Artillery of the Napoleonic Wars: Artillery in Siege, Fortress and Navy, 1792–1815

… Though much is taken, much abides; and though

We are not now that strength which in the old days

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ulysses

Artillery of the Napoleonic Wars: Artillery in Siege, Fortress and Navy

This edition published in 2015 by Frontline Books,

an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd,

47 Church Street, Barnsley, S. Yorkshire, S70 2AS

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Copyright © Kevin Kiley, 2015

The right of Kevin Kiley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN: 978-1-84832-637-8

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Title page: A proposed design for a battering piece to enable firing from above the parapet of the covered way of a fortress. From Louis de Tousard’s American Artillerist’s Companion.

Contents

Tables

1:     Selected Heavy Artillery Ranges

2:     Heavy Artillery of the Gribeauval System

3:     Heavy Artillery of the Système An XI

4:     French Heavy Artillery Ranges

5:     Estimated Requirements to Defend Fortresses

6:     Mortar Ranges

7:     Gunpowder Ingredients by Weight

8:     Men Required to Serve British Siege Guns

9:     The Fortifications of Torres Vedras

10:     Congreve Rocket Ranges

11:     French Naval Artillery, 1758

12:     Carronade Dimensions

13:     British Marine Detachments, 1747

14:     French Gun-Crew Strength

15:     Long Gun Recoil

16:     Carronade Ranges

17:     Ranges of British Iron Naval Long Guns

18:     Weights of Naval Canister Rounds

19:     Naval Grape Shot individual Round Weight

20:     French Naval Gun Carriages

21:     Ranges of British Iron Naval Mortars, 1798

22:     Foot Artillery Uniforms

23:     French Imperial Guard Artillery Uniforms

24:     Horse Artillery Uniforms

25:     Artillery Train Uniforms

26:     Engineer Uniforms

27:     Naval Uniforms

28:     Marine Corps Uniforms

29:     French Ammunition Used at their Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo 1810

30:     Guns Captured after the French Evacuation of Almeida, 1811

31:     British Siege Train Planned for the 1811 Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo

32:     Allied Ordnance at Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, and San Sebastian

33:     British Engineer Establishment in the Peninsula before the Sieges

34:     Allied Ammunition Expenditure at Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, and San Sebastian

35:     British Ammunition expenditure, Badajoz, March–April 1812

36:     Allied Artillery Personnel at Badajoz

37:     Allied Artillery Losses at the Siege of Badajoz

38:     Siege Train Ordered from England for Operations in 1813

39:     Allied Artillery, San Sebastian, 1813

40:     Allied Ammunition Expenditure, First Siege of San Sebastian

41:     Allied Artillery at the Start of the Second Siege of San Sebastian

42:     Allied Ammunition Expenditure, Second Siege of San Sebastian

43:     First Six Frigates of the US Navy

44:     The Six Subscription Frigates of the US Navy

45:     Warship Ratings

46:     Ships of the US Navy in June 1812

47:     Royal Navy Ships on the North American Station, 18124

48:     Royal Navy Strength in 1812 – Major Vessels

49:     Comparison of the USS Constitution and Her Opponents

50:     Ship-to-Ship Engagements in the War of 1812

51:     Carronade Calibres and Ranges

52:     British Naval Ordnance Windage

53:     The American Fleet on Lake Erie

54:     The British Fleet on Lake Erie

55:     The Rival Fleets on Lake Ontario, late 1814

56:     The Rival Fleets on Lake Champlain

Maps

1.     Copenhagen

2.     Saragossa

3.     Ciudad Rodrigo

4.     Badajoz

5.     San Sebastian

6.     Danzig

7.     Sackett’s Harbor, Lake Ontario

8.     Niagara Peninsula

9.     Plattsburg, New York

10.     Schweidnitz

Plates

Austrian artillery. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

Royal Marine Artillery. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

Royal Artillery mounted rocket corps. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

Marshal Vauban. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

The siege of Copenhagen. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

The French siege of Saragossa. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

