dated \Zih March, 1768.^

" I do not forget that when our whole force on this Coast was
collected to chastise the usurper Yusuf Khan, notwithstandiag they
had no bodys of horse or other enemy to encounter in the field, yet
1 Universal Magazine for October, 1765, p. 220.

* i.e. £100 sterling. ^ Omie MSS., 64, p. 15.
,
APPENDIX V 291
what difficulties were they not drove to both for provisions and
stores The want of the
! latter occasioned great delays in their
operations, and were it not for the treachery of his soldiers, it's not
impossible but he might stillhave maintarued his pretensions to those
countries. The Man [i.e. Haidar Ali] you are acting agamst is by
no means inferior either in courage, abilities or treasure."
Letter to the Court of Directors, dated 1768.1

" Such is Haidar Ali, by far the most powerful and the most
troublesome enemy we have ever met with in this country. Let me
also mention another military genius, Yusuf Khan, a servant of
the Honble. Company's. He seized the Madura and Tinnevelly
Countries, and it is well known that, when there was no enemy in
the oppose our operations, that (sic) our collected force on the
field to
Coast, assisted by the NawaVs utmost efiorts, could not reduce

Madura, drive the Rebel out, or get possession of it but on the —
contrary we found great difficulties in carrying on the war, in the
course of which the Company lost many of their best officers and
men, and their expense in money, ammunition and stores was very
great. Yet, after all, had it not been for the treachery of the French
officers, who gave us admittance into the place, it is hard to say how
long he might have foimd means to keep his footing in that Country,
but they opened their gates to us, admitted our troops, delivered him
into our hands, and thereby put an end to the war which had lasted
near two years. We are obliged to French treachery in this instance
and perhaps to them also for our present disappointments."
DoM Eloy Joze Correa Peixoto, Captain of Infantry of His

Most Faithful Majesty's Troops of the State of Goa.
Anecdotes relative to the Rise of Hyder Ally.^
" Cana Saib,3 Lord of Madura, was by fame and in truth a Chief
and a Soldier, whom those of that Profession ought not only to
imitate but to envy. He was a great Lover of the Europeans, full
of Generosity and liberal to ali in general. He mostly followed the
European Customs, from whom he had learned to be valiant, for
1 Orme MSS., 10, p. 07. Apparently draft of a letter dated 9th Oct., 1768,
in which this paragraph, after the first sentence, is omitted. See Orme MSS., 64,
p. 33.
2 British Museum, Additional MSS. No. 19,287, f. 81 (6).
* i.e. Khan Sahib or Yusuf Khan.
292 APPENDIX V
having served the English from an inferior chief to the greatest
power, of which through his Merit he made himself deserving, he
increased so much in Forces and Spirit that he afterwards made a
terrible War against Muhammad Ali, whom the English assisted
with the Forces they then were able. The War lasted long and
Muhammad Ali would not have obtained such a happy End of the
same if Monsieur Marchal,i who was Cana Saib's General and was
charged wuth the Care and Defence of Madura, had not delivered
him up to Muhammad Ali for a sum of money promised him, by
which Action Marchal got so little Applause as he afterwards ex-
perienced as well from Muhammad Ali as from the English, for the
former failed him in his promise of Money, and the English, knowiog
the Valour of Cana Saib and the Qualities for which he ought to be
esteemed, could not bear to see Marchal, nor did they permit him to
assist in their Camp, as it would have been necessary to treat him as
— —
a French officer he was Captain of Cavalry and it was plain how
little Cana Saib deserved from Marchal to have his Hands tied by
him with his own Turband and delivered to Muhammad Ali, who
ordered him instantly to be hanged, leaving a perpetual Remem-
brance on the Coast of Coromandel. Marchal had nothing else to
say in Excuse of such a vile Action than that Cana Saib began to be
cruel, but it is not said in what his Cruelties consisted, for it might
have been an exemplary Punishment for Carelessness in the Defense
of Madura, which is as excusable as just. This Excuse availed him
nothing, for the French would not consent to his assisting at Pondi-
cherry, and as long as this Afiair was fresh in Memory Marchal could
get no Place to inhabit, but Time consumes all, and he came at last
to assist in Pondicherry, and from thence he went to Europe, which
the English obliged him to, agreeable to the Conditions of the said
War at Madura. By this Marchal plainly saw in what esteem
Treachery was held as well as the Authors of it, how long the Con-
nection lasted of those concerned, and how little the Money got by
it served them, which served only to buy a Vizard, a thing very

necessary for all those who commit such like actions."
Sir John Lindsay, Knight of the Bath, His Majesty's Pleni-

potentiary AND Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's
Ships in India.
Narrative of the principal transactions between the Nawab of Arcot

and the Carnatic and the Governor of Fort Saint George and the
1 i.e. Marchand.
APPENDIX V 293
other Powers on the Coromandel Coast since the year 1759 to this
date, and also a short account of the late war carried on by the
Company against Hyder Ali.^
" Madura and the Tinnevelly country have been dependent on

Trichinopoly from the earliest times, not as tributarys but they have
always been under the proper government of the Country. . . .
The French being defeated they returned again to the Nawah, who
appointed his brother Muhammad Mahfuz Khan to be his Deputy
for those districts. After this, about the year 1758, the Governor
and Council pressed him to appoint Mudali, very much against his
inclination, as he did not choose to take it from his brother. How-
ever he was obliged to acquiesce. This man behaved ill, neither did
he pay the revenues, as the Nawah had always foretold, and the
Governor and Council insisted that the Nawah should appoint Yusuf
Khan to that government, and that he should have it at a small
rent. The Nawah represented against it that he was deceitfull and
a very improper man and that he never would pay the revenues.
However the Governor became bound for him and made a point
of his having it. This was in June, 1760.
" This Yusuf Khan was at first a low mean fellow, but by degrees
became a Suhadar of the Company's sepoys. The first thing that
made him be taken notice of was his wearing the Company's Arms
cut on a gold plate around his neck, on the back of which the Governor
and Council ordered an inscription in Persian characters that it was
the gift of the Honourable the Governor and Council of Madras to
Muhamynad Yusuf Khan Bahadur, Commandant of sepoys of the
said Honourable Company for his good conduct and gallant behaviour,
and that he was to wear it himself and also to go to his posterity for
the good services he had done.
" When the Naivab let out the country of Tmnevelly to the Com-
pany for three years, they sent Yusuf Khan there to command a
detachment of troops, and the bad conduct of their Mudali becoming
more evident, they then obliged the Naivab to appoint him [Yusvf
Khan] in his place. They gave him the forts of Madura and Palam-
cotta, a great number of guns and firelocks and an immense quantity
of ammunition.
1 Appendix 46 to Sir John Lindsay's letter, dated Fort St. George, the
13th October, 1770 to the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Weymouth, one of
His Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, I.O. Eecords, Home Misc., No. 103.
Sir John Lindsay's account has been followed pretty closely in Macpherson's
History and Management of the East India ComTpany from its origin in 1600 to the
'present times, p. 143.
294 APPENDIX V
" The Nawab was well informed that Yusuf Khan never meant
to pay anything to him, nay he told it to several himself, and, from
the time he fomid himself vested with authority he became master
of the country. The Company's people knew well upon what
conditions he rented Madura, but none of the Nawah's mutasaddis i
knew anything of the matter. He was to pay a very small annual
sum to the Nawab, yet he did not pay the whole of that. He had
once drawn his sword upon the Nawab, when he was confined by a
fit of sickness in his own house at Trichinopoly, and he supposes he
owed his safety to General Smith's presence, who luckily happened

to be there at the time. He withdrew his hand from paying the
rent, which was the first cause of the war. He then joined the French
and carried them into Madura Fort. And to show that he was
perfectly estranged from the English he fixed their colours to the
mouth of a cannon and fired it off ^ (which is a common punishment
for criminals), and immediately hoisted French colours. He dis-
obeyed the English, by whom he had arrived at such honours. He
made it his business to execute the orders of their enemies the French.
He began dismember the country by assigning [Kalakadu] to the
to
Zemindar of Travancore Malywar.^ He showed the utmost inclina-
tion to expel the English, and had already begun to correspond with
Haidar Naik. It was then the Company's servants began to repent
of their friendship to such a man and it was resolved to reduce him.
A force was sent against him, in which the Nawab was employed.
The expense of this war cost him very near a crore of rupees, and the
loss on account of the deficiency of impaid revenues near as much
more. . . .
" The Naioab was at the whole expense of the Madura expedition
except the European soldiers, which were paid out of the revenues
^
of the Jagir."
George Rous.
The Restoration of the King ofTanjore Considered, p. 45.^
" Yusuf Khan was, without exception, the most gallant and
enterprising soldier who appeared among the Muhamniadans while
1 Clerks or accountants.
2Godfried Sweepe in his Short Account for 1763 confirms this statement.
the King of Travancore.
^ i.e.
* The Chingleput District, which the Nawab gave to the English but rented
from them.
^ This paper is appended to Vol. I. of one copy of Rous' Appendix, in the India
Office Library. N.B. Apparently the Appendix is composed only of the original
documents appended to The Re&toration of the King of Tanjore Considered,
APPENDIX V 295
the French and English were contending for superiority in India.

