Siege of Cuddalore - Revision history

SheldonTopper4: fixes

2026-01-11T00:11:05Z

fixes

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:41, 11 January 2026
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	{{Short description\|1783 battle of the ~~American Revolutionary War~~}}		{{Short description\|1783 battle of the Second Anglo-Mysore war}}
	{{For\|other actions at this location\|Battle of Cuddalore (disambiguation)}}		{{For\|other actions at this location\|Battle of Cuddalore (disambiguation)}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2015}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2015}}
	{{Use British English\|date=January 2017}}		{{Use British English\|date=January 2017}}
	{{Infobox military conflict		{{Infobox military conflict
	\| conflict = Siege of Cuddalore		\| conflict = Siege of Cuddalore
	\| partof = the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]]		\| partof = the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]]
	\| image = SiegeOfCuddalore1783.jpg		\| image = SiegeOfCuddalore1783 (cropped).jpg
	~~\| image_size = 300px~~		\| caption = ''The East India Company's European Regiment at the Siege of Cuddalore, 1 July 1783'' <br /> [[Richard Simkin]], 1890
	\| caption = ~~Drawing~~ of ~~the action by~~ [[Richard Simkin]], 1890		\| date = 7 June – 25 July 1783<br>({{age in years, months, weeks and days\|1783\|6\|7\|1783\|7\|25}})
	\| date = 7 June – 25 July 1783		\| place = [[Cuddalore]], [[Carnatic region\|Carnatic]] (present-day southeastern [[India]])
	\| place = [[Cuddalore]], [[Carnatic region\|Carnatic]] (present-day southeastern [[India]])		\| coordinates = {{coord\|11.75\|79.75\|display=inline,title}}
	\| coordinates = {{coord\|11.75\|79.75\|display=inline}}		\| result = Inconclusive
	\| result = ~~Indecisive (ended by peace agreement)~~		\| combatant1 = {{flagcountry\|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
	\| combatant1 = {{flagcountry\|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
	*{{flagicon image\|Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg}} [[British East India Company]]		*{{flagicon image\|Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg}} [[British East India Company]]
	{{flagicon\|Electorate of Hanover\|1692}} [[Electorate of Hanover\|Hanover]]		{{flagicon\|Electorate of Hanover\|1692}} [[Electorate of Hanover\|Hanover]]
	\| combatant2 = {{flagicon image\|Flag of Mysore.svg}} [[Sultanate of Mysore]]<br>{{flagcountry\|Kingdom of France}}		\| combatant2 = {{flagicon image\|Flag of Mysore.svg}} [[Sultanate of Mysore]]<br>{{flagcountry\|Kingdom of France}}
	\| commander1 = {{flagicon\|Kingdom of Great Britain}}[[James Stuart (d. 1793)\|James Stuart]]<br>{{flagicon\|Kingdom of Great Britain\|naval}}[[Edward Hughes (admiral)\|Edward Hughes]]		\| commander1 = {{flagicon\|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[James Stuart (d. 1793)\|James Stuart]]<br>{{flagicon\|Kingdom of Great Britain\|naval}} [[Edward Hughes (admiral)\|Edward Hughes]]<br>{{flagicon\|Electorate of Hanover}} [[Christoph August von Wangenheim]]
	\| commander2 = {{flagicon\|Kingdom of France}}[[Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau]]<br>{{flagicon\|Kingdom of France\|naval}}[[Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez\|Bailli de Suffren]]<br>{{flagicon image\|Flag of Mysore.svg}} Sayed Sahib		\| commander2 = {{flagicon\|Kingdom of France}} [[Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau]]<br>{{flagicon\|Kingdom of France\|naval}} [[Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez\|Bailli de Suffren]]<br>{{flagicon image\|Flag of Mysore.svg}} Sayed Sahib
	\| strength1 = 1,~~660 Europeans<br>9,430 sepoys~~		\| strength1 = 12,000{{sfn\|Grant\|2017\|p=475}}
	\| strength2 = ~~Bussy: 2,500 Europeans<br>Bussy: 2~~,000 ~~sepoys<br>5,800 Mysoreans~~{{sfn\|~~Gaudart~~\|~~1922~~\|p=~~129~~}}~~<br>Suffren: 2,400 marines~~		\| strength2 = 9,000{{sfn\|Grant\|2017\|p=475}}
	\| casualties1 = 1,~~000~~		\| casualties1 = 1,500{{sfn\|Grant\|2017\|p=475}}
	\| casualties2 = 1,~~000~~		\| casualties2 = 1,100{{sfn\|Grant\|2017\|p=475}}
	\| campaignbox =		\| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Second Anglo-Mysore War}}
	{{Campaignbox Second Anglo-Mysore War}}
	{{Campaignbox Anglo-French War (1778–83)}}		{{Campaignbox Anglo-French War (1778–83)}}
	}}		}}
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	===Repulse of the French sortie===		===Repulse of the French sortie===

