YCBA Collections Search

...The Lodgement being secured on ye Covert way, ye assailants make a Sap to gain ye Counterscarp or Slope inwards towards ye Ditch, & here sometimes they make another Lodgement; their next attempt is ye Descent of ye Ditch, which if it be a wet one, they fill it up with Fascines loaded with Stones. As ye Assault on ye Bastion is always made upon ye ruins of a Breach, this is effected by ye Springing of a Mine, & there are several curious ways of covering ye Miner & fixing him to ye wall, while He makes ye Sap The springing ye Mine is ye Signal for ye assault, ye Troops immediately pass over ye rubbish & push ye besieged before they recover out of their confusion & as they gain upon them, ye Engineers with all dispatch trace out Lodgements for ye Soldiers to secure themselves behind, taking care to keep a proper communication with their own works. The Defendants not only counterwork ye Assailants Mine to render it ineffectual, but make saps of their own to blow up ye Troops of ye Besiegers, when they have penetrated ye works one of which is represented in ye furthermust Bastion in this Print