During the wars of Trichinopoly he was frequently employed by
Major Lawrence on the most important and dangerous service.
His activity under Major Preston in distressing the enemy before
Madras greatly conduced to the safety of the place and established
his reputation. The mutual jealousy which afterwards arose between
him and the Nawab was a natural efiect of merit imder a Moorish
Government. The field of fortune,' says Mr. Orme,^ is open to
' '
every man who has courage enough to make use of his sword or to
whom Nature has given talents of mind.' Among these soldiers of
fortime a man highly distinguished becomes the rival of his master,
and regard to his own safety is a frequent cause of rebellion."
" Whatever motives instigated YusufKhan to revolt, the English,
in support of the Nawab' s Government, were obliged to reduce him."
Monsieur Louis Bruno.

Journal d'un voyage fait aux Indes Orientales en 1764 par Monsieur
Bruno, Introducteur des Ambassadeurs pres Monsieur. 1773.2
" 26 September, 1765. I dined today at Cuddalore with M.
Marchand,^ a Swiss officer in the English service and Commandant
of the garrison of that town. He had
taken off by a cannon
his leg
ball during the siege of Madura,^ and as I have met several persons
who were wounded in that siege, I will say something about what
caused it.
" Khan Sahib was a Moor who, whilst he pursued the occupation
of a tailor ^ at Pondicherry, had an ear cut ofi ^ by sentence of the
which was the reply prepared for the Court of Directors in 1777 to two pamphlets
entitled (1) State of Facts relative to Tanjore, and (2) Original Papers relative
to Tanjore, published in London in the same year.
1 History, I. 53.
^ Archives du Ministire des Colonies, C^ M. Louis de Bruno
98, p. 84.
married Marie Josephe, daughter of the Chevalier Jacques Francois Law.
^ Captain Rudolph Marchand.
* Captain Rudolph Marchand lost a leg at Vellore, not, it seems, at Madura.
^ " tailleur." Dupleix, in his reply to Mr. Godeheu's letter of the 25th Oct.,
1759, says (page 93), the only inhabitants of Pondicherry fit for military service
were the Muhammadans, and these were tailors.
* " It was for theft that Khan Sahib was condemned. When I wrote this
part of my Journal I was not fully informed of the facts, but having since then
passed eight years in India I had opportunities of learning everything about
this affair. I have re-written this part and added the details which I did not
then know. The facts are as I have given them." Note by M. Bruno.
M. Bruno left France in 1764 and arrived in India in 1765. His Journal was
retouched and brought up to date in 1773.
^
296 APPENDIX V
Chaudry [Ang. Choultry], a tribunal which disposes in the first
instance of civil and criminal cases for the Moors and Malabars,
and from which there is an appeal to the Sovereign Council.
But Khan Sahib, not wishing to remain in a place which had
witnessed his disgrace, took service as a sepoy under the King
of Tanjore, was promoted to the rank of Captain and left the
service of Tanjore for that of the Naivah of Arcot, Muhammad
Ali. He soon distinguished himself and acquired the confidence
of his new master, who senthim to Madura in the capacity of
Receiver-General 2 of the Revenue His position
of that Province.
gave him great authority, for as Receiver-General he was also
Governor. This is contrary to our custom, but it is the basis
of the hierarchy of power throughout India. Having ambition,
talent for war and a courage which he pushed to rashness, he could
not resist the temptation of making himself master of the Province.
The money in his Treasury enabled him to raise troops, but, to
maintain himself in greater security, he determined to obtain the
assistance of the French officers who had escaped from the English
after the siege of Pondicherry.
" He first addressed himself to Marchand,^ to whom he sent money
to buy guns, bullets and powder and to raise sepoys. This Marchand
was a French officer, a partisan. He accepted the ofiers of the Khan
Sahib and soon joined him at Madura with some good sepoys, well
armed, and with some remnants of our forces, but the most valuable
thing he brought to the Khan Sahib was his own person. Marchand
was a man of courage. He had been Captain of M. Bussy's body-
guard in the Deccan, where he had distinguished himself by twenty
instances of extraordinary valour. He brought back from a country,
so rich that every one but himself had made a fortune in it, nothing
but a number of wounds, amongst which was a musket shot in the
chest, which had passed right through his body. This wound, of
which he has never been completely cured, still often causes him to
—
vomit blood sometimes to the amount of a pint.* It is clear such
^ I presume this means the " Superior Council " of Pondicherry.
* i.e. Amaldar or Renter.
^ " This is not the Marchand I mentioned a few lines above and who com-
mands at Cuddalore. He was a Frenchman and had been a servant (domestique)

of the Chevalier Law, who seeing his talents had made him a partisan [i.e.
officer of irregular troops]. He died this year, 1773, at Ruel [i.e. Rueil, near
Paris], having been made Chevalier de St. Louis on the recommendation of M.
Law, Baron de Lauriston, Governor-General of India, notwithstanding his affair
at Madura, of which he never quite cleared his reputation." Note by M.
Bruno.
* " une piiUe.'"
APPENDIX V 297
a man must have a body of iron, to have held out, in such a state
of health, through a siege of three months of open trenches, during
which for twenty-eight days the breach was exposed to assault and
always defended by himself in person. The Nawab, or rather the
English to whom the Nawab is only a prete-nom, soon sent an army
to reduce the Kebel. Khan Sahib was not strong enough to hold
the open country, so, as he had strengthened the fortifications of
Madura, the capital of the Province, he shut himself up in it with
Marchand and the brave men who had followed him. The English
at once besieged Madura. The town was well provided with food
and mimitions of war and the garrison was numerous, but the forti-
fications, which had been repaired in a hurry, were not equally good.
Nevertheless the to^vn, even in this condition, was able to hold out
against the English army for a long time. The Governor of the
Isle of France, fi-om time to time, sent word of the arrival of a French
squadron or of fresh troops. The expectation of these succours
encouraged the garrison and made the English redouble their activity.
It was important for the latter not to have such a business on their
hands if the French should return to India.
" Never did a siege cost the lives of so many brave officers and
soldiers. Major Preston, a yoimg officer of great merit and the
brightest promise, commanded the English army. Piqued by the
resistance of Khan Sahib and chagrined at the reproaches he received
from Madras, he resolved on a general assault in which he sought
for and obtained death.i Khan Sahib was saved. Marchand, and
the French officers and soldiers, who had come with him and defended
the place so bravely, proved clearly that Pondicherry had fallen only
by the treason or the folly of those in command. In short the
English did not know how to reduce the place or to recover the honour
of their arms. Khan Sahib was the author of his own ruin. In the
course of a quarrel which he had with Marchand, he so far forgot
himself as to strike him with his whip. He was the stronger, and
Marchand, deprived of his weapons, was imable to take his revenge
for an outrage, no example of which had ever occurred up to that
time in India. He resolved to make terms with the English, to
whom he delivered Khan Sahib and Madura. The English had the
Rebel hanged on the breach, and left Marchand absolutely un-
rewarded for an act of treachery, which he should under no circum-
stances have allowed himself to commit.
" In the defence of Madura against the English he served our
nation as much as he served Khati Sahib. Who knows what might
^ " Se fit tuer."

—
298 APPENDIX V
have been the result of this afiair ? Haidar Naik was not far ofi.
Hugel 1 was with him at the head of two hundred determined horse-
men."
Colonel William Fullarton.

A View of the English Interests in India, pp. 137-140.^
" Your Lordship and the Board are not unacquainted with the
unworthy practices by which the fertile province of Tinnevelly has
sufiered since the disreputable expedition thither under Mahfuz
Khan and Colonel Heron. Their defeat by the Nad Kalians near
Madura was not more disgraceful than the principles upon which
that and subsequent armaments against the Poligars had been con-
ducted. Though clear statements and specific charges, leaving no
retrospect of exaction, together with simplicity of arrangement
and despatch in execution are the great barriers against malversation,
the opposite of such conduct constantly prevailed ; until your Lord-
ship and the Board assumed the management of those territories,
—
nothing was definite nothing was concluded : partial payments
were received past claims were left for future settlement
;
many ;
months were wasted in fitting out an expedition, and still more in

performing slight services. During the whole period of protraction
the Renter, the Amaldar, the Faujdar and the European Commander
were reaping the harvest of corruption and sowing for an after-growth
of peculation. The Poligars are subtle and acute they took
:
advantage of so corrupt a system and notwithstanding their internal

;
feuds, they imited against a common invader. They administered

to the avarice of their opponent by bribes, and to his passion for
command by procrastination. Thus the province was impaired
its cultivation failed —
its manufactures diminished every new—
collector and commander entailed new evils and taught the Poligars
to consider their Peshhash (the sum paid by those who hold of a
superior) not as a just tribute to their sovereign but as a price to
purchase the forbearance of oppressors.
" The conduct of Muhammad YusufKhan deserves to be exempted
from this general accusation. While he ruled those provinces, his
whole administration denoted vigour and effect his justice was
:
— —
xmquestioned his word unalterable his measures were happily
^ " M. Hugel belonged to the '

troupe Allemande.' He died of wounds
received on the 14th May, 1771, when Hyder was defeated by the Marathas."
Note by M. Bruno.
2 See also I.O. Records, Home Misc., No. 331, pp. 169-331. Letter dated
7th Jan., 1785, from W. Fullarton to Lord Macartney and Council, p. 212.
"
APPENDIX V 200
combined and firmly executed the guilty had no refuge from

