warned them that their work must be done with the bayonet, and
their muskets were not even loaded. Moreover, so strict was the
discipline that no one was allowed to leave the ranks, and when
one of the men did so an officer promptly ran him through the
body.

No sooner had the British opened fire than the charging columns
broke into a run, and in a moment the forlorn hopes plunged into
the abattis of fallen timber which the British had constructed
just without the walls. On the left, the forlorn hope was very
roughly handled, no less than seventeen of the twenty men being
either killed or wounded, but as the columns came up both burst
through the down timber and swarmed up the long, sloping
embankments of the fort. The British fought well, cheering loudly
as their volley's rang, but the Americans would not be denied,
and pushed silently on to end the contest with the bayonet. A
bullet struck Wayne in the head. He fell, but struggled to his
feet and forward, two of his officers supporting him. A rumor
went among the men that he was dead, but it only impelled them to
charge home, more fiercely than ever.

With a rush the troops swept to the top of the wall. A fierce but
short fight followed in the intense darkness, which was lit only
by the flashes from the British muskets. The Americans did not
fire, trusting solely to the bayonet. The two columns had kept
almost equal pace, and they swept into the fort from opposite
sides at the same moment. The three men who first got over the
walls were all wounded, but one of them hauled down the British
flag. The Americans had the advantage which always comes from
delivering an attack that is thrust home. Their muskets were