Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/700

676 from the rampart of the pettah kept up a constant but ill-directed fire against the center division; but the cannon-shot penetrating through their parapet did much execution, and seeing the columns to the right and left far advanced in the bed of the river, they became apprehensive that their retreat to the fort might be exposed to these bodies of horse and foot on each hand; and abandoned the defence, returning to the fort before either of the columns had crossed the river; but they had killed and wounded some Sepoys in the passage.

The plunder was given up to the troops without reserve; but they found little of any value, excepting grain, of which the whole crop of the country was in the town, but no merchants to buy it, nor had the troops means to send it away. The strength of the fort, and the small number of Europeans with Captain Smith, on whom, nevertheless, the success of the attack must depend, determined him to proceed with all the caution necessary to their preservation, by opening trenches; and more artillery was ordered from Tritchinopoly. The convenience of the pettah determined the point of attack against the south-east bastion, and as usual against its salient angle: the esplanade in this line was interrupted about half way between the pettah and the ditch by some staw huts, to which the enemy had set fire, but left the mud-walls standing. The next morning, which was the 20th, a party of Sepoys were posted there, but a strong sally of horse and foot obliged them to retire, and the enemy remained in the post: the field pieces advanced, and drove them from it, and it was again taken possession of by the Sepoys: in a few hours the enemy made a second attempt, but were beaten off with loss. The situation being exactly proper for the breaching-battery, an entrenchment was thrown round it, and a trench of communication continued to it from the pettah, to preserve the troops from the fire of the fort, which was incessant, as well from their cannon as small arms. On the 23d the artillery with much dispatch arrived from Tritchinopoly; they were one eighteen-pounder, two field twelve-pounders, one eight, and one nine-inch mortar, with five cohorns; and by the next morning the breaching-battery, was compleated and another in the rear to the right, to enfilade