With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire

"We made a raft and crossed the river, but the enemy's matchlock men peppered us so severely that we lost thirty English and fifty Sepoys in getting over. The enemy's entrenchment was not finished, but in front of it was a deep rivulet, which had to be crossed.

"Lawrence gave the command of the storming party to Clive. He is one of our fellows; a queer, restless sort of chap, who was really no good here, for he hated his work and always seemed to think himself a martyr. He was not a favourite among us, for he was often gloomy and discontented, though he had his good points. He was straightforward and manly, and he put down two or three fellows here, who had been given to bully the young ones, in a way that astonished them.

"He would never have made a good servant of the Company, for he so hated his work that, when he had been out here about a year, he tried to blow out his brains. He snapped the pistol twice at his head, but it didn't go off, though it was loaded all right. Strange, wasn't it? So he came to the conclusion that he wasn't meant to kill himself, and went on living till something should turn up."

"Yes," Charlie said; "Doctor Rae spoke to us about him during the voyage. He knew him at the siege of Fort Saint David, and Pondicherry."

"Yes," Johnson said. "He came out there quite in a new light. He got transferred into the military service, and was always in the middle of the fighting. Major Lawrence had a very high opinion of him, and so selected him to lead the storming party. It really seems almost as if he had a charmed life. Lawrence gave him thirty-three English soldiers, and seven hundred Sepoys. The rest of the force were to follow as soon as Clive's party gained the entrenchments. Clive led the way with his Europeans, with the Sepoys supporting behind, and got across the rivulet with a loss of only four men. He waited on the other bank till he saw the Sepoys climbing up, and then again led the English on in advance towards the unfinished part of the entrenchment.

"The Sepoys, however, did not move, but remained waiting for the main body to come up. The enemy let Clive and his twenty-nine men get on some distance in advance, and then their cavalry, who had been hidden by a projection of the fort, charged suddenly down on him. They were upon our men before they had time to form, and in a minute twenty-six of them were cut to pieces. Clive and the other three managed to get through the Tanjore horsemen and rejoin the Sepoys. That was almost as narrow a shave for his life as with the pistol.

"Lawrence now crossed with his main body and advanced. Again the Tanjore horsemen charged; but this time we were prepared, and Lawrence let them come on till within a few yards, and then gave them a volley which killed fourteen and sent the rest scampering away. Lawrence pushed forward. The garrison, panic stricken at the defeat of their cavalry, abandoned the breach and escaped to the opposite side of the town, and Devikota was ours.

"A few days later we captured the fortified temple of Uchipuran. A hundred men were left there, and these were afterwards attacked by the Rajah of Tanjore, with five thousand men; but they held their own, and beat them off. A very gallant business, that!

"These affairs showed the rajah that the English could fight; a point which, hitherto, the natives had been somewhat sceptical about. They were afraid of the French, but they looked upon us as mere traders. He had, too, other things to trouble him as to the state of the Carnatic, and so hastened to make peace. He agreed to pay the expenses of the war, and to cede us Devikota and some territory round it; and to allow the wretched ex-rajah, in whose cause we had pretended to fight, a pension of four hundred a year, on condition that we kept him shut up in one of our forts.

"Not a very nice business on our side, was it? Still, we had gained our point, and, with the exception of the ex-rajah, who was a bad lot after all, no one was discontented.

"When the peace was signed, our force returned to Fort Saint David. While they had been away, there had been a revolution in the Carnatic. Now this was rather a complicated business; but as the whole situation at present turns upon it; and it will, not improbably, cause our expulsion from Southern India; I will explain it to you as well as I can.

"Now you must know that all Southern India, with the exception of a strip along the west coast, is governed by a viceroy, appointed by the emperor at Delhi. He was called the Subadar of the Deccan. Up till the end of 'forty-eight, Nizam Ul-Mulk was viceroy. About that time he died, and the emperor appointed his grandson, Muzaffar Jung, who was the son of a daughter of his, to succeed him. But the subadar had left five sons. Four of these lived at Delhi, and were content to enjoy their life there. The second son, however, Nazir Jung, was an ambitious man, who had rebelled even against his father. Naturally, he rebelled against his nephew.

