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{{Short description|Battle of the Second Anglo-Mysore War}}
{{about|the 1780 battle|the 1781 battle|Battle of Pollilur (1781)}}
{{about|the 1780 battle|the 1781 battle|Battle of Pollilur (1781)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox military conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict   = Battle of Pollilur
| conflict         = Battle of Pollilur
| partof     = the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]]
| partof           = the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]]
| image       = Battle of pollilur.jpg
| image             = Rocket warfare.jpg
| image_size = 250
| image_size       = 300px
| caption     = [[Mural]] of the Battle of Pollilur on the walls of Tipu's summer palace.
| caption           = Illustration of the battle
| date       = 10 September 1780
| date             = 10 September 1780
| place       = Pollilur, [[Kanchipuram]], India
| place             = [[Pullalur]], [[Kanchipuram]]
| result     = Mysore victory
| result           = Mysorean victory
| combatant1  = [[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg|25px]] [[British East India Company]]
| combatant2        = {{flagcountry|East India Company|1707}}
| combatant2  = [[File:Flag of Mysore.svg|25px]] [[Kingdom of Mysore]]
| combatant1        = {{Flagicon image|Flag of Mysore Hyder Ali & TipuSultan.png|border=}} [[Sultanate of Mysore]]
| commander1  = [[William Baille]]{{POW}}
| commander2        = {{flagdeco|East India Company|1707}} [[William Baille]]{{Surrendered}}
| commander2  = [[Tipu Sultan]]<br>[[Hyder Ali]]
| commander1        = {{Flagicon image|Flag of Mysore Hyder Ali & TipuSultan.png|border=}} [[Tipu Sultan]] <br /> {{Flagicon image|Flag of Mysore Hyder Ali & TipuSultan.png|border=}} Sultan [[Hyder Ali]]
| strength1  = 3,853<ref>{{cite book|last=Gott|first=Richard|title=Britain's Empire: Resistance, Repression and Revolt|year=2000|publisher=Verso Books|location=London|isbn=1-84467-738-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sNoz_F_wQPkC&pg=PA76|access-date=8 February 2012|page=76}}</ref> to 7,000<ref name="dalrymple_2005">{{cite journal|last=Dalrymple|first=William|title=ASSIMILATION AND TRANSCULTURATION IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY INDIA: A Response to Pankaj Mishra|journal=Common Knowledge|date=1 October 2005|volume=11|issue=3|pages=445–485|doi=10.1215/0961754X-11-3-445|author-link=William Dalrymple (historian)|quote=As late as 1780, following the disastrous British defeat by Tipu Sultan of Mysore at the Battle of Pollilur, 7,000 British men, along with an unknown number of women, were held captive by Tipu in his sophisticated fortress of Seringapatam.}}</ref>
| strength1        = 11,000 in total<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jaim|first=H M Iftekhar|author2=Jaim, Jasmine|title=The Decisive Nature of the Indian War Rocket in the Anglo-Mysore Wars of the Eighteenth Century|journal=Arms & Armour|date=1 October 2011|volume=8|issue=2|pages=131–138|doi=10.1179/174962611X13097916223244|s2cid=161374846|quote=Captain Munro noted: 'Around two or three thousand horse and rocket-men kept hovering round our main army, in order to conceal his enterprise from us'.}}</ref>  
| strength2  = 2,000&ndash;3,000 {{nowrap|[[cavalry]] & [[rocket]]-men}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jaim|first=H M Iftekhar|author2=Jaim, Jasmine|title=The Decisive Nature of the Indian War Rocket in the Anglo-Mysore Wars of the Eighteenth Century|journal=Arms & Armour|date=1 October 2011|volume=8|issue=2|pages=131–138|doi=10.1179/174962611X13097916223244|s2cid=161374846|quote=Captain Munro noted: 'Around two or three thousand horse and rocket-men kept hovering round our main army, in order to conceal his enterprise from us'.}}</ref>
| strength2        = 3,853<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tritton |first=Alan |title=When the Tiger Fought the Thistle: The Tragedy of Colonel William Baillie of the Madras Army |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=9780857722959 |quote=The Battle of Pollilur on 10 September 1780, fought as part of the Second Anglo-Mysore War, was one of the worst defeats the British ever suffered on the Indian subcontinent. It was fought between a Brigade Column of the East India Company, led by Colonel William Baillie, and the Mysore Army, under the command of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan. Heavily outnumbered and wounded in battle, Baillie was taken prisoner and eventually died isolated and in captivity in Seringapatam, in the state of Karnataka near Mysore, on 13 November 1782.}}</ref>
| casualties1 = 3000 killed,<ref name="jasanoff_157">{{cite book|last=Jasanoff|first=Maya|title=Edge of empire: lives, culture, and conquest in the East, 1750-1850|year=2005|publisher=Knopf|location=New York|isbn=1-4000-4167-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zgpAAAAYAAJ|edition=1.|page=157|quote=Some three thousand Company soldiers were killed, while Baillie and two hundred Europeans, fifty of them officers, were carried off to Seringapatam in chains.}}</ref> <br> 200<ref name="jasanoff_157"/> to 7,000<ref name="dalrymple_2005"/> captured
| casualties2      = 2,016 killed <br /> 1,000 captured<ref name="jasanoff_157">{{cite book|last=Jasanoff|first=Maya|title=Edge of empire: lives, culture, and conquest in the East, 1750-1850|year=2005|publisher=Knopf|location=New York|isbn=1-4000-4167-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zgpAAAAYAAJ|edition=1.|page=157|quote=Some three thousand Company soldiers were killed, while Baillie and two hundred Europeans, fifty of them officers, were carried off to Seringapatam in chains. The captives’ sufferings became an emotive theme in British representations of Mysore, and one of the Pollilur captives, David Baird, would avenge the battle personally by leading the charge against Seringapatam in 1799.}}</ref>  
| casualties2 = Unknown
| casualties1      = Unknown
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Second Anglo-Mysore War}}
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Second Anglo-Mysore War}}
}}
}}


