land at all events, they thought proper to retire. Next
day general Sinclair advanced into the country, skirmishing with the
enemy in his route; and arriving at the village of Plemure, within half
a league from Port L'Orient, summoned that place to surrender. He
was visited by a deputation from the town, which offered to admit
the British forces, on condition that they should be restrained from
pillaging the inhabitants, and touching the magazines; and that
they should pay a just price for their provisions. These terms being
rejected, the inhabitants prepared for a vigorous defence; and the
English general resolved to besiege the place in form, though he had
neither time, artillery, nor forces sufficient for such an enterprise.
This strange resolution was owing to the declaration of the engineers,
who promised to lay the place in ashes in the space of four-and-twenty
hours. All his cannon amounted to no more than a few field-pieces; and
he was obliged to wait for two iron guns, which the sailors dragged up
from the shipping. Had he given the assault on the first night after
his arrival, when the town was filled with terror and confusion, and
destitute of regular troops, in all probability it would have
been easily taken by scalade; but the reduction of it was rendered
impracticable by his delay. The ramparts were mounted with cannon from
the ships in the harbour; new works were raised with great industry; the
garrison was reinforced by several bodies of regular troops; and great
numbers were assembling from all parts; so that the British forces were
in danger of being surrounded in an enemy's country. Notwithstanding
these discouragements, they opened a small battery against the town,
which was set on fire in several places by their bombs and red-hot
bullets; they likewise repulsed part of the garrison which had made a
sally to destroy their works; but their cannon producing no effect
upon the fortifications, the fire from the town daily increasing, the
engineers owning they could not perform their promise, and admiral
Lestock declaring, in repeated messages, that he could no longer
expose the ships on an open coast at such a season of the year, general
Sinclair abandoned the siege. Having caused the two iron pieces of
cannon and the mortars to be spiked, he retreated in good order to
the sea-side, where his troops were re-embarked, having sustained
very inconsiderable damage since their first landing. He expected
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