;
punishment his maxim was that the laVjourer and the manufacturer
:
should be the favourite children of the Sarkar, because they afford

strength and comfort to the public parent, and that the Poligar
and the Kalian, though equally entitled to truth and justice, have no
pretension to indulgence, because they are the worthless prodigals
who waste their own means and ravage those of others. Let them '
become Zainindars,' said he, and cultivate their own lands instead
'
of plundering their industrious neighbours ; then they shall be

cherished, but, while their habit is idleness and their business de-
vastation, I will treat every one as a public enemy who wields a pike
or wears the turban of a Poligar.' On comparing the state of that
country with his conduct and remarks, I found that wisdom, vigour
and integrity were never more conspicuous in any person of whatever
climate or complexion." ^
Anquetil du Perron.
Des recherches historiques et geographiques sur VInde, p. 127. Berlin,
1786.
" Prataup Sing et Toullasou avoient permis ou plutot ordonne
a un corps de Frangois, qui etoient au service de Tanjaour de joindre
Kam Malheureusement pour ce chef,' observe I'Auteur
Saheb.^ '
du Management,^ M. Marchand etoit du nombre. Cei homme se

'
saisit de sa personne et le livra d ses ennemis. Cela arriva au mois

d'Octobre 1764.' Ce trait que je voudrois effacer avec mon sang
des Annales de I'lnde, est confirme par les relations Danoises.^ En
parlant du siege de Madurei, de la prise de la place par les Anglois
unis a Mahmet mort du Commandant,
aali, de la Kam Saheb
Vassal du Nabab, lequel fut pendu le jour meme de la reddition,
14 Octobre 1764, elles ajoutent que '
les Fran9ois, dont le Capitaine
livra le Fort el le rebelle Isophkhan, furent f aits prisonniers de guerre.'
John Sullivan. ^
Tracts upon India, written in the years 1779, 1780 and 1788. London,
1795. Page 142.
" A divided authority can never be adequate to the arduous
and difficult task of effectuating a reform in the long established
^" are of no climate and complexion." Original letter of 7th Jan., 1785.
* " Precis des deux sieges de Madur,
pp. 16, 45, 49."
^ i.e. J. Macpherson.
« *' Relation des Miss. Dan., T. IX. 100, 101 cont. pp. 480, 570, 577,
;
694, 696."
^ John Sullivan or Sulivan went to India as a Writer in 1765, and was a
i
300 APPENDIX V
habits and manners of the Poligars and Kalians, neither can we
expect to see any material improvement in the conduct and con-
dition of those people, while their attention is called off on one side
by the civil administration of the Naioab and on the other by the
coercive power of the English.
" The only remedy, from which a radical cure of this great
can be hoped for, would be the adoption of a systematic
political evil
arrangement, whicli should resolve all the powers of government
into one controlling authority, to which, and to which alone, all
classes and descriptions of persons should be made to direct both
their hopes and their fears.
" Such was the system which Yusuf Khan introduced when he
assumed the government of those provinces and, although he held
;
them for some time under all the disadvantages of an usurped

authority, yet so great was the vigour of his administration, and so
forcible was the example which he set of a rigid adherence to the
letter of the engagements he entered into, that the tribute from the
Poligars was regularly collected, the property of individuals was
secured from the depredations of the Kalians, and the public revenue
was considerably augmented." ^
" The two short periods of English administration at the time of
the assumed revenue [i.e. when the Eevenues were collected by the
IM^dras Council] from 1782 to 1785 and from 1790 to 1793 were
distinguished by consequences not less favourable to the interest
of the State and to the general tranquillity of the coimtry, without
having been accompanied by that rigorous and, in some instances,
too severe an exercise of authority, which characterized the govern-
ment of Yusuf Khan."
Edward Cotsford.
iMter dated Bruton Street, 5th Oct., 1784, to the Court of Directors.^
" After the reduction of Manilla, I took the first opportunity to

return to Madras, where, shortly after my arrival, I was appointed
to go with the army under Colonel Monson to the siege of
Senior Merchant and fourth in Council at Masulipatam in 1776. Apparently he

retired about 1782.
^This is the same advice as was given by Orme in 1757 see p. 271, above.
:
*This paragraph closely resembles para. 18 of ]\Ir. Lushington's Letter of

the 28th May, 1802, to the Madras Board of Revenue. See p. 304 below.
^ I.O Library, Tract No. 59. Cotsford was an Engineer oflScer, who was
afterwards transferred to the civil line and rose to be Chief of Masulipatam.
APPENDIX V 301
Madura ; a variety of circumstances contributing to render the

operations of the army then unsuccessful, the siege was raised. I
continued with the army during the next siege, under the command
of Colonel Charles Campbell. Yusuf Khan defended the place most
gallantly, and in a general assault made upon his works we mis-
carried with a very heavy loss but by the treachery of the French
;
troops witliin, Yusuf Khan and the garrison were betrayed into our
hands."
Philip Dormer Stanhope.^

Genuine Memoirs of Asiaticus, 2 Edit., 1785, p. 160.
" From Trichinopoly we travelled through the plains of Mellore
[?Melur] and arrived at the Fort of Madura, famous for having

held out two obstinate sieges, against the combined forces of the
Nawab and [the] Company, in the second of which it was taken by
the treachery of a French officer, and the Governor, a Mahometan
whose gallant defence against a superior army
of royal extraction,^
deserved a milder was sacrificed to the resentment of the
fate,
Nawab. From a more generous enemy he would have experienced
that mercy which his grey hairs, ^ his high descent, and above all
his heroic But such is the savage policy
bravery so justly claimed.
of the East, that death and captivity go hand in hand, and the
most solemn promises of life and forgiveness to the conquered are
no longer deemed sacred by the conqueror than while the life of
the unfortunate prisoner may be conducive to the interests of the
victorious tyrant."
General Sketch of the History of the Southern Divisions of

THE Peninsula from the Commencement of the Calleyoo-
GUM OR THE PRESENT AgE.*
—
" Regarding Melloor Naud. During the administration of the
Rebel Yusuf Khan, he considered it political (sic) to offer no trouble
to the Kalians of this Nad, and thereby to preserve the tranquillity of
^ For three years Stanhope was in the service of the Nawab Muhammad
Ali.
2 This is a good instance of the rapid growth of tradition, but see p. 286
above.
* If Yusuf Khan was a youth when Jacques Law arrived in India in
1744,
he can hardly have been grey headed at the time of his death in 1764.
* " Collected at Pawur, a village in the Tenkasi Tallook in Tirunelveli, from
the traditionary information of Auhobala Saustry and Yaman Acharii, 1801."

I.O. Records, Map Department, MS. B. 27.
302 APPENDIX V
Madura District. To keep them however in awe of him, he caused
a fort in Vellalapatti and another at Melur to be built and garrisoned
by some of his troops. Recognizing the Melur Nad under three
distract Nads, viz. Vellalur Nad, Serugudi Nad and Melur Nad, he
would occasionally, by his partial conduct towards one of the Nads,
create a jealousy in the others, and secretly stimulate them to an in-
surrection with one another, and when the parties referred to him for
a decision of their dispute, he would levy a sum of money from the
weakest party. During the period of his rebellion with the Nawab,
he demanded nothing from these Nattars,^ with the view of attaching
them to his person and of engaging their services towards opposing
the march of the Naivab's detachment through any part of the Melur
Nad. In short, to the downfall of Yusuf Khan, the Kalians main-
tained their original independency, and by their constant depre-
dations and frequent murders proved the terror of the neighbouring
countries. After the execution of the Rebel, the Madura District
was thoroughly placed under the Nawab's government."
—
" Regarding Tirumboor. During the warfare carried on by the
Natvab against Yusuf Khan, the country was so agitated that the
ryots - finding themselves considerably troubled and plundered by
the Nawab' s people of their property, they were imder the necessity
of abandoning their villages and to repair to foreign countries for
their subsistence. After the restoration of the Nawab' s authority,
a Muhammad Abiral Khan ^ was appointed Manager of this country,
which encouraged the greatest part of the emigrants to return to
their villages and re-establish themselves in the hope of protection
in future. But as from that time the Managers of Madura adopted
the system of renting the Taluks to individuals at a very high rate
without any consideration to the welfare of the Ryots, the demand
of the Renters bare so oppressively on them that, in order to avoid
the punishments with which they were threatened and to satisfy
the Renters, they were reduced to the grievous necessity of selling
even their ploughing cattle."
^ ?Kalians of these Nads or Districts.

^ i.e. the small cultivators.
3 Abiral Khan was the Bakhshi or Commandant of the Nawab's army, and
accompanied him to the siege of Madura. On its fall he was appointed Kiladar
or Governor, but soon died, being succeeded, in turn, by his son and grandson,
their total tenure of office lasting until the English took over the provinces.
See Petition of " Rymiah Klian,'' Kiladar oj Madura, Mil. Cons., 3rd April,
1804, p. 1135.
APPENDIX V 303
Stephen Rumbold Lushinqton, Collector op Tinnevelly.