	De Bussy's additional reinforcements now had enough men to launch a [[sortie]] on the British siege works. Stuart, aware of the newly arrived French reinforcements, prepared for a major attack. On 25 June, the French made repeated sallies on the British lines. Despite some initial progress, the French were not able to press their advantage; Stuart was able to counterattack and repel the remaining French assaults. De Bussy called off the attack after realising no progress had been made at a considerable cost. The assault was a disaster, and De Bussy had lost a great opportunity in defeating the besiegers, especially with the reinforcements he had received. French morale plummeted as they had lost the advantage in numbers and the balance had swung back in favour of the besieging British. The British had no more than 23 men killed and wounded, while De Bussy's attacking force had 450 killed and wounded with another 150 taken prisoner. A number of French officers were captured including the leader of the assault, the Chevalier de Dumas, who was captured unwounded. Among the French prisoners was a young sergeant in the French marines who was also wounded and had landed from Suffren's squadron on 20 June; [[Charles XIV John of Sweden\|Jean Bernadotte]] became a [[Marshal of France]] and, more famously, was later crowned the [[King of Sweden]].		De Bussy's additional reinforcements now had enough men to launch a [[sortie]] on the British siege works. Stuart, aware of the newly arrived French reinforcements, prepared for a major attack. On 25 June, the French made repeated sallies on the British lines. Despite some initial progress, the French were not able to press their advantage; Stuart was able to counterattack and repel the remaining French assaults. De Bussy called off the attack after realising no progress had been made at a considerable cost. The assault was a disaster, and De Bussy had lost a great opportunity in defeating the besiegers, especially with the reinforcements he had received. French morale plummeted as they had lost the advantage in numbers and the balance had swung back in favour of the besieging British. The British had no more than 23 men killed and wounded, while De Bussy's attacking force had 450 killed and wounded with another 150 taken prisoner. A number of French officers were captured including the leader of the assault, the Chevalier de Dumas, who was captured unwounded.

			Among the French prisoners was a young sergeant in the French marines who was also wounded and had landed from Suffren's squadron on 20 June; [[Charles XIV John of Sweden\|Jean Bernadotte]] became a [[Marshal of France]] and, more famously, was later crowned the [[King of Sweden]]. Modern historians, however, regard this story as apocryphal, noting that Bernadotte never served in India and that the tale likely arose from a misunderstanding during his later service in Germany.<ref>Barton, D. Plunket (1914). ''Bernadotte: The First Phase, 1763–1799''. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. p. 55. [[iarchive:bernadottefirstp00bart\|Internet Archive]]. OCLC 458381322.</ref>

