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134 HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
Avill undoubtedly abandon and destroy upon our landing, and
then fly to the fort, as at my attack at Severndroog ; in which
case, great numbers must be killed by the shells, the place being
so crowded and populous that they cannot fall amiss, and many
upper buildings must, of course, be knocked down, which will
occasion great disorder and confusion. The}" sent out no boats
while I was off the place, and to deceive them, I caused all the
sails to be furled a little before dark, and made the signal to
anchor, after which I ran out of sight in the night, so that they
are ignorant whether I proceeded to the northward or to the
southward. Several of the galivats had blue, or green, and
white pendants like Portuguese at their mast-heads, and one of
them had a white flag with a red cross in the middle, which they
hauled down when I drew near. Nothing remarkable has
happened during this cruise ; the Mahratta fleet was at Severn-
droog on my going down and coming up. I shall be happy to
wait on you to relate farther particulars."
Acting upon Commodore James' representations, the Governor
and Council of Bombay resolved to prosecute the enterprise
/'"
with vigour. ^^
On the 7th of February/. 1756, the combined military and
naval expedition sailed fr6m""I^ombay. It consisted of eight
hundred European soldiers, three hundred topasses, (or Portu-
guese soldiers), and three hundred sepoys, under the command of
the hero known to posterity as Lord Clive ; also of the following
men-of-war:—His Majesty's ships 'Kent,' seventy guns,flag-ship
of Vice-Admiral Watson ; ' Cumberland,' sixty-six guns, flag-
ship of Rear-Admiral Pocock ' Tiger,' sixty guns ' Salisbury,
; ;
fifty guns; * Bridgewater,' twenty guns; and 'Kingfisher,' six-
teen guns. The contingent of Company's vessels-of-war
consisted of the ' Protector,' forty-four guns, Commodore James
;
'Revenge,' twenty-eight guns; 'Bombay,' twenty-eight guns;
' Guardian,' twenty-eight guns ' Swallow,' sixteen guns ; and
;
the ' Drake,' ' Triunjph,' ' Warren,' ' Viper,' and ' Despatch,'
bomb-vessels, on board of which a company of artillery, under
command of Captain Tovey, was embarked. The whole formed
a considerable fleet, which was still further reinforced by four
grabs and forty galivats of the Mahrattas.
Since the month of November, a body of the Peishwa's troops,
under Eamajce Pun^ and Kliundoojee Mankur, had been
,
successfully operating against ToolajeeAngria^s territories, and
the whole of his forts along the coast, to the northward of Gheria,
had been reduced.
When the British fleet appeared ofi" his capital, Toolajee was
so terrified that he left the town to be defended by his brother,
and surrendered himself to Ramajee Pnnt, to whom he oft'ered
a large bribe for his freedom. But the Mahratta General kept
him a prisoner, and extorted from him an order, directing his