The British assault on the breach of Ciudad Rodrigo. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

Badajoz from across the river. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

The British assault at Badajoz. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

The British siege of San Sebastian. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

The second siege of Danzig, 1813. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

The Danish Army at the siege of Hamburg in 1813–14. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

The Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

Ciudad Rodrigo, the approach to the ‘castle’. (Rod MacArthur)

Ciudad Rodrigo, curtain wall and outworks. (Rod MacArthur)

Prussian artillery. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

Captain Isaac Hull. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

Royal Navy boats attacking a privateer. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

The battle of Lake Erie. (Anne Brown Collection, Brown University)

Fort Ticonderoga. (Author’s collection)

Fort Ticonderoga, drawbridge and redan. (Author’s collection)

One of the Fort Ticonderoga bastions. (Author’s collection)

The place d’armes, Fort Ticonderoga. (Author’s collection)

Fort McHenry aerial view. (Fort McHenry National Historic Site)

Curtain wall, bastion, and outworks, Fort McHenry. (Author’s collection)

The replica water battery at Fort McHenry. (Author’s collection)

One of the mortar bombs actually fired on Fort McHenry. (Author’s collection)

The Fort McHenry magazine. (Author’s collection)

Artillery implements, Fort McHenry. (Author’s collection)

Naval gun and tackle, Fort McHenry. (Author’s collection)

There are two people who are always with me in my life and in my writing, my beloved wife Daisy without whom nothing would be possible, and my dear son, Michael, who is our future, and is the blood of my heart. To them, now as always, this volume is dedicated.

Acknowledgements

None other than a gentleman, as well as seaman, both in theory and practice is qualified to support the character of a commissioned officer in the Navy, nor is any man fit to command a ship of war, who is not also capable of communicating his ideas on paper in language that becomes his rank.

John Paul Jones

I came across the above quotation while thinking about writing this section of the book, and I do hope that I am able, as Captain Jones stated, ‘of capably communicating my ideas on paper’. Finding the right words suitably to thank those who have helped has been the most difficult task of writing this volume on Napoleonic artillery. I am very grateful to Lionel Leventhal of Greenhill Books who published my first two books on the Napoleonic period. He is a gentleman, a good friend, and a giant of the publishing industry.

Two people are responsible for the publishing of this my second book on the artillery of the Napoleonic period. First, Michael Leventhal commissioned the book, thoughtfully asking me if I had any ideas on another Napoleonic volume. As I had waited for the opportunity of writing this study for ten years, I quickly mentioned this and Michael graciously and enthusiastically agreed. For this one more opportunity, I am very grateful.

Second, the editor, Kate Baker, also with Frontline, with whom I am very fortunate to work once again, has demonstrated the patience of Job in ensuring that I finished the book, if not on time, then perhaps in a timely manner. She is the epitome of the editor that any author would be privileged to have. She is very knowledgeable, the essence of tact and gracious conduct, and she knows her business. She is also a good friend, as is Michael Leventhal. It is a great pleasure to be able to work with them once again.

Once again, no book can be researched and written without the generous help of others. Keith Rocco, an outstanding military artist, gave permission to use one of his Napoleonic paintings for the cover of the book. Keith is a ‘good man to have around’ and is the best Napoleonic artist today. His work captures both the era itself and the men who marched the length and breadth of Europe year after year and followed their commanders into the fire.

George Nafziger, who provided a wealth of information for the companion volume to this study, also helped with this volume, graciously granting permission to use some of his collection of period maps. Charles Shallcross kindly gave permission to use material from his translation of the Chevalier du Teil’s The New Use of Artillery in Field Wars: Necessary Knowledge. Permission from a gentleman of the old school to use the material is gratefully acknowledged with many thanks. Marcus Stein provided uniform reference material which was used for the chapter on the artillery uniforms of the combatants. Bob Burnham of the Napoleon Series also provided period maps as well as moral support.

