During the British campaign to reduce the Eastern Maratha country, Chanda (today known as Chandrapur) came to prominence as the largest bastion in the Nagpur region still in Maratha hands. With walls of over 6 miles in circumference, it lay near the confluence of the Erai and Zarpat rivers.
On May 21, 1818, Lt. Colonel William Adams authorized an especially daring plan to storm the fort, which was executed only with much difficulty, as the defenders were well prepared. However, the fortress was soon overcome and with it the British had nearly crushed the effective resistance in the eastern regions.