though it was the only piece of heavy calibre in the city[117]--the reason given was that one of its missiles (spherical case-shot) had fallen short within the streets, and killed or wounded an inhabitant. But the real cause was that he had fully decided on abandoning Tarifa that night or the following day, and thought the moving of such a big gun in a hurry impossible--it had been hoisted with great difficulty to its place by the sailors, with cranes and tackle[118]. [117] According to some authorities he also spiked a 32-lb. carronade. See _Defence of Tarifa_, p. 63. [118] The author of the _Defence of Tarifa_ pretends not to know the real story (p. 63), saying that the spiking caused much ‘indignation, apprehension, and discontent,’ and that ‘whence the order proceeded is unknown.’ For the explanation see the letter from an officer of the garrison in Napier, iv, Appendix, p. 438. Skerrett stated his decision in favour of the evacuation at the council of war, produced General Cooke’s letter supporting his plan, and stated that Lord Proby, his second in command, concurred in the view of its necessity. Fortunately for the credit of the British arms, his opinion was boldly traversed by Captain C. F. Smith, the senior engineer officer, Major King commanding the Gibraltar battalion of flank-companies, and Colonel Gough of the 87th. The former urged that the town should be defended, as an outwork of the island, to the last possible moment: though the breach was practicable, he had already made arrangements for cutting it off by retrenchments from the body of the town. The streets had been blocked and barricaded, and all the houses looking upon the back of the walls loopholed. Tarifa could be defended for some time in the style of Saragossa, lane by lane. He pointed out that such was the configuration of the ground that if the enemy entered the breach, he would find a fourteen-foot drop between its rear and the ground below, on to which he would have to descend under a concentric fire of musketry from all the neighbouring buildings. Even supposing that the worst came, the garrison had the castle to retire into, and this was tenable until breached by artillery, while a retreat from it to the island would always be possible, under cover of the guns of the flotilla. There was no profit or credit in giving up outworks before they were forced. Major King concurred, and said that his battalion, being Gibraltar troops, was under the direct orders of General Campbell, from whom he had received directions to hold Tarifa till the last extremity. If Skerrett’s brigade should embark, he and the flank-companies would remain behind, to defend it, along with Copons’s Spaniards. Gough concurred in the decision, and urged that the evacuation would be wholly premature and ‘contrary to the spirit of General Campbell’s instructions’ until it was seen whether the French were able to effect a lodgement inside the walls[119].