Lett&r dated 28tk May, 1802, to the Board of Revenue, Madras.^
Para. 14 (Summary). —
The accounts commence with the
administration of Anwar Cawn appointed Faujdar and Amil of
Tinnevelly by Anwaruddin Khan.^ His Jamahandi^ was 8^ lakhs
of Chakrams * for Tinnevelly. Next came Ghulam Husain Khan
and Husain Muhammad Khan jointly; their Jamahandi varying
from 7 to 12 lakhs. In 1749 Husain Muhammad Khan alone had a
Jamahandi of only 7 lakhs.
—
Para. 15 (Summary). " When Anwaruddin Khan was slain
in battle Chanda Sahib deputed an Amil named Alam Khan. He
managed for two years 1750 and 1751 with Jamahandis of 8 and 7
lakhs respectively. To him succeeded Tittarappa Mudali and Mundi
Meyali, the agent of Chanda Sahib, who was killed in battle by
[Mahfuz Khan]." Tittarappa' s Jamahandi was 6i lakhs, that of
Mxmdi Meyali about 6 lakhs.
Para. 16 (Summary).
— " Upon Mundi Meyah's death the autho-
rity of Mahfuz Khan was established in the country. He formed
the design of becoming independent in the possession of it, and his
Jatnahandi for the two years of his administration was — 1754,
609,669-9-2, and 1755, 725,080. But Yusuf Khan by the vigour of
his mind Mahfuz Khan, and re-
frustrated this ambitious design of
establishing the power of Muhammed Ali Khan delivered the manage-
ment for a year to Alagapah Mudali. The Mudali' s Jamahandi for
1756 " was Chakrams 635,000.
—
Para. 17. " The distracted state of the country, owing to the
depredations of the Poligars, required a greater energy for their re-
duction than Alagapah Mudali brought to this arduous undertaking,
and Yusuf Khan was appointed to the sole charge from the year
1757 to 1763. He accordingly continued to rule in the country, and
during this period the annual Jamahandi was " 1757, 583,000 1758, ;
663,000 ; 1759, 774,000 ; 1760, 1030,000 ; 1761, 1244,000 ; 1762,

1141,000 ; 1763, 1053,000.
^ Madras Board of Revenue Proceedings, 16th August, 1802,

1,0. Records,
p. 9027. Lushington was appointed Collector of Tinnevelly in 1801. He
was Governor of Madras from 18th Oct., 1827, to 25th Oct., 1832.
* Father of Muhammad Ali.
* Jamahandi, i.e. the land revenue or rent payahle to the State.
* I presume this means the gold chakram. According to the accounts

appended to this letter it appears that 16| chakrams were equal to 10 pagodas,
the pagoda being equal to 3i rupees ; thus the chakram would be equal to a
little more than two rupees.
304 APPENDIX V
Para. 18.
— " During tlie first tliree years of Yusuf Khan's manage-
ment he was engaged in constant struggles with the Poligars with
very various success. The necessities of the Company during this
anxious period in the Carnatic demanded the employment of his
force and of his extraordinary military talents in more central parts
of it. Tinnevelly was therefore absence a prey to the
left in his
depredations of the Poligars and the perfidious machinations of
MaJifuz Khan aided by the adherents of Travancore. The latter
indeed wholly assumed during this period the most fertile Taluk of
the Pro^Tiice, Kalahadu, but, when Yusuf Khan could be spared
from the siege of Madras to return to Tinnevelly, he had the address
not only to detach the Eaja of Travancore from the League i but
to acquire his assistance in punishing the Poligars. Notwithstanding
the disadvantages under which he laboured of an usurped authority,
he accomplished by the vigour of his mind and military talent the
complete subjugation of the Province. In his time the tribute of
the Poligars was regularly collected, private property was in no
danger from their depredations, and the Ee venue of the Sarkar
Lands was very largely increased. ^ The efiect of the subordination
he established may be seen in his Jamahandis from the year 1761 to
1764 when they never fell below 1030,489 and were in one year so
high as 1244,530.
Para. 19.
— " The vigour of Yusuf Khan's measures was indeed
felt for some little time after he suffered the death of a rebel, but
the Poligars soon forgot the terror of his name and relapsed into
their former habits."
James Mill.
History of British India, 1817-1818, Vol. III. pages 388-389.3
"It was not tiU the summer of 1763 that the Naicab and Presi-
dency were enabled to turn their attention to Madura and Tinnevelly.
Though Muhammad Yusuf had been previously employed from the
raising of the siege of Madras till the fall of Pondicherry in reducing
the refractory Poligars and other local commanders, obedience and
the League of the Poligars against Muhammad All.

^ i.e.
*This paragraph closely resembles the third paragraph of the extract

quoted above from ilr. John Sullivan's Tracts upon India. See p. 300 above.
3 M. Barchou de Peuhoen in his Histoire de I'Empire Anglais dans VInde
1840 (Vol. II. p. 376) follows Mill in his account of Yusuf Khan almost verbatim.
He concludes, " He," i.e. Yusuf KJian, "•was the bravest and ablest of all the
native warriors who had ever fought during the Indian wars in the ranks of the
English," a passage which closely resembles the concluding passage in the
extract given below from Sir John Malcolm's Life of Clive (see p. 307 below).
APPENDIX V 305
tranquillity were by no means established and when that active

:
and useful partizan proposed to take the country as Renter and to

become responsible, though for a small revenue, from a region which
hitherto had cost much and yielded nothing, the oSer was not un-
willmgly embraced. Muhammad Yusuf, like other Renters of India,
had no doubt an inclination to withhold, if possible, the sum which
he had engaged to pay out of the taxes which he was empowered to
collect : and, like other Governors, contemplated, it is probable,
from the very beginning, the chance of independence. It cannot
however be denied, that the enemies with whom he had as yet been
obliged to struggle, and who had heretofore rendered the country
not only unproductive but burdensome, left him no revenue to pay.
It appears, accordingly, that none had ever been received.^ For
this failure the Nawab and the Company now proceeded to inflict
chastisement, and in the month of August 1763 a combined army
of natives and English marched to Madura. Muhammad Yusuf
endeavoured, by negotiation and the influence of those among the
English whom he had rendered his friends, to ward ofE the blow.
But when he found these efforts unavailing, he resolved to give
himself the chance of a struggle in his own defence. 2 He was not a
man of whom the subjugation was to be expected at an easy price.
He baffled all the efiorts of the Nawab and the Company till the
month of October 1764 when he had already forced them to expend
;
a million sterlmg, and no ordinary quantity of English blood and, ;
without a deed of treachery which placed his person in their hands,

it is uncerta in how far he might have prolonged his resistance Among .
a body of French troops whom he had received from the Raja of

Tan j ore was a person of the name of Marchand, by whom he was
seized and delivered to his enemies."
Sir John Malcolm.

Quarterly Review, Vol. XVIII. No. XXXVI., May,
, 1818, AHicle
VI., page 3n.^
" The general history of the native army of Fort Saint George
is short. Sepoys were first disciplined, as has been stated, on that
^ I have shown that this statement is incorrect. He paid the revenue
agreed upon into the English Treasury, up to the date when he was finally
ordered to pay it to the Nawab. This, too, is implied in Council's letter of the
12th Jan., 17G4, in which an account is required only from July, 1761 (see
p. 167 above).
^ Sec Rous' explanation of Indian rebellions, p; 295 above.
' Review of Captain Williams' Historical Account of the Rise and Progress
306 APPENDIX V
Establisliment in 1748 they were at that period, and for some
;
time afterwards, in independent companies under suhadars or native

captains. Muhammad Yusuf, one of the most distinguished of
those officers, rose by his talents and courage to the general command
of the whole and the name of this hero, for such he was, occurs
;
almost as often in the page of the English historian of India as that

of Lawrence and Clive."
Life of Robert Lord Clive, Vol. II. page 295.
" The gallant Muhammad Yusuf, who had so greatly distinguished

himself in the early campaigns of Lawrence and Clive, had been
continued in the management of Madura and Tinnevelly, which
he had been the chief instrument of reducing to order. He was,
in this situation, subject to the Naivab, to whom and those around
him he was not long in becoming an object of jealousy and hatred.
The defalcation of revenue from exhausted countries and the haughty
replies i made by a proud soldier to reproaches, added to the pre
parations he made to guard against the designs of those he justly
deemed ample pretexts 2 for accusing him of
his enemies, furnished
malversation and rebellion. The Company's troops were combined
with those of the Nawab for his reduction, which was not however
efiected without great waste of blood and treasure, and at last accom-
plished by an act of treachery. A Frenchman in his service, of the
name of Marchand, betrayed him, and he was put to death by the
Nawab, Muhammad Ali. This gallant soldier, no doubt, became a
rebel to the Prince he served but he may be deemed, in some
;
respects, the victim of those disputes for power which ran so high
at this period between the English and the Naioah. jVL:. Pigot,
according to Muhammad Ali, forced Muhammad Yusuf upon him
of the Bengal Native Infantry from its formation in 1757 to 1796. This article
is not signed by Sir John JIalcolm, but there ia no doubt that it was written
by him. See his letter dated Bombay, 27th Nov. 1830, Mil. Records, Spec.
Collections, 171. Malcolm was Governor of Bombay from the 1st Nov., 1827,
to the 1st Dec, 1830.
1Mr. Rangasami Naidu informs me that the tradition at ]\Iadura is that
when the Nawab threatened Yusuf Khan for not remitting the revenue, Yusuf
Khan replied that if he were really a Nawab he might come and seize him,
but as he was not a real Nawab he would find it impossible to subdue him. It
is quite possible that some such angry communications passed between the two
in the years 1762 and 1763, though I have not traced them in the Records, and
from what is said (p. 294 above) bj' Sir John Lindsaj%who derived his informa-
tion direct from the Nawab, there is little doubt that Yusuf Khan treated the
Nawab with the very scantiest respect.
* See the Nawab's charges against Yusuf Khan, pp. 278, 279 above.
APPENDIX V 807
as the Manager of the countries of Madura and Tinncvelly and by ;
his support and countenance encouraged him in acts of contumacy

and disobedience. Educated as the Vellore [i.e. Nellore] Subadar had
been, and knowing that the real power was vested in the Englisli,
he appears to have looked exclusively to them and to have paid
little attention to one he considered as having no more than a nominal
authority. But the departure for England of his friend Mr. Pigot
and the succession of Mr. Palk, whose policy conceded to the Nawab
the real dommion of his country, left Muhamtnad Yusuf without
hope, and in the desperate struggle he made for his life, the former
faithful soldier of the English not only corresponded with their
enemies, the French, against whom he had so often and so gallantly
fought, but declared himself the subject, and displayed in his fort
and country the banners, of that nation. This last act of his life
has not deprived his memory of the honours that belong to it as the
bravest and ablest of all the native soldiers that ever served the
English in India."
General James George Smith Neill.

