Volume 37: Madhavrao's Mysore campaign II
109 - 13 December 1766
Haider's troops demand taxes from towns and forts that were ceded to the Marathas. Madhavrao writes to Raghunathrao.
News here, is that Nizam Ali Khan is at Bhagyanagar. He has made peace with the firangis. Haider Khan is on course for Coimbatore, enroute Kodag, Anantsen(?) provinces. Mir Faizullah, and Mir Reza are deputed with with 8k cavalry, and 12k gardis, artillery. They are now in the province of Raidurg. Bellari, Raidurg, Harpanhalli, Chitradurg, etc are being sent letters to pay taxes. They have threatened to lay waste to those provinces if not paid.
I will move towards the Krishna river with my army to impose my presence. If Haider's officers depart, well and good. They will not move, just by the presence of Gopalrao and Raste. I will send more news later. Muhammed Ali Khan and the English are at Chennapatanam. The Bhonsles are at Nagpur. Bhonsles and Gaekwads are being sent letters to send their troops north. The Bhonsles had already written they were going north. Misc. administrative matters continue further.
122 - 1767
Haripant Phadke writes that Haider will not uphold the terms of the treaty he signed, until the province and fort of Sira are overrun.
The tax received from Gadwal was 1 lakh. The previous arrears were fixed at 3 lakhs. The district is worth probably around 5-6 lakhs. Bhanu, Kavtal, Sidnore, Ravadkura - garrisons have been stationed at all 4 places now. The fort at Bhanu is quite well built. Despite this, we made a breach and took it in one day. Seeing this, the others capitulated soon. Tallalkota ( Tallikota?) fort is strong, and we have erected batteries. It will fall in one or two days. After settling the matters here, we will collect taxes from Chitradurg, Harpanhalli, and march to Sira. Rajashri Krishnarao arrived here from the Mughals. Haider's brother in law commands Sira. Haider is at Coimbatore. Haider has not opposed our tax collection, but has yet to pay the arrears. He may pay it this year. Mir Faizullah is in the vicinity of Shrirangapattanam. He has 5000 cavalry, and 12000 gardis. It is unlikely he will come in the way of the Peshwa's army. Until Sira is taken, his vakils won't open discussions. We will know once we get to Sira. Till then, his actions are in bad faith.
132 - 10th February 1767
Bagaji Raghunath, writing from Raidurg, about the Nizam sending troops in aid, and the recovery of arrears from Haider.
Haider is yet to settle the arrears of tribute. His vakil is offering 20 lakhs, but as per the agreement, he is supposed to pay 30. To get him to pay 30, we are marching to Sira. Once the batteries are erected there, he will pay up. To get their sooner, our men are marching 10 kos per day. Nizam Ali Khan has also expressed support, and dispatched 7000 cavalry for us. They are 20 kos away. The Peshwa's army is yet to arrive.
136 - 15th February 1767
Mahadji Ballal and Hari Ballal describe the siege of Sira
I am writing from Sira. The Shrimant marched 14 kos to get to the fort. The fort had a garrison of 4000 men, 10 cannons. In addition, 700 cavalry, 5 cannons were posted ahead of the fort. As soon as we approached, they opened fire with cannons. How could we set up batteries? We figured it would be imprudent to lay siege while this force was still outside. The standard bearing elephant raised its standard, and the advance guard of the huzurat charged them head on. They pushed towards the fort, and we placed our standards near the fort's entrance. We seized 150 horses from them, and killed a great many of them. The rest fled to the fort. We used their abandoned cannons as batteries. Maloji Pisal, Sidoji Ghorpade, Amrutrao Yadav lost many men, and Babaji Purandare lost his clerk -Venkatrao. Around 20 officers and men were killed, and 150 injured, 25 horses lost. The fire from the fort is intense. They destroyed 5 cannons, we seized one. 4 cannons are keeping a steady fire upon us, and we were unable to dislodge them. We had marched 14 kos to get here and start the assault. It is still a worthy achievement. Haider Khan is reported to have moved to Chennapatanam. 4 more cannons have arrived now. One of them is 12 ser ( 24 pounder). The fort will not fall easily. The batteries are also firing steadily. Shrimant (Madhavrao) has arrived, and is at the batteries.
137 - 17th February 1767
Baji Govind describes the fighting at Sira
The Shrimant crossed the Tungabhadra and made multiple long forced marches to get here (Sira) soon. Right on the day of his arrival, he came straight to the fort, at a distance of 1.5 kos, instead of going to rest at his tent. Haider's brother in law had brought 1000-1200 cavalry, some infantry and 7 cannons outside the fort and set up entrenchments. As we arrived, he opened fire. Janardan Ram did not wait and instead advanced on their position immediately. On getting report of this, the Huzurat also charged them. It was a hotly fought melee. He fled to the fort. We seized about 200 horses. Some of his tents remained, and some cannons were found pushed into the moat. We immediately set up batteries near the moat. He lost about 40 men dead and 200 injured. We also lost 40-50 while 400 are injured. The Peshwa is at the batteries since the day he arrived. The others are at the camp. Haider Khan is reported to have moved to Shrirangapattanam. Mir Faizullah is at Bassavapattanam with with 5-6k men. Sira is garrisoned by 4-5k infantry, 1000 cavalry, and has a lot of stores of gunpowder and shot. Everyday we have a firefight with the fort garrison. We tried to retrieve the cannons pushed into the moat by the defenders, but they are stuck and we were unable to retrieve them. Finally, yesterday night, we retrieved 3 cannons, of which one is of large bore. They are now firing at our cannons. We will retrieve all the fallen cannons.
