'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎227] (246/622)

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
227
three shot and twenty-seven thousand seven hundred and forty-
three shell, carcases, and other projectiles, were poured into the
city and citadel from sixty-seven pieces of siege ordnance, of
which thirty-five belonged to the Bombay division, exclusive of
field artillery.
Commander Heathcote has supplied us with the following
interesting particulars regarding the work done by the Indian
Naval batteries before Mooltan u The siege of Mooltan was
in reality two sieges, first of the town, which of itself was a
very strong fortification, and secondly of the citadel, which was
a triple-walled fortification, of immense strength both naturally
and artificially, one of its walls being simply an escarpment of
the hill side; it had also a deep broad ditch and good glacis,
especially on the side nearest the town. Without the explosion
I doubt whether we should have got in without reinforcements,
especially in artillery. But it w r as decided that the town should
be first taken, and our first battery was opposite the place se
lected for breaching near the Dellii gate of the town. It was
composed of two 8-inch howitzers, and four 18-pounders. The
range was short, but the walls and gate were a good deal
obscured by intervening trees, which had been only partially
cleared away. At the assault this breach was found imprac
ticable, for there was a steep descent of about twenty feet to
the base of the wall, which had not been seen; all that could
be seen had been well levelled. On the return of the 32nd into
our battery, we re-opened with grape, canister, and shrapnel,
for right and left ot the breach was thick with the enemy's
riflemen.
" 1 he two-gun battery of 18-pounders in the city was erected
for the purpose of enfilading some guns on the citadel, a con
siderable distance on the right, which were a little too effi
cacious against our working batteries. It was well placed, and
accomplished what was intended. Our other battery in the
city was of four 18-pounders. We also used in the city some
howitzers, for a short time just before the capitulation, to pitch
shells over the parapet of the second wall. These batteries in
the city we had entirely to ourselves, working watch and watch
at night, putting up in some of the adjacent houses, and when
we could not get charpoys, sleeping on the ground. A
lavourite place was where there was a little rise of a com-
loitable height to form a pillow, and here I enjoyed many a
sound, though not very lengthy snooze, until I found out that
rT Wa8 a ^ ea( ^ body, only too slightly covered with
ear . One morning at daylight, Davies had only just got up
rom a charpoy where he had been sleeping, when a shot came
head ln ^ ou »' 1 an( ^ ^ on the impression lately made by his
In the attack on the citadel the four-gun battery in the city
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