Coordinates: 12°25′26.3″N 76°41′25.

04″E

Siege of Seringapatam (1799)

The siege of Seringapatam (5 April – 4 May 1799)
Siege of Seringapatam
was the final confrontation of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore
War between the British East India Company and the Part of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
Kingdom of Mysore. The British, with the allied Nizam
of Hyderabad and Maratha, achieved a decisive victory
after breaching the walls of the fortress at Seringapatam
and storming the citadel. Tipu Sultan, Mysore's ruler,
was killed in the action.[1] The British restored the
Wodeyar dynasty to the throne after the victory, but
retained indirect control of the kingdom. The leader of
the British troops was Major General David Baird.

Contents
Opposing forces
The Last Effort and Fall of Tipu Sultan by
British troop composition Henry Singleton
Siege
Date 5 April – 4 May 1799
The breach Location Seringapatam, Kingdom of
Storming of Seringapatam Mysore
Death of Tipu 12°25′26.3″N 76°41′25.04″E

Legacy Result British victory

Depictions in literature Belligerents

Memorial by the Mysore government East India Mysore
See also Company

References Hyderabad
Maratha Empire
External links
Commanders and leaders
Tipu Sultan †
Opposing forces Lieutenant
Sipahsalar
General George
Sayyid Abdul Ghaffar
The battle consisted of a series of encounters around Harris
Sahib
Seringapatam (the anglicised version of Nizam Ali Mir Golam
Srirangapatnam) in the months of April and May 1799, Khan, Nizam of Hussain
between the combined forces of the British East India Hyderabad
Company and their allies, numbering over 50,000 Mohomed
soldiers in all, and the soldiers of the Kingdom of Major General Hulleen Mir Miran
Mysore, ruled by Tipu Sultan, numbering up to 30,000. David Baird
The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War came to an end with Colonel Arthur
the defeat and death of Tipu Sultan in the battle. Wellesley
 Strength
British troop composition
50,000 30,000
When the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out, the Casualties and losses
British assembled two large columns under General
1,400 killed and 6,000 killed and
George Harris. The first consisted of over 26,000
British East India Company troops, 4,000 of whom wounded
wounded
were European while the rest were local Indian sepoys.
The second column was supplied by the Nizam of Hyderabad,
and consisted of ten battalions and over 16,000 cavalry.
Together, the allied force numbered over 50,000 soldiers.
Tipu's forces had been depleted by the Third Anglo-Mysore
War and the consequent loss of half his kingdom, but he still
probably had up to 30,000 soldiers.

The British forces consisted of the following:[2]

19th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons

25th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons A Qajar Persian copy of a British painting
12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot of the assault
33rd (1st Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot
73rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot
74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot
75th (Highland) Regiment of Foot
77th Regiment of Foot
Scotch Brigade [later 94th Regiment]
Regiment de Meuron (Swiss mercenaries in British
pay)

The Indian (sepoy) forces consisted of the following:[2][3]

The Siege of Seringapatam by Joseph
1st Madras Native Infantry Mallord William Turner
2nd Madras Native Infantry
1st Madras Native Cavalry
2nd Madras Native Cavalry
3rd Madras Native Cavalry
4th Madras Native Cavalry
Madras Pioneers
Madras Artillery
1st Bengal Native Infantry
2nd Bengal Native Infantry
Bengal Artillery

Siege
Seringapatam was besieged by the British forces on 5 April 1799. The River Cauvery, which flowed
around the city of Seringapatam, was at its lowest level of the year and could be forded by infantry – if an
assault commenced before the monsoon. When letters were exchanged with Tipu, it seemed that he was
playing for time. He requested two persons to be sent to him for discussions and also stated that he was
preoccupied with hunting expeditions. Tipu Sultan's Chief
Minister, Mir Sadiq, is alleged to have been bought over by the
British.[4] The British had sought the assistance of Mir Sadiq who,
like Purnaiya and Qamar-ud-din Khan, had been for sometime past
carrying on correspondence with the English against his master([5]
p. 313).