Historical Record of the Honourable East India Company's First
Madras European Regitnent, by a Staff Officer, 1843, page 218.
" The Carnatic and Southern India had enjoyed a season of

tranquillity until August 1763, when a force, of which the Madras
Europeans formed the principal part, marched to Madura against
Muhammad Yusuf, who had brought into subjugation the southern
Poligar States round Madura and Tinnevelly, which he had rented
from the Nawab but, being backward in paying the Revenue, was
;
accused by the Nawab oi defalcation and rebellion. Until October

1764 that gallant soldier made a desperate struggle against his
enemies, and his capture was not effected (and that by the treachery
of a Frenchman in his service) until much blood and treasure had
been expended."
Rev. G. R. Gleig.
India and its Army. Reprinted from the Edinburgh Review, No. 197,
for January, 1853. India Office Library, Tract No. 532.
Page 23.
—" The names of Muhammad Yusuf, Jamal Sahib and
others a page in history scarcely less memorable than that which
fill
sets forth the exploits of our own Forde, Caillaud and Coote."
Page 36.
— " Why should we hesitate to place more Muhammad
308 APPENDIX V
Yusufs or Bhavany Singlis at the head of our battalions if we can find
them —subject, "of course, to the control of European officers, care-
fully selected ?
Henry Beveridge.
A Compreheiisive History of India, Civil, Military and Social, 1862.
Vol. II. p. 210.

— " After the question of the Jaghire was settled
the Presidency, as much for their own sakes as that of the Nawab,
were not indisposed to assist him in collecting the revenue which had
fallen into arrear in almost every district. Not satisfied with
. . .
reducing the refractory chiefs belonging to the Naicabship properly

so called, Muhammad Ali turned his eyes southward where he ex-
pected to reap a more abundant harvest. Tanjore, governed by its
Raja, and Tinnevelly and Madura, of which Muham^nad Yusufh&di
been appointed Renter, were the localities in which the next grand
efiort for the recovery of revenue was to be made. ."
—
Page 212. " The expedition to Tinnevelly was both of a painful
. .
—
and of a formidable description painful, because directed against
a man who had formerly deserved well of the Company, and was
therefore entitled to some degree of indulgence and formidable —
because there was good ground to apprehend that on finding himself
treated as an enemy he would make a vigorous and protracted,
perhaps even a successful defence against any force that could be
mustered to attack him. MvJiammad Yusuf was a soldier of
Olive's training, and a worthy disciple,' says Colonel Wilks,i
'
of '
the school in which he was reared. His perfect fidelity, intelligence,

and military talents had deservedly obtained the confidence of
Major La\\Tence, and he was promoted to the rank of commandant
of all the English sepoys, and continued to perform the service of
the convoys with admirable vigilance and address.' Indeed, it
may be affirmed without exaggeration that the successes which
ultimately terminated in the relief of Trichinopoly, and the capitu-
lation of the French in the island of Srirangam could scarcely
have been possible but for the dexterity displayed by Muhammad
Yusuf in furnishing supplies, often in the face of a very superior
force. . .Under such circumstances the collection of revenue
.
was a very difficult task, the expenses seldom falling short of

the gross sum obtained. Muhammad Yusuf, however was confident
of better times and in the hope of profiting by them, offered to
take the burden of collection upon himself and to pay a fixed sum
in the name of rent. The Nawab, who had no liking for Muhammad
1 Historical Sketches of the SoiUh of India, I. 324.
APPENDIX V 309
Yusuf, would at once have rejected the offer, but the Presidency
approved of it and it was accepted. It is not improbable that Mu-
hammad Yusnf'in making the offer was not sincere. His success in
life had been great, and having from a very subordinate station
raised himself to an important command, he perhaps only became

the Renter of Madura and Tinnevelly in the belief that he thus took
the most effective method of acquiring an independent sovereignty.
Such at least was the suspicion of the Nawab, and circumstances
seemed to justify it, for the rent, moderate as it was, was not paid.
The excuse was that no revenue could be levied. i The Presidency,
whose pecuniary difficulties had been constantly increasing, were not
satisfied, and after remonstrance had failed, determined to proceed
against Muhammad Yusuf, as if he had now himself become the most
refractory and formidable of the PoUgars. Before this determination
was declared he had endeavoured to prevent it by the intercession
of influential friends, who, knowing how faithfully he had served
the Company, could not believe that he now meant to turn traitor.
When influence failed, and it was plain that nothing but force would
avail him, he began to prepare for the worst, and when the Nawab
and his allies appeared met them with defiance. The struggle was
severe, and its issue was by no means decided, when an act of
treachery made the Nawab triumphant."
J. H. Nelson, M.A.
The Madura Country : A Manual compiled by order of the Madras

Government, 1868.
—
Part II., page 46. " During the period of Muhamtnad Yusuf
Khan's administration a temporizing policy was adopted by that able
ruler of men in his dealings with the Melur Kalians, and though he
built a fort at Melur and another at Vellalapatti, he did not attempt
to extract tribute from them but contented himself with fomenting
;
jealousies amongst the principal men and teaching them

of the caste,
to habitually refer their disputes to him as the common mediator
and supreme arbitrator. By this means he succeeded in keeping
them in tolerably good order, and no doubt attached them to his
cause, when at last he found it necessary to rebel against the Nawab
Muhammad Alt." ^
^ I have shown in the text that this is incorrect. See pp. 1 10 and 167 above.
"
* This paragraph seems to have been suggested by the " General Sketch
from which I have quoted on pp. 301, 302 above.
—
310 APPENDIX V
Part III., page 281. "Muhammad Ywsm/" continued to govern
the Madura country some time longer, and appears to have made
for
himself exceedingly powerful. The memoirs furnished to me by
Ponnusami Tevan and another furnished by a Muhammadan gentle-
man 1 agree in stating that he conquered all the Poligars without
exception, and exacted tribute from the King and he
of Travancore,
overran the Sivagangei and Eamnad countries. But these successes
brought no profit to the Honourable Company's government. Either
the expenses of Muhammad Yusuf's administration were too great
to admit of him acting up to his pecuniary engagements, or he thought
he might render himself sufficiently strong to maintain himself in
independence, and acting in accordance with the long established
and almost im varying custom of India, delayed remittrng tribute
to his Lord until his Lord came with an overpowering army to
enforce obedience and collect arrears.
" This event happened towards the end of 1762.2 A considerable
force was sent against him and he was regularly besieged in his capital
by an army of Englishmen, Muhammadans and Maravans. The
Sethupati, the Totidaiman and the Raja of Sivagangei combined
against him together with many of the Poligars and the unfor-
;
tunate man found himself without a friend. Unappalled by this

formidable array against him, Muhammad Fmsm/ defended himself
with the greatest energy and skill and at the end of eight or nine
;
months the besiegers found that they had made but little progress.
But treachery efiected what force could not efEect and the gallant
:
soldier, who had served in so many campaigns, always with marked

distinction, was seized by a confidential servant and given over to
his enemies who in May 1763, with a want of mercy which at this
;
time seems all but inexcusable, hung him like a dog.^

" The history of the career of this remarkable man as preserved
by tradition is very peculiar and interesting. According to one of
Ponnusami Tevan's memoirs, which as observed before are generally
very fairly accurate, Muhammad Yusuf Khan, better known in
Madura by the name of Gaun Sah Kummanthan (Khan Saheb,
Commandant) was a Hiadu of the Vellala caste bom at Paniyur
in the Ramnad country. In his youth he was wild and dis-
obedient to his parents, and eventually ran away to Pondicherry
^ I have made all possible inquiries as to these Memoirs, but no one, at
Madura, appears to know what has become of them.

2 Nelson is very confused in his dates. This should be 1763, and the
capture of Yusuf Khan not May, 1763, but October, 1764.
^ I have pointed out in the text (see p. 231 above) that " hanging " was the
English punishment for treason or rebellion.

