The Battle of Seringham was fought on the island of Srirangam between 1,000 troops of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

commanded by

Stringer Lawrence Major-General Stringer Lawrence (February 1698–10 January 1775) was an English soldier, the first Commander-in-Chief of Fort William. Origins Lawrence was born at Hereford, England, the son of John Lawrence of Hereford by his wife Mary, about ...

and a confederacy of

French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in the ...

troops and

Chanda Sahib Chanda Sahib (died 12 June 1752) was a subject of the Mughal Empire and the Nawab of the Carnatic between 1749 and 1752. Initially he was supported by the French during the Carnatic Wars. After his defeat at Arcot in 1751, he was captured by ...

Prelude

Following their victory at

Bahour Bahour is a town, Bahour Commune, Commune, Bahour taluk, Taluk and Bahour (Union Territory Assembly constituency), Assembly Constituency in the Union Territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry, India. It consists of four non-contiguous ...

, the British East India Company troops entered the city of

Trichinopoly Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

and took position there. Contrary to the orders from Dupleix to fall back on

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

, French troops under the Scotsman Law retreated at once to the island of Srirangam to the north of Trichinopoly and planned to attack and oust the British from Trichinopoly. On 12 April 1753, Lawrence sent a detachment of 400 men under Captain Dalton to attack Chanda Sahib's troops and drive them out. But with scanty knowledge of the place and the terrain, Dalton and his men were caught unaware by Law who, however panicked, allowed them to retreat safely. Law, then decided to implement his strategy of retreating to Seringham, also known as

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first amon ...

Events

Soon after the retreat of the French forces, the British troops advanced and on 17 April 1753, captured

Samayapuram Samayapuram is a suburb of the city of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 12 km north, from the heart of Tiruchirappalli, on the Trichy-Chennai highway. The Samayapuram Mariamman Temple Arulmigu Mariamman Temple, Samaya ...

to the north of Srirangam. The French troops were now completely encircled. On 10 April 1753, d'Auteil set up at the head of 620 troops to relieve Law. On 25 April, he reached Utatur, north of Samayapuram. d'Auteil proceeded to the Coleroon river avoiding Clive's army and sent a messenger to inform Law of his movements but the messenger was captured by Clive who forced him to retreat to Utatur. Taking advantage of Clive's departure from Samayapuram, Law sent a force of 80 Europeans and 700 sepoys to take Samayapuram but was repulsed. Following this incident, the Thanjavur Maratha allies of the British East India Company took Coiladdy on 7 May 1753. On 20 May 1753, Stringer Lawrence sent an army of 1050 troops under Captain Dalton to Utatur forcing d'Auteil at fall back on Pondicherry. Law attacked Dalton's troops but was repulsed and retreated to Srirangam once again. On 8 June 1753, Clive attacked d'Auteil at Volcondah and forced him to surrender along with his army. With the situation turning desperate, Law and Chanda surrendered 758 French soldiers and 2000 sepoys. Chanda had agreed to pay the commander of the King of

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

, Manaji, for safe passage. However, immediately upon reaching the Manaji's camp, Chanda Sahib was seized and eventually beheaded.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seringham, Battle of Battles involving French India Battles involving the British East India Company History of Tiruchirappalli 1753 in India Conflicts in 1753 Battles of the Second Carnatic War 18th century in French India