nine o'clock
At last , the gate gave way . The troops poured in , cheering loudly , and the enemy at once fled . Many , however , took up their positions in the houses , and kept up a galling fire , until their places of refuge were stormed by detachments of troops , scattered through the town . By nine o'clock all was over , and the town completely in the possession of the British . Tippoo , furious at its having been so speedily captured , moved down early in the afternoon with a strong force of infantry ; and , marching along by the side of the fort , endeavoured to force his way into the town through the open space at that end . He was aided by the guns of the fort , while his artillery kept up a heavy cannonade upon the British encampment . When the sultan was seen marching towards the town , with the evident intention of endeavouring to retake it , the 76th Regiment was sent in to reinforce the garrison ; and the three battalions opposed so steady a resistance to Tippoo 's infantry that the latter were forced to fall back , after sustaining a loss of five hundred men .