"He was on the spot when his father died, while the new subadar was absent. Nazir, therefore, seized the reins of government, and all the resources of the state. The emperor has troubles enough of his own at Delhi, and Muzaffar had no hope of aid from him. He therefore went to Satarah, the court of the Mahrattas, to ask for their assistance.

"There he met Chunda Sahib. This man was the nephew of the last nawab of the Carnatic, Dost Ali. Dost Ali had been killed in a battle with them, in 1739; and they afterwards captured Trichinopoli, and took Chunda Sahib, who commanded there, prisoner; and had since kept him at Satarah. Had he been at liberty he would, no doubt, have succeeded his uncle, whose only son had been murdered; but as he was at Satarah, the Subadar of the Deccan bestowed the government of the Carnatic upon Anwarud-din.

"Chunda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung put their heads together, and agreed to act in concert. Muzaffar, of course, desired the subadarship of the Deccan, to which he had been appointed by the court of Delhi. Chunda Sahib wanted the nawabship of the Carnatic, and advised his ally to abandon his intention of asking for Mahratta aid, and to ally himself with the French. A correspondence ensued with Dupleix, who, seeing the immense advantage it would be to him to gain what would virtually be the position of patron and protector of the Subadar of the Deccan, and the Nawab of the Carnatic, at once agreed to join them.

"Muzaffar raised thirty thousand men, and Chunda Sahib six thousand–it is always easy, in India, to raise an army; with a certain amount of money, and lavish promises–marched down and joined a French force of four hundred strong, commanded by D'Auteuil.

"The nawab advanced against them, but was utterly defeated at Ambur, the French doing pretty well the whole of the work. The nawab was killed, and one of his sons, Maphuz Khan, taken prisoner. The other, Muhammud Ali, bolted at the beginning of the fight. Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, surrendered next day.

"Muzaffar Jung proclaimed himself Subadar of the Deccan, and appointed Chunda Sahib Nawab of the Carnatic. Muzaffar Jung conferred upon Dupleix the sovereignty of eighty-one villages adjoining the French territory. Muzaffar, after paying a visit to Pondicherry, remained in the camp with his army, twenty miles distant from that place. Chunda Sahib remained, as the guest of Dupleix, at Pondicherry.

"On the receipt of the news of the battle of Ambur, Mr. Floyer, who is governor at Fort Saint David, sent at once to Chunda Sahib to acknowledge him as nawab; which, in the opinion of everyone here, was a very foolish step. Muhammud Ali had fled to Trichinopoli, and sent word to Mr. Floyer that he could hold the place, and even reconquer the Carnatic, if the English would assist him. I know that Admiral Boscawen, who was with the fleet at Fort Saint David, urged Mr. Floyer to do so, as it was clear that Chunda Sahib would be a mere tool in the hands of the French.

"When Chunda Sahib delayed week after week at Pondicherry, Mr. Floyer began to hesitate, but he could not make up his mind, and Admiral Boscawen, who had received orders to return home, could no longer act in contravention to them, and was obliged to sail.

"The instant the fleet had left, and we remained virtually defenceless, Chunda Sahib, supplied with troops and money by Dupleix, marched out from Pondicherry and joined Muzaffar Jung, with the avowed intention of marching upon Trichinopoli. Had he done this at once, he must have taken the place, and it was a question of weeks and days only of our being turned altogether out of Southern India. Nothing, indeed, could have saved us.

"Muzaffar Jung and Chunda Sahib, however, disregarding the plan which Dupleix had marked out for them, resolved, before marching on Trichinopoli, to conquer Tanjore, which is the richest city in Southern India. The rajah had, only a few weeks before, made peace with us; and he now sent messengers to Nazir Jung, Muzaffar's rival in the Deccan, and to the English, imploring their assistance. Both parties resolved at once to grant it, for alone both must have been overwhelmed by the alliance between the two Indian princes and the French; and their only hope of a successful resistance to this combination was in saving Trichinopoli.

"The march of these allies upon Tanjore opened the road to Trichinopoli; and Captain Cope, with a hundred and twenty men, were at once despatched to reinforce Muhammud Ali's garrison. Of this little force, he sent off twenty men to the aid of the Rajah of Tanjore, and these, under cover of the night, passed through the lines of the besiegers and into the city, which was strongly fortified and able to stand a long siege.

