baffling winds, and neap tides, the enemy's ships never got within our bar
till the 27th of June, and on the following morn, the memorable 28th,
they weighed anchor on the young flood, and before a fine breeze,
with top gallant sails, royals, and sky scrapers all drawing,
came bearing up for the fort like floating mountains.

The anxious reader must not suppose that we were standing all this while,
with finger in mouth, idly gaping like children on a raree show.
No, by the Living! but, fast as they neared us, we still kept our thunders
close bearing upon them, like infernal pointers at a dead set;
and as soon as they were come within point blank shot, we clapped our matches
and gave them a tornado of round and double-headed bullets,
which made many a poor Englishman's head ache. Nor were they long
in our debt, but letting go their anchors and clewing up their sails,
which they did in a trice, they opened all their batteries,
and broke loose upon us with a roar as if heaven and earth
had been coming together.

Such a sudden burst of flame and thunder, could not but make us
feel very queer at first, especially as we were young hands,
and had never been engaged in such an awful scene before.
But a few rounds presently brought us all to rights again,
and then, with heads bound up, and stripped to the buff,
we plied our bull-dogs like heroes.

The British outnumbered us in men and guns, at least three to one,
but then our guns, some of them at least, were much the heaviest,
carrying balls of two and forty pounds weight! and when the monsters,
crammed to the throat with chained shot and infernal fire, let out,
it was with such hideous peals as made both earth and ocean tremble.