The assault was made on the ninth day of October. It was desperate, with alternate success and failure at different portions of the works; but ultimately, a repulse. The British casualties were few, four officers and thirty-six men killed; four officers and one hundred and fifteen men wounded and missing. The French loss was fifteen officers and one hundred and sixteen men killed; forty-three officers and four hundred and eleven men wounded. Count d’Estaing was twice wounded, and Count Pulaski, as well as Sergeant Jasper, so brave at Moultrie in 1776, were among the killed. Colonel Laurens, aid-de-camp to Washington, was conspicuous in the assault, as he proved himself at Newport, and afterwards at Yorktown. The French withdrew their artillery, and sailed on the twenty-ninth. The Americans returned to Charleston. The result of the siege affected both northern armies. Washington abandoned an attack upon New York, for which he had assembled a large force of New York and Massachusetts militia. Learning that Clinton was preparing to go South, either to Georgia or South Carolina, he ordered the North Carolina troops to march to Charleston in November, and the Virginia regulars to follow in December. Clinton left New York on the twenty-sixth of December for Charleston with seven thousand five hundred men, leaving Lieutenant-General Knyphausen in command. Washington again placed General Heath in command of the Highlands; sent the cavalry to Connecticut, and with the remainder of the army marched to Morristown, which for the second time became his winter headquarters. CHAPTER XXVII. THE EVENTFUL YEAR 1780.—NEW JERSEY ONCE MORE INVADED. The first act of General Washington upon reaching Morristown was to invoice his resources and balance his accounts. He “called the roll” of his army, made record of all supplies, and framed estimates for forthcoming necessities. It was a depressing exhibit. Excluding South Carolina and Georgia troops, which were assigned to their own home department, the entire Muster, including all independent organizations as well as drummers, fifers, teamsters, and all _attachés_ of every kind, and upon the impossible assumption that every man on the original Roll was still living, and in the service, footed up only twenty-seven thousand and ninety-nine men.