The next morning found the flag still floating over the brave band within the fort. In the night, the enemy had so arranged his guns that three sixes had been planted within two hundred and fifty yards of the fort. Again all through the day, the roaring of the British artillery was kept up. Towards the afternoon it became evident that Proctor was preparing for an attack. The objective point of his firing all day was the northwest angle of the fort. Major Croghan saw this, and with bags of sand and flour he strengthened his weakened point. He further concealed his lone gun at this assailable quarter, and loaded it heavily with slugs and grape shot. Here it rested for a terrible utterance.

Now the attack commenced. It was about five o'clock in the hot August afternoon when the two columns of British, five hundred strong, advanced toward what they believed the vulnerable portion of the stockade. While this party was marching toward the fort, another column of two hundred grenadiers started for the southern side of the stockade. This attack was feigned and was for the purpose of drawing the attention of the besieged from the real point to be assailed.

All the while, the gunners in the fort kept their single cannon trained on the storming party. Tramp, tramp came the advancing British column through the dense smoke of their artillery, which was constantly playing upon the fort, and it was only when they were within twenty paces of the ditch that they could be seen by the besieged. They were met by a rainfall of rifle bullets from the cool aims of Croghan's

PLAN OF FORT STEPHENSON

Prepared from the official reports of the battle by the British and American officers and from contemporary writers.