Crawford Cowan, two excellent sappers both of whom had been named with honour for their gallantry at the siege, were with the party. At night on the 12th, Lieutenants Elphinstone and Graham traced the first portion of the fifth parallel facing the right flank of the Redan. They had with them second corporal George H. Collins and private Moncur, two smart and reliable sappers, to whom the executive superintendence of the work was intrusted. After completing the trace, 7 other sappers and 120 of the line commenced a boyau from the most advanced trench in front of the quarries. Fifty-six gabions were laid and filled in this approach, and then the sappers run along the new parallel with fifty other gabions, placing ten more at the extremity of the series, with a short obtuse angle backwards, to screen the linesmen while filling the baskets and forming the parapet of the new work. Alarms twice occurred which caused the workmen to retire. Collins, indisposed to yield to a questionable danger, went some distance to the front to ascertain if there existed any reason for it; but seeing nothing to justify the retreat, he encouraged the men to return and they readily resumed work. The relief had been in the trench some time when the second interruption took place. Again Collins restored confidence by mounting the parapet and there remaining till the ill-founded fears of the linesmen had subsided. Both parties, nevertheless, worked very well and obtained excellent cover. The sappers were on duty at this new sap for seventeen hours without relief. The following detail shows the force of sappers furnished by night and day for front duty during the period comprised in the table. Ever-varying circumstances caused the number to fluctuate, so that with each party it was hardly possible to afford a stronger contingent of overseers than was marched at daybreak and at dusk into the trenches:—