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At this time, a desperate character, named Cayatano Aragonez, commanded a schooner called the Zaragonaza, of 120 tons, carrying a long swivel 18-pounder, 4 long 9-pounders, and 8 swivels, with a crew of between 70 and 80 men. Hearing of the way his friends had been treated, looking upon it as an ungenerous act, he vowed to take fearful revenge on all the English he could capture.
In this unequal struggle, which lasted nearly three hours, its ammunition was more than once exhausted and renewed. On one occasion, the enemy becoming more bold, brought two brass 9-pounders to bear on the Highlanders; but they immediately left the shelter of the houses, captured the guns, hurled them into the canal, and then calmly resumed their defensive position.
The guns were 9-pounders, the muzzles standing about 3 feet from the ground. During these awful preparations, I watched at intervals the faces of the condemned men, but could detect no traces of fear or agitation in their demeanour. The twelve stood two deep, six in front and six in the rear, calm and undismayed, without uttering a word.
They were worked for all that was in them, but the whole fourteen were silenced in little more than half an hour and seven of the quarter deck and forecastle guns were dismounted. She was left with three 9-pounders, which, being loaded and aimed under the eye of Jones himself, did frightful execution on the deck of the enemy.
Skinner venturing out to attack such well-armed vessels with our poor 9-pounders, and although he had been most anxious to join his shipmates, he was, he afterwards told me, pretty sure that the Britannia would have to strike or be sunk. The first thing he did, however, was to make all of our party comfortable.
Middle Hill, Rifleman's Ridge, Telegraph Hill, with its three 9-pounders, which the Rifle Brigade men, for quaint reasons of their own, name Faith, Hope, and Charity, all have a turn at us, and our batteries reply; but there is not much vigour in it on either side until Middle Hill, with its Creusot 94-pounder, and the howitzer on Surprise Hill, begin to shell our naval 12-pounders.
We also took in our guns, 26 in number, of the following calibre 18 32-pound carronades, 6 18-pound ditto, and 2 long 9-pounders, with a full proportion of shot. We also received, on the day after, as much powder as could be put in the magazines. On Monday, the 9th, we left our moorings, and proceeded down the Thames, anchoring for the night.
The following were the arrangements made for the defence: On the north, Major Vibart, of the 2nd Cavalry, assisted by Captain Jenkins, held the redan, which was an earthwork defending the whole of the northern side. At the north-east battery, Lieutenant Ashe, of the Oude Irregular Artillery, commanded one 24-pounder howitzer and two 9-pounders, assisted by Lieutenant Sotheby.
Not a sound did they utter, and, fancying that they were undiscovered, were allowed to come within 60 or 80 yards of the guns before one was fired, or a movement made to indicate that they were perceived. Just as they must have supposed their success certain, the 9-pounders opened on them with a most destructive discharge of grape.
At length, however, Bob got within short pistol-shot of his adversary, and then in came his studding-sails, all together, down went his helm, and crash! went his broadside of four 9-pounders into the devoted Frenchman, bringing his sails and his flag down by the run, together.
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