as about to give orders for a retreat,
and the French officers, who commanded the artillery, began to draw
off their guns; but at that instant, by some accident, the tumbrils
containing the ammunition blew up in the centre of the British, lines,
and their artillery was rendered useless. This accident changed the
fortune of the day; and the conquerors were left at the mercy of the
vanquished. Still they long kept their ground; and it was not till all
the sepoys were broken and cut to pieces that the British gave way. Even
then they rallied for one more desperate effort; and under fire of the
enemy's cannon they gained the ridge of a hill, in which position they
formed a square, and defended themselves against thirteen successive
attacks; the soldiers fighting with their bayonets, and the officers
with their swords. The troops would still have resisted the enemy, had
not Colonel Baillie directed them to lay down their arms, and stepping
forward, asked for quarter. It is said that even then many would not lay
down their arms, and continued to fight under the legs of the elephants
and horses. But the struggle was now of no avail; one half of the
survivors were cowardly butchered, and the rest were made prisoners, and
reserved for a horrible captivity. In this conflict four thousand sepoys
and six hundred Europeans were slain, among whom was Colonel Fletcher.

At the time when this battle took place, Sir Hector Munro, who commanded
the other main division of the Madras army, was within a short distance
of Hyder's rear, and on discovering the catastrophe, he abandoned his
tents and baggage, threw his heavier guns into a tank, and fled to
Madras. The country was now at the mercy of Hyder; and Wandewash,
Chingleput, Vellore, and Arcot were in a short time either captured or
closely besieged. Had it not been for Hastings, the power of the British
would have been broken, not only in the Carnatic, but also in the
northern Circars. On first discovering the irruption of Hyder Ali, the
presidency of Madras despatched a fast-sailing ship to Calcutta, with
letters and agents, urging him to send them aid in men and money. The
treasury of Calcutta was empty, but Hastings procured fifteen lacs of
rupees, which were sent off to Madras as a present supply for the
army, and the governor-general immediately set to work to obtain more.
Missives and agents were soon seen flying through the country to procure
supplies; and Moorshedabad, Patna, Lu