	===End of the siege===		===End of the siege===
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	*{{Citation \|last=Fortescue \|first=Sir John William \|year=1902 \|title=A history of the British army \|volume=3 \|publisher=Macmillan \|pages=481–485 \|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbritish03fortuoft}}		*{{Citation \|last=Fortescue \|first=Sir John William \|year=1902 \|title=A history of the British army \|volume=3 \|publisher=Macmillan \|pages=481–485 \|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbritish03fortuoft}}
	*{{Citation \|last=Gaudart \|first=Edmond \|year=1922 \|title=Catalogue des manuscrits des anciennes archives de l'Inde française ...\|volume=1 \|publisher=Leroux : Pondichéry, Bibliothèque coloniale\|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-i0LAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA129 129]}}		*{{Citation \|last=Gaudart \|first=Edmond \|year=1922 \|title=Catalogue des manuscrits des anciennes archives de l'Inde française ...\|volume=1 \|publisher=Leroux : Pondichéry, Bibliothèque coloniale\|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-i0LAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA129 129]}}
	*{{Citation \|~~last~~=Wilks \|~~first~~=Mark \|last2=Murray \|first2=Hammick \|year=1989 \|orig-year=1810\|title=History of Mysore \|volume=2 \|publisher=Asian Educational Services\|isbn=978-81-206-0491-9 \|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MEvQL8wHHngC&pg=PA181 181]}}		* {{cite book\|last= Grant\|first=R. G. \|title=1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History\|year=2017 \|publisher=Chartwell Books\|isbn=978-0785835530 }}
			*{{Citation \|last1=Wilks \|first1=Mark \|last2=Murray \|first2=Hammick \|year=1989 \|orig-year=1810\|title=History of Mysore \|volume=2 \|publisher=Asian Educational Services\|isbn=978-81-206-0491-9 \|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MEvQL8wHHngC&pg=PA181 181]}}
	*{{Citation \|last=Wilson \|first=W. J. \|year=1882\|title=History of the Madras Army \|volume=2 \|publisher=E. Keys at the Government Press \|pages=76 \|url=https://archive.org/details/historymadrasar00wilsgoog}}		*{{Citation \|last=Wilson \|first=W. J. \|year=1882\|title=History of the Madras Army \|volume=2 \|publisher=E. Keys at the Government Press \|pages=76 \|url=https://archive.org/details/historymadrasar00wilsgoog}}
	*{{Citation \|last=Knesebeck \|first=Ernst von dem \|year=1845 \|title=Geschichte der churhannoverschen Truppen in Gibraltar: Minorca und Ostindien \|publisher=Im Verlage der Helwingschen Hof-Buchhandlung \|language=de \|page=140 \|url=https://archive.org/details/geschichtederch00knesgoog}}		*{{Citation \|last=Knesebeck \|first=Ernst von dem \|year=1845 \|title=Geschichte der churhannoverschen Truppen in Gibraltar: Minorca und Ostindien \|publisher=Im Verlage der Helwingschen Hof-Buchhandlung \|language=de \|page=140 \|url=https://archive.org/details/geschichtederch00knesgoog}}

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuddalore~~, Siege of~~ 1783}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuddalore 1783}}
	[[Category:Sieges involving Great Britain]]		[[Category:Sieges of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783)]]
			[[Category:Battles of the Second Anglo-Mysore War]]
			[[Category:Conflicts in 1783]]
			[[Category:1783 in India]]
			[[Category:Sieges involving the Kingdom of Great Britain]]
	[[Category:Sieges involving the Kingdom of Mysore]]		[[Category:Sieges involving the Kingdom of Mysore]]
	[[Category:Battles involving Hanover]]		[[Category:Battles involving Hanover]]
	[[Category:Sieges involving France]]		[[Category:Sieges of the American Revolutionary War involving France]]
	~~[[Category:Conflicts in 1783]]~~
	~~[[Category:1783 in India~~]]
	[[Category:Sieges involving the British East India Company]]		[[Category:Sieges involving the British East India Company]]
	[[Category:~~Sieges~~ of ~~the Anglo-French War (1778–1783)~~]]		[[Category:History of Tamil Nadu]]
	[[Category:~~Battles of the Second Anglo-Mysore War~~]]		[[Category:Cuddalore]]
			[[Category:Attacks on military installations in India]]

