At six o'clock on the morning of the 27th, the Argus, Nautilus, and
Hornet stood in, and, anchoring within a hundred yards of the battery,
silenced it in three-quarters of an hour. At the same time the town was
attacked on one side by Hamet, and on the other by the Americans. A hot
fire of musketry was kept up by the garrison. The Greek artillery-men
shot away the rammer of their only field-piece, after a few discharges,
rendering the gun useless. Finding that a number of his small party were
falling, Eaton ordered a charge, and led it. Dashing through a volley of
bullets, the Christians took the battery in flank, carried it, planted
the American flag, and turned the guns upon the town. Hamet soon cut his
way to the Bey's palace, and drove him to sanctuary to escape being
taken prisoner. After a lively engagement of two hours and a half, the
allies had complete possession of the town. Fourteen of the Christians
had been killed or wounded, three of them American marines. Eaton
himself received a musket-ball in his wrist.
The Ex-Pacha had scarcely established himself in his new conquest before
Jusuf's army appeared upon the hills near the town.
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