The '''Battle of Pollilur''' (a.k.a. Pullalur), also known as the '''Battle of Polilore''' or '''Battle of Perambakam''', took place on 10 September 1780 at Pollilur near Conjeevaram, the city of [[Kanchipuram]] in present-day [[Tamil Nadu]] state, India, as part of the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]]. It was waged between two forces commanded by [[Tipu Sultan]] of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]], and Lt. Colonel [[William Baillie (East India Company officer)|William Baillie]] of the [[British East India Company]]. The army of the East India Company surrendered and suffered a high number of casualties. It was the worst loss the East India Company suffered on the subcontinent until [[Battle of Chillianwala|Chillianwala]]. [[Benoît de Boigne]], a French officer in the service of [[66th Punjabis|6th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry]], wrote, "There is not in India an example of a similar defeat".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Political History of Carnatic under the Nawabs|last=Ramaswami|first=N.S.|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=1984|location=New Delhi|pages=225}}</ref>
The '''Battle of Pollilur''' (a.k.a. Pullalur), also known as the '''Battle of Polilore''' or '''Battle of Perambakam''', took place on 10 September 1780 at [[Pullalur|Pollilur near Conjeevaram]], the city of [[Kanchipuram]] in present-day [[Tamil Nadu]] state, India, as part of the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]]. It was fought between an army commanded by King [[Tipu Sultan]] of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]], and a [[British East India Company]] force led by [[William Baillie (East India Company officer)|William Baillie]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grant |first=Reg G. |title=1001 Battles That Changed the Course of World History |publisher=Universe Pub. |year=2011 |isbn=9780789322333 |pages=465}}</ref> The EIC force suffered a high number of casualties before surrendering.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tritton |first=Alan |title=When the Tiger Fought the Thistle: The Tragedy of Colonel William Baillie of the Madras Army |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=9780857722959 |quote=The Battle of Pollilur on 10 September 1780, fought as part of the Second Anglo-Mysore War, was one of the worst defeats the British ever suffered on the Indian subcontinent.Heavily outnumbered and wounded in battle, Baillie was taken prisoner and eventually died isolated and in captivity in Seringapatam, in the state of Karnataka near Mysore, on 13 November 1782.}}</ref><ref name="jasanoff_157">{{cite book|last=Jasanoff|first=Maya|title=Edge of empire: lives, culture, and conquest in the East, 1750-1850|year=2005|publisher=Knopf|location=New York|isbn=1-4000-4167-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zgpAAAAYAAJ|edition=1.|page=157|quote=Some three thousand Company soldiers were killed, while Baillie and two hundred Europeans, fifty of them officers, were carried off to Seringapatam in chains. The captives’ sufferings became an emotive theme in British representations of Mysore, and one of the Pollilur captives, David Baird, would avenge the battle personally by leading the charge against Seringapatam in 1799.}}</ref>  It was fought between a Brigade Column of the East India Company, led by Colonel William Baillie, and the Mysore Army, under the command of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan. It was the worst loss the East India Company suffered on the subcontinent until [[Battle of Chillianwala|Chillianwala]]. [[Benoît de Boigne]], a French officer in the service of [[66th Punjabis|6th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry]], wrote, "There is not in India an example of a similar defeat".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Political History of Carnatic under the Nawabs|last=Ramaswami|first=N.S.|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=1984|location=New Delhi|pages=225}}</ref>


