The fort which this handful of men had to defend was in no way capable
of offering a prolonged resistance. Its walls were more than a mile in
circumference, and were in a very bad state of repair. The rampart was
narrow and the parapet low, and the ditch, in many places, dry. The
fort had two gates. These were in towers standing beyond the ditch,
and connected with the interior by a causeway across it. The houses in
the town in many places came close up to the walls, and from their
roofs the ramparts of the forts were commanded.
On the 23rd September Riza Sahib, with his army, took up his position
before Arcot. Their guns had not, however, arrived, with the exception
of four mortars; but they at once occupied all the houses near the
fort, and from the walls and upper windows kept up a heavy fire on the
besieged.
Clive determined to make an effort, at once, to drive them from this
position, and he accordingly, on the same afternoon, made a sortie. So
deadly a fire, however, was poured into the troops as they advanced,
that they were unable to make any way, and were forced to retreat into
the fort again, after suffering heavy loss.
On the night of the 24th, Charlie Marryat, with twenty men carrying
powder, was lowered from the walls; and an attempt was made to blow up
the houses nearest to them; but little damage was done, for the enemy
were on the alert, and they were unable to place the powder in
effective positions, and with a loss of ten of their number the
survivors with difficulty regained the fort.
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