HISTORY OF 



EUROPE. 



235 



a road for the communications of 

 the garrison Avith the countries to 

 the southward, but the road passes 

 round the west side of the fort, and 

 is exposed, for a considerable dis- 

 tance, to its fire ; it is so narrow as 

 to make it impracticable for regular 

 approaches, aud the rock is scarped 

 on each side : this road also leads 

 no farther than the gate. The com- 

 munication with the northern gate 

 is direct from the village of Labada, 

 and here the ground is level Avith 

 that of the fort ; but the road leads 

 through the mountains for about 30 

 mdes from Elichpoor, and it was ob- 

 Tious, that the labour and difiiculty 

 of moving ordnance and stores, 

 thence to Labada, would be very- 

 great. Upon the most mature de- 

 liberation, however, the latter point 

 of attack was determined upon, and 

 as colonel Stevenson had long been 

 destined, and was indeed, equipped 

 for that service, his corps was direct- 

 ed to make the principal attack by 

 Labada, and that under general 

 AVclleslcy was to cover the opera- 

 tion of the siege, and, if possible, 

 carry into eil'ect attacks upon the 

 southward and westward. 



On the 7th of December, both 

 divisions marched from Elichpoor, 

 and, from that day (ill the 12th, the 

 troops of colonel Stevenson went 

 through a series of laborious ser- 

 vice, such as had scarcely been ever 

 •TS'itnessed. The heavy ordnance 

 were dragged up, over mountains 

 and tluoMijh ravines, for nearly 

 thirty niiies, by roads which it 

 had been previously necessary for 

 the troops to make for the pur- 

 pose. 



On the 12th, at night, colonel 

 Stevenson eredtcd two batteries, for 

 brass and iron guns, to breach the 

 outer fort and the third wall ; and 



one to clear and destroy the defen- 

 ces on the point of attack. A 

 fourth battery was opened by ge- 

 neral Wollesley's division, on the 

 mountain, under the southern gate, 

 with a view to breach the wall near 

 that gate, or at least to divert and 

 distraft the enemy's attention. On 

 the night of the 16th, the breaches 

 of the outer wall of the fort were 

 deemed practicable, and a storming 

 party was ordered for the attack, at 

 10 o'clock on the following morn- 

 ing, under the command of lieute- 

 nant colonel Kenny. At the same 

 time, two attacks were to be mada 

 from the southward, the one on the 

 south gate, by a strong detachment 

 under lieutenant colonel Wallace, 

 and the other of a similar force on 



the 



gate of 



the north-west, under 



lieutenant colonel Chalmers. These 

 latter dispositions were calculated 

 solely to draw the enemy's attention 

 from the real point of assault. At the 

 appointed hour, the three parties 

 moved forward; — that under colo- 

 nel Chalmers reached the north-west 

 gate just as the enemy were at- 

 tempting to escape through it, from 

 the bayonets of the assailants, under 

 col. Kenny. A dreadful slaugh- 

 ter ensued, and colonel Chalmers en-, 

 tered without difliculty. The wall 

 in the inner fort in w'hich no breach 

 had been made, was now to be car- 

 ried : after some attempts upon tha 

 gate of communication between the 

 inner and outward fort, a place was 

 at length found at which it was pos- 

 sible to escalade the wall. Here 

 captain Campbell, Avith the light in- 

 fantry of the 94th regiment, fixed the 

 ladders, scaled the wall, and opened 

 the gate to the storming party, who 

 were quickly masters of the place; 

 the garrison was numerous, and 

 numbers of it were slain. 



