Governor de Castro proved to be as completely demoralized as Admiral da
Costa. He had twice as many troops as the French, but not half the courage
and ability of his adversary. Fort Villegagnon, one of the chief defences,
was blown up by the mismanagement of its garrison, and during the state of
panic of the Portuguese Trouin landed about four thousand men, erecting a
battery on an island within easy cannon-shot of the city, and occupying a
range of hills to the left which gave him command of that section of the
place. The governor with his troops looked on from a distance while the
French pillaged the adjoining suburb, destitute of tactics that any one
could discover unless he proposed to let the French enter the streets and
then attack them from the houses.
It was in this way they had been defeated the year before, but Trouin was
too old a soldier to be caught in such a trap. He erected batteries on the
surrounding hill-slopes till the town was commanded on three sides, while
the governor kept the bulk of his forces at a distance, waiting for no one
knew what.
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