Our men gave a single ringing, soul-stirring cheer, as they sprang into view, and then were silent, the exertion of pressing up that steep acclivity leaving them no breath to waste in profitless noise. The distance to be traversed was not more than 200 yards—no great matter upon level ground—but the hill rose so abruptly that, after the first fifty yards, our pace was reduced to something between a walk and a climb. The French, too, had evidently expected and been on the watch for us; for we had hardly advanced twenty paces before the parapet of the redoubt blazed out above us in a long line of fire; a storm of round shot and grape swept down upon us; great ghastly gaps were mown out of our ranks, a hideous chorus of shrieks and groans rose above the thundering roar of the artillery, and long lines of dead and dying men marked the path of the pitiless shot. The calmness and stillness of night gave place to a horrible discord of deafening sounds; the earth beneath our feet shook and vibrated with the ceaseless discharge of heavy guns; the baleful glare of portfires and fireballs flung down the hill by the enemy to enable them more clearly to ascertain our position, and the incessant flash of the cannon, cast a fierce, unearthly light upon the scene. Again, again, and again came the hissing storm of iron, each time with more deadly effect; the ground before and around us was ploughed and gashed by the rushing shot; our men were swept away before it like withered leaves before a hurricane; the death-cries of cherished comrades continually pierced the ear; the storming-party was melting away like snow beneath the scorching breath of that fiery tempest; and still the remnant struggled on.
At length that fearful breathless climb was nearly over. We were so near the redoubt that the muzzles of the guns could no longer be depressed sufficiently for the shot to take effect; the artillerymen, therefore, left their cannon and joined the grenadiers in throwing down hand-grenades upon us, or in pouring in a ceaseless musketry-fire. The guns in the Cliff Battery also became silent, in dread of striking friends as well as foes. A few yards more, and we were close enough to distinguish the stern, bronzed features of the defenders clustering thick in the breach to bar our entrance, the musketry flashes gleaming on their glistening eyeballs, and flickering on their levelled bayonet-points. My recent runs on shore, and the exercise of climbing up and down the Cliff rock seemed to have given me an advantage over the rest; for there was by this time no one in front of me. Two individuals there were, however, close at hand, in one of whom I recognised the skipper, the other being Major-General Dundas. They were evidently racing for the breach, and the skipper was getting the worst of it, being thoroughly blown. We were all three pretty evenly in line, but the soldier had chosen his road with the greater judgment. At last the skipper, too exhausted to keep upright any longer, put his sword between his teeth and went down on his hands and knees. I saw at once the nature of the rivalry, it was a struggle which should reach the breach first, the army or the navy; and I knew Captain Hood would rather lose a hundred pounds than be beaten.
Like them, I was dreadfully exhausted, the fatigue I experienced being so great that it amounted to positive pain; the muscles of my legs in particular ached and quivered violently with the exertions I had been making. Still, I was not nearly so bad as the other two, being decidedly strong and vigorous for my age, and I determined that the skipper should be gratified if it lay in my power; so I scrambled to his side and held out my hand to him shouting,—
“Let me give you a tow, sir; and we’ll be in before the red-coat yet.”
He grasped my hand without a word, rose to his feet, and together we strained and pressed upward. A couple of yards still lay between us and the hedge of bayonets which guarded the breach. The bullets flew about us thick as hail; one passing through my hat, another shredding away half the bullion from the skipper’s starboard epaulette, two more actually passing through my jacket and razing the skin; yet by a miracle we escaped unwounded.
One more desperate effort, and we staggered up the loose débris and into the breach, a clear yard ahead of our rival; and then, shoulder to shoulder, we stood and tried to recover our breath as best we could, defending ourselves meanwhile from the innumerable cuts and thrusts which were aimed at us. The next to arrive was, of course, Major-General Dundas; then came Mr Flinn, closely followed by the captain of the “Juno’s” main-top; then five or six soldiers; and, thus strengthened, we pressed forward, foot by foot, the Frenchmen obstinately contesting every inch of the way, until we had fairly penetrated to the interior of the redoubt, when—a path being thus cleared for those who came behind—the relics of the storming-party surged in and rushed upon the enemy with such resistless impetuosity that some of the garrison threw down their arms and surrendered; while the rest broke and fled in direst confusion.
A feeble cheer announced our success, which was immediately answered by a ringing “three times three—and one cheer more, for the storming-party,” from the occupants of the Cliff Battery away aloft in the cool night-air.
Poor little Bobby Summers came panting in with the ruck, after all was over; and the first use he made of his breath, after he had recovered it sufficiently to speak, was to abuse me in unmeasured terms for what he was pleased to term my “meanness,” in leaving him to struggle up the hill unaided.
All hands remained on shore that night, to make everything secure, and to guard against the possibility of an attempt to retake the redoubt; the storming-party being quickly reinforced by a strong detachment from the camp, which had been held in readiness to march in as soon as the redoubt should be carried.
Then came the sickening task of collecting the dead and wounded, arranging the former for burial, and attending to the wants of the latter and making them as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. But I will not go into the details of this accompaniment to the “pomp and circumstance of war,” lest I should unnecessarily harrow the feelings of my readers; suffice it to say that our task was not accomplished until long after sun-rise; while that of the naval and military surgeons of course lasted for weeks.