"The enemy's fire now began to slacken, and soon after entirely ceased.
In this situation we remained until two o'clock, when, perceiving that
most of the enemy were returned to their camp, it was thought a proper
opportunity to seize one of the eminences from which the enemy had much
annoyed us in the morning. Accordingly, the Grenadiers, of the 1st
Battalion, with two field-pieces and a body of Sepoys, supported by four
platoons and two field-pieces from the 2d Battalion, were ordered to
take possession of it, which accordingly they did.
"This encouraged us to take possession of another advanced post within
300 yards of the entrance to the enemy's camp.
"All these motions brought the enemy out a second time, but in
attempting to bring out their cannon they were so galled by our
artillery that they could not effect it, notwithstanding they made
several attempts. Their horse and foot, however, advanced much nearer
than in the morning, and by their motions made as if they intended to
charge; two or three large bodies being within 150 yards. In this
situation they stood a considerable time a very brisk and severe
cannonade, which killed them upwards of 400 men, among whom were four or
five principal officers. This loss put the enemy into great confusion,
and encouraged us to attack the entrance into their camp and an adjacent
eminence at the same time. This we effected with little or no loss,
although the former was defended by the 50 French and a very large body
of black infantry, and the latter by a large body of horse and foot
intermixt together. During the heat of the action the remainder of the
forces were two or three times ordered to join us, and that order as
often countermanded on account of the movement of a large body of horse
towards the grove, whom we had often fired upon to keep at a proper
distance. Those afterwards proved to be our friends, commanded by Mir
Jafar. The entrance to the camp being gained, a general rout ensued, and
the whole army continued the pursuit for upwards of six miles, which,
for want of horse, answered no other purpose than that of taking all
their artillery, consisting of forty pieces of cannon, and all their
baggage."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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