Fort MacDowall was located in
Matale
Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, ta, மாத்தளை, translit=Māttaḷai) is the administrative capital city of the Matale District. It is the most urbanised and populated centre in the district. Matale is also the second largest muni ...
. It was a fortified outpost during the
Kandyan Wars
The Kandyan Wars (or the Kandian Wars) refers generally to the period of warfare between the British colonial forces and the Kingdom of Kandy, on the island of what is now Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 1818. More specifically it is used to descri ...
, named after
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Hay MacDowall
Lt.-Gen. Hay MacDowall (died March 1809) was a Scottish officer in the British Army who was the sixth General Officer Commanding, Ceylon. He was appointed on 19 July 1799. He was succeeded by David Douglas Wemyss. Fort MacDowall in Matale was ...
, the 6th
Commander of British Troops in Ceylon. The fort was one of the few inland forts constructed by the British and was completed in 1803.
It was garrisoned on 25 April 1803 by 55 men of the
19th Regiment under the command of Captains Madge and Pearce. On 24 June the fort was surrounded and besieged by troops of the
Kandyan army. For three days Captain Madge refused offers to surrender the fort however during the night on 27 June he managed to withdraw without detection, together with two officers, thirteen men of the 19th and 22 men of the Malay Regiment. They left behind 19 Europeans who were to sick to travel. Captain Madge and his men succeeded in reaching
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
, approximately through jungle and enemy held territory, on 3 July. The individuals who remained at the fort were massacred by the Kandyan army when they found the fort undefended.
During the
Matale rebellion, on 28 July 1848, the fort came under siege by approximately 400 rebels led by
Puran Appu
Weerahannadige Francisco Fernando alias Puran Appu (Sinhala language, Sinhala පුරන් අප්පු) is one of the notable personalities in History of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's history. He was born on 7 November 1812 in the coastal town of ...
and
Gongalegoda Banda
Wansapurna Dewage David alias Gongalegoda Banda (a.k.a. Peliyagoda David) (13 March 1809 – 1 December 1849 ) was the leader of the Matale rebellion in 1848, pretender to the throne of Kandy and a national hero of Sri Lanka.
Early life
Bor ...
, but the British garrison repulsed the attack. The rebels also burnt down a coffee storehouse and ransacked the Matale
Kachcheri
A kachcheri or district secretariat is the principal government department that administrates a district in Sri Lanka. Each of the 25 districts has a kachcheri.
The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and a ...
, destroying the tax records contained inside. On 29 July, the
governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019
The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonialism, colonial powers:
Portuguese Ceylon
* List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551)
* List of Captain-majors of ...
,
Lord Torrington, declared
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
in the colony. A detachment of the
Ceylon Rifle Regiment
The Ceylon Rifle Regiment (CRR) was a regular native regiment formed by the British in Ceylon. Its history goes back to 1795.
The nucleus of the Regiment was two companies of Malays recruited from among prisoners at St Helena. In 1795 there were ...
, under the command of Captain Albert Watson, was dispatched from
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
on 28 July, together with 220 men from the
19th Regiment of Foot, commanded by Captain Lillie C.R.R. On 29 July 1848, the 19th Regiment of Foot attacked a rebel force consisting of roughly 4,000 rebels at Wariyapola Estate who were heading towards Kandy; the rebels suffered casualties amounting to over 100 men killed and captured and hundreds wounded, while the lone British casualty was an injured soldier. After the battle, roughly 250 captured rebels were
court-martialled and subsequently executed (either by
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
or
hanging
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...
) in Fort MacDowall. Watson and Lillie then led their troops in occupying Matale, arresting a number of rebel leaders, including Appu and Banda. Initial reports indicated that only thirteen rebels were killed and nine executed in Fort MacDowall.
After the suppression of the rebellion, Torrington admitted "that the total number killed and wounded amounted to little less than two hundred", although unofficially the numbers are purportedly higher.
The only physical remnants of the fort that exist today are the gateway and portion of the ramparts. The interior of the fort is currently used as the Matale cemetery, which includes a monument to the rebellion.
References
{{Forts in Sri Lanka
MacDowall
Buildings and structures in Matale
MacDowall
Buildings and structures in Matale District