Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/437

Book X. In the morning of the 14th, the enemy, opened a battery of three mortars between Lally's and the burying-ground, but in the rear of both, and concealed by the houses between them, from the sight of the fort: their fire this day disabled a mortar and two guns: during the night a constant fire of musketry from the covered-way, and of cannon and mortars from the works of the north front, was kept up against the enemy's approaches, and retarded their progress. On the 15th, they had 10 guns mounted in Lally's, and kept up through the day a fire from 21, besides their 11 mortars as before: but Lally's guns did all the mischief to the works, dismounting two guns in the demi, and two in the north-east bastion, and their shot, which flew over, took in flank the three other batteries towards the sea, and dismounted two guns on the sea-gate battery, two on the saluting battery, and one on the s. E. or St. Thomè bastion, in all eleven: the fire on the trenches continued through the night, from which the enemy, nevertheless, detached a picquet, which drove in the party posted on the salient angle of the glacis.

The enemy's cannonade continued on the 16th, with the addition of two guns on Lally's battery, which now fired with 12, all 24 or 18 pounders, to which the fort could only oppose the direct fire of six of equal weight, which were from the north-east and demi bastions; for the guns in the salient angle of the glacis, and in the fascine battery on the ground below, were of inferior calibres; and as it was constantly necessary to employ many men in reinstating the damages of the demi bastion, a traverse was raised to preserve the guns in its flank from the enfilading fire of Lally's; and whilst this and other work was doing, the three embrasures of its face to the right, which were open to the shot of Lally's, were kept closed until the next day; so that no guns in this bastion were either fired against, or dismounted by that battery; which having the more to use against the other works disabled one on the north-east, and obliged the garrison to withdraw the five guns in the salient angle of the glacis; and as the trenches were now advanced within 50 yards, these embrasures were filled up, and the earth levelled again to the general slope of the glacis. At 11 at night a sally was made from St. George's or the west ravelin