Peter Harrington of the Anne Brown Military Collection at Brown University came though once again with his usual stalwart support with a plethora of illustrations that form the bulk of the pictorial information in the volume. David Sullivan of the Company of Military Historians also provided much needed assistance, as he always has when needed. Both of these gentleman were invaluable in the preparation and collection of illustrations.

Rod MacArthur provided excellent photographs of the fortress city of Badajoz which are an invaluable reference for the British siege of the ‘place’ in 1812. Lance Williams supplied photographs of the USS Constitution at her berth in Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. She is the oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy and the only period warship that is still in the water and that continues to put to sea under her own power periodically.

Elizabeth White and Vincent Vaise of the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine provided photographs of Fort McHenry and the firing of a period field piece. Richard Brown of Ken Trotman Books provided permission to use a period drawing of a French siege piece from The Dickson Manuscripts, which was very much needed for an unusual illustration. Patricia Zline of the Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group provided much needed assistance when I was researching material in the publication of Henry Adams’s War of 1812. Margaret Chrisawn, an outstanding Napoleonic scholar in her own right, provided moral support for my research and was one of the people who provided guidance years ago on how to conduct historical research.

Joe Salter of the Museum Restoration Service gave permission to use period illustrations from three of the myriad volumes that have been published by his company. These illustrations highlight three main areas of the volume: rockets, naval gun carriages, and siege artillery.

Lastly, my thanks and gratitude go to the late Colonel John R. Elting and his wonderful wife, Anne, with whom I was good friends for over ten years. The long discussions I had with Colonel Elting in his study at his home near West Point were the motivation for my writing, and anything that I have done correctly is largely because of his patient teaching and mentoring. He is greatly missed, but his knowledge of the Napoleonic period, the Grande Armée, and the Emperor himself is in his writing and available to us all. And to my good fortune, he communicated some of his knowledge and insight directly to me.

Finally, my lovely wife, Daisy, has continued the tradition once remarked upon by the late Anne Elting of being ‘the last widow of the Napoleonic Wars’. She has been more than supportive in the writing of this volume, as she has with the others. Our son, Michael, has also lived through the writing of all of my books, and is also ‘a good man to have around’. He is both our pride and our future.

If I have forgotten to mention or thank anyone I deeply apologize for any omissions. Any errors or omissions in the following pages are entirely my own.

Kevin F. Kiley

Jacksonville, North Carolina

September 2014

Introduction

I know the disciplines of wars …

Shakespeare, Henry V

Down the long, rutted road of military history alongside their beloved guns, stride the artillerymen – some famous and easily recognizable, some not. Too many of their names are lost in the battles they fought, the sieges they conducted, and with the guns they served in both victory and defeat. They were masters of the art of gunnery and ballistics – commanders, teachers, leaders at every level from the gun company or battery to the command of large armies in the field. They fought their guns when and where they found their enemies, swore at pieces stuck in the mud on some godforsaken march, in the muck of their gun emplacements in a siege, or looking over shot-torn ramparts impatiently waiting for an enemy assault to come howling out of the night, over glacis and into and over the ditch to fight in a ruined breach, made by heavy artillery.

At sea in warships large and small, sailors, marines, and naval artillerymen stood by their ship-killing cannon ready to ‘fire on the uproll’ against an enemy that might outgun and outrange them, in a massive fleet action at sea, or a smaller but nonetheless important, sea fight on a great lake.

What they did and how they fought created the age of the artillery battle, as well as sieges across Europe and North America, and desperate naval encounters across the seas from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and beyond to the Indian Ocean.

*   *   *

Artillery of the Napoleonic period is divided into two types: field, or light artillery which was employed by the armies on campaign and in open battle and siege, or heavy artillery, which was not only employed in siege operations against fortresses and cities, but by their opponents holding the fortresses against them. While field artillery consisted of calibres up to and including 12-pounders light enough to keep up with an army on the march and in combat, siege artillery comprised the heavier calibres, intended as ‘battering pieces’, which could destroy fortifications through bombardment. Likewise, garrison artillery, generally of the same types and calibres as siege artillery, but mounted on different gun carriages, was employed to counter the siege operations, and the siege artillery, of the opposing forces.

