John Whitehill (30 November 1735 – 15 April 1812) was an East India Company officer who was twice as Governor of Madras on a temporary basis in 1777 and 1780.
Whitehill saw some advantages in siding with his enemies and within two days was helping bombard the city in which he had just been a guest.
She attained celebrity as the muse of Laurence Sterne and was his subject in Journal to Eliza.
He caused anger by announcing the restoration of the Raja of Tanjore, in direct contravention of a previous treaty which favoured the Nawab of Arcot.
[3] On his arrival after 79 days, he became acting governor on 31 August 1777[5] and the leaders of the revolt were recalled to London.
Sir Thomas Rumbold who was a senior councilor was nominated as the permanent governor and was sent out in due course.
[5] He soon found himself in a difficult situation because Runbold had been negligent with regard to security and Hyder Ali, the Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore, launched the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
[6] Carefully co-ordinating the actions of his subordinate commanders, Hyder Ali swept down the Eastern Ghats onto the coastal plain in July 1780, laying waste the countryside.
[7] Hyder Ali himself organised the Siege of Arcot, while detaching his son Karim Khan Sahib to take Porto Novo.
Word then arrived that Munro was awaiting the arrival of reinforcements from Guntur under Colonel William Baillie, so he sent a detachment under Tipu to intercept them, and eventually followed in strength himself, when Munro sent a force from his army to meet Baillie.
[8] Tipu and Hyder Ali surrounded Baillie's force, and compelled the surrender of about 3,000 men in the Battle of Pollilur on 10 September; it was the worst defeat of British troops in India to date.