in the rear of the trenches, and there cut down some men—not many, for succour soon came; and meanwhile the 164troops at the parallel having rallied upon the relief which had just arrived, beat the enemy’s infantry back, even into the castle. In this hot fight the besieged lost above three hundred men and officers, the besiegers only one hundred and fifty; but Colonel Fletcher, the chief engineer, was badly wounded and several hundred trenching-tools were carried off,—for Phillipon had promised a high price for each. Yet this turned out ill; for the soldiers, instead of pursuing briskly, dispersed to gather the tools. After the action, a squadron of dragoons and six field-pieces were placed as a reserve-guard behind St. Michael, and a signal-post was established on the Sierra de Venta to give notice of the enemy’s motions. On the 24th, the fifth division invested the place, on the right bank of the Guadiana; the weather was fine, and the batteries were heavily armed. The next day at eleven o’clock, the pieces opened, but were so vigorously opposed, that one howitzer was dismounted and several artillery and engineer officers were killed. Nevertheless, the San Roque was silenced; and the garrison of the Picurina was so galled by the marksmen in the trenches, that no man dared look over the parapet. Hence, as the external appearance of the fort did not indicate much strength, General Kempt was charged to assault it in the night. The outward seeming of the Picurina was, however, fallacious; the fort was very strong; the fronts were well covered by the glacis, the flanks were deep, and the rampart, fourteen feet perpendicular from the bottom of the ditch, was guarded with thick slanting pales above; and from thence to the top there were sixteen feet of an earthen slope. Seven guns were mounted on the works, the entrance to which, by the rear, was protected with three rows of thick paling; the garrison was above two hundred strong, and every man had two muskets. The top of the rampart was furnished with loaded shells, to push over; and finally 165some small mines and a loop-holed gallery under the counterscarp intended to take the assailants in rear were begun, but not finished. Five hundred men of the third division being assembled for the attack, General Kempt ordered two hundred, under Major Rudd, to turn the fort on the left; an equal force, under Major Shaw, to turn the fort by the right; and one hundred from each of these bodies were directed to enter the communication with San Roque, and intercept any succours coming from the town. The engineers, with twenty-four sappers bearing hatchets and ladders, guided these columns; and fifty men of the light division, provided also with axes, were to move out of the trenches at the moment of attack.