Ban Sam Bandit

What happened here

After midnight, the night of Saturday 3 to Sunday 4 January 1767Stop 4 of 15

They reached Ban Sam Bandit a little past the second watch, that is, shortly after midnight, and looking back saw the glow of fire in the capital. The chronicle says the fire burned from Tha Sai along the main road as far as Wat Chatthan. The force rested here until dawn.

See the whole route on the map →

The fire in the city that night

The royal chronicle says the force reached Ban Sam Bandit at about midnight, a little past the second watch, and saw fire break out in the city, burning from Tha Sai along the main road as far as Wat Chatthan. Prince Damrong Rajanubhab writes that the fire started at Tha Sai, by the northern wall, and burned monks' quarters, assembly halls and houses in the city, more than 10,000 buildings in all.

The research team of the Thammasat Journal of History considers this figure plausible, because the glow could be seen as far as Sam Bandit, about 17 kilometres away. Works based on Burmese records date the fire to 4 January 1767, which fits this night, since a little past the second watch is already after midnight, on the 4th.

The place today

Sam Bandit subdistrict is about 17 kilometres from the old city. The force covered that distance in a single night, from dusk until after midnight. Today it is a community among rice fields, with Wat Sam Bandit as the place to stop. Local legend says the force met three monks here; the research team of the Thammasat Journal of History considers this rather unlikely.

Position on the map: Approximate coordinates, around Wat Sam Bandit, Sam Bandit subdistrict, Uthai district