The English likewise, by means of the despatches they had taken in the galley, got information of the situation of the Philipino, and sent off that night a ship of the line and a frigate in quest of her; but instead of her they fell in with the Trinidad, which had just arrived on that part of the coast in her route to Acapulco, and of which they made a prize, with her valuable cargo. Contenting themselves with this, they gave the Philipino an opportunity of putting her treasure on shore, thus preserving what proved our only resource during this war, as we shall see afterwards. In the night a sortie was made from the fort, with a view to dislodge the enemy from the churches, in which they had strongly established themselves. The command of this sortie was given to Monsieur Faller, a Frenchman, who had served in Manila. He sallied out with two four-pounder field pieces, and the requisite number of artillerymen, fifty fusileers of the regulars, a few militia, and eight hundred Indians, armed with lances. He attacked the enemy at his quarters, and the action lasted the whole night; but observing that the English received fresh succours, he withdrew his people towards the church of San Juan de Bagunbayan, from which he kept up a fire against the church of Santiago until the following morning, and from thence, by means of a reinforcement which was sent him from the fort, he was enabled to make good his retreat. This sortie could be considered only as an empty vaunt, for how could they flatter themselves, with a handful of men, with dislodging the English from the churches, which may be considered, in fact, like so many castles, having such immensely thick walls of square stone? Faller by this attempt incurred the charge of treason, however unjustly. The artillery now began to play incessantly on both sides; the enemy did some injury to the buildings with their bombardment, and some eighteen-inch shells were picked up in the fort quite entire, and returned to them in their own camp. At night we used charges of canister shot, and kept up a brisk fire of musketry, which produced some effect, for the next day we perceived many of their dead between the esplanade and their trenches. On the morning of the 27th, at eight o'clock, some Indians and Mestizoes, without having any orders to that effect, presented themselves before the advanced guards of the English camp, fell upon them, and drove them from their posts, but a reinforcement of three hundred men arriving, the advantage was lost, and the Indians repulsed, to whom a signal was made to leave the field open, in order that the artillery might play upon the enemy. During this action, an English officer was seen approaching with a white flag, accompanied by a youth in negro's dress, and beating the chamade on his drum: our artillery suspended their fire, but the Indians attacking the English officer, murdered him and the boy who accompanied him.