APPENDIX V 311
and served under a European for three years and a half, at the
end of which period he committed some great fault which led
to his immediate dismissal. After this he served under a Mr.
Brunton, who took great pains with his education, and had him
instructed in several languages. Next he entered the service of
the Nawab, and being a man of great ability rapidly rose from being
a Tandalgar, and then a toll-collector, and next a Sepoy, to the posts
of Naik, Havildar and Suhadar. In the course of time he greatly
distinguished himself agamst Bada Saheb ^ at Saint Thomas' Mount,
and was promised the government of the southern countries. At
Arcot he married a Parangi woman. 2 Subsequently he came to
Madura, chastised the Kalians and poligars and subdued the
whole of the south to submission with the exception of the
Marava Rajas. He began to plot the conquest of these countries
also, and it was in consequence of the representations made to
the Nawab and the English at Trichinopoly by the ministers
of Ramnad and Sivagangei 3 that the Naivab resolved to bring a
large army against his vassal, and finally himg him. It is also stated
that Muhammad Fmsm/ carried a magical ball of gold in the flesh
of his right arm and was thus rendered safe from all bodily harm :
consequently when he was dropped from the gallows the rope broke,
and when he was dropped a second time the rope broke a second time.
Finally he removed the golden ball, and then the rope did its duty.
" Muhammad Yusuf's high character and eminent administra-
tive ability are forcibly contrasted with the incapacity and tyrannical
conduct of his successors in the following passage, which occurs at
page 21 of the report of Colonel Fullarton, dated Pondicherry, 7th
March,* 1785, which has lately been printed by order of Govern-
ment .
" 5. .
1 Bada Sahib was the brother of Chanda Sahib and had been killed in
battle in the year 1740 [vide Part III., p. 262), long before Yusuf Khan's time-
The tradition probably refers to Chanda Sahib's son, Raza Sahib, who was the
prote'ge' of the French. The fighting at St. Thomas' Mount refers to LaUy'a
siege of Madras in 1758-9.
- If the order of events is correctly stated, then Yusuf Khan's marriage in
1759 agrees with the birth of a son in 1762-3.

' As far as I can ascertain, it was the Nawab who bribed the Maravans to
give up the cause of Yusuf Khan. The complaint of the Maravans to General
Lawrence is mentioned on p. 143 above.
* In the /. 0. Records, Home Misc., No. 331, the letter is headed
" Pondicherry, 7th Jan., 1785," but at the end the address is given as Fort St.
George.
* For this passage see extracts above
(pp. 298, 299) from Colonel William
Fullarton's View oj the English Interests in India, p. 139.
312 APPENDIX V
Part III.,
—
page 289. " In 1757 Haidar Ali made a descent
. . .
from Dindigul upon the Madura country, and took Solavandan but ;
was beaten ofi by Muhammad Yusuf. ... In 1760 occurred the

collision between the Mysorean force and the expedition sent by
Muhammad Yusuf from Tinnevelly. ... It is said that in the
action near Vattila-gundu the Mysorean Faujdar and many of his
subordinates were killed, and Shir Khan the commander of the troops
sent by Muhammad Yusuf then took possession of the Utthama-
paleiyam, Periyakulam, Kambam and other districts and that ;
he held them up to the time of the execution of Muhammad Yuûf,

when he found it necessary to relinquish his conquests."
Major H. M. Vibart.
The Military History of the Madras Engineers and Pioneers, 1881,
Vol. I.
Page 74.
— " In 1759 the NawaVs Government, finding that the
districts of Madura and Tinnevelly were in great disorder, and that
they were unable to get any revenue from them, sent Muhammad
Yusuf viit]i a strong force to take charge of the districts. He agreed
to rent the districts for an annual sum of seven lakhs of rupees.
He had some considerable trouble in restoring order, but being a
good soldier, he eventually succeeded and introduced a good govern-
ment. He was however unable or unwilling to pay the rent required
of him. He probably contemplated independence whether he was
;
imfaithful or not does not seem to be quite clear. At any rate the
Naivab and the English government resolved to coerce him and, in
1763, an army was sent against him. He tried by negotiations and
by his influence with some of the English to clear himself, but finding
this of no avail, determined to fight.
" His lengthy and gallant defence show that he had much money
at his disposal hence it would seem that he really did intend to
:
found an independent kingdom."

—
Page 89. " Madura was accordingly taken possession of at
6 p.m. on 14th October. Yusuf Khan and his family were taken
prisoners, and the next day Yusuf Khan was hanged. Although,
being a rebel, he had rendered himself liable to this fate, still, con-
sidering the gallantry displayed by him, his life might well have
been spared. The incident was, it is thought, by no means creditable
to us."
AUTHORITIES REFERRED TO IN THE
TEXT AND NOTES.
Anquetil du Perron, M. Abraham Hyacinthe. Des Eecherches
historiques et geographiques sur I'lnde. Berlin. 1786,
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5
INDEX
Abdul Kadir, 145 (n.) Bullock, Josiah, 205
Abdul Rahim, 26-30 Bussy. See Patissier
Abdul Wahab, 27, 83, 84
Abestio, Monsieur, 165-158 Cahxaud, John, lf>-18, 44-46, 50,
Abiral Khan, 302 51, 53, 56-65, 67-70, 72, 76, 78,
Adair, Thomas, 166 (n.), 193 (n.), 204 84-87, 90, 91, 116, 271-275, 307
Airey, George, 91 Caldwell, Bishop R., xi, 37 (n.)
Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, 153 (n.) Call, Sir John, 148, 150 (n.)-152, 155,
Alagappa Mudali, 65 156, 159, 160, 168, 169, 172, 176,
Alam Khan, 8, 26-30 181, 188, 191, 196, 201, 205, 216,
Ali Sahib, ti6 221 (n.), 235, 239 (n.), 240 (n.), 255-
All Zaman Khan, 11!) (n.), 279 (n.) 257, 286
Ambition, Indian ideas of, 12, 230, 284, Callender, Alexander, 43 (n.)
295 Campbell, Charles, 11 (n.), 131, 168-
Anquetil du Perron, 299 170, 176-198, 201-203, 205, 206,
Anwaruddin Khan, 5, 26, 61 (n.), 277 210-227, 233-235, 252-257, 263,
Arcot, 8, 9, 116,240 265, 266
Arrack, 184 Campbell, Donald, 101, 115 116 150,
Aryanatha, 4, 159, 201, 214, 229, 269
Asserah (? Asir) Beg, 186, 187 Caraccioli, Charles, 10 (n.)
Auteuil, Combault d', 10-12 Carere, Surgeon Jean, 179
Casemore, Thomas, 159 (n.)
Baba Sahib, 219, 263 Cavalry, Indian, 81, 84, 85, 187, 189
Badruddin Darwesh, 221, 223, 265 Champion, An Indian, 29
William Annesley, 182
Baillie, Chanda Sahib, 7, 8, 10, 12, 23, 26, 228
Barchou do Penhoen, Baron, 304 (n.) Chapman, Major, 152, 159
BarkatuUah, 40 (n.), 53, 55-60, 72, Chingleput, 77, 83, 87
75, 112 Choultry in the Vaigai River, 67
Barnard, Nicholas, 159 Chronogram of Yusvf Khan's death, xii
Basopanaik, 58, 62, 65, 66 Clive, Robert, ix, 7, 9-11, 14, 15, 25,
Bawdwin, Thomas, 193, 196 55, 86, 88 (n.), 270, 306, 308
Beaver, George, 42, 43 (n.) Colombe, Lieut., 194, 196, 201
Beck, John Francis de, 139 Company's Flag, The, 106 (n.)
Betel, 192, 214, 269 Conjeeveram, Storm of, 91
Beveridge, Henry, 239 (n.), 308-9 Constantino Vas ConceUa(?) 227, (n.)
Bhadra Kali (Durga), 75 Coop Sahib (? Khub Sahib), 31
Black, Richard, 164 (n.) Coote, Eyre, 88, 102, 103, 105, 275, 307
Blake, David, 195, 201 Cope, James, 9, 10, 26-30, 31 (n).
Blue Lights, 64 Cotsford,Edward,159(n.), 193,300,301
Boistel, Adjutant, 201 Council, The Madras, passim
Bonjour, Abraham, 159 (n.), 176-178, Croley (or Crowley), John, 201
237 (n.)
Bourchier, Charles F., 22, 106, 107, Dalawai JLandap, The, 12 (n.)
144, 281 (n.) Dalton, John, 10-12, 38
Brahmans, The, 16, 17, 33, 34, 59, 75 Damois, Anthony, 123 (n.)
Brereton, Cholmondely, 90-93 Danes, The, 96, 119, 126, 127, 134, 157
Bridger, John, 190 Danish Mand Khan. See BarkatuUah
Brower, Christian, 176, 213 Daud Khan, 184-187
Brown, Sergeant, 29 Davis, Henry, 181
Bruce, Thomas, 205 Dawson, Samuel, 182, 183
Bruno, Louis, 2 (n.), 124, 126, 160, Desvoeux, Charles, 223, 224, 256
237, 238, 295-298 Din Muhammad, 77
Brunton, Mr., 2, 3,311 Dubois, I'Abbe, J. A., 54, 192, 219 (n.)
Buchanan, Surgeon Duncan, 201 Dumont, Jean, 123
Buck, George, 190 Dupetitval, Monsieur, 175
318 INDEX
Dupleix, Joseph Francois, 10 (n.), Jamal Sahib, 40, 53, 56, 58-60,
11 (n.), 13, 14, 18, 19, 47, 125, 237 196, 307
Dupre, Josias, 106, 107, 281 JeSrys, Richard, 51 (n.)
Dutch, The, 96, 119, 126, 127, 134, 287 Johnson, Captain, 163
Johnson, Joseph, 51 (n.)
Eley, John, 201 Johnston, Samuel, 25
Ettaiyapuram Poligar, The, 62, 66, 98
Exagon Redoubt, The, 175 Kallans, The, 25, 26, 37, 41-43, 57,
Expedition Frigate, The, 161, 169, 176 60, 113, 163, 174, 198, 269, 302
Kaynanddn bdghi, xii
Fatjlkstee, Aemouree, 53 Kattabomanaik, 37, 52, 58, 66, 98
FidMe, The, 122 Kaveripak, Battle of, 7, 9, 270
Fitzgerald, James, 197 Kelly, Robert, 212
Fitzgerald, Robert Villiers, 168, 176 Kerjean,JacquesDesnos,ll(n.),125(n.)
Fitzgerald, Thomas, 188, 189, 195 (n.), Khan Sahib's pallivdsal, 4, 228
205 Killpatrick, James, 16, 47-50
Flacourt, Charles, 123, 156, 161, 169 Kirkpatrick, James, 195, 205
Flamicourt, Claude Th6rese Eleonor, Knox, WiUiam, 205
124, 127, 149-151, 153, 156-159, Kovilkudi, Storm of, 35-37, 42 (n.)
161,171,251 Krishna Rao, 78, 79, 92
Forde, Francis, 87, 88, 307
Fort Defiance, 172, 179 Lackenaig (? Lakshmi Naik), 34, 36
Fowkes, Lieutenant, 179 Lally, Michael, 84
Frischman, Daniel, 192 Lally, Thomas Arthur, Comte de,
Fullarton, WiUiam, 113, 239 (n.), 298, 76-88, 99
299,311 Lambert, Monsieur, 125
Fumel, Vicomte Jean Georges, 79 (n.), Landeman, Johannes, 123 (n.)
87 (n.) Lannoy, Eustace Benedict de, 131 (n.)
Law, Jacques Francois, 1, 2, 8, 10,
Gangaikondan, 59 124, 125, 237, 281
Gingins, John Rodolph, 9, 10, 268 Law de Lauriston, Jean, 146, 155 (n.),
Gleig, Rev. R., 111,307, 308 171, 175, 178, 179, 236, 237
Godeheu, Charles Robert, 18, 19, 31 Lawrence, Stringer, ix, 10, 14-16,
Grant, Alexander, 159 (n.) 19-22, 25, 34, 44, 85 (n.), 90, 130,
134, 138, 140-144, 148 (n.), 149 (n.),
HAiDABALi,x,xii, 3,9, 62, 72, 74, 75,
151, 152, 158, 160, 161, 164, 166,
89 (n.), 119, 122 (n.), 123, 128, 145-
168, 200 (n.), 210, 248, 270, 306, 308
147, 165, 169, 170, 176, 183, 213,
Lee, WiUiam, 43 (n.)
232, 233, 238, 240, 243, 262, 263,
Leyrit, George Duval de, 19, 126
280, 291, 298, 312
Lin, William, 41, 43 (n.)
Hamilton, James, 175, 201
Lindsay, Sir John, 19, 134,239, 292-294
Hamilton, Walter, 185
Lisle, Hospital Assistant, 53
Harper, Humphrey, 183
Lucas, CoUey Lyon, 170, 209 (n.)
Harris, Thomas, 51 (n.)
Lushington, Stephen Rumbold, 114,
Hart, Simon, 136, 182, 186, 188, 214
303, 304
Haumartin, Monsieur d', 233, 236
Lysaght, Arthur, 163
Hausse, Monsieur, 123 (n.), 161, 176
Henneberg, Monsieur, 249, 250 Macdonai>d, William, 205
Heron, Alexander, 21, 23, 33-44, 272, Mackain, John, 51 (n.)
284, 298 Maclean, John. 159 (n.)
Heyne, Mr., 186, 187 Macpherson, J., 19, 131 (n,), 293 (n.)
Hooker, Williamson Legard, 193 Madras, Siege of, 77-88

