“About three days, I think,” was the reply.
“And how strong a force is it?”
“The man that brought the news to General Sumpter said there was about five hundred soldiers in the force.”
“That number, in addition to the force that Major Cruger already has in the fort will make his army too strong for us,” said General Greene.
“We must capture the fort before the reinforcements get here,” said Captain Morgan.
“Yes, so we must,” agreed the general. “That is, if we can.”
“We are weakening the stockade-walls,” said another officer. “I believe that in another day of pounding the wall with six-pound shots we will be able to make an opening, and then we can storm the works.”
“We will try to force our way into the enemy’s works, anyhow,” said General Greene. “We will get to work early in the morning, and keep at work till we succeed.”
The patriots were up early next morning, and soon after breakfast the bombardment of the fort with the six-pounders was begun, and was kept up steadily throughout the day, but when evening came the wall still stood firm.
The patriots began to believe that they would not be able to break down the wall and get at the enemy.