James Scurry

James Scurry (1766-1822) was a British soldier and memoirist. He was held captive by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan for 10 years (1780-1790) at Seringapatam. He had been kept as a prisoner, first at Bangalore and then moved to the Seringapatnam ( modern day name is Srirangapatnam) fort. After his escape from Tipu's army, in Chitradurg (called Chitterdroog) he reached an English camp. He prepared a narrative of his captivity in 1794, but it was not published until 1824, after his death. He is well...See more

James Scurry (1766-1822) was a British soldier and memoirist. He was held captive by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan for 10 years (1780-1790) at Seringapatam. He had been kept as a prisoner, first at Bangalore and then moved to the Seringapatnam ( modern day name is Srirangapatnam) fort. After his escape from Tipu's army, in Chitradurg (called Chitterdroog) he reached an English camp. He prepared a narrative of his captivity in 1794, but it was not published until 1824, after his death. He is well known for his memoir The captivity, sufferings, and escape of James Scurry, who was detained a prisoner during ten years, in the dominions of Hyder Ali and Tippoo Saib (1824), which relates the sufferings and treatment of the captured English soldiers, Mangalorean Catholics, and other prisoners of war by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, the rulers of the Kingdom of Mysore in India. See less