Field artillery was divided into three types, foot artillery, horse artillery, and mountain artillery, which were covered in the companion volume of this book, Artillery of the Napoleonic Wars, Field Artillery, 1792–1815, while not the subject of this volume, will be touched on from time to time in the narrative when it comes into contact with siege and fortress artillery.

Siege, or heavy artillery, along with its close relatives of the coastal, fortress, and naval artillery is the unglamorous cousin of field artillery. There isn’t the dash of light guns being pulled by straining gun teams, the quick emplacement of a gun company or battery under fire, with men and horses being hit, screaming and going down, nor the relative speed of victory or defeat. There are heavy, ponderous guns and mortars, trenches and gun emplacements being laboriously constructed with muscle and sweat to protect them from enemy counterbattery fire or sorties from the besieged, during the relatively long process of starving a garrison into submission, creating a breach in the walls for the infantry to storm by the relentless pounding by the guns, or the somewhat more lively artillery duels that take place between attacker and defender.

This is not only an artilleryman’s war either. Along with the artillery the engineer arm was intricately involved in the siege and defence of places. Engineers, sappers, and miners had their critical jobs to do. Serving alongside the artillerymen in both siege and the defence of fortified places, the engineer arm displayed its expertise in the various operations needed to take or defend a fortress. Their specialized training and skills were indispensable in siege operations, and their skill level quite frequently determined if the besieged fortress was taken or defended successfully.

It was a war of mathematical precision, pioneered by the great Vauban and Coehorn from the seventeenth century, of siege parallels sited and emplaced, mines and countermines being tunnelled beneath fortresses, and of desperate fighting in breaches by the footsore, dependable infantrymen, who also did most of the digging. The weary infantrymen, jacks of all trades in warfare, might not have respect for the engineer officer as a fighting man, the French grognard dubbing him ‘Monsieur Problème’, but in siege and in battle the sapeurs du génie, the combat engineers, and the miners certainly shared the infantryman’s hazards in the firing line and in ‘neck or nothing’ assaults on fortified places.

This study is mainly about the heavy artillery of the period: the siege guns, fortress artillery, whether that is inland or on the coast, and the naval guns produced to fight aboard ship, all of which outweighed the field artillery, in both size and calibre, if not in dash and elan. But the same skill had to be in evidence to man those batteries of large calibre guns, for the basic principles of gunnery are still applicable. Still, it was artillerymen who manned them, those same artillerymen who manned the foot, horse, and mountain artillery with the field armies. At sea, guns were manned by sailors and marines, and, in the French service, by the excellent, highly skilled Artillerie de la Marine, an organization separate from the Navy, yet still part of it.

Naval artillery, and the skill with which it was served at sea, would, along with the skill and seamanship of the naval officers and ratings who worked the ships, determine in both ship-to-ship and fleet actions, who would be victorious at sea. Naval guns were generally of two types, guns and carronades, and ranged in calibre from relatively small 9-pounders to 32-pounders for guns and even larger calibres for the short-ranged and deadly carronades. Naval combat was usually conducted at short range, and large calibre gunfire was deadly against wooden warships and the men who manned the ‘wooden walls’.

The first half of the book will cover all of the types of ordnance, and their carriages, used during the period. The French artillery pioneer Jean-Baptiste de Gribeauval will again be a prominent part of the story, first designing a garrison carriage in 1748 that was copied throughout Europe. The gun carriages, transport, harness, and field expedient methods for procuring the equipment will also be covered in detail.

The mechanics of a siege, along with detailed explanations of all that went into one of these operations, will also be included. The combat engineers and miners, considered an elite in the French Army, and later in the Grande Armée, will be given their just place – they worked hand in hand with the other ‘savant’ arm, the artillery. The development of the French and British engineer arms is an interesting story, and the technical schools that trained them will be mentioned in passing. The uniforms of the artillery arms of the warring nations will be described as an adjunct to my previous volume.

