We may well be proud of the skill and courage with which Lieutenant-Colonel Smith defended his fort against the foe.
"On the 10th of November the British opened their batteries on land and water.

They had five on Province Island, within five hundred yards of the fort; a large floating battery with twenty-two twenty-four pounders, which they brought up within forty yards of an angle of the fort; also six ships, two of them with forty guns each, the others with sixty-four each, all within less than nine hundred yards of the fort." "More than three hundred guns all firing on that one little fort!" exclaimed Rosie.

"It is really wonderful how our poor men could stand it." "Yes, for six consecutive days a perfect storm of bombs and round shot poured upon them," said the captain, "and it must have required no small amount of courage to stand such a tempest." "I hope they fired back and killed some of those wicked fellows!" exclaimed Walter, his eyes flashing.
"You may be sure they did their best to defend themselves and their fort," replied the captain.

"And the British loss was great, though the exact number has never been known.
"Nearly two hundred and fifty of our men were killed or wounded.
Lieutenant Treat, commanding the artillery, was killed on the first day by the bursting of a bomb.

The next day quite a number of the garrison were killed or wounded, and Colonel Smith himself had a narrow escape.
"A ball passed through a chimney in the barracks,--whither he had gone intending to write a letter,--scattered the bricks, and one of them striking him on the head knocked him senseless.
"He was carried across the river to Red Bank, and Major Thayer of the Rhode Island line took command in his place.
"The first day a battery of two guns was destroyed, a block house and the laboratory were blown up, and the garrison were compelled to keep within the fort.