Sepoys and Squares

I stumbled onto a fantastic website dedicated to the Mysore Wars and came across a Scottish manuscript describing the training and regulations for a company of native infantry (commonly called sepoys) in the service of the East-India Company. I haven’t read too many military manuals but I think you would be hard pressed to find one so colorful.

“If a Battn. (Battalion) is attacked by a large Body of Horse on a plain, it is to form the Square or Oblong, half and face outwards. Should the Horse appear within the distance of 300 Yds the Bttn with a well directed fire of Grape or Case shot will in all probability keep them at bay; if however from superior numbers and the intoxication of Bang they should approach within the distance of 100 yds, the front rank will make ready. If the Cavalry should still persist in advancing to the distance of 60 yds, the front rank will present and the rear rank make ready. It is of the first importance that men should preserve their fire on this occasion. If the Cavalry should however persist in advancing to the distance of 50 yds the front rank will fire.” When the cavalry approaches within 20 yards the square is to remain “steady and fully determined to defend themselves like Gallant soldiers to the last extremity.”

The language is rich and inspired. For example, the author describes the smoke produced from musket and cannon fire as “intoxication of bang.” And the last sentence reads like a Hollywood script: “…defend themselves like Gallant soldiers to the last extremity.”

For all of the destruction and terror of war, the scene described above has a certain beauty to it. Splendid, Indian lancers rushing across a plain, foam coming from their horses’ mouths, the gold and silk of their uniforms gleaming in the sun as they close in on the red lines of soldiers in front of them. The ranks of British infantry stone faced, squinting through the smoke of the field, holding their fire as the cavalry comes like a wave. Sepoys and highlanders shoulder to shoulder, bayonets fixed, waiting for their officers' commands.

The Tiger of Mysore

When things didn’t work out particularly well for the British in the American War for Independence they turned their attention elsewhere, most notably India. By the 1780s they had extended control over significant portions of the subcontinent but their future subjugation of the country was still very much in doubt.

India was locked in an almost constant state of war between rival states and their European allies – such as the Mughals in the north, The Marathas in the west, the Nizam of Hyderabad in the Deccan and Tipu Sultan of Mysore in the south.

Tipu Sultan was a thorn in Britain’s side. He was young, ambitious, aligned with France and possessed a European trained and equipped army that had already beaten the British in two wars during the 1760s and 80s. The British called him the Tiger of Mysore.

Future British expansion in India meant inevitable conflict with Tipu. Sighting his close ties with France, the British East-India Company convinced parliament to launch a decisive campaign against Mysore in 1789. The final push against Tipu would result in two wars – both resulting in British victories – but the conflicts were hotly contested and featured an incredible cast of characters. Lord Cornwallis, the general that surrendered to Washington at Yorktown, and the future Duke of Wellington, who would later defeat Napoleon at Waterloo, both commanded on the British side.

Since my first visit to India in 2008 and a trip to the Tiger of Mysore’s island fortress, Seringapatam, I have been fascinated with this relatively forgotten moment in history. War elephants, Scottish highlanders rushing over Indian fortress walls, and a sultan called Tiger – this struggle had it all.