Once again, this is not intended to be a technical manual for artillery and engineers, although there is an abundance of technical information provided in tables in the chapters and the appendices. To find that information in detail, the artillery manuals of the period, many of which contained information on sieges, should be consulted. This is the story of the heavy artillery and engineers of the period 1792–1815 and the format will be the same as my previous volume, with the first half covering the artillery and engineers as combat arms and the second half covering a few of the important and famous sieges of the period as well as some naval actions from the War of 1812.

This volume will chronicle the story of the guns and men who conducted sieges and defences of permanent fortified positions on land, and those employed at sea during the twenty-three years of almost continuous warfare from 1792 to 1815 from the battlefields of continental Europe to the almost primitive terrain of North America and of the seas, lakes, and rivers that connected these places.

There were high deeds in the siege and defence of fortified places. The Prussian General Gneisenau earned laurels and long-lost respect for Prussian arms in the midst of the disaster of 1806–7 for his monumental defence of Kolberg. The fanatical Spanish population of Saragossa successfully defended their city in 1808 against the French, only to lose it after the indefatigable and dangerously competent Marshal Lannes took command of the second siege and methodically reduced the city. Marshal Lefebvre was placed in command of the French siege of Danzig in 1807, knowing little and understanding less of siege warfare, but in the midst of an allied sortie, he launched himself into the confused fighting, stating ‘Come my children! This I understand!’ General Suchet, taking over command in Eastern Spain, conquered city after city by expert siege operations, prompting Napoleon not only to promote him at the time, but to comment later that if there were two Suchets, he would have kept Spain, not merely conquered it. The dauntless Captain de Chambure, and his ‘infernal company’ at the second siege of Danzig, raided out of the city against the allies, causing ‘hate and discontent’ in the allied rear areas, every time escaping back to the besieged city. There were the savage, incredibly gallant British assaults against fortified Spanish cities, incurring terrible losses against equally savage French defenders; the pitifully reduced French garrison of Torgau, most of it dead or dying of disease, surrendering because there were not enough men left to man the defences; or, after Napoleon’s first abdication, the undefeated French garrisons of Hamburg, Antwerp, and Magdeburg marching out in perfect order, with their arms and eagles ‘in splendid order and ready for action’ to return home to an uncertain future. Finally, there was the shining example of French General Dausmesnil (the famous ‘Jambe de Bois’, who had lost a leg at Leipzig), governor of the fortress of Vincennes, responding to a Russian demand for surrender in 1814 with an equal and more forceful statement that if the allies returned his leg he would gladly give up the fortress.

At sea, warships and privateers sailed under orders or letters of marque in search of their prey. The powerful Royal Navy clearly dominated the oceans, especially after the crushing victory at Trafalgar in 1805 over the combined French and Spanish fleets, but there were still battles at sea until 1815, some of the most notable, and shocking at least to the Royal Navy, being those with the young, small, but expert United States Navy.

In the Indian Ocean, French Captain Duperré fought his frigate squadron against a similar Royal Navy force and destroyed it at the Battle of Grand Port at the Île-de-France. One British frigate was sunk, one blew up, and the other two, one of them dismasted, surrendered. Robert Surcouf, the noted French privateer, given the Legion of Honour and made a baron by Napoleon, was a very successful ‘sea rover’ and captain courageous, and it was said that the British put a price on his head of 250,000 francs.

British captains, used to winning against all odds whether in single-ship fights or fleet actions, had an unpleasant surprise when they engaged American frigates at sea. Three frigates were lost, two of them sunk, in 1812 against the big American frigates, which prompted the British to order that, in the future, the smaller of the British frigates were only to engage the big American vessels at odds of two to one. In the Pacific, Captain James Hillyar, commanding HMS Phoebe accompanied by two sloops-of-war, hunted down the USS Essex commanded by David Porter, who had ruined the British whaling fleet. Hillyar and Phoebe, accompanied by HMS Cherub, caught Porter and Essex in the harbour of Valparaiso Chile with its topmasts down and pounded it to surrender. Captain Philip Broke, commanding probably the best-trained crew in the Royal Navy, would take USS Chesapeake in an eleven-minute action, leading the boarding party himself, being severely wounded for his trouble.

