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Sir Eyre Coote
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1745–1783
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	84th Regiment of Foot Commander-in-Chief, India
Battles/wars	Jacobite rising of 1745 Seven Years' War Second Anglo-Mysore War
Awards	Order of the Bath

Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote KB (1726 – 28 April 1783) was an Irish soldier. He is best known for his many years of service with the British Army in India.

Early life

The son of the Reverend Chidley Coote , he was born near Limerick, Ireland in 1726, and entered the 27th Regiment of Foot. He first saw active service in the Jacobite rising of 1745, and later obtained a captaincy in the 39th Regiment, the first British regiment sent to India.

Seven Years War

In 1756 a part of the regiment, then quartered at Madras, was sent forward to join Robert Clive in his operations against Calcutta, which was reoccupied without difficulty. Coote was soon given the local rank of major for his good conduct in surprising the camp of the Nawab of Bengal. Soon afterwards came the Battle of Plassey, which would probably never have taken place but for Coote's advice at the council of war; after the defeat of the Nawab he led a detachment in pursuit of the French for 400 miles under extraordinary difficulties. His conduct won him the rank of lieutenant-colonel and the command of the 84th Regiment of Foot, newly raised for Indian service, but his exertions had seriously damaged his health. In October 1759 Coote's regiment arrived to take part in the decisive struggle between French and English in the Carnatic. He took command of the forces at Madras, and in 1760 led them in the decisive victory of Wandiwash (22 January). After a time the remnants of Lally's forces were besieged in Pondicherry. For some reason Coote was not entrusted with the siege operations, but loyally supported William Monson, who brought the siege to a successful end on 15 January 1761. In the latter year he sat for Maryborough in the Irish House of Commons.

Soon afterwards Coote was given the command of the British East India Company's forces in Bengal, and settled of a serious dispute between the Nawab Mir Qasim and a powerful subordinate. In 1762 he returned to England, receiving a jewelled sword of honour from the Company and other rewards for his great services.

Later life

In 1771 he was made a Knight of the Order of the Bath. In 1779 he returned to India as lieutenant-general commanding in chief. Following the policy of Warren Hastings, he nevertheless refused to take sides in the quarrels of the council, and made a firm stand in all matters affecting the forces. Hyder Ali's opening of the Second Anglo-Mysore War in southern India called him back into the field, but it was not until 1 June 1781 that Coote struck the first heavy blow against Hyder in the decisive Battle of Porto Novo. The battle was won by Coote against odds of five to one, and is regarded as one of the greatest feats of the British in India. It was followed up by another hard-fought battle at Pollilur (the scene of an earlier triumph of Hyder over a British force) on August 27, in which the British won another success, and by the rout of the Mysore troops at Sholinghur a month later. His last service was the arduous campaign of 1782, which finally shattered a constitution already gravely impaired by hardship and exertions. Sir Eyre Coote died at Madras, and a monument was erected to him in Westminster Abbey as well as within West Park, Rockbourne, Hampshire. His nephew was Sir Eyre Coote, GCB.

Further reading

• Sheppard E. W. Coote Bahadur: A Life of Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, KB Werner Laurie 1956

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

• Archival material relating to Eyre Coote (East India Company officer) listed at the UK National Register of Archives