Battle of Seringapatam
- When
- 1799
- Where
- Fortress of Seringapatam (Srirangapatna); North side of the River Cauvery at Seringapatam (Srirangapatna); Citadel and fortress walls of Seringapatam (Srirangapatna); Battle site at Seringapatam (Srirangapatna), including the Water Gate
- Episodes
- 4
The siege of Seringapatam (5 April – 4 May 1799) ended the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: British East India Company forces under General George Harris breached the fortress walls and stormed the citadel, defeating and killing Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore after his father's death.
Episodes
- Siege of Seringapatam Opens
British columns under General George Harris besieged Tipu Sultan's fortress of Seringapatam on 5 April 1799, the final confrontation of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.
- Breach Planning and Mysorean Defence
Governor-General Richard Wellesley planned the opening of a breach; on 22 April the Mysorean defence blocked a battery on the north side of the River Cauvery.
- Storming of the Citadel and Death of Tipu Sultan
On 4 May 1799, after briefing and rations, British troops under David Baird breached the walls and stormed the citadel; Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed.
- Aftermath and Commemoration
Participants received a Governor-General's medal; the Water Gate where Tipu's body was found and other battle features survive, and the looted treasury jewels entered fiction.
Background and detail
Background. The siege was the final confrontation of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, pitting the British East India Company against the Kingdom of Mysore led by Tipu Sultan, who had ruled after the death of his father. The British fought alongside the allied Nizam Ali Khan, 2nd Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Maratha Empire.
Course of the Siege. When the war broke out, the British assembled two large columns under General George Harris and besieged Seringapatam on 5 April 1799. Governor-General Richard Wellesley planned the opening of a breach in the walls. On 22 April the Mysorean defence prevented the establishment of a battery on the north side of the River Cauvery, where the old rampart appeared weaker than the new.
Assault and Aftermath. On 4 May 1799 the British breached the walls and stormed the citadel, achieving a decisive victory. Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed, ending the war. All members of the British-led forces who took part in the siege were awarded a medal by the Governor-General of India. Much of the battle site, including the ramparts and the Water Gate where Tipu's body was found, remains intact.
People involved
- Tipu Sultan · Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, defeated and killed in the battle
- George Harris · British general who assembled and commanded the two columns
- David Baird · Major General leading the British troops; a former captive of Tipu Sultan held for 44 months twenty years earlier
- Richard Wellesley · Governor-General of India who planned the opening of a breach in the walls
- Nizam Ali Khan, 2nd Nizam of Hyderabad · British ally in the siege
Sources
- Siege of Seringapatam (1799) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.