The breach
The assault of Seringapatam
The Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley, planned the
opening of a breach in the walls of Seringapatam. The location of
the breach, as noted by Beatson, the author of an account of the
Fourth Mysore War, was 'in the west curtain, a little to the right of
the flank of the north-west bastion. This being the old rampart
appeared weaker than the new.' The Mysorean defence succeeded
in preventing the establishment of a battery on the north side of the
River Cauvery on 22 April 1799. However, by 1 May, working at
night, the British had completed their southern batteries and
brought them up to the wall. At sunrise on 2 May, the batteries of
the Nizam of Hyderabad succeeded in opening a practical breach
in the outer wall. In addition, the mines that were laid under the
Plan of the attack on the north-west
breach were hit by artillery and blew up prematurely.
angle of Seringapatam
The leader of the British troops was Major General David Baird,
an implacable enemy of Tipu Sultan: twenty years earlier, he had
been held captive for 44 months. The storming troops, including men of the 73rd and 74th regiments,
clambered up the breach and fought their way along the ramparts.

On the night of 3 May some officers crossed over to the glacis, examined the breach and the manner of
attacking the fort (Lushington, Life of Harris, p. 325). It was probably on this occasion that it was arranged
between the English officers and Mir Sadiq that the assault should take place at midday([5] p. 313).

Storming of Seringapatam
The assault was to begin at 1:00 p.m. to coincide with the hottest
part of the day when the defenders would be taking refreshment.
Led by two forlorn-hopes, two columns would advance upon the
defences around the breach, then wheel right and left to take over
the fortifications. A third reserve column, commanded by Arthur
Wellesley, would deploy as required to provide support where
needed.

At 11:00 a.m., on 4 May 1799, the British troops were briefed and
The storming of Seringapatam, John
whiskey and a biscuit issued to the European soldiers, before the
Vendramini, 1802
signal to attack was given. The forlorn-hopes, numbering seventy-
six men, led the charge. The columns quickly formed, were
ordered to fix bayonets, and began to move forward.

As the hour approached, Mir Sadiq withdrew the troops stationed at the breach under the pretext of
distributing their pay. There was no one to protest against such a measure. Sayyid Abdul Ghaffar, who was
very loyal to the Sultan, was killed by a cannon ball. Immediately after the Sayyid was killed, the traitors
made a signal from the fort holding out a white handkerchief to the English troops who were assembled in
the trenches, waiting for such a signal[5] p. 313-314).

The storming party dashed across the River Cauvery in water four feet deep, with covering fire from British
batteries, and within 16 minutes had scaled the ramparts and swept aside the defenders quickly. The British
follow-up columns turned right and left, sweeping along the inside of the walls until they met on the far
side of the city.

Tipu's Tiger, an automaton now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, was captured at Seringapatam.

Death of Tipu
The column that rounded the northwest corner of the outer
wall was immediately involved in a serious fight with a group
of Mysorean warriors under a fat officer, which defended
every traverse. The officer was observed to be discharging
hunting weapons, loaded and passed to him by servants, at the
British. After the fall of the city, in the gathering dusk, some of
the British officers went to look for the body of Tipu Sultan.
He was identified as the fat officer who had fired hunting
weapons at the attackers, and his body was found in a choked
tunnel-like passage near the Water Gate.
Finding the Body of Tipu Sultan, by
Benjamin Sydenham described the body as: Samuel William Reynolds

wounded a little above the right ear, and the ball

lodged in the left cheek, he had also three wounds
in the body, he was in stature about 5 ft 8 in
(1.73 m) and not very fair, he was rather
corpulent, had a short neck and high shoulders,
but his wrists and ankles were small and delicate.

He had large full eyes, with small arched

eyebrows and very small whiskers. His
appearance denoted him to be above the Common
Stamp. And his countenance expressed a mixture
of haughtiness and resolution. He was dressed in a The spot where Sultan died (1880s)
fine white linen jacket, chintz drawers, a crimson
cloth round his waist with a red silk belt and
pouch across his body and head.

