Upon the 17th January the army, being reassembled, took the field under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote. At this time the strength of the regiment did not exceed 500 men, and was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel James Craufurd, this officer having succeeded Lord McLeod, who relinquished his command, and returned to England, having, it is said, differed in opinion with General Munro on the subject of his movements. Hyder Ali was in the Tanjore country committing every species of outrage and devastation. On the 1st June, 1781, Colonel Lord McLeod received the local rank of Major-General in the East Indies. In June Sir Eyre Coote moved his force southwards along the coast towards Cuddalore, where his outposts were attacked by Tippoo Saïb, who was repulsed. He afterwards moved to Chillumborem, upon the Coleroon, where the enemy had a large magazine of grain. The Pagoda was attacked by the pickets under Major John Shaw, Seventy-third Highlanders, but they were repulsed and that officer wounded. Hyder Ali, apprehensive for the safety of Chillumborem, moved his army in that direction from Tanjore and Trichinopoly, whilst Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, with the view of obtaining supplies from the shipping, proceeded towards Cuddalore. By forced marches and manœuvres, however, Hyder Ali succeeded in nearly surrounding the latter on the plains of Porto Novo, about two days’ march south of Cuddalore. About 4 a.m. on the 1st of July, the enemy, whose force was computed at 25 battalions of infantry, 400 Europeans, 45,000 horse, and above 100,000 matchlock-men, peons, and polygars, with 47 pieces of cannon, was seen to draw up in line-of-battle. The British force did not exceed 8,000 men, of which the Seventy-third was the only European regiment. Notwithstanding this immense disparity of force, Sir Eyre Coote determined to attack the enemy, and drew up his army in two lines, the first, of which the Seventy-third Highlanders formed a part, being commanded by Major-General Sir Hector Munro, the second by Major-General James Stuart. A plain divided the two armies, beyond which the enemy was drawn up on ground strengthened by front and flanking redoubts and batteries. The action commenced by an advanced movement of the English troops, and after eight hours’ hard fighting the enemy was forced from all his intrenchments and compelled to retire. The Seventy-third was on the right of the first line, and led all the attacks to the full approbation of the general commanding. His attention was particularly attracted by one of the pipers, who always blew up more heartily the heavier the fire became. This so pleased the general that he cried out “Well done my brave fellow, you shall have a pair of silver pipes for this!” The promise was not forgotten, for a handsome pair of pipes was presented to the regiment, with an appropriate inscription bearing testimony to the general’s esteem for its conduct and character. Meer Saïb, Hyder