Siege of Bangalore (1791)

01Fort and pettah

Bangalore was laid out like most southern towns: a stone fort with a ditch and bastions, and to its north a wide pettah, the trading town, behind a weaker wall and a hedge of thorn and cactus. Cornwallis took over the war himself after Medows’ campaign of 1790 had stalled, and came up through the Mugli pass in February 1791. He reached Bangalore in early March and stormed the pettah on 7 March in hard street fighting.

02The night storm

Batteries were raised against the north face of the fort while Tipu hovered close with his army, cutting off foragers and probing the lines. He never risked a full battle to relieve the place. On the night of 21 March 1791 the breach was judged ready and the Company troops went in by moonlight. The killedar Bahadur Khan, an old officer, died at the gate. The fort fell before morning, and with it the stores Cornwallis needed for the march on Srirangapatna.