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This encouraged the besieged, who perceived the weakness of our resources. The besieging artillery, consisting only of three twenty-four pounders and six, eighteen pounders, was not brought up until the end of April, and before that period threw assaults had taken place with very serious loss. On the 4th of May our powder began to fail us. This cruel event obliged us to slacken our fire.
It consists of two lofty rooms, reaching the whole length of the building: in the lower room is a complete train of artillery, consisting of brass cannon and mortars fit to attend an army of a hundred-thousand men; but none of the cannon I observe there were above four-and-twenty pounders; the large battering-pieces, which carry balls of thirty- two and forty-eight pounds weight, I perceive, are in the king's store-houses at Deptford, Woolwich, Chatham, and Portsmouth.
The guns of these had evidently been kept loaded, for before the two eighteen pounders were again ready, a fire was opened by the four craft, one or two balls striking the sandbags, while the rest went crashing into the forest behind. Every shot from the British guns struck the prahus, but none effected such damage as the first two fired.
Having succeeded in gaining the confidence of Admiral Brown, he put me in command of a privateer schooner, mounting two long 24 pounders and 46 men. I sailed from Buenos Ayres, made two good cruises, and returned safely to port.
Finding the enemy gaining on us, and but little chance of escaping from them, I ordered two of the guns on the gun deck to be ran out at the cabin windows for stern guns on the gun deck, and hoisted one of the twenty-four pounders off the gun deck, and ran that, with the forecastle gun, an eighteen pounder, out at the ports on the quarter deck, and cleared the ship for action, being determined they should not get her without resistance on our part, notwithstanding their force and the situation we were placed in.
A hundred and thirty galleons, from 1,300 to 700 tons, 30,000 fighting men, besides slaves and servants, made up a force which the world might well think invincible. The guns were the weakest part. There were twice as many as the English; but they were for the most part nine and six pounders, and with but fifty rounds to each.
Ship's name and nation? Tuscaloosa. Confederate. Name and rank of officer in command? Lieutenant Low, late Alabama. Tonnage of the ship? 500. Number of officers and men on hoard? 4 officers and 20 men. Number and description of guns on board? 3 small brass guns, 2 rifled 12 pounders, 1 smooth-bore-pounder. Where is she from? St. Katherine's, Brazils. Where is she bound? Cruising.
Shots are ringing all around and down my street, and the vicious crackling of these rifles grow at times into regular volleys. The Insurrection has not ceased. There is much rifle fire, but no sound from the machine guns or the eighteen pounders and trench mortars. From the window of my kitchen the flag of the Republic can be seen flying afar.
* Weems, in his Life of Marion, represents the cannon as made up principally of TWENTY-FOUR and THIRTY-SIX pounders; but the official accounts are as I have given them. See Drayton's Memoirs, vol. 2, pp. 290-1.
The next moment a puff of smoke showed itself on the side of the war ship and a shower of grape shot whizzed angrily around the boat. A second and a third discharge followed, and then came solid shot, sixty-four pounders, howling like demons over the boys' heads, and plowing the water all around them. Their speed quickly took them out of range, however, and the firing ceased.
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