The night was long and tedious; but finally day broke, and the men somewhat refreshed by the short and interrupted sleep they had procured, were again ready for action. Major Schwartz, with admirable accuracy, threw a few shells from the howitzer into the houses near the plazuela of San Sebastian; and then Major Caycee advancing with a few of the Second Rifles, got possession of the little square apparently just abandoned by the Allies. Soon the wounded were comfortably quartered in the small church of San Sebastian; and after the troops had taken a hearty breakfast, their spirits were as good as ever. The sappers began their work cutting through the houses on each side of the street running into the right-hand corner of the main Plaza as you approach from San Sebastian. The cuts made through the adobe houses, during the attack of the 12th of October, were also found serviceable. The work of the sappers was, however, slow; and while they were advancing in front under the protection of a company of Rifles, it was several times necessary to defend the plazuela from the attacks of the Allies. But the enemy, after several repulses with loss, seemed to conclude that they were exhausting their strength fruitlessly by these demonstrations against the rear of the Americans. Then, too, the front having got so far toward the Plaza that it was inconvenient to keep up communications with San Sebastian, Walker pushed his whole available force close up to the enemy, burning the houses behind him so as to protect his rear. Moving thus during the 16th and 17th, the Americans had on the evening of the latter day, got within twenty-five or thirty yards of the houses on the Plaza held by the enemy. General Henningsen had established a mortar battery in a hut near the enemy, and a few shells thrown from it were quite effective. But the fuses were, as before noticed, too short-timed, and the shells at the disposal of the Nicaraguans were too few to justify any lavish use of them. This, in fact, was a main reason for the small effects produced by the mortars and howitzers (when shells were used in the latter) during the whole campaign. In addition to the defective fuses, and the small supply of shells, the effects of three days’ labor and fighting were seen in the lassitude of the men and the almost utter impossibility of having guard duty properly performed. Although the Allies were clearly disheartened by the approach of the Americans, it would have required some time longer to drive them from the town; and Walker, anxious about the Transit, resolved to retire to Granada, preparatory to an abandonment of the Oriental Department.