"Captain Clive made it his first care to collect such provisions and materials as might enable him to sustain a siege; and foreseeing that the enemy would soon recover from their flight and return into the town, if he confined himself to the fort, determined to go in quest of them; and on the 4th of September marched out with the greatest part of his men and four field-pieces. In the afternoon he discovered the fugitive garrison, consisting of 600 horse and 500 foot, drawn up near Timery, a fort situated six miles south-west of the city. They had a field-piece managed by two or three Europeans, from which they fired at a great distance, and killed a camel and wounded a sepoy; but as soon as they saw the English within musket-shot, retreated to the hills in the rear; upon which the English returned to the fort.
"The troops marched out again on the 6th, and found the enemy drawn up within gun-shot of Timery, in a grove, enclosed with a bank and a ditch, about fifty yards in front of which was a large tank, surrounded likewise with a bank much higher than that of the grove; but by age and neglect the tank itself was almost choked up and dry. Their number now appeared to be 2000, and they had two field-pieces, which fired smartly as the English advanced, and killed three Europeans; on which accident the line advanced more briskly towards the enemy, who, frightened by the vivacity of their approach, did not think themselves safe in the grove, but hurried with precipitation into the tank, and began to fire from the banks, exposing so little of their bodies that the English fire did no execution amongst them, whilst theirs wounded several of the Europeans and sepoys. The troops were ordered, therefore, to move behind some neighbouring buildings, from which Ensign Glass was soon after detached with a platoon of forty men to attack one side of the tank, whilst another, under the command of Lieutenant Bulkley, pushed to attack the enemy in front. Both gained the banks, and gave their fire at the same instant amongst numbers crowded together in the tank, which immediately put them to flight. The troops then took possession of the village under the walls of the fort, and summoned the governor. Messages passed, during which his spies discovered that the English had no battering cannon, which intelligence determined him not to surrender. Several shells were therefore thrown into the fort from a cohorn mortar, which proved ineffectual. The troops marched back to Arcot, and the enemy's cavalry hovered round them as they retreated, but kept out of the reach of their fire.