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fully under his predecessor, he departed from his capital to take the command of the army, which was then advancing on Cape Coast. On this occasion, agreeably to the superstitious usage of the natives, the head of the late king was carried into the files of the Ashantees, as a charm to protect them in the battle, and an incentive to the performance of valorous deeds. When the King had made some progress towards the encampment, he sent a sarcastic message to the Commander-in-chief, who was then at Affatoo, within ten miles of Cape Coast, which abundantly shewed the confidence by which he was animated. His message was to the effect, that he had learned, in Coomassie,[22] that all the white men had been killed in the late action, and demanding to be informed, what he, the Commander, and all his young men were about, that they had not taken the Castle.--"Stop!"--was the _naive_ reply of the General to the messenger--"Stop till Friday, when the white men are going to attack us: then you can carry back to the King the news of what you see, and of what the young men have to do." Friday came in due course, and the army of the Ashantees went forward to redeem the pledge of their exulting General. This was the battle of Affatoo, which took place on the 21st of May, 1824. The result was disastrous to the cause of the King. The natives were completely routed and driven from the scene of action, without the loss of a single officer on our side, and with but one wounded (Capt. Hutchison), who commanded the Annamaboe militia, and who was shot through both arms, while he was leading his men to the charge. The Anglo-Fantee army, immediately after the battle of Affatoo, fell back on Cape Coast Castle, as had been previously arranged by Colonel Sutherland, who had arrived from Sierra Leone just before the battle. This movement of that portion of our troops, enabled Major Chisholm, who possessed the entire confidence of all the soldiers, to take the command in the field. The King of Ashantee, now joined the army, which he headed in person, and concentrating all his forces, he advanced towards Cape Coast Castle with the intention of blockading the town. On the 10th of June, 1824, he pitched his gorgeous pavilion,[23] sparkling with its rich colours and costly embroidery in the effulgent sunlight, on a height to the northward of the town; in the valley between which and the back of the town lay the ground where the important issue was to be
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