Pen-and-ink and water-colour drawing of Anchittidrug by 1st Baronet Sir Alexander Allan (1764-1820) between 1790 and 1792 for 'Views in the Mysore Country', plate 4...
This drawing was made during the third Anglo-Mysore war (1790-92), one of the most crucial battles fought by the British in their campaign to become the major power in India. In the first and second Anglo-Mysore Wars, Haidar Ali (c.1722 - 1782) and his son Tipu Sultan (1753 -1799) had fended off the British, but neither side could claim absolute success. Haidar died in the second Anglo-Mysore war. In the third war, helped by strategic alliances with other Indian rulers, the British defeated Tipu who was forced to sue for peace in the Treaty of Srirangapatna. On 18 July 1791, Anchittidrug was surrendered to the British under Lord Cornwallis, the Governor General in India, and was maintained as a post of communication until the conclusion of the war. The fort is situated at Anchetti in Tamil Nadu 35 miles from Bangalore.