"Well, as I was saying, I afterwards joined the _Minden_ 74, to which
ship Lieutenant Edmund Lyons belonged. We had been cruising with a
squadron off this place, Batavia. Now there was at the north-eastern
end of Java, not far from the Straits of Madura, a very strong fort or
castle on Pauka Point, lately erected, called Fort Marrack. It was a
considerable annoyance to all ships passing that way, and it was
therefore deemed important to destroy it. However, as only between four
and five hundred men could be spared for the enterprise, it was given
up, as that number was looked upon as insufficient for the undertaking.
However, the _Minden_, having on board a number of Dutch prisoners,
Lieutenant Lyons was directed to land them in the launch and cutter at
Batavia. I was in the launch. After we had put the Mynheers on shore,
we stood along the coast to the eastward, for the lieutenant was in no
hurry to get back to the ship. He had got something in his head, do you
see? He remembered what he had helped to do with Captain Cole; so says
he to himself, `I'll just see if we can't play the Dutchmen just such
another trick with regard to this here Fort Marrack.' When he had got a
thing into his head to do, which he thought could be done, it was no
easy matter for anyone else to knock it out again, till he had tried
whether he was right or wrong.
"Two days after landing the prisoners, we got up to the fort just at
dark. The lieutenant had a look at it, just to arrange his plan; and we
then ran under a point of land, where we lay snug out of sight till the
darkest part of the night. At first the moon was up, and would have
discovered us to the enemy. The fort mounted fifty-four heavy guns, and
had a garrison of one hundred and eighty regulars; but what did we care
for that! We waited eagerly for the moon to go down, and then we both
pulled away with muffled oars for the fort. There was a good deal of
surf on the shore, but we hoped its noise, aided by the darkness, would
prevent our approach being discovered. However, the Dutchmen had
learned to be more awake than when we took Fort Belgica, and as we got
close under the land, the sentinels let off their muskets to give the
alarm. No time was to be lost. Lieutenant Lyons ordered us to run the
boats through the surf right on to the shore, under the very muzzles of
the guns in the lower tier. `On, my lads!--on!' he exclaimed, leading
us, sword in hand, right up over the embankment into the lower battery
before the Dutchmen had time to look round them. We found the gunners
as before, with their matches in their hands, and had to kill three of
them to prevent their firing. Having knocked down every man we found,
we did not stop to look around, but followed our gallant leader into the
upper battery, which, in as little time as I have taken to describe, was
in our possession. It was `Hurrah, my boys!--at them!' and after a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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