Tipu prevented Lt. Col. Baillie,  from joining his detached force, consisting of two companies of European infantry, two batteries of artillery, and five battalions of native infantry, from [[Guntur]], joining Hector Munro at Conjeevaram, while Tipu's father Hyder Ali continued the siege at [[Arcot]].  Of the 3853  men under Baillie's command, only 50 European officers and 200 men were taken prisoner after the "general massacre". Baillie was taken to [[Seringapatam]]<ref name=Naravane>{{Cite book |last=Naravane |first=M.S. |title=Battles of the Honorourable East India Company |publisher=A.P.H. Publishing Corporation |year=2014 |isbn=9788131300343 |pages=173–174}}</ref> (Srirangapatnam near Mysore in the present-day Karnataka state).
==Background==


Pullalur was also the site where the king of Badami Chalukya, Pulakesin II fought the Pallava king, Mahendravarman I, in the 7th century.<ref name=":0" />
King Tipu prevented Baillie from joining another force, consisting of two companies of European infantry, two batteries of artillery, and five battalions of native infantry from [[Guntur]] led by [[Hector Munro, 8th Laird of Novar|Hector Munro]] at [[Conjeevaram]], while King Tipu's father King [[Hyder Ali]] continued the siege at [[Arcot]].
 
==Battle==
 
Baillie's men, suffering desertions and uncoordinated leadership, formed a defensive square on a patch of high ground, with William Baillie leading a final stand. Cut off from both Conjeevaram and the stronghold of Fort St. George in Madras where a larger EIC force remained encamped, Baillie's men were caught in a [[Pincer movement|double envelopment movement]], encircled and routed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Battle of Pollilur: Revisiting the Footnotes of History |url=https://thewire.in/history/the-battle-of-pollilur-revisiting-the-footnotes-of-history |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=The Wire}}</ref> Of the men under Baillie's command, only 50 European officers and 150 men were taken prisoner after the "general massacre". Baillie was taken to [[Seringapatam]]<ref name=Naravane>{{Cite book |last=Naravane |first=M.S. |title=Battles of the Honorourable East India Company |publisher=A.P.H. Publishing Corporation |year=2014 |isbn=9788131300343 |pages=173–174}}</ref> (Srirangapatnam near Mysore in the present-day Karnataka state). Pullalur was also the site of the [[Battle of Pullalur]], where the king of [[Badami Chalukya Empire|Badami Chalukya]], [[Pulakeshin II|Pulakesin II]] fought the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] king, [[Mahendravarman I]], in the 7th century.<ref name=":0" />


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
[[File:Rocket warfare.jpg|thumb|left|The Battle of Pollilur, where the forces of [[Hyder Ali]] effectively used [[Mysorean rockets]] and [[rocket artillery]] against closely massed British forces.]]
[[File:Battle of pollilur.jpg|thumb|[[Mural]] of the battle on the walls of King Tipu's summer palace.]]


Baillie and many of his officers were captured and taken to the Mysore capital at Seringapatam. After British reinforcements from Calcutta arrived, [[Eyre Coote (East India Company officer)|Eyre Coote]] was able to stabilise the situation and counter-attack.
Baillie and many of his officers were captured and taken to the Mysore capital at Seringapatam. After British reinforcements from Calcutta arrived, [[Eyre Coote (East India Company officer)|Eyre Coote]] was able to stabilise the situation and counter-attack. A [[Battle of Pollilur (1781)|second battle]] was fought a year later in the same area, resulting in a drawn battle where both sides retreated and claimed victory.
A [[Battle of Pollilur (1781)|second battle]] was fought a year later in the same area where Coote defeated Haider Ali's forces.


