in bringing in supplies
to the British army, and to prevent the enemy from receiving food from
the surrounding country.

Early in June, the British squadron off the coast was joined by two
ships of the line, the Norfolk and Panther, from England; and a
hundred Europeans, and a detachment of European and native artillery
came down from Bombay.

Around Pondicherry ran a strong cactus hedge, strengthened with
palisades, and the French retired into this at the beginning of July.
They were too strongly posted there to be attacked by the force with
which the English at first approached them, and they were expecting
the arrival of a large body of troops from Mysore, with a great convoy
of provisions.

On the 17th these approached. Major Moore, who was guarding the
English rear, had a hundred and eighty European infantry; fifty
English horse, under Peters; sixteen hundred irregular horse; and
eleven hundred Sepoys. The Mysoreans had four thousand good horse, a
thousand Sepoys, and two hundred Europeans, with eight pieces of
cannon.

The fight lasted but a few minutes. The British native horse and
Sepoys at once gave way; and the English infantry retreated, in great
disorder, to the fort of Trivadi, which they gained with a loss of
fifteen killed and forty wounded. Peters' horse alone behaved well.
Several times they charged right through the masses of Mysorean horse;
but when five-and-twenty were killed, and most of the rest, including
their commander, severely wounded, they also fell back into the fort.

Colonel Coote, when the news of the disaster reached him, determined,
if possible, to get possession of the fort of Vellenore, which stood
on the river Ariangopang, some three miles from Pondicherry, and
covered the approaches of the town from that side. The English
encampment was at Perimbe, on the main road leading, through an avenue
of trees, to Pondicherry. Colonel Coote threw up a redoubt on the hill
behind Perimbe, and another on the avenue, to check any French force
advancing from Pondicherry. These works were finished on the morning
of the 19th of July.

The next morning the French army advanced along the river Ariangopang,
but Coote marched half his force to meet them, while he moved the rest
as if to attack the redoubts, interspersed along the line of hedge. As
the fall of these would have placed the attacking force in his rear,
Lally at once returned to the town. The same evening the Mysoreans,
with three t