To the general
surprise, as the army moved forward, nothing was seen of Tippoo's
cavalry, by which they had expected to be continually harassed. The
sultan had, as soon as he perceived that Bangalore was threatened,
hurried the whole army to that city, where he had sent his harem when
he started from Seringapatam to attack Travancore; and instead of
sending off a few hundred horsemen, to escort them to the capital,
while with his army he opposed the advance of the British, he took his
whole force with him, in order to remove his harem with all the pomp
and ceremony with which their passage through the country was
generally accompanied. Consequently, it was not until after taking,
without resistance, the forts of Colar and Ooscotah, and arriving
within ten miles of Bangalore, that the army encountered Tippoo's
cavalry.
This was on the 4th of March. They made an attempt to reach the
baggage trains, but were sharply repulsed, and on the following day
the army took up its position before Bangalore. As they approached the
town, three horsemen dashed out from a small grove, and rode furiously
towards a little group, consisting of Lord Cornwallis, General
Meadows, and the staff, who were reconnoitring at some little distance
from the head of the column.
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