==Rockets==
==Rockets==
The [[Mysorean rockets|Mysore rockets]] used during the battle were much more advanced than the [[British East India Company]] had previously seen, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes for holding the propellant; this enabled higher thrust and longer range for the missile (up to 2&nbsp;km range). After Tipu Sultan's eventual defeat in the [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]] and the capture of the Mysore iron rockets, they were influential in British rocket development, inspiring the [[Congreve rocket]], which was soon put into use in the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref>Roddam Narasimha (1985). [http://www.nal.res.in/pdf/pdfrocket.pdf Rockets in Mysore and Britain, 1750-1850 A.D.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303205010/http://www.nal.res.in/pdf/pdfrocket.pdf |date=3 March 2012 }} National Aeronautical Laboratory and Indian Institute of Science.</ref>
The [[Mysorean rockets|Mysore rockets]] used during the battle were much more advanced than the [[British East India Company]] had previously seen, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes for holding the propellant; this enabled higher thrust and longer range for the missile (up to 2&nbsp;km range). At Pollilur, Mysore rockets restricted the British vanguard movement, skimming along the surface, lacerating troops, and in one specific instance, shattering an Ensign’s leg.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Battle of Pollilur: Revisiting the Footnotes of History |url=https://thewire.in/history/the-battle-of-pollilur-revisiting-the-footnotes-of-history |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=The Wire}}</ref> After King Tipu Sultan's eventual defeat in the [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]] and the capture of the Mysore iron rockets, they were influential in British rocket development, inspiring the [[Congreve rocket]], which was soon put into use in the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref>Roddam Narasimha (1985). [http://www.nal.res.in/pdf/pdfrocket.pdf Rockets in Mysore and Britain, 1750-1850 A.D.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303205010/http://www.nal.res.in/pdf/pdfrocket.pdf |date=3 March 2012 }} National Aeronautical Laboratory and Indian Institute of Science.</ref>
 
==See also==
*[[Tipu Sultan]]
*[[Hyder Ali]]
*[[Mughal weapons]]
 
==References==
{{reflist}}


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="150px" perrow="4">
<gallery mode="packed" heights="700px" perrow="1">
File:The Battle of Pollilur - early 19th-century.jpg|[[Tipu Sultan]] commissioned ''The Battle of Pollilur'' for the [[Daria Daulat Bagh]] to monumentalize his victory; early 19th-century, gouache on paper, 10 sheets of paper on canvas, mounted on restoration fabric, 962 × 200 cm, [[private collection]].
</gallery>
<gallery mode="packed" widths="200px" heights="150px" perrow="4">
File:Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004).JPG|Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004)
File:Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004).JPG|Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004)
</gallery>
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="150px" perrow="4">
File:Narrow Passage at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Narrow Passage to Colonel Baillie's Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004)
File:Narrow Passage at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Narrow Passage to Colonel Baillie's Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004)
</gallery>
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="150px" perrow="4">
File:Memorial Plaque at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Memorial Plaque at Baillie Dungeon, [[Seringapatam]]
File:Memorial Plaque at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Memorial Plaque at Baillie Dungeon, [[Seringapatam]]
File:Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, [[Seringapatam]]
File:Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, [[Seringapatam]]
File:Old Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Old Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, [[Seringapatam]]
File:Old Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Old Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, [[Seringapatam]]
File:Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Stones to which prisoners were tied to, Baillie Dungeon, [[Seringapatam]]
File:Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam.JPG|Stones to which prisoners were tied, Baillie Dungeon, [[Seringapatam]]
</gallery>
 
