transporting troops and horses on an hourly basis throughout the day. By 24 March, the rendezvous point was set to three miles below the Persian fortifications. As some of the British forces disembarked and assembled, a considerably large party of Persian reconnoitrers sighted the enemy within firing range. However, the Persian troops did not engage the British. By the night of 25 March, several hundred Persian soldiers were seen throwing up an embankment to cover two of their field guns which were to be positioned towards the British positions. The Assaye was soon ordered to fire eight shells at the Persian positions, forcing the artillerymen to retreat. On the same night, the British placed two 8 and two 5-inch mortars northward behind a low swampy island facing the Persian army's most powerful battery. This endeavour was undertaken by the engineer officers that also conducted a reconnaissance of the Persian guns in a small canoe. They first planned to erect a battery on an island in the Arvand, but the island proved to be too swampy. They then towed the mortars on a raft and moored it behind the island from where fire support was provided. At dawn on 26 March, the mortars from the raft placed by the swampy island, commanded by Captain Worgan, opened fire on into the centre of the Persian fortifications. The Persian soldiers were noted to have been mid-prayer for Fajr. The first shots wounded the Persian Brigadier commanding the northern battery. As such, it took Khanlar Mirza's artillerymen a few minutes to identify where the missiles came from. As the Persian batteries began to return fire by 6:00 AM, the British attack ships advanced and began to engage them. The Semiramis led the squadron and towed the Clive sloop and was followed by the Ajdaha, Feroze, Assaye and Victoria. The Victoria towed the Falkland sloop as she got into position. The Madras Sappers were also aboard the S.S. Hugh Lindsay to assist the 64th Regiment in firing the ship's carronades The Persian batteries opened fire along the entire line of defence, inflicting considerable damage on the hulls and rigging of the British ships. Arab inhabitants on the Turkish side of the border had gathered to watch the battle, but as some of the Persian shots ricocheted in their direction, they dispersed. By 7:45 AM, the British commodore ordered the ships to close in on the