"The English at once entered into a treaty with Nazir Jung, promising him six hundred English troops; to assist him in maintaining his sovereignty of the Deccan, and in aiding to place Muhammud Ali in the nawabship of the Carnatic.

"Tanjore held out bravely. For some weeks the rajah had thrown dust in the eyes of Chunda Sahib, by pretending to negotiate. Then, when the allies attacked, he defended the city for fifty-two days, at the end of which one of the gates of the town had been captured, and the city was virtually at the mercy of the besiegers. He again delayed them by entering into negotiations for surrender. In vain Dupleix continued to urge Chunda Sahib to act energetically, and to enter Tanjore.

"Chunda Sahib, however, although he has a good head for planning, is irresolute in action. His troops were discontented at the want of pay. The French contingent also was demoralized, from the same cause. The troops feared to engage in a desperate struggle, in the streets of a town abounding with palaces, each of which was virtually a fortress; especially as it was known that Nazir Jung was marching, with all speed, to fall upon their rear. So at last the siege was broken up, and the army fell back upon Pondicherry.

"Meanwhile Cope's detachment of a hundred men, with six thousand native horsemen, escorted Muhammud Ali to join Nazir Jung at Valdaur, fifteen miles from Pondicherry. Lawrence was busy at work at Fort Saint David, organizing a force to go to his aid. Dupleix saw that it was necessary to aid his allies energetically. The army, on its return from the siege of Tanjore, was reorganized; the French contingent increased to two thousand men; and a supply of money furnished, from his private means.

"The army set out to attack Nazir Jung and his ally at Valdaur. When the battle began, however, the French contingent mutinied and refused to fight; and the natives, panic stricken by the desertion of their allies, fell back on Pondicherry. Chunda Sahib accompanied his men. Muzaffar Jung surrendered to his uncle, the usurper.

"In three or four days the discipline of the French army was restored, and on the 13th of April it attacked and defeated a detachment of Nazir Jung's army; and a few days later captured the strong temple of Tiruvadi, sixteen miles from Fort Saint David.

"Some months passed before the French were completely prepared; but on September the first, D'Auteuil, who commanded the French, and Chunda Sahib attacked the army of the native princes, twenty thousand strong, and defeated it utterly, the French not losing a single man. Muhammud Ali, with only two attendants, fled to Arcot, and the victory rendered Chunda Sahib virtual master of the Carnatic.

"Muzaffar Jung, after his surrender to his uncle, had been loaded with chains, and remained a prisoner in the camp; where, however, he managed to win over several of the leaders of his uncle's army. Gingee was stormed by a small French force, and the French officer there entered into a correspondence with the conspirators, and it was arranged that, when the French army attacked Nazir Jung, these should declare against him.

"On the 15th December the French commander, with eight hundred Europeans, three thousand Sepoys, and ten guns, marched against Nazir Jung, whose army of twenty-five thousand men opposed him. These, however, he defeated easily. While the battle was going on, the conspirators murdered Nazir Jung, released Muzaffar Jung, and saluted him as subadar. His escape was a fortunate one, for his uncle had ordered him to be executed that very day.

"Muzaffar Jung proceeded to Pondicherry, where he was received with great honors. He nominated Dupleix Nawab of the Carnatic and neighbouring countries, with Chunda Sahib as his deputy, conferred the highest dignities upon him, and granted the French possession of all the lands and forts they had conquered. He arranged with Dupleix a plan for common action, and agreed that a body of French troops should remain permanently at his capital."

Chapter 6: The Arrival Of Clive

"I have nearly brought down the story to the present time," Mr. Johnson said. "One event has taken place, however, which was of importance. Muzaffar Jung set out for Hyderabad, accompanied by a French contingent under Bussy. On the way, the chiefs who had conspired against Nazir Jung mutinied against his successor. Muzaffar charged them with his cavalry. Two of the three chief conspirators were killed and, while pursuing the third, Muzaffar was himself killed.

"Bussy at once released from confinement a son of Nazir Jung, proclaimed him Subadar of the Deccan, escorted him to Hyderabad, and received from him the cession of considerable fresh grants of territory to the French. The latter were now everywhere triumphant, and Trichinopoli and Tanjore were, with the three towns held by the English, the sole places which resisted their authority. Muhammud Ali, deeming further resistance hopeless, had already opened negotiations with Dupleix for the surrender of Trichinopoli. Dupleix agreed to his conditions; but when Muhammud Ali found that Count Bussy, with the flower of the French force, had been despatched to Hyderabad, he gained time by raising fresh demands, which would require the ratification of the subadar.

