Papers on Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corps of Royal Engineers Volume 9 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1860 Excerpt: ...with all the disadvantage on our part that possibly could be imagined, exposing our open naked bodies to an enemy within a strength, and assisted by their horse, who much annoyed us, we having none of our horse to assist us, nor could have, the sea being betweene us and them: after long skirmish and diverse repulses, at last we got their halfe moone, and after three houres hot fight, their close worke, and in it Captaine White and fifty other prisoners: in which work we put a guard that night of thirty musquetires, commanded by an ensigne; by whose treachery or cowardize, the enemy falling on that night, the said guard quitted the worke to them, without giving any alarme to the Fort, for which he was shot to death shortly after: which cost us a new labour the next day, with farre greater difficulty and danger than before; the enemy having of their horse and foot ready to second their guard in their new regained worke, which yet we againe made ours, after the losse on our part of Captaine Corbet, who was shot in the forehead as wee fell on upon their work; and three other of our captaines were also wounded this day and the day before; and wee had in both fights some twenty men killed, and above one hundred wounded, of whom many are since recovered. The enemy lost six commanders, whose names were concealed from us, and many men, besides those taken prisoners. After we had gained the enemie's worke the second time, we slighted it, but to prevent the like approaches, in regard Mount Stanford being a small worke, and very untenable of itselfe, much lesse to keepe so large a circuit of ground as it was built to defend, we were necessitated to draw a line of communication both on the east and west side of the worke, to maintaine a long ridge of ground, with halfe ...