Home, Matthew, 105, 285, 286 Madura, 23-32, 63-69, 120, 145-225
Hugel, Monsieur, 122, 127, 169, 170, Magic ball, 22S, 311
176, 192, 213, 261, 298 Mahfuz Khan, 14, 26, 33-35, 37-39, 44,
Hunterman, Arnold, 189 50-59, 61 (n. ), 62, 66, 72, 90, 99, 102,
Hurts, Quartermaster, 139, 180 (n.) 116, 243, 258, 272, 293, 298, 304
Maissin, Monsieur, 125
Ile de France, Council of, 122, 124 Maitland, Richard, 201
Innis, John, 27 Malcolm, Sir John, ix., 110, 306-7
Innis, Khan, 186, 187 MaUet, Monsieur, 123, 124, 169, 170,
lehwant Rao, 166, 167 176, 261
INDEX 319
Manilla Expedition, The, 118, 124 Nabi Khan Kattak, 31, 35, 50,
Mankoji, 12, Ui5 (n.) 57-00
Marathas, The, 11, 12, 20, 112, 140, Nadiyunni Anicut, The, 113 (n.)
200 (n.) Nad Kalians, The, 90-98, 104, 172,
Maravan Poligars, The, 31, 35, 36 (n.), 302, 309
98, 104, 1 18, 136, 139, 141, 143, 145, Nandaraj, 13, 15, 66 (n.)
231, 248, 311 Narayan Dubash, 57
Marchand, Monsieur, 2, 97, 104, 117, Nattam Pass, The, 4 ;-43, 72, 145,
123 (n.), 124-127, 131, 135, 149 (n.), 159, 284
150, 156, 159, 161, 162, 171, 174, 176- Nawab, The (Muhammad Ali), passim
178,180,181,204,205,208,210,212, 307
Neill, J. G. S.,
215-227, 232-238, 250-267, 283, Nelkattamsevval, 39, 104 (n.)
286, 292, 296, 297, 299, 305, 306 Storm of, 37
Nellicotah,
Marchand, Rodolph, 160, 295 NoUore Subadar, The, 3 (n.), 11, 20,
Martanda Varma (Travancorc), 50, 34, 87, 270, 307
52, 53, 57, 74, 100, 304 Nelson, J. H., 309-312
Maruthanayagam Pillai, 1 Newton, Andrew, 110, 277 (n.)
Maudave, Comte Louis Laurent de Ninety-sixth Regiment, The, 140 141
Federbc, 80, 122-124, 127, 128, (n.)
132, 136, 137, 139, 140, 142, 145- Nixon, Eccles, 218 (n.)
147, 150, 151, 153-161, 169, 171, Nixon, George, 200 (n.), 230 (n.), 290
232, 246-251, 260, 261 Nizam Ali, 132, 160, 171, 278, 279
Maunsell, Thomas, 38, 44 Nizam-ul-mulk, 26
Mayana, 31, 35, 36, 50, 56, 69
Maza (Yusuf Khan's wife), 3, 5, 6, Oeme, Robert, ix, x, 3, 6, 7, 10 (n.),
221, 254, 255 12, 18, 44,48-50,70, 91, 92(n.),96,
Medeler, D. E., 103 98, 601(n.), 270-272
Merriman, Lawrence, 27 Orton, Robert, 195
Meyers, John Henry, 222-224, 254- Owen, Thomas Colby, 205
256
Mill, James, x, 230, 304-5 Patntee, Gilbert, 205
Minakshi Rani, 12 (n), 26 Palamcotta, 23, 116, 120, 197, 198,
Minakshi Goddess and Temple, 4 (n.), 211, 212, 238, 289
75, 112, 117 (n.), 208 (n.), 219 (n.) Palk, Robert, 20, 110, 111, 129, 161,
Mir Jafar, 54, 56 189, 190, 207, 219 (n.), 226, 240, 307
Mir Mansur, 22 Pandion Chronicle, The, 75
Mir Sahib, 185 (n.), 204 Paniyur, 1, 104 (n.), 310
Mollitore, John Wolfgang, 42, 43 Parced Sahib, 186, 187, 193
Monson, George, 109, 131 (n.), 140, Paris, Treaty of, 7 (n.), 140, 146, 151,
144, 148-153, 155, 156, 159, 164 (n), 153, 154
190, 247, 286, 287 Patissier, Comte de Bussy Castelnau,
Montrose, Heart of the Great, 25 Charles Joseph, 39, 83, 125, 126, 296
Moodemiah, 31, 35, 50, 52 Peixoto, Eloy Joze Correa, 229, 237,
Morse, Mrs. Jane, 86 (n.) 291, 292
Morse, Nicholas, 15, 86 (n.) Pelling, Thomas, 130, 285
Mount, Battles of The, 81, 84, 85 Perigny-Beaumarchais, Monsieur, 162,
Mudali (Sepoy officer), 220, 221, 232, 221, 222, 233, 236, 253, 254, 265
253, 256 Perumal, Temple of, 117
Mudali ,Tittarappa (Renter), 50-52, 54, Phillips, Robert, 189
56-62, 64-66, 70, 107, 273, 274, 293 Picot de la Motte, Bernard, 208
Mughal, The Great, 12, 230 Piers, William, 152, 159
Muhammad Ali, See The Nawab Pigot, George, 19, 22, 51, 55, 59, 71,
Muhammad Kamal, 3, 7, 278 75, 79, 80, 82, 83, 87, 104, 106-108,
Muhammad Yakub, 186, 187 110, 128, 129, 144, 161, 272,273,
Muhammad Yusuf. See Yusuf Khan 306, 307
Muhiuddin Sahib, 185, 186, 193 Pillai, The, 3
Murtaza Ali, 47-50, 109, 129 Pitt, The, 168, 176
Mutiny in Indian Armies, 54 Pocock, Sir George, 78, 87 (n.), 122 (n.)
Muzaffar Beg, 91, 231 Polier de Bottens, Paul,41, 42, 43 (n.)
Mysoreans, The, 12-14, 31 Pratab Singh (Tanjore), 2, 8, 35,
320 INDEX
76, 78, 92, 98 (n.), 106, 119, 123, Srinavas Rao, 219, 227 (n.), 263
124, 129, 137, 141, 165, 250 SriviUiputtur Pagoda, 59
Preston, AchiUes, 78-84, 127, 128, Stanhope, Philip Dormer, 301
134-137, 139, 141, 143, 145, 147, Stevenson, Samuel, 150, 159
148, 152, 157, 159, 163, 164-166, Stevenson, WiUiam, 159 (n.)
168-170, 175, 179, 181, 182, 185- Subrahmanya, Temple of, 59 (n.)
189, 193-198, 201-207, 211, 267, SuUivan, John, 299, 300
275, 284, 286, 288, 289, 295, 297 Sunku Rama, 161, 239 (n.), 285
Prize Money, 200 (n.) Sweepe, Godfried, 133, 149 (n.), 227
PuHdevar, The, 35, 39, 50, 58, 60, 98- (n.)
101, 104, 258 Tamakam, The, 172
Punniyappan, 15,16, 18,20, 33(n.), 231 Tandava Raya PiUai, 4 (n.), 112
Tan ore Cavalry, 189, 238 (n.)
j
Raillaud, John Frakcis, 42, 43 Tanjore, Bang of. See Pratab Singh
Ramalinga, 183, 184, 191-193 a7id Tulsaji
Ramanaik, 65, 66, 74, 76, 77, 98 (n.) Tiruvamiyur, Fight at, 81, 82
Rama Varma (Travancore), 99-101,
Tondaiman, The, 14, 35, 78, 92, 98,
128, 130-132, 138, 171, 188, 238,
133, 136, 248
259, 304 Tondria Jemadar, 204 (n.)
Rawlinson, Captain, 215, 216 Travancore, King of. See Martanda
Raza Sahib, Ali, 9, 262 Varma and Rama Varma
Rebellion, Indian ideas of. See Ambition
Treason, Penalty of, 231
Reddi of Turaiyur, The, 76, 77 Trusler, James, 28, 29
Rennell, James, 69
Tulsaji (Tanjore), 165, 189, 208, 238
Riquet, Monsieur, 139, 156, 170, 176,
178-180, 250, 251 Undeewood, Samuel, 51 (n.)
Robinson, Sergeant-Major, 51 (n.)
Vadagakai, 99, 100, 212
Roman Catholic Missionaries, The, Van Eek, Heer, 122 (n.)
25, 26
Vansittart, Mrs. Emelia, 85, 86
Rous, George, 294, 295 Vansittart, Henry, 86, 275
Rowling, Bartholomew, 191, 196,
Van Teylingen, Heer, 122, 127, 132
215, 217, 227 (n.)
6^67 Vashon, Thomas, 205
Rumbold, WiUiam, 59, 60,
Vasserot, Baron David, 34, 41, 84, 282
Rumley, Charles, 37 Vasudevanallur, 101, 104 (n.)
85-87 Vattilagundu, 103, 312
Sadkas, English ladies at, 80,
VeUalans, The, 3-5
Saint-Denis, Captain, 126
154 VeUore, 47, 109, 118
Salabat Jang, 132 (n.), 153 (n.).
VencatcheUum, 21
Sammattipuram, 117, 228
Verdapu, 77
Sampati Rao, 100, 223, 254
Vibart, M. H., 312
Saunders, Thomas, 9, 10, 18, 19, 30,
VoUionda, 11, 12
31, 142 (n.)
Schwartz, Rev. C. F., 56 (n.), 112, 137, Wakd, Feancis Swain, 189
204, 206, 20T, 209 Ware (Wear or Weir), Daniel, 205
Sculthorpe, Richard, 51 (n.) West, Mr., 145
Sepoys, European officers of, 134, Whithear, Robert, 201
164 (n.) Wood, John, 148, 201-203, 205, 212,
Shir Khan, 103, 312 216, 233-235
Sikandarmalai, 56 (n.), 181 Woodiataver,The, 112
Smith, Alexander WiUiam, 201 Woomady Singh, 74
Smith, John, 224, 257, 286 Yellow Flag, The, 200
Smith, Joseph, 35, 40-43, 76, 77, 93, Yusuf Khan, passim
94, 97, 102, 104, 239 (n.), 275, 276, Yusuf Khan's son, 6, 225 (n,), 233.
281, 290, 291, 294 311 (n.)
Smith, Richard, 92 (n.), 102, 103, Yusuf Khan's wife. See Maza
105, 126, 129 (n.), 178
Soupire, Monsieur de, 69, 72, 81 Zeigler, Conead, 43
PEINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AKD SONS, LIMITED, LOITDON AND BB0CLE3.

