Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/238

230 walls, flank the angles: the French had 70 Europeans, 200 Sepoys, and three pieces of cannon in the place. The attack began the next morning at day-break, from two pieces of battering cannon, which fired from embrasures cut through the wall of a brick house; the shock soon brought clown the wall, and left the artillery-men for some time exposed; but a large body of Sepoys being ordered to keep a constant fire on the parapet, the enemy were very cautious in making use either of their small arms or cannon. Some time after one of the English guns burst, and killed three Europeans, and wounded captain Dalton; the breach nevertheless was made practicable by four in the afternoon, when it was determined to storm the breach and escalade the walls at the same time. The enemy seeing the preparations for the assault, were discouraged, and beat the chamade. The Sepoys mistaking this signal of surrender for a defiance, fired a volley, which killed the drummer, and then giving a shout, ran to plant the colours on the breach. This motion was so rapid and unexpected, that they got to the top of it before any of the English officers were able to come up and inform them of their mistake, which they were unluckily confirmed in by the behaviour of some of the garrison, who drew up as fast as they could to defend themselves. A body of Europeans immediately marched after them, with orders to repress their violences, even by firing upon them, if necessary: but they did not arrive before the Sepoys had killed several of the garrison, and struck such a terror that 15 Frenchmen jumped over the walls into the Coleroon, where they were drowned. The rest surrendered to the Europeans, whose presence preserved them from another risque equal to that which they had just escaped; for the Morattoes, seeing the Sepoys in motion, imagined that they would carry off all the plunder of the place; and resolving to have a share of it themselves, they mounted and galloped up sword in hand to the breach: and several of them even rode up to the top of it. The enemy's army on the island were spectators of the whole attack, and fired, to very little effect, a great number of random shot at the village in which the English were posted. By the reduction of Pitchandah, the enemy's communications with the country to the north of the Coleroon were intirely cut off, and their