Upon this horrid spot the army halted two days, and it then retired to Tripassoor, to secure provisions. At this period the health of Major-General Sir Hector Munro compelled him to leave the army.
On the 19th of September, Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote made a movement towards _Vellore_, the relief of which place Hyder Ali appeared determined to oppose, by occupying in order of battle the Pass of _Sholingur_, at the same time making very spirited attacks against the fortress of Vellore.
Upon the 27th of September, Colonel Craufurd, now second in command, received the orders of the Commander-in-Chief to move the British army to the front.[13] Hyder, confident of success, made a forward movement to meet his opponents, when a general action commenced. A detachment, commanded by Colonel Edmonstone, (of which the flank companies of the first battalion formed part,) succeeded in turning the left flank of the enemy, and fell upon his camp and rear. The day closed by the total defeat of Hyder’s troops, who were pursued by the cavalry until sunset.
Under circumstances the most distressing and unpromising, but with the hope of obtaining the supplies of provisions of which the army was quite destitute, and for which no previous arrangement had been made by the Government, Lieut. General Sir Eyre Coote, on the 1st of October, boldly pushed through the Sholingur Pass, and after a march of two days encamped at Altamancherry, in the Polygar country. Here, by the friendly aid and kindness of Bum-Raze, one of the Polygar princes, the troops were well supplied with every requisite.
The British camp was moved on the 26th of October to Pollipet, and the sick and wounded were sent to Tripassoor. Vellore was also relieved. This desirable object being effected, and the army reinforced by Colonel Laing with a hundred Europeans from Vellore, it proceeded to the attack of Chittoor, which, after a gallant resistance, capitulated.
With a view to get the British from a country so very inaccessible, Hyder Ali proceeded to the attack of Tripassoor, and on the 20th of November Sir Eyre Coote retired out of the Pollams, through the Naggary Pass, which obliged the enemy to raise the siege of Tripassoor, and to retire to Arcot. The campaign closed by the recapture of Chittoor by the enemy.