aged to pay to the company thirty lacs of rupees for the
expenses of the war, and to maintain an army of 24,000 men at his own
charge. Having done this Meer Jaffier issued his mandates to the chiefs,
and to the cities of the three provinces, and then joined the English,
who were advancing upon Moorshedabad. In their route they were met by
three of Meer Cossim's generals, whom they defeated, and arriving at
Moorshedabad they took possession of it without opposition. Another
battle was soon after fought with the troops of Meer Cossim, on the
plain of Geriah, when Meer Jaffier and his English allies were again
victorious. Those of Meer Cossim's troops, who escaped the slaughter,
fled to an intrenched camp at Odowa, which, after three weeks, was
carried, and then the whole army of the nabob was scattered. Meer Cossim
fled with a few troops towards Patna, and the English laid siege to
and captured Monghir, recently made his capital in preference to
Moorshedabad, the old residence of the nabobs of Bengal. On hearing of
the capture of Monghir, Meer Cossim ordered the execution of all the
English who had been taken at Patna, and one hundred and fifty, with Mr.
Ellis their chief, were massacred in cold blood. Patna was soon after
taken by the English, and in the meantime Meer Cossim had taken refuge
at Allahabad, with Soujah Dowla, the powerful ruler of Oude. On his
arrival at Allahabad, Shah Alum was with his vizier, and the three
Indian rulers marched with a large army to Benares, and encamped not
many miles from the English. Major Carnac, who had by this time arrived
to take the command, thought it prudent to retreat to Patna; the more
so, because a mutiny had broken out in his own camp. The major was
attacked under the walls of Patna by the confederated Indians; but after
a severe contest, he defeated his assailants with great loss. Soujah
Dowla now opened a correspondence with Meer Jaffier, and offered to
support him in Bengal and Orissa, if he would cede the country of Bahar
to Oude; and about the same time Shah Alum offered to abandon both
Soujah Dowla and Meer Cossim, for English protection and alliance. These
negociations, however, were broken off; and in the month of October,
1764, Major Munro, who had recently assumed the command of the army at
Patna, led his forces against the enemy, which entirely broke the power
of Soujah Dowla, the only Indian ruler that the English had to fear.
Major Munro was now empowered to trea