It being found impossible to
carry any part of the works, a general retreat was ordered. Of the six
hundred continental troops, more than one-third had fallen, and about
one-fifth of the French. The Charleston militia had not suffered,
although they had bravely borne their part in the assault, and it had
certainly been no fault of theirs if their brethren behind the
embankments had not fired upon them. Count D'Estaing had received two
wounds, one in the thigh, and being unable to move, was saved by the
young naval lieutenant Truguet. Ramsey gives the losses of the battle
as follows: French soldiers 760; officers 61; Americans 312; total
1133.
As the army began its retreat, Lieutenant-colonel Maitland with the
grenadiers and marines, who were incorporated with the grenadiers,
charged its rear with the purpose of accomplishing its annihilation.
It was then that there occurred the most brilliant feat of the day,
and one of the bravest ever performed by foreign troops in the
American cause. In the army of D'Estaing was a legion of black and
mulatto freedmen, known as Fontages Legion, commanded by Vicount de
Fontages, a brave and experienced officer. The strength of this legion
is given variously from six hundred to over eight hundred men. This
legion met the fierce charge of Maitland and saved the retreating
army.
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