Siege of Coimbatore (1791)

01A garrison left behind

General Medows walked into Coimbatore unopposed on 21 July 1790. When the main Company effort moved to the plateau, the fort was left with a small garrison of topasses and Travancore troops under Lieutenant John Chalmers, helped by a Frenchman named Migot de la Combe. Mysore troops sat down before it in June 1791. On 11 August they tried an assault and were thrown back. Lieutenant Nash then came in with reinforcements, and for a few weeks the fort looked safe.

02Kamar-ud-din returns

In October Tipu sent Kamar-ud-din Khan, one of his ablest commanders, with a much larger force and a train of guns. The walls were breached and no relief could come from the plateau. Chalmers surrendered on 2 November 1791 on terms that the garrison would march to Palghat. Instead he and Nash were held and sent to Srirangapatna. Cornwallis protested that the capitulation had been broken. Both officers were well treated and released when peace was made in February 1792.