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Battle of Annagudi (Braithwaite’s defeat)

VictorKingdom of Mysore, with French troopsTipu Sultan; Lallée
1782vs
East India Company detachmentColonel John Braithwaite

Tipu Sultan marched fast into the Thanjavur country and caught a Company detachment camped on the Kollidam. Braithwaite’s force was surrounded and forced to surrender.

Date: February 1782Where: Near Kumbakonam on the Kollidam, Thanjavur district, Tamil NaduType: Battle
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
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Cite

MLA

“Battle of Annagudi (Braithwaite’s defeat).” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-annagudi-1782/. Accessed .

APA

Hindu History. (2026). Battle of Annagudi (Braithwaite’s defeat). Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-annagudi-1782/

Result

Braithwaite’s detachment was surrounded and, after a long fight, surrendered; he and his officers were taken to Srirangapatna as prisoners.

01A detachment in the delta

Colonel Braithwaite commanded a Company force posted in the Thanjavur country to protect the delta, the rice bowl of the south, which the Thanjavur Maratha raja’s lands made vital to Madras. Haidar sent Tipu against him early in 1782, with a body of French troops under Lallée. Braithwaite had little warning. Tipu’s cavalry closed round his camp near Annagudi on the Kollidam before he could fall back on Thanjavur.

02The surrender

Braithwaite formed his men in a hollow square and held off the Mysore cavalry for more than a day. When the French infantry came up and his ammunition ran low, the square broke and the survivors surrendered on 18 February 1782. Lallée is said to have checked the slaughter of the wounded. Braithwaite and his officers were marched to Srirangapatna and held there until the peace of Mangalore in 1784.

Why it matters

Annagudi was Tipu’s second destruction of a Company force in the field after Pollilur, and it laid the Thanjavur delta open to Mysore raids.

Places near the battlefield 8

Mahalingeswarar Temple, ThiruvidaimarudurStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Mahalingeswarar Temple, Thiruvidaimarudur

Madhyarjunam, the middle of the three Arjuna-tree shrines of Shiva, where the Pandya king Varaguna was freed of the sin of killing a brahmin. Its four great streets and corridors make it one of the largest Shiva temples of the Kaveri delta.

Oppiliappan Temple, ThirunageswaramStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Oppiliappan Temple, Thirunageswaram

The Divya Desam near Kumbakonam where Vishnu married Bhumi Devi, born as the daughter of Markandeya, and accepted her saltless cooking. No salt enters the temple kitchen, and vows made to Tirupati may be fulfilled here.

Sivayoginathar Temple, Tiruviyalur (Tiruvisanallur)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Sivayoginathar Temple, Tiruviyalur (Tiruvisanallur)

An early Chola temple near Kumbakonam, sung by Sambandar, with a four-fold Bhairava shrine and the well into which, the village says, the Ganga rose for Sridhara Ayyaval.

Naganathaswamy Temple, Thirunageswaram (Rahu)Standing
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Naganathaswamy Temple, Thirunageswaram (Rahu)

The Rahu sthala of the Navagraha circuit, where the serpent-kings worshipped Shiva and Rahu is shown in human form with his two consorts.

Neelakandeswarar Temple, TiruneelakkudiStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Neelakandeswarar Temple, Tiruneelakkudi

The Lord who held the halahala in His throat, whose rough linga drinks every drop of the sesame oil poured on it. Appar sang it after being thrown into the sea tied to a stone.

Apathsahayeswarar Temple, Aduthurai (Then Kurangaduthurai)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Apathsahayeswarar Temple, Aduthurai (Then Kurangaduthurai)

The southern monkey-ford, where Sugriva hid from Vali and the Lord came to his rescue. Sambandar and Appar sang it, and Sembiyan Mahadevi rebuilt it in granite.

Prananatheswarar Temple, TirumangalakkudiStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Prananatheswarar Temple, Tirumangalakkudi

The Lord who gave back a life and the Devi who guards the wedding thread, beside the Suryanar Kovil of the Navagrahas. Appar and Sambandar sang it.

Sivagurunathar Temple, SivapuramStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Sivagurunathar Temple, Sivapuram

Ground so holy that Sambandar would not walk on it and rolled round the temple instead; home of the Sivapuram Nataraja, the bronze that was stolen and brought home. Appar and Sambandar sang it.