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did the British escape with impunity, having had one captain (Wilmot, killed by a rifle-shot, as he was mounting a howitzer on the breach), one midshipman (Edward Morris), and four seamen killed, and one lieutenant (William Knight), one boatswain's mate, six seamen, and one marine wounded. In addition to their loss in the action, the British had to regret the death of Colonel Phelipeaux, an officer of great zeal and ability, in consequence of a fever brought on by want of rest and exposure to the sun. The Turks, to their credit, brought the gabions, fascines, and all such materials as the garrison could not supply, from the face of the enemy's works, setting fire to what they could not carry away. The French, on the other hand, usually repaired in the night all the mischief that the combined forces had done to them in the day; and, in spite of the unremitting fire kept up by Lieutenant William Knight of the Tigre from the ramparts, remained within half pistol-shot of the walls. As well as we can gather from the published accounts, the gun-boats in the attack just detailed, were commanded by, among others, Lieutenant Stokes, and midshipmen George Nicholas Hardinge, James Boxer, and Samuel Simms ; and the small boats by Lieutenant Thomas Charles Brodie, and Messieurs Thomas Atkinson and Edmund Ives, the masters of the Theseus and Tigre. The French continued to batter in breach with progressive effect ; and, up to the night of the 6th of May, had been repulsed, with great slaughter, in seven or eight attempts to storm. A similar succession of failures had attended their attacks on the two ravelins which the persevering Sir Sidney had caused to be erected, in order to flank the nearest approaches of the besiegers, from which the ravelins were only ten yards distant. The best mode of defence was found to be frequent sorties, which impeded the French in their covering works, and were only suspended during the short intervals caused by the excessive fatigue of every individual on both sides. At length, on the 7th of May, the 51st of the siege, the long-expected reinforcement from Rhodes, consisting of some Turkish corvettes, and between 20 and 30 transports with troops, and which at first had been mistaken in the French camp for a reinforcement to them, made its appearance in the offing. The approach of this additional strength was the signal to Buonaparte for a most vigorous assault, in the hope to get possession of the town before the troops could disembark. Accordingly, the fire from the French suddenly increased tenfold ; and the flanking fire from the British afloat was plied to the utmost, but with less than the usual effect, the besiegers having thrown up epaulments and traverses of a sufficient thickness to protect them from it. The guns that could he worked to the greatest advantage were a French brass 18-pounder in the Lighthouse ^ back to top ^ |