'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎228] (247/622)

/
228 HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAYY.
was employed in clearing away the defences to the right of the
breach formed by the explosion, the glacis only being between
ns and the fortress. I remember also that we received orders
to train our left gun round into a makeshift embrasure, to bring
it to bear on a gun which was particularly well served and well
placed on the highest part of the fort on the extreme left. That
gun was dismounted at our second shot. A gun immediately
opposite our battery was also exceedingly well served, and as it
was so placed that we were completely exposed to it, it being
much higher than we were, and the glacis very narrow, it nearly
drove us out; however, we managed to silence it. Two days
after it banged into us again, so we devoted all our attention to
it until it was silenced again. After we had entered the fort
we were curious to see the gun, and we soon understood how
completely it was sheltered from our fire. We could never
have touched it except when it was run forward to fire. Its
last injury was that it had been hit on the side by one of our
shot, and, being a brass gun, this had so indented it that it
could not be loaded. But the first injury which had silenced it
the first time was most curious. One of our 18-lb. shot had
entered its muzzle and stuck there, when the Sikhs had run the
gun back and sawn off the muzzle, and there was the muzzle of
the gun with our shot still in it, lying close by. The gunners
had then fought with the shortened gun until it was again
disabled.
<4 The seven-gun battery was the first we employed against
the citadel. It was constructed entirely of fascines made
months before of small brushwood; this would not have been
selected if there had been an3^ choice, but the result was that
they were the best materials possible for creating a blaze if a
spark went near them. There was no earthwork at all in the
breastwork of the battery, which was composed entirely of these
dry fascines, the very perfection of a faggot. At the embra
sures they were covered with raw hides, the range to the wall
to be breached was about two hundred and fifty to three
hundred yards, but a howitzer latterly had been placed a few
hundred yards in our rear to keep down the fire of the enemy
from the walls. The enemy, thorough good soldiers and espe
cially thorough good engineers as they were, did not oppose us
with guns, but used mortars instead, from behind a position
where they were completely protected. They seemed to have
got our range with great accuracy, for the shells came thick and
fast into the battery, into the breastwork of the battery, and
into the trench behind the battery. The first that fell in
between the guns we lay down to, but really we had to wait so
long for the explosion, that the next that came were picked up
and thrown out. The shells were about 8-inch, made of ribs 01
wrought iron covered with molten bars, with a large fuze tha