CnAr. X.] CAPTURE OF CHANDERNAGORE. 565
unavailing, was no longer satisfied with sending tln-eatening messages, but had a.d 1757. ji ;tually sent forward part of his army, as if lie had at L'ust resolved to make common cause with the French. RoyduUub, the dewan, advanced with this (L;tachment within twenty miles of Hooghly, and would have been in time to jittempt the relief of Chandernagore had not Nuncomar treacherously assured him of the contrary.
Tiie attack was fixed for the 24!th. At sunrise on that day two batteries -^ttsok ai.j
capture of
which had been completed on shore opened their fire. The fort returned it cinindei- vigorously, and for a time established a decided su])eriority. At seven o'clock, when the ships were first brought into action, a marked change took place. The Tiger, in passing to the north-east bastion, which was her station, and where she finally anchored at the distance of only fifty yards, fired her first i)roadvside at the ravelin with such effect that that defence was immediately abandoned. The Kent was less fortunate. Her allotted station was the ravelin before the middle of the curtain ; but in proceeding to occupy she encountered such a deadly fire, that some degree of confusion ensued, during which the cable, instead of being stopped, was allowed to run to its end. The consequence was, tliat the ship fell back so far that she lay just beyond the south-east, and at the same time exposed to a flank of the south-west bastion. It was too late to make a change, and the Salisbury, to which this ver}' position had been assigned, was entirely thrown out of the action, the whole brunt of which was borne by the Tiger and the Kent. Notwithstanding these disadvantages the fire of the besiegers was so telling that at nine o'clock the fort hung out a flag of truce At three in the afternoon the capitulation was concluded. Though the defence ■was of short duration, its efficiency, while it lasted, is proved by the state in which it left the Kent. She had received six shot in her masts, and 142 in her liull : her casualties also were severe, amounting to nineteen killed and seventy- two wounded. Among the latter were the commander, Cai)tain Speke, and his son, who were both struck down by a single shot. The captain ultimately recovered, bixt his son died. Ives, who was surgeon of the Kent, profession- ally attended both of them, and gives such an interesting account of the heroism displayed by the son, a youth of onl}' sixteen years of age, that it would be unpardonable to omit it.'
When he was carried down into the after-hold his leg was hanging only by Heroism of the skin. Great as his suffering must have been, he was thinking (mly of his gpeke father, whose wound he feared had been mortal. On l)eing assured of the con- trary he became calm ; but when it was proposed to examine his own wound, he earnestly asked the surgeon if he had dressed his father, " for he could not think of being touched till his father had been taken care of" Being told that this was already done, " then," replied the generous youth, pointing to a fellow-sufferer "pray, sir, look to and dress this poor man, who is groaning so sadly beside
' Ives, .4 Voyage from England to India, p. 132-1.^4.