imported>OlliverWithDoubleL at 15:49, 25 July 2021

2021-07-25T15:49:04Z

New page

{{Short description|1783 battle of the American Revolutionary War}}
{{For|other actions at this location|Battle of Cuddalore (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Siege of Cuddalore
| partof = the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]]
| image = SiegeOfCuddalore1783.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Drawing of the action by [[Richard Simkin]], 1890
| date = 7 June – 25 July 1783
| place = [[Cuddalore]], [[Carnatic region|Carnatic]] (present-day southeastern [[India]])
| coordinates = {{coord|11.75|79.75|display=inline}}
| result = Indecisive (ended by peace agreement)
| combatant1 = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg}} [[British East India Company]]
{{flagicon|Electorate of Hanover|1692}} [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanover]]
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Mysore.svg}} [[Sultanate of Mysore]] {{flagcountry|Kingdom of France}}
| commander1 = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}}[[James Stuart (d. 1793)|James Stuart]] {{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain|naval}}[[Edward Hughes (admiral)|Edward Hughes]]
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Kingdom of France}}[[Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau]] {{flagicon|Kingdom of France|naval}}[[Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez|Bailli de Suffren]] {{flagicon image|Flag of Mysore.svg}} Sayed Sahib
| strength1 = 1,660 Europeans 9,430 sepoys
| strength2 = Bussy: 2,500 Europeans Bussy: 2,000 sepoys 5,800 Mysoreans{{sfn|Gaudart|1922|p=129}} Suffren: 2,400 marines
| casualties1 = 1,000
| casualties2 = 1,000
| campaignbox =
{{Campaignbox Second Anglo-Mysore War}}
{{Campaignbox Anglo-French War (1778–83)}}
}}
[[File:Plan de la bataille terrestre de Gondelour 1783.jpg|thumb|Map in French of the battle ground Cuddalore, 13 June 1783.]]

The '''siege of Cuddalore''' was a siege attempt by [[Great Britain|British]] troops against a combined [[France|French]] and [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysorean]] [[garrison]] at the fortress of [[Cuddalore]] in the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]]. The siege ended when news arrived of a preliminary peace treaty between France and Britain.

==Siege==

British troops were under the command of Major-General [[James Stuart (d. 1793)|James Stuart]] and arrived outside Cuddalore on 7 June 1783. This army consisted of the [[73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot|73rd]] and 78th Highlanders, the [[101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers)|101st regiment]], and a considerable body of [[Sepoys]]. It was subsequently reinforced by a detachment of two [[Germans in the American Revolution#Hanover|Hanoverian regiments]] from the King's German possessions, commanded by Colonel [[Christoph August von Wangenheim]].

On 6 June, the army took up a position on the sandy ground two miles from the garrison. They were between the sea on the right and the Bandipollum hills on the left, with a [[Military reserve|reserve line]] in the rear. The French and Mysoreans, commanded by [[Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau]], took an intermediate and parallel position half a mile (0.8 km) in front of the fort.

===Attack on the redoubt===

On 13 June, Stuart decided to attack the redoubt in front of the fort in order to press the allies harder within Cuddalore itself. The assault took place at four in the morning, granting the British army an element of surprise. Eventually, the allies were driven from their principal defences and the last allied counterattack was defeated. By mutual consent, a [[Ceasefire|cessation]] of firing took place. The allies suffered serious losses of nearly 500 casualties. Stuart's forces also suffered heavily: more than 900 British, Hanoverian, and Sepoys were killed or wounded. Though significantly weakened, Stuart continued to besiege Cuddalore proper and prepared for further reinforcements from the sea.

===Naval Battle===
{{main|Battle of Cuddalore (1783)}}

Key naval support for the British was interrupted on 20 June by the arrival of a French fleet under the [[Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez|Bailli de Suffren]], which met the British fleet in a [[Battle of Cuddalore (1783)|naval battle]] and forced it to withdraw to [[Madras]]. Suffren, with this advantage, was able to land 2,400 soldiers, marines, and sailors in support of de Bussy's garrison, resulting in nearly equal-sized forces.

