he night of September 29th, hoping by the
labor and firmness of the soldiers to protract the defence until you
could arrive. Everything was to be expected from the spirit of the
troops, but every disadvantage attended their labor, as the works were
to be continued under the enemy's fire, and our stock of intrenching
tools, which did not much exceed four hundred when we began to work in
the latter end of August, was now much diminished.

The enemy broke ground on the night of the 30th, and constructed on that
night, and the two following days and nights, two redoubts, which, with
some works that had belonged to our outward position, occupied a gorge
between two creeks or ravines which come from the river on each side of
the town. On the night of October 6th they made their first parallel,
extending from its right on the river to a deep ravine on the left,
nearly opposite to the centre of this place, and embracing our whole
left at a distance of six hundred yards. Having perfected this parallel,
their batteries opened on the evening of the 9th against our left, and
other batteries fired at the same time against a redoubt advanced over
the creek upon our right, and defended by about a hundred twenty men of
the Twenty-third regiment and marines, who maintained that post with
uncommon gallantry. The fire continued incessant from heavy cannon, and
from mortars and howitzers throwing shells from 8 to 16 inches, until
all our guns on the left were silenced, our work much damaged, and our
loss of men considerable. On the night of the 11th they began their
second parallel, about three hundred yards nearer to us. The troops
being much weakened by sickness, as well as by the fire of the
besiegers, and observing that the enemy had not only secured their
flanks, but proceeded in every respect with the utmost regularity and
caution, I could not venture so large sorties as to hope from them any
considerable effect, but otherwise I did everything in my power to
interrupt this work by opening new embrasures for guns and keeping up a
constant fire from all the howitzers and small mortars that we could
man.

On the evening of the 14th they assaulted and carried two redoubts that
had been advanced about three hundred yards for the purpose of delaying
their approaches, and covering our left flank, and during the night
included them in their second parallel, on which they continued to work
with the utmost exertion. Being perfectly sensible t