INTRODUCTION. 517 
marched, rowing along the beach with four boys in his gig, exposed 
to the enemy’s fire, to direct the march. The first fort to be attacked 
was that of the Englishman, situated on a promontory and defended 
by a strong palisade, headed by six guns which swept the beach. The 
soldiers, two abreast, continued to march along close to the palisade, 
which appeared impracticable, when a Chileno midshipman perceived 
one of the pales to be rotten at the bottom; he seized it; it gave 
way, but finding it still impossible to enter, on account of his large 
hat, he took it off, threw it over the palisade, got through himself, 
and quickly enlarging the opening, the rest followed him and attacked 
the fort so vigorously that it was carried in a few minutes. The mo- 
ment this position was secured, the troops proceeded to the fort of 
the Corral, the strongest and most important of all, without paying 
attention to some smaller batteries behind. It was also speedily 
reduced, and of course all the southern batteries, Avanzada, Barros, 
Amargos, and Chorocomayo followed. The Colonel, Don Fausto del 
Hoyo, with what remained of his regiment (the Cantabrian), was 
taken. The enemy’s loss in killed and wounded was great, that of 
the patriots was only 6 killed and 18 wounded. 
Next morning the O’ Higgins arrived, and those on board suffered 
the most lively alarm from a trifling circumstance. Knowing the 
extreme danger of the meditated attack, they had obtained a promise 
from the admiral, that if all was well, he would hoist two flags of 
any kind on the outer flag-staff. As they approached they saw but 
one, and that one Lord Cochrane’s boat’s ensign, the Chile colours. 
His Lordship had but that one with him and could get no other. 
They began to fear he had been taken, and that the flag was hoisted 
as a decoy. Meantime, the troops in the northern forts, perceiving 
the frigate, hoped she was a Spaniard and made their private signal, 
which she answered and continued advancing, when a boat boarded 
her. All was safe, the admiral well. The Spanish flag was instantly 
hauled down, the patriot ensign hoisted in its place, and the troops no 
longer hoping for assistance, precipitately abandoned the town and 
I 
