The breaches were made in the curtain, before which a traverse was fixed in the ditch to protect and strengthen it. In my hurry, after descending into the ditch, I mistook the traverse for the top of the breach, and as the ladders were laid against it, I ascended as well as many others, and soon found our mistake. We crossed it, and slid down directly opposite the breach, which was soon carried. The town was entered by armed men at every point, and in the dark there were many mistakes made by men shooting their friends instead of their enemies. The prisoners were collected and huddled together upon the ramparts like so many sheep, and there guarded until daylight. My battalion formed up upon the ramparts and made fires, as the night was a clear and frosty one. Some men brought me wine, ham, and eggs. I soon made a hearty meal, and washed it down with some good French Burgundy, putting my feet to the fire, and enjoyed as calm a sleep as I ever did in my life before, for three or four hours. [Sidenote: 20th] At daylight I walked round the ramparts and found numbers slaughtered. The 94th and 45th suffered sadly, particularly their Grenadiers, who literally had fallen in line with each other upon the large breach. The explosion I mentioned had killed numbers more of the French than of the English; they were mangled in a most shocking manner; headless trunks, and others torn into masses of lacerated parts, which it was hard to fancy ever belonged to human beings. General M'Kinnon, who commanded a Brigade in the 3rd Division, was blown up and his body sadly mutilated, but being a very tall man, it was not difficult to make him out. A circumstance which probably saved me from being blown up with a friend of mine, Lieutenant Uniacke, was, when we got into the ditch together he observed, "This is the way." In the bustle I said, "Impossible. Here are the ladders. I shall go up them," fancying my Portuguese friend had placed them right, so that ultimately the ladders served me. Poor Uniacke got round the corner just in time enough to get scorched from head to foot in a frightful manner, and died a few hours after in great agony. General Craufurd, who commanded the Light Division, was mortally wounded, General Vandeleur, Colonel Colborne, and Major Napier were badly wounded; also Lieutenants Cox, Hamilton, and Bedell. About nine o'clock in the morning we marched from that part of the rampart where we had been resting for so many hours, seated before good fires. We passed out of the town and then halted. The French prisoners followed, guarded. We had scarcely left the gate when a tremendous explosion took place, which blew up numbers of Frenchmen, and also some Englishmen. Directly under the place we had so recently left were deposited several barrels of gunpowder, which had taken fire from some cause or other. That face of the rampart was a pile of ruins in one instant. I really thought this was a kind act of the Almighty towards us.