Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall v3p1.djvu/371

  vessels and a detachment of gun-boats manned by the crew of the Larne.

The mortar-vessels and one gun-boat, with two or three howitzers mounted, having been anchored within 600 yards of the stockades, and the other boats having taken up a more advanced position, in a battering line, the whole opened their fire at 6, which was smartly returned by the enemy, both with guns and musketry.

At 9 o’clock, a detachment of row-boats, with troops under the command of Major Richard Lacy Evans, of the Madras army, pulled up the creek. By this time, the enemy’s great guns were silenced, and their magazine blown up; they still, however, held possession of the stockades, and maintained a constant fire of small arms.

The ditches of these works had been so widened as not to allow the scaling ladders to be planted, and a strong chevaux-de-frise was found placed across the creek to impede the advance of the flotilla. The original intention of storming the stockades from the river side was therefore abandoned, and Major Evans determined to attack the smallest in the rear. At 9-30, he landed with 150 men, forced his way through the jungle by single files, and succeeded in dislodging the enemy. Possession having been gained, the advance was sounded, and the boats pulled up to the main stockade, which was stormed without loss, the enemy retreating into the jungle. From the precision of the mortar practice, and the excellent fin of the gun-boats, which had completely riddled the stockades, the enemy’s loss must have been considerable: the British had only four men wounded this day, of whom three belonged to the navy. Eight gun carriages were found in the main stockade, and subsequently two very fine brass guns, which had been sunk in the ditch.

Leaving a sufficient force to defend the stockades, Captain Marryat and Major Evans then pushed higher up the creek, where they discovered between twenty-five and thirty boats and canoes, laden with arms and ammunition, the whole of which were either destroyed or brought away.

The zeal and activity of Lieutenant Fraser, Mr. Henry Hodder, acting master of the Larne, Mr. Duffill, and Mr.