Raste and his men had fallen behind, they reached yesterday. Gopalrao will arrive in one or two days. Nizam Ali will arrive in 8-15 days. I have passed on this news to Haider's vakil as well. The Shrimant's attack has worked well. This will fall soon. Our standard bearing elephant was injured on the first day. A bullet grazed my hand but no serious matter.
141 - 24th February 1767
Mahadji Ballal and Hari Ballal report of Sira's capture
Shrimant arrived at Sira. The same day there was a clash of our vanguard with the force posted outside the fort. In the fight, we recovered 6 cannons in total. We also seized horses, but lost some men. Maloji Pisal, Sidoji Ghorpade fell in battle. In 8 days, the batteries got close to the moat. In total, 500 were injured, 40 dead, as well as 40 horses. Inside the fort, Mir Reza had 2000 cavalry, and 4000 infantry.
He offered to enlist as a sardar in Shrimant's army. Of his 1000 cavalry, they were promised 30 Rupees per month as salary. 1000 gardis were to be paid 15 Rupees each. The rest will be his expense. He visited Shrimant, and accepted service formally. Today the infantry from the fort will march out. Tomorrow, sarkar's flag will fly from the fort. It is not yet certain who will man the fort. Shrimant will decide. A fort this strong, with a garrison this large, was not likely to fall easily, if at all. But fortune favours the Shrimant. Apart from this fort, he also holds charge of Gurumkonda and Hoskote. He will surrender those to us as well. Mir Reza seems to be a good man. He has 400 good pathans with him. Haider Naik is now at Shrirangapatanam. He will be saddened by the news of Sira. It will take a week to make all arrangements here. As administrative arrangements are finalized, I will send a report. Rajashri Murrarrao has also arrived. The entire army has assembled. The fall of Sira has also scared the polygars. Dada Fadnis is at Vijayapura (Bijapur), he has written from there.
142 - 26th February 1767
The Peshwa marches on Shrirangapatanam, Haider's capital.
The Swami won a great victory at Sira. Sira will be headed by Mukund Shripath. Yesterday the flag was moved from the batteries to the fort. After Shivratri, the Swami will march on Shrirangapattanam. Mir Reza has been alloted lands near Gopalrao.
147 - 6th March 1767
Assault and capture of Madigeri by Haripant Phadke and Mahadaji Ballal. The queen and king of Bednore had been imprisoned here by Haider.
70 years prior, the queen of Bednore had helped Chhatrapati Rajaram by granting him safe passage through her lands on her way to Gingee when pursued by Aurangzeb.
We marched here from Sira. The fort at Madigeri is excellent, situated on a mountain. It is hard to approach from all 4 sides. Below the mountain was the small town. In one day of cannon fire, we took the lower town and the fort both.
We acquired enormous plunder from here, the likes which we have not seen in over ten years. Haider's flag was lowered and the sarkar's flag flew high.
Bednore's queen and king were kept in prison here. The Shrimant sent for them and treated them with honour. They were granted lands at Rahuta, and others. After this, we will go to Hoskote. Haider's vakil has left from Pattanam. He will be in our army within 2 or 3 days. I will send word of discussions then.
149 - 18th March 1767
Haripant writes about the assault on the fort of Chenraidurg. Balapur has also been sieged, and Haider is seeking terms. Satvoji Jadhav has passed away.
Shrimant has marched from Madigeri to Chenraidurg, 2 kos away. The fort is on a mountain. Batteries were erected, and we fired on it for 8 days. Its defenses are quite strong. We couldnt make much impression it. We will wait for 2-4 more days then storm it directly. Rajashri Gopalrao captured Balapur. A few of Murrarrao's holdings are left, we will seize them too. Haider Naik's vakil is in the camp now. He is willing to cede Sira and Balapur. He is asking not capture anymore, and wants us to return Madigeri and Pattan. In return, he will pay 30 lakhs immediately. The Shrimant is not keen on letting go of Madigeri. His promises to pay are unreliable. Haider is unwilling to pay tribute unless Madigeri is returned to him.
Appaji Jadhav fell sick for 2 weeks, and passed away yesterday. He was a big sardar. It is God's wish. The Mogul has now reached in the vicinity of Harpanhalli. The Mogul's arrival is late, and of no relevance anymore. Rukkun-ud-daula is marching ahead with 5000 cavalry.
158, 59 - 3rd May 1767
Treaty with Haider Ali
Haider has agreed on a tribute of 31 lakhs. In addition, the Mogul (Nizam) is to receive 6 lakhs as nazar each year, for 3 years. Mahadsheth was sent to Haider for getting bankers' guarantees. It has been 6 days. After we finish this, we will return to Pune. The Mogul is still 6 kos away. Rukkun-ud-daula met us.
Half the amount is to be paid upfront, the other by the end of the Ashwin month. For a banker's guarantee, Mahadsheth has been sent to Shrirangapattanam 8 days ago. In another day or 2, we will depart for Pune. All the forts we captured, will be retained by us - Sira, Chenraidurg, Madigeri, Balapur, Hoskote. Some smaller posts that we had seized, like Chikbalapur, Nandigad, Kolhar, etc will be returned to Haider. Basavapattanam will also be retained by Haider.