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She went to work at once among the enemy's gunboats, sinking one and driving the rest to Hatteras, and then turning her attention to the fortifications, she kept up a speedy fire during the morning, silencing the enemy's guns, and driving him into his bombproofs.
It seemed to have legs and arms, an odd mushroom-shaped head, and endless ribs. Below and at its feet were other and vaguer shapes flat domes or cupolas, bombproofs perhaps, buildings of some sort Pax's home beyond peradventure. As he looked through the glasses at the skeleton-like tower Bennie had an extraordinary feeling of having seen it all before somewhere.
Beausejour was a strong post, a pentagon with heavy ramparts of earth, with two bombproofs, so called, and mounting twenty-five pieces of artillery. Some of the guns were heavy metal for those days and that remote defense. I have seen them used as gateposts by the more aristocratic of Beausejour's present inhabitants. Within the fort was a garrison of one hundred and sixty regulars.
The year 1782 opened with the loss to the English of Port Mahon, which surrendered on the 5th of February, after a siege of six months. a surrender induced by the ravages of scurvy, consequent upon the lack of vegetables, and confinement in the foul air of bombproofs and casemates, under the heavy fire of an enemy.
In one of the two vaulted chambers of masonry which were dignified with the title of "bombproofs," a party of French officers, with a captive English lieutenant, were sitting at breakfast. A shell from the English mortars dropped through the ceiling, exploded, and killed seven of the company. Vergor, with other officers and Le Loutre, was in the second bombproof.
Three separate times were we asked to surrender and save further sacrifice of life, but each was peremptorily declined. There was no doubt now but what we must succumb sooner or later. There was no hope unless reinforced, and that could not be as long as the ram was in the river. The men built bombproofs and traverses, which were a great protection. Late in the evening, Co.
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