ute the enemy's troops would take, leaving it to him to deal with
them as he might consider advisable. Then he sent orders to Commodore
Wilson, the senior of the captains of the Indiamen, to demand from
the Commander of the Dutch squadron a full apology for the insults he
and his subordinates had been guilty of, the return of the
individuals and of the plunder he and they had taken, and their
immediate departure from the Hugli. Failing prompt compliance with
all these demands, Wilson was to attack the enemy's squadron.

The scene that followed deserves to rank with the most glorious
achievements of English sailors. The three captains were all built in
the heroic mould. Not one of them felt a doubt of victory when they
were ordered to attack a squadron in all respects more than double in
numbers and weight of metal to their own. It must suffice here to
say[14] that, the proposal of the English Commodore having been
refused by the Dutch, the English captains bore down upon the enemy;
after a contest of little more than two hours, captured or sank six
of their ships; the seventh, hurrying out to sea, fell into the hands
of two ships of war, then entering the river. Well {131}might the
victors exclaim, in the language of our great national poet:--

'O, such a day,
So fought, so followed, and so fairly won,
Came not till now to dignify the times,
Since Caesar's fortunes.'

[Footnote 14: For a detailed account of this action see the author's
_Decisive Battles of India_.]

This success left the Dutch soldiers, then on their way to Chinsurah,
absolutely without a base. They could only find safety in success,
and success was denied them. They were first repulsed by Forde in an
attack they made on a position he had taken at Chandranagar, and the
next day almost destroyed by the same gallant officer, joined by
Knox, in a battle at the village of Biderra, nearly midway between
Chandranagar and Chinsurah. Few victories have been more decisive. Of
the 700 Europeans and 800 Malays landed from the ships, 120 of the
former and 200 of the latter were left dead on the field; 300, in
about equal proportions, were wounded; and the remainder, with the
exception of 60 Dutch and 250 Malays, were taken prisoners. Forde had
under his command on this eventful day (November 25) 320 Europeans,
800 sipahis, and 50 European volunteer cavalry. The previous day,
reckoning that he would have to fight the enemy with his