"Luckily for us Mr. Floyer had been recalled, and his place taken by Mr. Saunders; who is, everyone says, a man of common sense and determination. Muhammud Ali urged upon him the necessity for the English to make common cause with him against the enemy, for if Trichinopoli fell, it would be absolutely impossible for the English to resist the French and their allies. Early this year, then, Mr. Saunders assured him that he should be assisted with all our strength, and Muhammud Ali thereupon broke off the negotiations with the French.

"Most unfortunately for us, Major Lawrence had gone home to England on sick leave. Captain Gingen, who now commands our troops, is a wretched substitute for him. Captain Cope is no better.

"Early this year Mr. Saunders sent Cope, with two hundred and eighty English and three hundred Sepoys, to Trichinopoli. Benefiting by the delay which was caused before Dupleix, owing to the absence of his best troops at Hyderabad, could collect an army, Cope laid siege to Madura, but was defeated and had to abandon his guns. Three thousand of Muhammud Ali's native troops thereupon deserted to the enemy.

"The cause of the English now appeared lost. Dupleix planted the white flags, emblems of the authority of France, in the fields within sight of Fort Saint David. With immense efforts, Mr. Saunders put into the field five hundred English troops, a thousand Sepoys, a hundred Africans, and eight guns; under the command of Captain Gingen, whose orders were to follow the movements of the army with which D'Auteuil and Chunda Sahib were marching against Trichinopoli.

"Luckily Chunda Sahib, instead of doing so at once, moved northwards to confirm his authority in the towns of North and South Arcot, and to raise additional levies. Great delay was caused by this. On arriving before the important fortress of Valkonda, Chunda Sahib found before it the troops of Captain Gingen, who had been reinforced by sixteen hundred troops from Trichinopoli. The governor of the place, not knowing which party was the stronger, refused to yield to either; and for a fortnight the armies lay at a short distance from each other, near the fortress, with whose governor both continued their negotiations.

"Gingen then lost patience and attacked the place, but was repulsed, and the governor at once admitted the French within the fortress. The next day the main body of the French attacked us, the guns of the fortress opening fire upon us at the same time. Our men, a great portion of whom were recruits just joined from England, fell into a panic and bolted, abandoning their allies and leaving their guns, ammunition, and stores in the hands of the enemy.

"Luckily, D'Auteuil was laid up with gout. If he had pressed on, there remained only the two or three hundred men under Cope to offer the slightest resistance. Trichinopoli must have fallen at once; and we, without a hundred soldiers here, should have had nothing to do but pack up and go. As it was, Gingen's beaten men were allowed to retreat quietly towards Trichinopoli.

"The next day D'Auteuil was better, and followed in pursuit, and Gingen had the greatest difficulty in reaching Trichinopoli. There, at the present moment, we lie shut up, a portion of our force only remaining outside the walls.

"The place itself is strong. The town lies round a lofty rock, on which stands the fortress, which commands the country for some distance round. Still, there is no question that the French could take it, if they attacked it. Our men are utterly dispirited with defeat. Cope and Gingen have neither enterprise nor talent.

"At present the enemy, who are now under the command of Colonel Law, who has succeeded D'Auteuil, are contenting themselves with beleaguering the place. But as we have no troops whatever to send to its rescue, and Muhammud Ali has no friends elsewhere to whom to look for aid, it is a matter of absolute certainty that the place must fall, and then Dupleix will only have to request us to leave, and we shall have nothing else to do but to go at once. So I should advise you not to trouble yourself to unpack your luggage, for in all probability another fortnight will see us on board ship.

"There, that's a tremendous long yarn I've been telling you, and not a pleasant one. It's a history of defeat, loss of prestige and position. We have been out fought and out diplomatized, and have made a mess of everything we put our hand to. I should think you must be tired of it. I am. I haven't done so much talking, for years."

Charlie and Peters thanked their new acquaintance, warmly, for the pains he had taken in explaining the various circumstances and events which had led to the present unfortunate position; and Charlie asked, as they stood up to say goodnight to Mr. Johnson, "What has become of Clive, all this time?"

