The Nineteenth and their times Author:John Biddulph Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PART lH THE TWENTY-THIRD, AFTERWARDS THE NINETEENTH LIGHT DRAGOONS (1781-1822) CHAPTER I.—1781-1782. THE TWENTY-THIRD LIGHT DRAGOONS. Alarming state... more » of Public Affairs—Want of Cavalry in India—Orders for raising the 23rd Light Dragoons—Colonel Sir John Burgoyne —Regiment embark for India—Arrive in Madras—Desperate State of Affairs—Madras Misgovernment—Horses for the Regiment. ALARMING as was the state of our affairs in 1779, it was much worse in 1781. In January, a rupture occurred with Holland, so that Great Britain found herself simultaneously at war with France, Spain and Holland, while engaged at the same time with her revolted Colonies in America. The navy was overtaxed and inadequate to the demands made on it, and the command of the sea had passed into the hands of our enemies. Gibraltar had been besieged since July 1779, the siege continuing till February 1783, the only assistance that could be given being in the shape of stores and reinforcements at uncertain intervals. In America, things had gone from bad to worse. On 19th October 1781, Cornwallis was forced to capitulate at Yorktown with the whole of his army, a disaster which practically brought the war in America to a close, though it lingered on for nearly a year and a half longer. In India, affairs were nearly as bad. The three most important of the native powers at that time were Hyder Al i of Mysore, the Mahrattas, and the Nizam of Hyderabad, and matters had so turned out that we were at war with them all three. On the outbreak of war between England and France, the French settlements quickly fell into our hands. Hyder Ali was much under French influence, and the fall of the French Settlement at Mahe, which was detrimental to his interests, aroused his resentment. He was an able soldier and admini...« less