Meanwhile the British generals pushed on the siege with unwearied zeal, and, at the same time, with prudent caution, secured their own camp by redoubts. Day and night the batteries[113] poured their ruinous shower upon the ramparts, the citadel, and shipping. On the 21st, three large vessels of war took fire in the harbor from a live shell, and the English gunners dealt death to those who sought to extinguish the flames. The next day the citadel was in a blaze; the next, the barracks were burned to the ground, and Wolfe's trenches were pushed up to the very defenses of the town. The French could no longer stand to their guns. On the night of the 25th, two young captains, La Forey and Balfour, with the boats of the fleet, rowed into the harbor under a furious fire, boarded the two remaining vessels of war, and thus destroyed the last serious obstacle to British triumph.[114] The following morning, M. de Drucour surrendered at discretion. In those days, the taking of Louisburg was a mighty triumph for the British arms: a place of considerable strength, defended with skill and courage, fully manned, and aided by a powerful fleet, had been bravely won; 5600 men, soldiers, sailors, and marines were prisoners; eleven ships of war taken or destroyed; 240 pieces of ordnance, 15,000 stand of arms, and a great amount of ammunition, provisions, and military stores, had fallen into the hands of the victors, and eleven stand of colors were laid at the feet of the British sovereign: they were afterward solemnly deposited in St. Paul's Cathedral. But while the wisdom and zeal of Amherst, and the daring skill of Wolfe,[115] excite the gratitude and admiration of their countrymen, it must not be forgotten that causes beyond the power and patriotism of man mainly influenced this great event. The brave admiral doubted the practicability of the first landing.[116] Amherst hesitated, and the chivalrous Wolfe himself, as he neared the awful surf, staggered in his resolution, and, purposing to defer the enterprise, waved his hat for the boats to retire. Three young subaltern officers, however, commanding the leading craft, pushed on ashore, having mistaken the signal for what their stout hearts desired--the order to advance; some of their men, as they sprung upon the beach, were dragged back by the receding surge and drowned, but the remainder climbed up the rugged rocks, and formed upon the summit. The brigadier then cheered on the rest of the division to the support of this gallant few, and thus the almost desperate landing was accomplished.