EXPLICATION DES RENVOIS.
A.. Palais du Roi
B. Grandes Pagodes ou Temple de Gentils
C. Eglise Romaine
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H. Camps des Anglois et Indiens au i*' Siege
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M. Ligne de Contrevallation
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U. Aldee non fortifiee
V. Batteries Angloise pour battre les Redoutes Y

X. Fortins des Anglois pour retirer leur grosse Artillerie
pendant I'hiver
Y. Redoutes construites par le S' Marchand et prises par
les Anglois pendant le 2^ Siege
Z, Mosquee batti en honneur d'Alexandre

& Endroit ou se sont donne les differens combats
a. Redoutes qui ont tenu jusqu'a la livraison de la Place
P.'urUpL.i: U 7m ju^ ./uSim. <•/ L /,j„„ ./, C.-flrrTM/U.-n
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Plan of Madura, by Marchand, in fh
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Grave par Croisey.

EÎBLIOTHEQUE NaTIONALE, PaRIS.
University of Toronto
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LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.

I. Eably Careeb of Yustjf Khan 1

II. Entey into the English Sebvice 7

III. The Rise of Yusup Khan 13

V. Colonel Heron's Expedition to Madura and Tinnevelly . 33

VI. Caillaud and Yusuf Khan 47

VII. The Siege of Madras by Lally 72

VIII. Yusuf Kban as Governor 95

IX. The Changes of Rebellion 118

XI. First Siege of Madura 145

XII. Second Siege of Madura 162

XIII. Attempt to btobm Madura 199

XIV. Blockade and Fall of Madura 210

XV. Conclusion 226

Directors, p. 282 Thomas Felling, p.

Matthew Home, p. 285 an Officer at Palamcotta, p. 286 George

Nixon, p. 290 Joseph Smith, p. 290 Peixoto, p. 291

Lindsay and J. Macpherson, p. 292 George Rous, 294 Louis

Bruno, p. 295 William FuUarton, p. 298 Anquetil du Perron,

p. 299; John Sullivan, p. 299; Edward Cotsford, p. 300; Philip

Soutliern Divisions of the Peiiinsula, p. 301 Stephen Rumbold ;

Lushington, p. 308 James Mill, p. 304 Sir John Malcolm, p. 305

James George Smith Neill, p. 807; Rev. G. R. Gleig, p. 307;

Authorities eefebbed to in the Test and Notes . . 313

PLANS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

me by Mr. Kangasami Naidu Garu)

2. Sketch-map op Southern India page 8

4. Sketch-map of Southern Coromandel .... page 49

5. Sketch-map op the Coromandel Coast from Nellobe to

6. Conjectural Plan op the Investment op Madura . . page 173

7. Mabchand's Plan des attaques de la ville de Madure

And lo the clay cried, Use me tenderly,

On the evening of the 15th October, 1764, Muhammad Yusuf,

reduced to order the two most turbulent provinces of Southern

against the Nawab in self-defence, managed to maintain himself

whom he had governed he left a reputation for ability, firmness,

long after his death his administration of Madura and Tinnevelly

being that such matter, throwing light as it does upon the

shifting their sites and partly because, when

EARLY CAREER OF YUSUF KHAN

Very little is known for certain of the early career of Yusuf

by persons often not very well disposed

boatman,^ and according to another a tailor, but native

tradition asserts that he entered the service of a European,

Mr. Rangasami Naidu Garu, Sarishtadar of the District Court of Ramnad at

EARLY CABEEE OF YUSUF KHAN 3

himself " Law of Lauriston." However this may be, tliis

story makes it at least unUkoly that there was any justifica-

us, he entered the English service.

his tomb, near Madura, is still known by the half Muhammadan,

EARLY CAREER OF YUSUF KHAN 5

progressive, and places strict limits upon the aspirations of

religion, added to the accident of Vellalan birth, must have

those of the royal blood are considered as hereditary nobility to ;

Yusuf Khan's marriage to a Portuguese woman has already