Forbes, James, 1749-1819, James Forbes letter, Camp at Bowa-Peer, 1775 June 11, copied between 1794 and 1800
- Call Number:
- Folio A 2023 69
- Creator:
- Forbes, James, 1749-1819
- Title(s):
- James Forbes letter, Camp at Bowa-Peer, 1775 June 11
- Date:
- copied between 1794 and 1800
- Classification:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Series:
- Series I: A voyage from England to Bombay with descriptions in Asia, Africa, and South America
- Part of Collection:
- volume 7, page 287-290
- Provenance:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
- Conditions Governing Access:
- The materials are open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use:
- The collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.
- Scope and Content:
- The English forces continue their march, now in close pursuit of the Maratha confederate forces. Forbes spends little time describing his surroundings, and gives passing details of several towns through which the company forces pass. He describes one town as famous for its banyan trees; “this single tree resembles a large grove, and affords a shelter to seven thousand men.” The region belongs to an independent Hindu ruler who, by paying tribute to other rulers, has maintained control of his domain. Forbes then returns to the trials of the march. One European drops dead from the heat, and the others are intensely fatigued. There is a brief skirmish with the enemy, but they soon flee, and, rather than pursue them, the English forces along with their Maratha allies decide to camp for the night. This hesitation is a source of much anxiety for Forbes: he complains of Ragobah’s (Raghunathrao) forces that, “there is no prevailing on these dastards to advance beyond our guns.” Forbes also describes the army’s use of native informants to collect intelligence: “a Fakeer, who resides on the banks of the Nerbudda informed us that the enemy, in their panic, threw several of their guns, with a quantity of ammunition into the river.” The letter closes with the English camped near the tomb of a Muslim saint. Forbes describes the site: “his tomb is covered with silk, and daily strewed with flowers; and his virtues held in such estimation that Hindoos as well as Mahometans, approach it with reverence.” Portions of this text are included in <title>Oriental Memoirs</title>, volume 2, chapter 19.
- Physical Description:
- 4 pages
- Genre:
- Correspondence , Botanical illustrations, Ornithological illustrations, Travel sketches, Maps, Watercolors (paintings), Drawings (visual works), Engravings (prints), and Portraits
- Subject Terms:
- Forbes, James, 1749-1819. Descriptive letters and drawingsForbes, James, 1749-1819. Oriental memoirs
- Associated Places:
- EnglandItalyScotlandWales
- Associated People/Groups:
- East India CompanyForbes, James, 1749-1819
- Finding Aid Title:
- James Forbes archive
- Archival Object:
- https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199736
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3199736?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1