United States or New Caledonia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
For it is the Yankee missionary who has invaded and taken charge of the British Legation; it is the Yankee missionary who is doing all the work there and getting all the credit. Beginning with the fortifications committee, there is an extraordinary man named G , who is doing everything absolutely everything.
I told him that I could not think of anything to compare them to, but that I thought they could be swept very easily by a Howitzer from above and below. He asked me if I would accompany one of his commissioned officers that night to see the fortifications, and I told him I would.
The populace were driven from the ramparts, and the fortifications of the great city echoed to no sound now but the tramp of the restless sentinel, or the clash of arms from the distant guard-houses that dotted the long line of the lofty walls. It was then that Ulpius, passing cautiously along the least-frequented streets, gained unnoticed the place of his destination.
He had learned to prefer an alliance with Holland to slavery under Spain. Moreover, he had Dutch engineers and architects in his service, and a well-constructed system of Dutch fortifications around his capital. To the summons to surrender himself and his allies he returned a defiant answer. The viceroy ordered an attack upon the city. One fort was taken.
Notwithstanding these discouragements, they opened a small battery against the town, which was set on fire in several places by their bombs and red-hot bullets; they likewise repulsed part of the garrison which had made a sally to destroy their works; but their cannon producing no effect upon the fortifications, the fire from the town daily increasing, the engineers owning they could not perform their promise, and admiral Lestock declaring, in repeated messages, that he could no longer expose the ships on an open coast at such a season of the year, general Sinclair abandoned the siege.
We were at first warmly received with the cannon and musketry planted there, but they soon got tired of our Peninsular medicines: I suppose the pills disagreed with them, for they were very quickly obliged to retire into the city and no more fighting ensued; and some terms having been hinted at, when the black regiments had eaten a quantity of the fortifications, which they seemed to be very fond of, and we had put some into our haversacks as likely to be useful to sweeten our cocoa, we returned to our boats, and dropping down the river to a piece of land called Dolphin Isle, there encamped again.
The English commander matured a plan of campaign, formed by his locum tenens, General Abercrombie, which embraced an attack upon Niagara and Crown Point, still in possession of the French, the former being the connecting link in the line of fortifications between Canada and Louisiana, and the latter commanding Lake Champlain, and guarding the only passage at that time to Canada.
Its ancient fortifications, which of late years have been rapidly giving place to modern improvements, consisted of a double line of walls, guarded by towers, pierced by strongly-fortified gates, and surrounded by a deep and wide moat. The ramparts were built of quarried stone, which, though much harder than sandstone, was far more difficult to bind together with mortar.
Namur, being the second fortress hope of the Allies the pivot upon which General Joffre had planned to swing his army into Belgium in a sweeping attack upon the advancing Germans a brief survey of the city and fortifications will be necessary. The situation of the city is not as imposing as that of Liege.
We can only suppose them to have been rude fortifications, constructed in the centre of the woods, and designed to secure the women, children, and cattle, whilst the warriors of the tribe marched out to repel a sudden invasion.
Word Of The Day