Battle of Seringapatam : 05 April to 04 May 1799

Seringapatam, the fortress capital of the Mysore Kingdom, had been threatened on a number of occasions never been captured before the historic battle in 1799.

On 14 February 1799 the Madras Army concentrated at Vellore under General Harris, the Commander-in-Chief, to begin its advance towards Seringapatam with a strength of 21,649 men and eight battalions of Madras Infantry. The only way to bring Tipu to terms was to strike at Seringapatam directly. On 05 April 1799, the curtains were drawn for one of the most important and historic events of the time - 'The Battle of Seringapatam’.

Seringapatam (now Srirangapatanam) is an island formed with the splitting of the Cauvery River into Northern and Southern branches, located approximately 24 kms from Mysore on the main highway to Bangalore. The reputation of the invincibility of its fort was proved to be a myth with this being captured in a frontal day light attack by the Madras Army on 04 May 1799. For this hard fought campaign, twelve of the Madras Battalions were awarded the Battle Honour- 'Seringapatam-1799'. With the fall of this formidable fort, the concept of fortress based defences in the science of warfare gave way to contest in the open.