"After the conquest of Devikota," Mr. Johnson said, "the civilians in the service were called back to their posts; but to show that they recognized his services, the authorities allowed Clive to attain the rank of captain, which would have been bestowed upon him had he remained in the military service, and they appointed him commissary to the army, a post which would take him away from the office work he hated. Almost directly afterwards, he got a bad attack of fever, and was forced to take a cruise in the Bay of Bengal. He came back in time to go with Gingen's force; but after the defeat of Valkonda he resigned his office, I suppose in disgust, and returned to Fort Saint David. In July, some of the Company's ships came in with some reinforcements. There were no military officers left at Fort Saint David, so Mr. Pigot, a member of the council, started with a large convoy of stores, escorted by eighty English and three hundred Sepoys. Clive volunteered to accompany them. They had to march thirty or forty miles to Verdachelam, a town close to the frontier of Tanjore, through which the convoy to Trichinopoli would be able to pass unopposed, but the intervening country was hostile to the English.

"However, the convoy passed unmolested, and after seeing it safely to that point, Pigot and Clive set out to return, with an escort of twelve Sepoys. They were at once attacked, and for miles a heavy fire was kept up on them. Seven of the escort were killed, the rest reached Fort Saint David in safety. Pigot's report of Clive's conduct, strengthened by that previously made by Major Lawrence, induced the authorities to transfer him permanently to the army. He received a commission as captain and was sent off, with a small detachment remaining at Saint David's, to Devikota.

"There he placed himself under Captain Clarke, who commanded; and the whole body, numbering altogether a hundred English, fifty Sepoys, with a small field piece, marched up to Trichinopoli, and I hear managed to make its way in safety. He got in about a month ago."

"And what force have we altogether, here and at Saint David's, in case Trichinopoli falls?"

"What with the detachment that came with you, and two others which arrived about ten days back, we have altogether about three hundred and fifty men. What on earth could these do against all the force of the nawab, the subadar, and three or four thousand French troops?"

The prospect certainly seemed gloomy in the extreme, and the young writers retired to their beds, on this, the first night of their arrival in India, with the conviction that circumstances were in a desperate position.

The next day they set to work, and at its end agreed that they should bear the loss of their situations, and their expulsion from the country, with more than resignation. It was now August, the heat was terrible, and as they sat in their shirtsleeves at their desks, bathed in perspiration, at their work of copying invoices, they felt that any possible change of circumstances would be for the better.

The next day, and the next, still further confirmed these ideas. The nights were nearly as hot as the days. Tormented by mosquitoes, they tossed restlessly in their beds for hours, dozing off towards morning and awaking unrefreshed and worn out. When released from work at the end of the third day, Charlie and Peters strolled down together to the beach, and bewailed their hard fate.

"There are two ships coming from the south," Charlie said presently. "I wonder whether they're from England, or Fort Saint David?"

"Which do you hope they will be?" Peters said.

"I hope they're from Saint David's," Charlie answered. "Even if they made a quick voyage, they couldn't have left England many weeks after us; and although I should be glad to get news from home, I am still more anxious, just at present, for news from Saint David's. Between ourselves, I long to hear of the fall of Trichinopoli. Everyone says it is certain to take place before long, and the sooner it does, the sooner we shall be out of this frightful place."

After dinner they again went down to the beach, and were joined by Doctor Rae, who chatted with them as to the ships, which were now just anchoring. These had already signalled that they were from Saint David's, and that they had on board Mr. Saunders, the governor, and a detachment of troops. Already the soldiers from the Lizzie Anderson, aided by a number of natives, were at work pitching tents in the fort for the reception of the newcomers, and conjecture was busy on shore, among the civilians, as to the object of bringing troops from Saint David's to Madras, that is, directly away from the scene of action.

"It is one of two things," Doctor Rae said: "Either Trichinopoli has surrendered and they are evacuating Fort Saint David, or they have news that the nawab is marching to attack us here. I should think it to be the latter, for Fort Saint David is a great deal stronger than this place, though the French did strengthen it during their stay here. If, then, the authorities have determined to abandon one of the two towns, and to concentrate all their force for the defence of the other, I should have thought they would have held on to Saint David's.