8. Storming the Redoubts
Under cover of the fire of their heavy guns, the allies moved forward on the night of October 11 to a second parallel, halfway to the main British line. At the right, nearest the river, the completion of this entrenchment was delayed by the fire of two advanced redoubts held by the British. It was determined to storm them. Early on the evening of October 14 French troops prepared to attack one of the redoubts, while picked American units from Lafayette’s Light Infantry assaulted the other. Count William de Deux-Ponts led the French attack, while Lt. Col. Alexander Hamilton was at the head of the American column.
THE STORMING OF REDOUBT NUMBER TEN
This is a reproduction of the painting made about 1840 by Louis Eugene Lami, the original of which is in the old Senate Chamber of the Capitol in Richmond, Va. It shows the detachment of Lafayette’s Light Infantry swarming into the British redoubt. Bitter hand-to-hand fighting is going on, the Americans using only the bayonet.