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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[NOVEMBER, 1899.
The copying of the letter by the old writer is obviously incorrect in places and the style is involved throughout. I have, by means of brackets, tried to elucidate the greatest of the difficulties, where possible. Also, in the MS. the text runs continuously without paragraphs or regular stops, and such stops as occur are, after the fashion of the day, wrongly placed or of a description not understood at the present time. For the sake of clearness I have, therefore, paragraphed the text and placed the stops after the current practice, so far as that has beeu possible. Otherwise the text is presented to the reader verbatim.
Letter. Fulta from on board the Success Gally 13 July 1756. Sir, - As the Loss of Calcutta will undoubtedly be represented in various ways, my Duty, as well as my having once had the honour of your Acquaintance and Continance, demands my giving some account of it, especially the Military Transactions. My having been Appointed to act as Adjutant General during the Troubles, enables me to do it in a more particular manner, than I otherwise could have done, bad I been stationed at my post, as I issued out all Orders from the Govenour, and saw most of them pat in execution. For what relates to private Correspondance must refer you to a long Narrative of Mr. Drakes which he informs me he intends to transmit by this conveyance.
You must have already rec'd the Accounts of the Surrender of Cossimbuzar on the 4th of June, and the manner Mr. Watts was decoy'd and made Prisoner in the Nabobs Camp and obliged to deliver up the fort. We have dispatched Patamors for that Purpose when we rec'd the news on the 7th. We may justly impute all our Misfortunes to the Loss of that place, as it not only supplied our Enemy with Artillery and Ammunition, but flush'd them with hopes to make as easy a Conquest of our cheif Settlement, not near so defensible against any Number of a Country Enemy, and were no Apprehensions but it could hold out, had they attacked it, till we were enabled by the Arrival of Supplies from your Settlement to march to its releif. It is defended by 4 Solid Bastione, each mounting 10 peices of Cannon, and 9 Pounders, besides a Line in the Curtain to ye River of 24 Guns, from 2 to 4 Pounders, all tolerably well mounted and most of them op field carriages, 8 or 10 Cohorns Mortars, 4 and 5 Inches, with a good Quantity of Shells and a proportionable Supply of all kinds of Amunitions. It is Garrisoned by a Lieutenant and 50 Military, most Europeans, and a Sergeant, Corporal and 3 Matrosses of the Artillery and 20 good Lascars. 1 or 2 Houses that stood close to the Walls were Commanded by so many Gons that the Enemy could not keep possession of them.
Wben we receiv'd tbe News of Cossimbazars being taken by the Nabob and of his Intentions to march against us, with the Artillery and Amunition of that place and with an army, as we where Informed, of 50000 Horse and foot, elated with the promise of the Emence Plunder espexted in Calcutta ; We began to think of our Long neglected defenceless state and our Situation, and to receive our Enemy, wbich we always despised, but now thought worth our Consideration. That we were in this defenceless Situation can't be imputed to our Masters in England, as our Governour and Counsil have had reapeted Injections wth in this twelve months past to put the place in the best posture of defence possible. But such orders the Representations [?] have been made by some Officers of the Necessity and mapper of doing it have been constantly neglected, being always Lull'd in such an unfortunate State of Security in Bengal, that nothing but an Army before the Walls cou'd convince us but every Rupee expended on Military Services was so much lost to the Company.
I will now proceed to Inform you as well as possible what our Situation was to stand & Soige. The Plan of Fort Wm and a part of Calcutta, which I here inclose you, and which since my comming on board I have sketch'd out from memory to give a clear Idea of the manner we were attacked, will represent to you the Situation of our small Fort in respect to the Houses that surrounded it and the Number of Guns mounted upon it. Our Military to defend it, exclusive of those at the Subordinate Factory, amounted only to 180 Infantry, of which number there were not 40 Europeans, and 36 Men of the Artillery Company, Seargeants
