had little confidence in General Drummond's plan. Both men arranged their affairs before heading into battle, sending their papers home to their wives. Drummond gave away his sword (a gift from Lloyd's of London) to Surgeon William "Tiger" Dunlop of the 89th. Shortly before moving out, both men wished each other luck and bade farewell. The columns moved out after dark, but the garrison at the fort had seen their preparations. Surprise would be nearly impossible to achieve. While Fischer's column made its long march to the south of Snake Hill, Scott's and Drummond's columns waited in the pouring rain in a ravine a few hundred yards north of the fort. An hour before the assault began, the British bombardment of the fort ceased, having inflicted casualties on the garrison of 10 killed and 35 wounded. American preparations In the fort, General Gaines ordered his men to stand to. This produced rumblings from the troops forced to stand in their positions in heavy rain but would prove invaluable in the coming battle. He also ordered that the charges in all guns were to be drawn and replaced, ensuring the guns would not misfire through damp powder. Brigadier General Ripley defended Snake Hill with the 21st and 23rd U.S. Infantry. The Hill was topped with a large gun emplacement containing six guns under the command of Captain Nathaniel Towson. The fort itself was defended by two companies of the 19th U.S. Infantry, and three guns under Captains Williams and Gookin. The wall between the fort and the Douglass Battery (which held one gun) was manned by the 9th U.S. Infantry, a company of volunteers from the New York and Pennsylvania state militias, the dismounted New York Volunteer Dragoons, and another gun. The long wall between the fort and the Snake Hill, which was not attacked, was defended by Brigadier General Peter B. Porter with detachments of the 1st and 4th U.S. Rifle Regiments, the 5th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Swift's Regiment of Detached New York Militia, and five guns. Finally, two companies of the 11th and 22nd U.S. Infantry and a detachment of the U.S. Light Dragoons were in reserve. Fischer's attack Fischer's column consisted of the light companies of the 2/89th Foot and the 100th Foot, the remnants of the 1st Battalion, 8th (King's) Foot, which had suffered heavy casualties in earlier engagements, and volunteers from Fischer's own regiment, the Regiment de