APPENDIX. No. I. 469 
tliey were actuated by one-third of the bravery of their opponents, they would have com- 
mitted some execution, and doubtless would have checked that intrepidity and ardour 
which were so pre-eminently conspicuous in their enemy. Their resistance was very 
feeble ; terror seized them at the commencement of the attack, and it impressed them so 
forcibly, that the sea formed but an indifferent barrier to their precipitate flight. 
When the fury of the Ashantees against the Fantees was a little diminished, they 
turned part of their force against the fort with great coolness and resolution, advancing 
with shouts expressive of their loyalty and courage, to the very muzzles of the guns. At 
the east side of the fort, two three pounders, which were well served, destroyed numbers 
of them with every discharge of grape : but at the west side, the cannon which flanked 
the gate could not be rendered useful, in consequence of advantages the enemy possessed, 
and which were not to be found on the opposite quarter, where the musket alone was to 
be dependended upon : and we have the authority of the gentleman who commanded 
(after Mr. White was wounded) of stating, that he and another officer (Mr. Swanzy) fired 
nearly three hundred rounds of ball-cartridge in keeping the gate clear, and protecting 
those who Avere under the walls. Mr. Swanzy was so injured with the recoil of his 
musket, that he could not use his right arm for ,some days without much pain, and the . 
other officer (Mr. Meredith) was nearly in the same state. 
What loss the Ashantees sustained cannot be precisely laid down : the King, prior to 
his departure from Annamaboe, said, he lost three thousand men : but in that number 
he probably included those who were carried off by disease. His men however suffered 
very severely ; for their approach was made with such large bodies, that twenty, thirty, 
or perhaps more, fell with every discharge of grape-shot ; and the musket not only killed, 
but very often wounded at the same time, so close were the enemy. 
At this period (the 16th of June,) the fort was in an awkward state,— clompletely 
blockaded on the land-side, and a very imperfect communication by sea, and only a few 
weeks provisions for the number it contained ; add to which, the effluvia from the dead 
bodies, which were approaching fast to a putrid state, excited very uneasy apprehensions. 
These circumstances demanded some extraordinary effort, which the garrison, from its 
weakness, could not attempt. Every person, from great exertion and constant exposure 
to a vertical sun on the 15th, and from solicitude and want of rest, was much fatigued. 
Nevertheless things wore a more promising appearance ; whenever plunder was attempted, 
which now and then was the case, it met with resistance. There was not, however, any 
desire manifested by the Ashantees to renew hostilities, and every motion indicated a wish 
for peace. The garrison too was very desirous of such an event, but did not wish to be 
the first to yield, or to offer any terms without orders from the chief-governor. The 
King, from his late successes, had a high opinion of his power and the bravery of his 
army. On the other hand the small garrison, notwithstanding its reduced state, had no 