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="150px" perrow="4">
File:William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam.JPG|William Baillie Memorial, [[Srirangapatna|Seringapatam]]
File:William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam.JPG|William Baillie Memorial, [[Srirangapatna|Seringapatam]]
File:Plaque of the William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam.JPG|Plaque of the William Baillie Memorial, [[Srirangapatna|Seringapatam]]
File:Plaque of the William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam.JPG|Plaque of the William Baillie Memorial, [[Srirangapatna|Seringapatam]]
</gallery>
</gallery>
==See also==
*[[Tipu Sultan]]
*[[Hyder Ali]]
*[[Mughal weapons]]
==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://materiaislamica.com/index.php/Battle_of_Pollilur_(1780) "Battle of Pollilur (1780)"] - A detailed historical analysis (and its importance in world history)
* [http://www.tipusultan.org/index.htm Tipu Sultan website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250122115557/http://www.tipusultan.org/index.htm |date=22 January 2025 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070907180951/http://www.tipusultan.org/wars2.htm#2 Tipu Sultan website]
* [https://www.notesonindianhistory.com/2024/07/baillies-disaster-at-pollilur.html True Account of Baillie's Disaster at Pullalur in 1780]  
* Wilson, W. J. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BlkIAAAAQAAJ&dq=Baillie%20Madras&lr=&pg=PA7#v=snippet&q=Baillie&f=false History of the Madras Army, Volume 2]
* Wilson, W. J. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BlkIAAAAQAAJ&q=Baillie&pg=PA7 History of the Madras Army, Volume 2]


{{coord missing|Karnataka}}
{{coord missing|Karnataka}}
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[[Category:Conflicts in 1780|Pollilur 1780]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1780|Pollilur 1780]]
[[Category:Battles of the Second Anglo-Mysore War|Pollilur 1780]]
[[Category:Battles of the Second Anglo-Mysore War|Pollilur 1780]]
[[Category:History of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:1780 in India]]
[[Category:1780 in India]]
[[Category:Battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Kingdom of Mysore]]

Latest revision as of 08:55, 19 August 2025


This article is about the 1780 battle. For the 1781 battle, see Battle of Pollilur (1781).

Battle of Pollilur
Part of the Second Anglo-Mysore War

Illustration of the battle
Date10 September 1780
Location
Pullalur, Kanchipuram
Result Mysorean victory
Belligerents
Sultanate of Mysore Template:Country data East India Company
Commanders and leaders
Tipu Sultan
Sultan Hyder Ali		 Template:Country data East India Company William BailleTemplate:Surrendered
Strength
11,000 in total[1] 3,853[2]
Casualties and losses
Unknown 2,016 killed
1,000 captured[3]

The Battle of Pollilur (a.k.a. Pullalur), also known as the Battle of Polilore or Battle of Perambakam, took place on 10 September 1780 at Pollilur near Conjeevaram, the city of Kanchipuram in present-day Tamil Nadu state, India, as part of the Second Anglo-Mysore War. It was fought between an army commanded by King Tipu Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore, and a British East India Company force led by William Baillie.[4] The EIC force suffered a high number of casualties before surrendering.[5][3] It was fought between a Brigade Column of the East India Company, led by Colonel William Baillie, and the Mysore Army, under the command of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan. It was the worst loss the East India Company suffered on the subcontinent until Chillianwala. Benoît de Boigne, a French officer in the service of 6th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry, wrote, "There is not in India an example of a similar defeat".[6]

Background[edit | edit source]

King Tipu prevented Baillie from joining another force, consisting of two companies of European infantry, two batteries of artillery, and five battalions of native infantry from Guntur led by Hector Munro at Conjeevaram, while King Tipu's father King Hyder Ali continued the siege at Arcot.

Battle[edit | edit source]

Baillie's men, suffering desertions and uncoordinated leadership, formed a defensive square on a patch of high ground, with William Baillie leading a final stand. Cut off from both Conjeevaram and the stronghold of Fort St. George in Madras where a larger EIC force remained encamped, Baillie's men were caught in a double envelopment movement, encircled and routed.[7] Of the men under Baillie's command, only 50 European officers and 150 men were taken prisoner after the "general massacre". Baillie was taken to Seringapatam[8] (Srirangapatnam near Mysore in the present-day Karnataka state). Pullalur was also the site of the Battle of Pullalur, where the king of Badami Chalukya, Pulakesin II fought the Pallava king, Mahendravarman I, in the 7th century.[6]

Aftermath[edit | edit source]

Mural of the battle on the walls of King Tipu's summer palace.

Baillie and many of his officers were captured and taken to the Mysore capital at Seringapatam. After British reinforcements from Calcutta arrived, Eyre Coote was able to stabilise the situation and counter-attack. A second battle was fought a year later in the same area, resulting in a drawn battle where both sides retreated and claimed victory.