===Repulse of the French sortie===

De Bussy's additional reinforcements now had enough men to launch a [[sortie]] on the British siege works. Stuart, aware of the newly arrived French reinforcements, prepared for a major attack. On 25 June, the French made repeated sallies on the British lines. Despite some initial progress, the French were not able to press their advantage; Stuart was able to counterattack and repel the remaining French assaults. De Bussy called off the attack after realising no progress had been made at a considerable cost. The assault was a disaster, and De Bussy had lost a great opportunity in defeating the besiegers, especially with the reinforcements he had received. French morale plummeted as they had lost the advantage in numbers and the balance had swung back in favour of the besieging British. The British had no more than 23 men killed and wounded, while De Bussy's attacking force had 450 killed and wounded with another 150 taken prisoner. A number of French officers were captured including the leader of the assault, the Chevalier de Dumas, who was captured unwounded. Among the French prisoners was a young sergeant in the French marines who was also wounded and had landed from Suffren's squadron on 20 June; [[Charles XIV John of Sweden|Jean Bernadotte]] became a [[Marshal of France]] and, more famously, was later crowned the [[King of Sweden]].

===End of the siege===

The siege continued for another five days. Both sides were weakening from disease and growing casualties, but Stuart's forces suffered more heavily than De Bussy's. Stuart wrote letters to the Madras government asserting that he had been abandoned. De Bussy planned another attack by a more circuitous route directed at the main camp of the British forces, but this attack was not carried out before a British frigate arrived on 30 June with news of a preliminary peace between France and Britain.

==Aftermath==

On 2 July, Britain and France negotiated a cessation of hostilities, although the war between Mysore and Britain remained ongoing. In the [[Peace of Paris (1783)]], Cuddalore was returned to Great Britain in exchange for [[Pondicherry (city)|Pondicherry]] and [[Mahé, India|Mahé]], two French territories that British forces had captured earlier in the war. Fighting continued between the British and Mysoreans until the [[Treaty of Mangalore]] was signed in March 1784.

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
*{{Citation |last=Fortescue |first=Sir John William |year=1902 |title=A history of the British army |volume=3 |publisher=Macmillan |pages=481–485 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbritish03fortuoft}}
*{{Citation |last=Gaudart |first=Edmond |year=1922 |title=Catalogue des manuscrits des anciennes archives de l'Inde française ...|volume=1 |publisher=Leroux : Pondichéry, Bibliothèque coloniale|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-i0LAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA129 129]}}
*{{Citation |last=Wilks |first=Mark |last2=Murray |first2=Hammick |year=1989 |orig-year=1810|title=History of Mysore |volume=2 |publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-0491-9 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MEvQL8wHHngC&pg=PA181 181]}}
*{{Citation |last=Wilson |first=W. J. |year=1882|title=History of the Madras Army |volume=2 |publisher=E. Keys at the Government Press |pages=76 |url=https://archive.org/details/historymadrasar00wilsgoog}}
*{{Citation |last=Knesebeck |first=Ernst von dem |year=1845 |title=Geschichte der churhannoverschen Truppen in Gibraltar: Minorca und Ostindien |publisher=Im Verlage der Helwingschen Hof-Buchhandlung |language=de |page=140 |url=https://archive.org/details/geschichtederch00knesgoog}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuddalore, Siege of 1783}}
[[Category:Sieges involving Great Britain]]
[[Category:Sieges involving the Kingdom of Mysore]]
[[Category:Battles involving Hanover]]
[[Category:Sieges involving France]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1783]]
[[Category:1783 in India]]
[[Category:Sieges involving the British East India Company]]
[[Category:Sieges of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783)]]
[[Category:Battles of the Second Anglo-Mysore War]]