American privateers would wreak havoc among British shipping, one of the most famous ships being the Prince de Neufchatel. Faced with a British boat attack from HMS Endymion when becalmed off Nantucket, the ship’s crew fought off the British, inflicting over seventy casualties on the attackers. Later captured after being damaged, the Prince was an outstanding ship that was the epitome of the American privateer. However, in the long run, no matter how many privateers broke out of American harbours, it was still the Royal Navy that ruled the sea during the period. But the United States Navy had earned its respect.

These, then, are the artillerymen, engineers, sailors and marines who manned the heavy artillery ashore and at sea. The guns were worthless without dedicated artillerymen to man them, and the skill with which they fought their guns made them all worthy sons of their patron, Saint Barbara.

Notes on Sources and Points of Interest

The following items were the main sources for the data tables in the book and the sections devoted to gun-crew drill:

•    Artillery and Engineers: Ralph Willett Adye, The Bombardier and Pocket Gunner, William Congreve, Details of the Rocket System, Alexander Dickson, The Dickson Manuscripts, John May, A Few Observations on the Mode of Attack and Employment of the Heavy Artillery at Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, in 1812, and St. Sebastian, in 1813; with a Discussion on the Superior Advantages derived from the use of Iron instead of Brass Ordnance in such Operations, G.Roquerol, L’Artillerie au debut des Guerres de la Révolution, Louis de Tousard, American Artillerist’s Companion, John T. Jones, Journals of Sieges Carried on by the Army under the Duke of Wellington in Spain during the Years 1811–1814 with Notes and Additions.

•    Naval: Howard Chapelle, The History of the American Sailing Navy, William Congreve, The Details of the Rocket System, and An Elementary Treatise on the Mounting of Naval Ordnance, Howard Douglas, A Treatise on Naval Gunnery, Robert Gardiner, Warships of the Napoleonic Era; Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars; and the Naval War of 1812. Mark Lardas, Great Lakes Warships 1812–1815; Constitution vs Guerriere; American Heavy Frigates 1794–1826; American Light and Medium Frigates 1794–1836, Chris Henry, Napoleonic Naval Armaments, 1792–1815, Theodore Roosevelt, The Naval War of 1812, and Robert Malcolmson, Lords of the Lake.

•    The term ‘long guns’ has been used throughout the text to differentiate cannon from howitzers.

•    The term ‘gun tube’ has been used throughout the text to denote the barrel only of the different artillery weapons.

•    The term ‘piece’ is used to denote the gun carriage with the gun tube mounted on it: the entire weapon.

•    The term ‘place’ is used in the text to denote a fortress or fortified city, as it was used during the period.

This volume is not intended as an artillery technical manual, but like the companion volume in the study, there is much use of technical terms throughout. The Glossary provides definitions of various period terms. The format of this volume is the same as that of the companion volume. Part I is the explanation of the artillery and engineers of the period, with Parts II and III being noted sieges and naval engagements respectively, to demonstrate how the artillery and engineers were employed in combat.

As this is the bicentennial of that most forgotten and neglected of wars, the War of 1812 (1812–15), the last three chapters are about actions fought during that conflict. Great Britain went to war reluctantly against the United States in June 1812 – the United States that declared war first. Great Britain was in a death struggle with Napoleonic France, and did not need another war. The length and breadth of the new struggle was immense; the armies that marched against each other were not. However, the fighting was increasingly savage, as Briton and Canadian fought American, and the stakes were high in North America. At sea the naval war was one-sided with the small United States Navy pitted against the greatest navy in the world at the time. The naval war on the Great Lakes and on Lake Champlain, however, was more of an even contest, as naval officers on both sides had to ‘make bricks without straw’ literally beginning from scratch with no shore establishment to support them. These officers were generally on their own and had to build both bases and ships, before seeking out their enemy on the lakes. The addition of these adventures is a tribute to those on both sides in a war that should not be forgotten.