Rockets[edit | edit source]

The Mysore rockets used during the battle were much more advanced than the British East India Company had previously seen, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes for holding the propellant; this enabled higher thrust and longer range for the missile (up to 2 km range). At Pollilur, Mysore rockets restricted the British vanguard movement, skimming along the surface, lacerating troops, and in one specific instance, shattering an Ensign’s leg.[9] After King Tipu Sultan's eventual defeat in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and the capture of the Mysore iron rockets, they were influential in British rocket development, inspiring the Congreve rocket, which was soon put into use in the Napoleonic Wars.[10]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

  • Tipu Sultan commissioned The Battle of Pollilur for the Daria Daulat Bagh to monumentalize his victory; early 19th-century, gouache on paper, 10 sheets of paper on canvas, mounted on restoration fabric, 962 × 200 cm, private collection.
    Tipu Sultan commissioned The Battle of Pollilur for the Daria Daulat Bagh to monumentalize his victory; early 19th-century, gouache on paper, 10 sheets of paper on canvas, mounted on restoration fabric, 962 × 200 cm, private collection.
  • Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004)
    Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004)
  • Narrow Passage to Colonel Baillie's Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004)
    Narrow Passage to Colonel Baillie's Dungeon, Seringapatam (2004)
  • Memorial Plaque at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam
    Memorial Plaque at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam
  • Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam
    Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam
  • Old Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam
    Old Signboard at Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam
  • Stones to which prisoners were tied, Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam
    Stones to which prisoners were tied, Baillie Dungeon, Seringapatam
  • William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam
    William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam
  • Plaque of the William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam
    Plaque of the William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Jaim, H M Iftekhar; Jaim, Jasmine (1 October 2011). "The Decisive Nature of the Indian War Rocket in the Anglo-Mysore Wars of the Eighteenth Century". Arms & Armour. 8 (2): 131–138. doi:10.1179/174962611X13097916223244. S2CID 161374846. Captain Munro noted: 'Around two or three thousand horse and rocket-men kept hovering round our main army, in order to conceal his enterprise from us'.
  2. ↑ Tritton, Alan (2013). When the Tiger Fought the Thistle: The Tragedy of Colonel William Baillie of the Madras Army. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780857722959. The Battle of Pollilur on 10 September 1780, fought as part of the Second Anglo-Mysore War, was one of the worst defeats the British ever suffered on the Indian subcontinent. It was fought between a Brigade Column of the East India Company, led by Colonel William Baillie, and the Mysore Army, under the command of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan. Heavily outnumbered and wounded in battle, Baillie was taken prisoner and eventually died isolated and in captivity in Seringapatam, in the state of Karnataka near Mysore, on 13 November 1782.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jasanoff, Maya (2005). Edge of empire: lives, culture, and conquest in the East, 1750-1850 (1. ed.). New York: Knopf. p. 157. ISBN 1-4000-4167-8. Some three thousand Company soldiers were killed, while Baillie and two hundred Europeans, fifty of them officers, were carried off to Seringapatam in chains. The captives' sufferings became an emotive theme in British representations of Mysore, and one of the Pollilur captives, David Baird, would avenge the battle personally by leading the charge against Seringapatam in 1799.
  4. ↑ Grant, Reg G. (2011). 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of World History. Universe Pub. p. 465. ISBN 9780789322333.
  5. ↑ Tritton, Alan (2013). When the Tiger Fought the Thistle: The Tragedy of Colonel William Baillie of the Madras Army. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780857722959. The Battle of Pollilur on 10 September 1780, fought as part of the Second Anglo-Mysore War, was one of the worst defeats the British ever suffered on the Indian subcontinent.Heavily outnumbered and wounded in battle, Baillie was taken prisoner and eventually died isolated and in captivity in Seringapatam, in the state of Karnataka near Mysore, on 13 November 1782.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ramaswami, N.S. (1984). Political History of Carnatic under the Nawabs. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. p. 225.
  7. ↑ "The Battle of Pollilur: Revisiting the Footnotes of History". The Wire. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Naravane, M.S. (2014). Battles of the Honorourable East India Company. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. pp. 173–174. ISBN 9788131300343.
  9. ↑ "The Battle of Pollilur: Revisiting the Footnotes of History". The Wire. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Roddam Narasimha (1985). Rockets in Mysore and Britain, 1750-1850 A.D. Archived 3 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine National Aeronautical Laboratory and Indian Institute of Science.

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