Читать книгу The Story of a Peninsular Veteran. Sergeant in the Forty-Third Light Infantry, during the Peninsular War онлайн

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The British commander, unwilling to injure the city, had hitherto confined his offensive operations to the adjacent suburbs. It was, however, notified to the Danes in occupation as a garrison, that unless the terms proposed for the surrender of the fleet were immediately accepted, an attack might be expected. On the 31st of August the platform was raised, and the mortar batteries were ready for action. General Pieman, the governor, having refused to listen to the proposals forwarded, a vigorous fire was opened from the batteries and bomb-vessels, and in a few hours it was observed that the city was on fire in several places: the bombardment continued with little intermission till the evening of the 7th of September. By that time extensive injury had ensued, and it became evident that if the bombardment continued much longer, the city would be reduced to ashes. A flag of truce was in this extremity despatched, requesting a suspension of hostilities for twenty-four hours, to afford time for proposing terms of capitulation. The reply of Lord Cathcart was that nothing of the kind could be entertained, unless grounded on the entire and unconditional surrender of the Danish fleet. This was a bitter pill; but necessity, which has often laid the mighty in the dust, compelled the besieged to take it; and in the night of the 7th of September the articles of capitulation were settled, to be ratified the following morning. According to these, the British were put into possession of the citadel and dockyards, all the ships of war and naval stores were to be delivered up, a mutual restoration of prisoners was to take place, private property to be respected, and in the space of six weeks the citadel to be restored to the King of Denmark, and the whole island of Zealand to be evacuated by the British army. In consequence of this capitulation, we were put into possession of sixteen sail of the line, fifteen frigates, six brigs, and twenty-five gunboats, all of which were nearly ready for sea. A vast abundance of stores of all kinds necessary to equip or build a fleet were found in the arsenals. It was therefore necessary to load all the ships of the line and frigates which were delivered up with masts, spars, and timber; so that ninety-two transports were employed to bring the property to England.