Prologue

Yorktown 1781

We arrived at the trenches a little before sunset. I saw several officers fixing bayonets on long staves. I then concluded we were about to make a general assault upon the enemy’s works, but before dark I was informed of the whole plan … The sappers and miners were furnished axes and were to proceed in front and cut a passage for the troops through the abatis … At dark the detachment … advanced beyond the trenches and lay down on the ground to await the signal for the attack, which had to be three shells from a certain battery … We had not lain here long before the … signal was given for us and the French … the three shells with their fiery trains mounting the air in quick succession. The word, ‘up up’ was then reiterated through the detachment. We moved towards the redoubt we were to attack with [un]loaded muskets.

A Participant, 14 October 1781, near Yorktown, Virginia

The Continental Corps of Light Infantry, the army’s elite infantry arm, drawn from the light infantry companies of the Continental regiments with the main army, waited patiently for the order to advance, patient because they were veterans and most of them had done this before. The forlorn hope stood in front, expecting heavy casualties, hoping they could advance unnoticed. It was the old familiar drill – night attack, unloaded muskets, bayonet work. Colonel Hamilton would lead them, as well as their battalion commanders. They had been here before, at Stony Point in 1779 under Anthony Wayne, the most successful night attack of the war. All they needed now was the word to advance. Hamilton had fought for this command, and General Washington had let him have it. Even though he was a staff officer, he had seen his share of combat, and was known to the men he would lead. If other officers had trouble with his appointment, it was just too bad.

On their left, the French would go forward at the same time, to attack their redoubt. Actually, the ‘French’ were a German regiment in French service. Germans fighting Germans. The regiment’s name was Deux-Ponts; meaning ‘two bridges’ – odd name for a regiment, but the French did some things differently – not wrong, just different. Maybe they’d earn their pay tonight. The password tonight was ‘Rochambeau’ in honour of the French commander. It sounded like ‘Rush on Boys!’ so it should be easy to remember.

Men absent-mindedly fingered their long French-made bayonets or their French-made Charleville muskets. They were better weapons than the British issue Brown Bess that they used to have. Many checked and rechecked their equipment – shoulder belts, cartridge boxes, pulled their light infantry caps down tighter on their heads, reaching up and touching the distinctive black and red plumes that Lafayette had bought for them so long ago. Some quietly chewed and spat tobacco. It did help you stay awake on sentry duty. No one needed to be kept awake tonight though – the adrenaline was already pumping. Anyway, they all wanted to go. It was time to finish this. Maybe if they beat Cornwallis the infernal British would go home and let them be to have their own country.

They had been told to lie down, and sleepy troops were being nudged or slapped awake because they had started to snore. The less experienced among them wondered how the grizzled veterans could sleep at a time like this, but you grabbed what you could when the opportunity presented itself. Suddenly, the entire column was aroused by officers and NCOs murmuring ‘up, up’ and the column rippled like a large, multi-hued snake, with men scrambling to their feet and grabbing their muskets.

Quiet commands were passed down the column to fix bayonets and move forward to the attack position. Men shuffled ahead in the darkness, holding their bayonet scabbards so they wouldn’t slap against their thighs. The forlorn hope moved up to the head of the main body, eager to be off. Here too were the men equipped with axes, like the army’s sappers, to chop the column’s way through the abatis in front of the British redoubt, meant to slow any attack. They reminded those in the main column of horses waiting to be off in a race. Shells from the ever-present artillery bombardment arced overhead, streaking through the night, sounding like a fingernail on slate as they crossed the dark sky, fiery trails in their wake, like some deadly comet.

Time seemed to stand still as they waited in the darkness. Nobody even knew how long they had been there by now. Questions invariably came to their minds. Did the enemy know they were coming? Were the French ready? Were there more British in the redoubt than they thought? Those who had been in the Stony Point fight two years prior were confident – they had taken the British before and they would do it again. They had confidence in their officers and in themselves, and in those French bayonets.

Suddenly,