The work was well-nigh done when
an Irish sergeant and ten men, all clad in armour, leaped through the
flames of the breastwork, and began to hew with their axes at the beams
and planks.
For a moment, the British were paralysed at the daring action. Then the
batteries and musketry fire again opened, a storm of shot and bullets
swept across the bridge, and the whole of the gallant fellows fell dead;
but in a moment another party, similarly armed, dashed through the flames
and took their places.
Regardless of the fire they whirled their axes. Nine fell, but the last
two gave the final stroke to the beams. The bridge fell with a crash into
the river below, and the two survivors recrossed the breastwork and
joined their friends within, amid the wild enthusiasm of the defenders;
an enthusiasm in which even the baffled assailants joined, for the
British grenadiers gave a cheer, in token of their admiration at the
gallantry and devotion of the deed.
In all history, there is no record of a more gallant action than this,
performed by two sergeants and twenty men, who thus encountered almost
certain death to maintain their post. The destruction of the temporary
bridge filled Ginckle and his officers with consternation, and the manner
in which their design had been baffled showed the spirit of the
defenders, and the magnitude of the task which they had undertaken.
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