 Dashing ahead of his men, he arrived at Vellore within two hours, to find the surviving British troops within minutes of extinction by some hundreds of mutineers.About sixty men of the 69th, commanded by a sergeant (who recognized Gillespie from the West Indies) and by two assistant surgeons, were holding the ramparts but were out of ammunition.Gillespie was unable to gain entry through the gate (which was controlled by the mutineers), so the sergeant lowered a chain of soldier's belts to allow Gillespie to climb the wall onto the battlements.