Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/435

Book X. of them to a sally; for none of the guns had embrasures, but fired, plunging over the parapet, and the guard might be beaten up, and the guns spiked, before succour could arrive from the nearest of the enemy's quarters: aware of this they had carried on a trench, from the end of the street through which Draper had marched to the foot of the bridge, which crossed the ground fronting the battery, and a picquet guard was constantly kept in the trench, ready to give the alarm. They had likewise began a breast-work at the bar of the Triplicane river to the south, in order to annoy the black people and cattle, which were sheltered on the spit of sand at the foot of the glacis on this side; and as many inconveniences would ensue from their dispersion, it was resolved to drive the enemy from the break-work.

Accordingly a detachment of 200 Europeans, of which half were grenadiers, and 400 Sepoys, marched under the command of Major Brereton, between four and five in the morning, whilst it was still dark: when arrived at the bar they received a fire from some Sepoys posted behind the unfinished parapet, which killed one and wounded two of the grenadiers; but, as the Sepoys immediately disappeared, the fire was not returned, and the detachment proceeded through the coco-nut groves to the left, without meeting any other opposition, until they came into the lane which leads into the St. Thomé road, along the garden wall of the governor's house, when a trooper, sent forward, discovered a party of the enemy drawn up at the end of the lane, with a field-piece. On this intelligence the advanced guard of grenadiers marched up briskly, fired, and pushing on, received the discharge of the gun loaded with grape, as well as the musketry that supported it, by which five of them were wounded, and Lieutenant Robson mortally: the rest, nevertheless, seized the gun before the enemy had time to fire it again, who took shelter in a house and garden on their right, from whence their fire killed three Sepoys and wounded two, with an European, before they were dislodged. It was yet scarcely twilight, and as the grenadiers were drawing off the gun, Jemaul Saheb, the commandant of the Sepoys, who had been prying in the St. Thomè Road, discovered another