He had lastly his turband and there were no

weapons of defence about him.[6]

Legacy
All members of the British-led forces who took part in the siege were awarded a medal by the Governor-
General of India.[7]
Two cannon captured by the British during the battle are
displayed at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, now
standing in front of the officers' mess.

Much of the site of the battle is still intact including the

ramparts, the Water Gate, the place where the Tipu Sultan's
body was found, the area where the British prisoners were held
and the site of the destroyed palace. Seringapatam, by James Welsh, 1803.

Around 80 men of the Swiss ‘de Meuron Regiment’, who fell

during the siege, and their family members are buried in the Garrison Cemetery, Seringapatam.[8]

Depictions in literature
Wilkie Collins's novel The Moonstone begins with the looting of the jewels removed from Seringapatam in
1799 from Tipu's treasury.The siege was also depicted in H.M Milner's play ""Tippo Saib, Or The
Storming of Seringatam" in 1823 at the Royal Colburg Theatre on the South Bank, London. The siege and
Tipu's death also received considerable attention in France, as Tipu had been viewed as an ally of the
French, with the most prominent being Étienne de Jouy's "Tippo-Saëb,tragédie" which premiered at the
Comédie-Française in 1813 with Talma in the lead role.

The Battle of Seringapatam is the main conflict in the novel Sharpe's Tiger, by Bernard Cornwell.

Memorial by the Mysore government

Memorial the siege of European officers killed in the
Seringapatam (1799) by the siege of Seringapatam (1799),
Mysore government, Seringapatam
Seringapatam

Forces engaged before Forces engaged before

Seringapatam (1799), Seringapatam (1799),
Seringapatam Seringapatam

Memorial to the siege of

Seringapatam (1799),
Seringapatam

See also
Anglo-Mysore Wars
Garrison Cemetery, Seringapatam
Regiment de Meuron
 Seringapatam medal

References
1. Naravane, M.S. (2014). Battles of the Honorourable East India Company. A.P.H. Publishing
Corporation. pp. 178–181. ISBN 9788131300343.
2. Macquarie University "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20081007081409/http://
www.lib.mq.edu.au/digital/seringapatam/regiments.html). Archived from the original (http://w
ww.lib.mq.edu.au/digital/seringapatam/regiments.html) on 7 October 2008. Retrieved
9 January 2009.
3. "History of the Madras Army" (https://books.google.com/books?id=BlkIAAAAQAAJ&q=%222
nd+madras%22&pg=PA313). E. Keys at the Government Press. 27 July 1882 – via Google
Books.
4. "Mysorean Military Commanders and Officials" (http://www.mq.edu.au/macquarie-archive/se
ringapatam/mysoreans.html). Seringapatam 1799. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
5. Hasan, Mohibbul 1908-1999 (2009). History of Tipu Sultan (Reprint ed.). Delhi: Aakar
Books. ISBN 978-8187879572. OCLC 985562987 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/98556298
7).
6. http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/tipu-sultan-throne-finial-to-be-auctioned/657350/
7. Mayo, John Horsley (1897). Medals and Decorations of the British Army and Navy, Volume 1
(https://archive.org/details/medalsdecoration01mayouoft). A. Constable & Co. p. 134 (https://
archive.org/details/medalsdecoration01mayouoft/page/134). Retrieved 10 June 2019.
8. Kumar, M T Shiva (9 March 2013). "There is life at the cemetery" (http://www.thehindu.com/to
days-paper/tp-features/tp-districtplus/there-is-life-at-the-cemetery/article4489629.ece). The
Hindu (Bangalore). Retrieved 3 February 2015.

Jac Weller, 2006, Wellington in India, Greenhill Books, London (http://www.greenhillbooks.c

om/), ISBN 978-1-85367-397-9. (Review (http://www.napoleon-series.org/greenhill/library/c_
weller_india.html).)
Elizabeth Longford, 1996, Wellington: The Years of the Sword, Smithmark Pub, New York,
ISBN 978-0-8317-5646-8.

External links
A detailed analysis of the war with Tipu (http://livelystories.com/2015/02/16/fall-seringapata
m-final-enemy/)

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