THE APRIL BOMBARDMENT. 119 a fire immensely superior, yet still hardly such chap, as could aptly be called ' overwhelming.' But, if '. — the advanced battery should do signal harm to Ms Works or their armament, then the enemy's policy, reinforced by hot anger, impelled him to ruin, to crush the offender by an unsparing use of his power. The distance of the advanced No. VII. from the 'Crow's Nest' (the nearest of the enemy's guns) was only about 700 yards. The battery, when brought into action on the morning of the 13th, would have to fight all alone in the 3d Parallel ; * and moreover have to fight without any artillery support from our 2d Par- allel in its rear, because there at the time, no guns at all had been planted.! The nearest artillery support that this 'ad- •' vanced No. VII.' could receive from the rear was that which might be afforded by our Green Hill batteries in the 1st Parallel, and these were far off. The nearest of them was more than half a mile in rear of the ' advanced No. VII.' I How under conditions so adverse, our siege- conductors persuaded themselves that this little ' advanced No. VII.' should singly adventure a
- Because, though constructed, the sister battery (No. VIII.)
had not then beeu armed. This I say with full knowledge, though in the teeth of the official R.A. Journal, p. 83. There were two field-guns (9-pounders used against riflemen) in the 3d Parallel, but they formed of course no exception to the above statement. t It was afterwards that the batteries 9 and 10 were estab lished in the 2d Parallel. J 966 yards.
