Robert Clive survived gunshot at the battle for Samayapuram Premium

Misfiring guns shaped British Empire in India, with Robert Clive's survival pivotal in colonial rule establishment.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that misfiring of guns paved the way for the establishment of the British Empire in India. In the case of Robert Clive, who laid the foundation for the colonial rule, guns misfired thrice — two self-harm attempts and a failed bid by a French army officer — and gave him and the British a new lease of life. The third incident took place in 1752 at the Mariamman temple at Samayapuram in Tiruchi, where a fierce battle took place between the British and the French.

Robert Clive was wounded in two places. “Clive then advanced into the porch of the building to parley with the enemy and, weak with loss of blood and fatigue, stood with his back to the wall of the porch and leaned, stooping forward, on the shoulders of two sergeants,” writes F.R. Hemingway, an Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer and author of the Trichinopoly District Gazette. The book, published in 1907, has been republished by the Tamil Nadu Archives and Historical Research Department.

He was shot at while negotiating with the French. “The officer of the deserters conducted himself with great insolence, told Clive in abusive language that he would shoot him, raised his musket, and fired. The ball missed Clive, but the two sergeants fell mortally wounded,” Hemingway writes.

The battle at Samayapuram also bears testimony to the fighting spirit of Clive. Recalling one of Clive’s uncles, British historian Thomas Babington Macaulay writes, “Fighting to which he is out of measure addicted gives his temper such a fierceness and imperiousness that he flies out on every trifling occasion.” Even in India, according to Macaulay, neither climate nor poverty, neither study nor the sorrows of a home-sick exile, could tame the desperate audacity of his spirit. “Twice, while living in the Writers’ Building, he attempted to destroy himself; and twice the pistol which he snapped at his own head failed to go off. After satisfying himself that the pistol was really well loaded, he burst forth into an exclamation that surely he was reserved for something great.”

According to Hemingway, the victory at Samayapuram was important for the British, though they suffered heavy casualties. “The possession of Samayapuram was important, as the harvest was then in progress and the renters, as usual, yielded the government share to the party in possession,” he writes.

The battle broke out after French general Lawrence dispatched a force, including 80 Europeans (40 of whom were deserters) and 200 sepoys, to cut up any of Clive’s troops that had been left there. Clive, who was sent to Samayapuram to intercept any French reinforcement from Pondicherry, was unaware as he was sleeping in a choultry when the French launched the attack. But he quickly mobilised troops stationed at the nearby Bhojeswara temple.

When he went to challenge the enemy, one of his sepoys, a deserter, attacked and wounded him in two places before running away to the Mariamman temple. Clive followed him to the gate and there, to his surprise, was accosted by six Frenchmen. “He at once realised what must have happened, and with characteristic composure told the Frenchmen that he had come to offer them terms and that the temple was surrounded by his men, who would give no quarter if any resistance was offered. Three of the Frenchmen ran back into the temple to carry the intelligence to their comrades, while the other three surrendered and followed Clive towards the choultry.”